Audio Interface Comparison on Drums (Apollo 8P, Clarett 8preX, Saffire Pro 40, Scarlett Octopre)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to try out 4 of the leading audio interfaces and preamp: Universal Audio Apollo 8P, Focusrite Clarett 8preX, Saffire Pro 40 and Scarlett Octopre.
These have been very handy especially for drummers who always need more analog inputs.
Price varies one after the other, ranging between $150 to $3k. I have been always curious how they compare. So this is the ultimate side-by-side, stacked up (literally, on my rack) comparison.
I tried my best to gain stage each set up, but you can still notice it was not perfect.
This was never meant to be a precise shootout, but rather a spontaneous, purely out of fun before I let some of these go.
There is no additional processing but the pres themselves.
No additional eq or compression. I did put some high pass filter on overheads and snare for some occasion, but it would just clear up some headroom.
You will hear a lot of sympathetic ring from the rack tom though, but no additional reverb is added.
I attempted to provide identical drum grooves for each take to attain consistency.
Whole comparison - 2bars A/B/C comparison - 4 bars A/B/C comparison to follow.
I minimized mic set up to accommodate the best situation for drummers who only have one unit at a time I am going for simplicity without expansion. So only 7 channels have been used.
Microphone set up:
Kick in: Beta 91
Kick out: Beta 52
Snare: SM57
Toms: e604
OH: SR25s (as ORTF above snare)
1. Apollo 8P clean without Unison pre
2. Apollo 8P + Neve 1073 Unison pre without EQ engaged.
3. Clarett 8preX clean
4. Clarett 8preX with AIR enabled on Snare & OHs
5. Saffire Pro 40 clean
I really wanted to try if there is ANY significant difference if Octopre has different Master sources.
6. Scarlett Octopre via Apollo 8P
7. Scarlett Octopre via Clarett 8preX (played without click on this one so feels different)
8. Scarlett Octopre via Saffire Pro 40
I’ll let your ear judge.
Given that all of these unit offer stunning sound right out of the box, my personal rule of thumb is to have a great user experience that enhances my actual workflow. I immediately get disengaged if somethings become resistant, restricting and not working. Not only you just wasted money for problems, but you also wasted the opportunity for your creativity and "musicology" (thanks Prince) to flow flawlessly without being stopped or resisted. (It would bother me crazy if I hear pops and clicks and I know for sure everything was done right.)
When it comes down to choice, there are many factors here though.
Some might choose price over features. Some goes for bells and whistles. It’s personal choice.
If you believe in gears and technology that they could help you bring your music in better way, I think it's the gear for you. Too expensive? Consider it as investment for your passion and dream.
By no means I am promoting any brands over the other. Honestly i think all of these example sound absolutely killing. (I could have played better, sorry)
I have been looking to see this kind of comparison and just tried it myself on a morning.
I hope this would be somewhat helpful for drummer fellows out there, who don’t get to try these out personally or in depth due to any limitations.
Oh, the drums:
DW Jazz Series Cherry/Gum in Satin Oil
22x16, 10x7.5, 14x12
DW Collector’s Pure Cherry HVLT 14x7 Snare (Grey Satin to Candy Black Burst with Black Nickel hardware)
Left to Right:
Paiste 602 Formula Modern Essentials Hi-Hat 15”
Paiste Masters Dark Crash 18”
Paiste Signature Splash 8”
Paiste Masters Dark Ride 22”
Soultone Vintage FXO China 16”/broken 12” slash as stack
Paiste Masters Dark Crash 19”
Any question/comment/advice/suggestion/request (don’t complain though) are welcomed.
Happy drumming and music making everyone.
J - เพลง
00:00 Apollo clean
01:06 Apollo + Neve 1073
02:02 8PreX clean
02:59 8PreX with AIR on snare and OHs
03:55 Saffire Pro 40 clean
04:50 Scarlett Octopre via Apollo 8p
05:46 Scatlett Octopre via Clarett 8PreX
06:40 Scarlett Octopre via Saffire Pro 40
07:47 2 Bars each
08:28 4 Bars each
Apollo 8P + Neve 1073 and Clarett 8preX with AIR, I like them both. Great playing, you are good!
