Focusrite - Scarlett 2i2 4th Generation Audio Interface - Red

Easy to setup and use. Great quality for the price. Highly recommend this one if you have a Shure microphone. 4th gen has enough gain to not need a cloud device.

This has been such a help with recording my podcast. The set up is super easy. They walk you through every step and before you know it, you’re all set up. Its worth the money and the investment.

[Employee of bestbuy] I just bought this interface not even a year ago to pair with my Shure SM7B mic and cloudlifter. It seemed to work great in the first few months but now I’ve had multiple cases of extremely loud crackling and static noise coming in from my recordings. I’m not sure if it’s the interface or my computer, but it’s really frustrating. It ruins my videos for YouTube and I just want to find a solution. Help please!

I had the Gen 3 on my desk for years. This Gen 4 is a proper 2020s product, while the last one feels very much last decade. The gamechanger is the automatic level adjustment paired with a "safe" mode to prevent clipping. Not everyone uses software that does these things automatically, so having it built into the Focusrite is top tier. Those features alone inspired me to buy it, given I'm still very much a recording novice, always experimenting with how far the mic should be, etc. Taking the guesswork out is a confidence booster. It needed a firmware update immediately out of the box, but I gotta say, the new "Focusrite Control 2" software feels much better than last gen's. I also much prefer the lights around the knobs to show audio levels in real time. While nothing I do requires two inputs, I did it for future proofing, just in case. I'm not necessarily happy they put the XLR inputs on the back, now, but that is the industry standard. I guess separating them from the 1/4" inputs helped with audio quality. One more thing to note is, there's two USB-C ports. You need to plug the device into a USB 3.0 port to get enough power, or else you will have to plug in another cable to deliver enough power. No big deal. I like that they plugged it with a dust cover to not confuse you during initial setup. If I had one actual complaint, it's that the included cable is so darn short. Gen 3's was the same length at about 3 feet. Whatever couple of cents they're saving by not including 6 feet, just leaves the user with a useless cable (for me, anyway).

I upgraded from the Solo Gen 3, and this is so much better for a few reasons: 1. If you’re like me you might want the extra available spot to plug in an instrument or device aside from a mic, which is handy. 2. