- Hi, I'm Jordan from Kettner Creative.
In this video, we're gonna compare
the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface
to the Solid State Logic SSL2+ audio interface.
Now, this isn't a straight apples to apples
or oranges to oranges comparison,
The SSL2+ does have some bells and whistles
above the standard SSL2 unit,
so I'll try to point those out to make sure
that we're getting an even comparison
as we do this comparison.
Now, if you wanna see pricing or specs
or where to buy either of these,
we do have some links in the description below.
I don't wanna say what the price is
just because right now the prices are moving around
quite a bit,
so please do check out current pricing
using the links below,
it'll help you put in context where each of these are
and why the features set are the way that they are
between the two.
Now, before we compare the two features
and walked through the bodies,
let's take a real quick look at the specs
between these two devices.
They both come with 48 volts of Phantom power.
They're both 24 bit recording devices,
and they both have supported sample rates
between 44.1 all the way up to 192 kilohertz.
Now, as far as the mic preamps are concerned,
the Focusrite Scarlet has a gain range of 56 decibels
and this SSL2, has a gain range of 62 decibels.
So the SSL2 does have a little bit more gain,
a little bit more power in those preamps.
Now, as far as noise is concerned,
the Focusrite Scarlet has the EIN of minus -128 dBu.
And the SSL2 has a EIN of -130.5 dBu.
So again, the SSL is a little bit quieter,
even though it has more gain, which is pretty impressive.
Now, in terms of max instrument input,
the Focusrite has 12.5 dBu and the SSL2+ has 15 DBU.
For max line level input
this Focusrite Scarlett has plus 22 dBu
and the SSL two has plus 24 dBu.
For monitor outputs,
the Focusrite Scarlett has a dynamic range of 108 dBA,
and the SSL two has 112 DB.
The output level of the Focusrite Scarlett is plus 15.5 dBu.
And the output level of the Solid State Logic is 12.5 dBu.
So now that we've got the specs out of the way,
the big ones for me,
when we're looking at that is the gain range
and how quiet these preamps are.
The SSL two plus also has a bit more dynamic range
in the monitor and headphone outputs as well,
which is another plus in that favor.
But now lets walk through the ergonomics and what features
are physically on each of these audio interfaces.
Now we will plug both of these in and do a live test
with a microphone here in a minute.
So we can test out of these features,
but they both have two combi-jack inputs.
They can accept mic level with XLR,
line level with quarter-inch
or instrument level with quarter-inch.
You can see here that on the SSL two or two plus
that the inputs are on the back
and on the Focus Rite Scarlett the inputs are on the front.
Now in terms of gain knobs and setting the gain.
On the Focus Rite Scarlett
they do have this kind of nondescript coloring,
where as you turn it up, it goes from green.
And then once you get kind of to that minus 10 range,
it goes yellow.
And then once you're peaking, it goes red.
Now I do favor the meter that's on the SSL2.
I love seeing the physical meter.
It's not treating me like a baby
in terms of this animated wheel thing.
This is helpful for beginners
who don't want to get overwhelmed
with what is minus 20 mean?
What is minus 10 mean?
They just turn it up until it's green
and then they know they're good to go.
And that is useful for a lot of people.
They don't need to overthink it.
They just wanna get their podcasts going
or whatever they're trying to do.
But for me with the Solid State Logic here,
I love seeing that meter it just helps me keep tabs
on where I really am.
Now by default on the Scarlet,
quarter inches line level, it knows that.
It sets it for you.
On the SSL you do have to set that it's line level.
When you put an instrument cable into this Scarlett,
you do have to click instrument and for the SSL,
you have to press both line and Hi-C,
there's a little indication here of what you should do,
but you have to press both buttons to get it.
So just a little bit of a difference there.
Next, the Focusrite Scarlett has this air button.
What this does is it boosts the upper frequencies
and adds a little bit of that analog distortion.
Now the SSL 2+ has this 4k switch,
which is trying to emulate the SSL 4,000 consoles.
And what are they known for,
upper frequency lift and that gritty as they call it
that mojo, that analog distortion that gives you character.
So they both have a feature claiming to do the same thing.
So we're going to test that later on with a microphone,
with, and without the air and the 4k
and let you hear the difference between the two.
Now in terms of Phantom power,
the SSL 2 can do individual Phantom power per channel.
We're on the Focusrite Scarlett Phantom power is
all or nothing sort of thing.
You gotta press it and activate both.
Now on this SSL,
if you press 48 volts of Phantom power,
you can tell that it's a locking switch here.
So if you unplug and re-plug in the device,
that Phantom power will come back.
If you unplug and re-plug in the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2,
Phantom power will turn off by default.
So this is a safety feature
to make sure that you're always wanting Phantom power
no matter what.
Where the SSL 2+ it doesn't make that assumption.
It just gonna lock in your last choice
and keep it ready to go.
So just, you can tell,
just kind of looking at the layout of the SSL 2,
that if we're looking at this
from an ergonomics point of view,
we're kind of jumping ahead here,
but the front of the Focusrite Scarlett
has all the IO and all the control and everything.
