Hello fello E’nauts,
got a little question about this audio interface: I’m wondering if the 8 inputs in this interface are either stereo or mono?
Thx for the help
Mono
3 Likes
This is as I understand it too.
I think most of the time you’ll find this the case with most audio interfaces (happy to be corrected) - and if there is a hardware stereo input, it’s usually via 2 connectors that will be labelled L and R.
Depending on the software, you may be able to pair 2 mono connections together so that a single control in the mixer will affect, say, the volume on each. I haven’t come across anything that doesn’t do this in some way yet.
3 Likes
Most inputs on pro-interfaces are mono, to get stereo you need to use 2 of them. I use the 18i20 along with an Octopre, and I also have an 18i8 sending stereo SPDIF to it from my iPad. That gives me 9 stereo inputs or 18 mono inputs. I have it all wired to my patchbay so I can reroute gear easily.
2 Likes
Ah cool, thanks for explaining. I’m guessing most audio interfaces within the price range of the 18i20 will have 8 mono inputs then?
Do any of you use a mixer w/ integrated audio interface, such as a Zoom Livetrak or Tascam Model 12?
Most rack units will have 8 inputs + 8 outputs that can be chained together to stereo where need be. It’s a matter of space as much as of value-for-money (a few notable exceptions would be the RME UFX2 I believe and the Antelope Goliath).
You can always expand your inputs/outputs by adding ADAT expanders to the mix (on a higher tier rack unit usually up to 2 ADAT expanders, ie up to 16 additional channels). Or, if a unit has MADI connectors, you can sort of go crazy with physical inputs/outputs (eg UAD Apollo 16x). Some devices, such as UAD Apollos, also can be daisy chained via thunderbolt, which is convenient but rather expensive.
Mixers with integrated interfaces are a decent option in terms of tactility and comfort, though the fewest ones actually multitrack (most will offer a 2-track mixdown via USB) and once you get to higher grade mixers with multitrack functionality you’re paying quite a premium for the mixer interface (compared to what sound quality you could get for the same money from a good rack unit).
What exactly are you trying to achieve and how many channels do you see yourself needing?
2 Likes
I have a (so far) rather small setup, consisting of a Digitone, Syntakt and Microfreak, plus a Push 2. I prefer to jam DAWless, but do also want the possibility to interface w/ Ableton when needed. And, thinking ahead, I definitely want to have some free inputs for future synths etc.
Which leads me to the next question: as far as I understand it, I can use the 18i20 without necessarily having it hooked up to a computer. Is this true?
1 Like
As weird as it is, but this is in fact not always a given and depends on the interface itself.
According to Focusrite’s support page though, the 18i20 can indeed be used without a computer, so that’s a plus for that interface 
1 Like
I use a XONE:PX5 which is a DJ mixer that gives me 4 stereo inputs in addition to the mix bus. There is a 5th stereo input that can be mixed but not captured seperately.
This is a more expensive way to go but it’s one of the few ways to get proper stereo functionality with an interface.
You can also add another 8 ins/outs to something like the 18/20 with an ADAT cable and some extra preamps. There’s a Behringer option if you care for such a thing.
Normally when using an interface without a computer (i.e. monitoring) you have to decide if all your channels are stereo or mono - they don’t normally do a mix, even if you have it set up that way in your DAW.
1 Like
The Behringer ADA8200, if you are considering all options, seems to be a reasonably inexpensive route if you need to expand at a later date - in-so-much as you don’t really care about (paying for decent) mic pres if you’re just adding synths.
If you did want mic pres, you’d use the Scarlett’s over the Behringer’s
If I remember correctly there aren’t as many options as some other ADAT expanders wrt increasing the sample rate at the expense of channels.
1 Like
yes, you can do that. i have the 18i8 3rd gen. it’s usually just a standalone mixer interface that actually replaced a cheap berhinger mixer in my setup. there are 4 stereo inputs used at the moment. so far, i’ve had no need to get an ADAT expander but do appreciate that’s an option later. realistically, i don’t spend a ton of time with hardware at the moment, but when i do, this setup has been flexible enough. it’s also not a deal breaker to route something through the digitakt’s inputs in a pinch or just unplug something else to record parts individually. the 18i8 is basically for the few other things in my setup that don’t support usb midi/audio. with the scarlett and a usb hub, it’s all covered. just plug in the laptop and record.
1 Like
Cool, the 18i8 is def a good alternative that uses way less desk real estate while giving the same amount of stereo ins as the 18i20. Would this interface also support expansion via ADAT?
yes, i believe so. check the manual to be sure. i’m almost positive this was the case before buying it, since it’s a great option for future expansion.
edit: seems easy enough: https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/connecting-scarlett-adat/
1 Like
Yes it does (I use an 18i8 with a Scarlett Octopre expander) but note that it doesn’t add more outputs if you do that with an 18i8- so if you want to route a bunch of channels out of your DAW to external FX etc it might be better to look at the 18i20
1 Like
Perfect, thanks!
That’s a good point, thanks. 
Just wondering, when setting up direct monitoring on the Scarlett 18i20, is it easy to define whether the direct monitoring will be in stereo? I’d like to have four stereo devices plugged in most of the time, but I’m a little apprehensive as I’ve used interfaces before that automatically sum direct monitoring to mono. There might be the odd occasion where I use one of the inputs in mono, but most of the time I’m only interested in stereo, including sometimes using it as a standalone mixer without a computer.
You can either add single channels as mono, or stereo pairs in the mixer app.
2 Likes
Fantastic, good to know
Just got an 18i20 yesterday and decided to compare it against my Audiofuse 8pre. One of them was gonna be turned into an ADAT expander but I wanted to see which one sounded better and which one had better latency. Spoiler for sound quality, they sounded the same to my ears. The Audiofuse 8pre might be a little better but that might be my confirmation bias with the price difference. Who knows.
My computer has an intel i9 9900k processor and 32GB of RAM just for the record.
Latency between the two was quite different. At 48khz and 256 buffer samples I was getting about 9.46 input latency and 8.27 output latency with a total of 17.7 latency, according to Ableton. With the focusrite I didn’t write down the numbers but the total was about 23ms at the same rate. So I took the buffer size down to 32 and the Audiofuse was definitely the clear winner still and I didn’t notice any performance issues with either one using the same project (which included several instances of Omnisphere, Fabfilter Saturn 2 at maximum quality, Massive X, Ableton Wavetable, Fabfilter Pro-R, and anything I could throw at them).
Anyways, looks like just for latency the Audiofuse is the clear winner here which, to be honest, I was a little surprised by. That said, I don’t know if they are even make the Audiofuse 8Pre anymore, Sweetwater and Amazon both don’t carry it anymore. I think for the cost difference the 18i20 is a clear winner though and I’m happy to use it as an expander.
1 Like