Unison and AIR are definitely sweet bells and whistles :)
To me, the difference was pretty small between all the units. I've been recording for 30 years, and I was quite surprised! I recently saw a Sonic Scoop video pointing out that the difference between various pres and various converters is hyped way too much, and that a microphone, instrument or room acoustics have a MUCH bigger effect on tone. I didn't notice any huge difference here in 3D clarity either, which surprised me. Any of these recordings would sound great in a mix. As far as the Scarlett going through different interfaces, that really should make zero difference, right? It's using the Scarlett's pres, clock & converters through ADAT - the interface should have no affect on the sound (which is why I use a fairly cheap interface and a high quality ADAT 8-channel pre). My guess is that any differences were just in the playing velocity. Thanks for doing this video!
I think you’re spot on. My test wasnt perfect as I have indicated, they were not gain staged properly, just matched to where it feels similar. Though like you pointed out, not a world of difference, especially considering Apollo nearly costs 30-40 times more than saffire 🤦🏻 For Scarlett test, yes, i assume only AD conversion is happening so technically it should be the same. I just wanted to test run 😁
First I would like to say great drumming performance in this demonstration. Second I would like to thank you for comparing all of these interface pre amps.
I have a Soundcraft Signature 22MTK in my main studio, and I'm looking for an eight channel interface with great sounding pre amps to use at my smaller studio. I was considering going cheap and getting the Behringer UMC1820 but that's supposed to be beginner quality and I specifically am looking for something that can give me a similar quality to the Soundcraft Signature 22MTK pre amps or better.
From listening to your demonstration of these interfaces I think that the Focusrite Clarett 8preX will be the best option for me. It seems to be the most versatile of the selection and the sound is very pleasing.
Thank you for helping me with my decision and giving me food for thought. Subbed
Thank you!
8prex is great, it's just they are obsolete now. And build quality seems Focusrite seems a little inferior than that of UAD or Apogee...etc. So if you're going with Focusrite, make sure you're covered with warranty.
00:07 Apollo clean
01:06 Apollo + Neve 1073
02:02 8PreX clean
02:59 8PreX with AIR on snare and OHs
03:55 Saffire Pro 40 clean
04:50 Scarlett Octopre via Apollo 8p
05:46 Scatlett Octopre via Clarett 8PreX
06:40 Scarlett Octopre via Saffire Pro 40
07:47 2 Bars each
08:28 4 Bars each
Great drumming dude :)...nice swing :)
the Scarlett Octopre via Clarett 8PreX sounds nice.
I liked the 8PreX without Air the best.
I was surprised how clean 8prex pres are. AIR is good on some occasion, but I really enjoyed clean pre on 8preX.
Was about to comment the same thing. Definitely sounded a lot more inspiring than the others
This is sick dude!!
Hey bro thank you so much for this video!
glad it helped in any way!
I can hear the difference(the Apollo sounds less airy but slightly warmer than then Clarett and the saffire is a clear 3rd as it sounds less clear and way less airy). The Apollo and the clarett sound very close. The Safire not so much. The neve kinda adds a tightness almost compressed sound which shouldn’t have been used unless it was going to be used for all as a fair comparison. So far the clarett is the most bang for the buck as at a certain point you’re paying for the DSP of the Apollo and it ain’t worth paying that much for some no latency plug-in use. I have an M1…I really don’t experience latency.
Yes clarette next saffire pro 40
YES! Saffire Pro 40 still can beat all of them!!
Thanks for doing this, great playing and drum tuning. I was surprised the Scarlett octpre sounded so different with different interfaces. I’ve been in need of more pre-amps, currently using 18i8 third generation plus some tracks from a zoom h4n. trying to figure out if I should just get a new interface like the Clarett which is a bit pricey but I will most likely go with the 18i20. What do you think?
Honestly think Saffire would work well if you still have all the legacy I/O. I'd suggest you going with the cheapest option and save up for future opportunity.