The solid state logic SSL2 has all the IO on the back.
All your plugins are on the back
and then your controls on the front.
So I think that's why they favor
the 48 volts being left in the position
because this audio interface here
doesn't seem like from an ergonomic point of view
that is meant to be plugged in and changed all the time.
It looks like it's meant to be more installed.
So the logic here with the Phantom power
is if this is installed under your monitor
or on your desk somewhere,
then you're probably gonna lock in
your Phantom power settings.
So that's what I think if I follow along.
On both of these audio interfaces,
we get a nice, huge monitor knob here.
This is super helpful.
You turning that knob all day long,
adjusting the monitor volume.
So that's a really nice feature.
The SSL one does turn up to 11 though.
So you know that this one only turns up to 10.
I think this one doesn't even have a label.
So keep that in mind, the SSL goes to 11,
which is a whole extra 10% of volume,
or it's just a joke either way.
And when we're talking about monitoring,
we can talk about how we want to monitor.
On both of these we have the option
to either listen both ears to both inputs
or on the Focusrite.
You could switch it.
So one inputs on one ear, and one's on the other,
and you have the same option on the SSL 2+.
But on the SSL 2+ you also get the option
to switch between your input at latency free
and your playback from your DOS.
So you can mix your monitoring however you want it.
You also get two different headphone jack volumes
on the SSL 2+,
and you only get one on the Focusrite Scarlett
and on the back of the SSL 2+ some additional things
that the Focusrite Scarlett doesn't have,
it has MIDI in and out.
It has RCA outputs and has two headphone jack outputs.
Now on the back of the Focusrite Scarlett
we do have two line level outputs for your studio monitors,
but on the SSL 2 not the 2+ that we have here,
there's no RCA and there's no MIDI.
So keep that in mind.
If we are comparing something
that was closer to the price range of the Focusrite Scarlett
it wouldn't have the MIDI in and out, or the RCA outputs.
This is an extra step above that.
So keep that in mind when you're comparing them.
So that's it from a physical point of view.
Now let's test it out with the Shure SM 7B.
Okay so here we have the Focusrite Scarlett
with the SM 7B plugged into it.
They gain is turned up to about nine out of 10
on the Focusrite Scarlett here.
Just so you can see what's going on.
Now we haven't turned on instrument or air.
Obviously we don't want instrument on,
but we'll test air in a second,
but this is just to give you an idea
of how well that the Focusrite Scarlett
can power the Shure SM 7B by itself
without an inline cloud lifter or another inline preamp.
So this is how it sounds
when it's totally flat and turned to nine out of 10.
Now I'm gonna do it for five seconds without me speaking
at nine out of 10, then I'm going to go up to 10 out of 10,
just so you can hear how noisy it is.
Then we'll come back to nine out of 10.
So there you could hear how noisy it is.
Now I'm gonna speak into this without the air switch on.
Then I'm going to turn the air switch on
so you can hear how that high frequency boosts works
and see if you can hear any of that low end
kind of analog distortion kick in as well.
So this is the Shure SM 7B
with the air switch turned on when it's plugged
into the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface.
When it set to about nine out of 10 on the gain.
Now I'm going to turn that off.
Next we're gonna try this
on the solid state logic SSL 2+ audio interface.
Okay so here we are at the Shure SM 7B
plugged into the SSL 2+ audio interface.
You can tell right away, again,
like I was saying before that this LED meter here
is providing us with a lot more information
than the sometimes flickering green light
on this Scarlett 2i2 audio interface.
So I love that you can get that audio feedback right away
with just with the meter there,
but this is how it sounds when it's completely flat.
Now we're gonna try this with the optional 4k switch.
So we're expecting to hear a high frequency boost
and some of that mojo as SSL likes to call it.
So this is the Shure SM 7B microphone
with the four case which engaged.
So hear this,
please listen to how the frequencies sound.
Do you like this better or worse?
Leave a comment.
I'd love to hear your feedback.
I'm gonna turn that off.
Next we're gonna test this.
Right now we're at about nine out of 10.
So I'm going to turn it all the way up to 10 out of 10,
just like we did with the last one.
So I'll do five seconds at this level,
five seconds at 10 out of 10.
So there you could hear the noise of the Shure SM 7B
plugged in the SSL 2+
when it gets turned up to 10 out of 10.
So there you have it.
That's my comparison
of the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface
compared to the Solid State Logic 2+ audio interface.
Again, if you're looking for pricing or specs
for either of these options,
please check out the links in the description below.
I'd love to hear what you thought of the comparison.
Are you looking to buy one of these right now?
What one are you looking to buy?
Can you justify the extra cost of the SSL 2+?
Maybe you're looking for the SSL 2.
Just the same thing with less features
or maybe the Focusrite Scarlett
is absolutely perfect for you
in its form factor and convenience.
I'd love to hear what you're thinking about doing,
and if you wanna see more videos like this in the future,
please like, and subscribe.
Thank you for watching.
(upbeat music)