You just saved me 3k
Spare me some savings then? 😁
Just about to trade my sapphire in for a discount on a. clarett+ 8pre. This video is kind of making me not want to though. I'll still have one sapphire pro 40 and then the new clarett+ 8pre.
very true. it just gives so much potential!! Wish I could have more and more saffire pro 40, they can even daisy chain themselves for expansion.
I prefer the Apollo. Love the Focusrite as well but to my ears the Apollo is the winner. Not a big fan of the Air function on the clarett .... to much high end boost for my taste.
Agree ok AIR, gets too harsh sometimes. Apollo is easier to work with, especially with a lot of headroom on pres and digital controls.
Hello budy, how are you? First of all congratulations for the video, I recently acquired a Safire Pro 40 and I'm having trouble recording drums, because even with the volume at zero it sends a lot of gain signal to my daw, so if I turn the volume up to hear what's being recorded, the signal input overflows, can you help me with this issue? thank you friend a big hug
My name is Thiago Barbozza, I speak here from Brazil
the signal could get hot so try using condenser mics on ch 1 and 2 which have pad switch. For other channels, try to get attenuator at the end of your microphone or something to reduce /boost level for signal coming in. Always good to have those -10 or -20db switch on microphone. But yeah one better thing about Clarett is it has more headroom than the other.
Also, try record lower (below -12db) for your whole mix. You can always boost your level, so dont work too hard to “hear what’s being recorded” but rather balance the whole mix as a decent level (again, somewhere around -18 to -12db).
Need to rebalance the overhead and the snare on the clarett demo
volume is fairly equal. you just hear more top end boosted with AIR feature, not leveling issue. I did mention there was no proper gain staging done so keep that in mind. Get to the nuance rather than precision for this demo.
I’m just starting out and looking for a quality interface on a budget - I will primarily be recording classical piano and violin, with voice and some TH-cam blogging too. I have around £150 for the interface and know I can get a fairly decent beginners option, but was wondering with the price for higher end secondhand Saffire devices being in the same ballpark price wise, is it worth going down that route to future proof myself should my projects expand? I currently use an M1 Pro MacBook, and understand that I can still use FireWire via a Thunderbolt converter. Any advice would be welcomed.
if your m1 mac takes firewire via adapter, Saffire could be great option. But keep in mind, saffire has 8 pres, if you mainly record stereo tracks, I'd choose 2 or 4 ch interface, re-route your budget from number of pres to quality of pres.
8:41
8:49
8:56
Your preference?
8 pre x. Solo funciona con mac? Yo uso Windows puerto c
have no idea i only use mac. Go to Focusrite homepage to check.
Thanks for the comparison! If I'm recording drums would Focusrite Clarett 8PreX do a better job than the latest Focusrite Clarett+ 8Pre?
i believe 8prex is now discontinued. Clarett+ would have pres with more headroom from what I understand. But I don't have experience with newer clarett unit.
@@seungkeeya Yup it is discontinued. I live outside of the state and find it difficult to find a 8prex. The 8prex seems to be built with drummers in mind and it also has 2 adat for recording at higher sample rate while the latest Clarett+ only has one.
@Grow & Prosper if all the bells and whistles of the newer suit you and fit your need, go for it. But if you are just thinking about "future proofing", then I'd say you could go with any of the options shown in my demo. The difference is really subtle for regular amateur/semi-pro recording. But if you are looking into professional production, go for the one that is future proofed. I personally never use above 48 sample rate even for pro recording sessions, and never gets asked to record at 96k or higher.
What opearting system did you used for the 8preX since its discontinued ?
High sierra. It will work with any OS X
00:07 Apollo clean
01:06 Apollo + Neve 1073
02:02 8PreX clean
02:59 8PreX with AIR on snare and OHs
03:55 Saffire Pro 40 clean
04:50 Scarlett Octopre via Apollo 8p
05:46 Scatlett Octopre via Clarett 8PreX
06:40 Scarlett Octopre via Saffire Pro 40
07:47 2 Bars each
08:28 4 Bars each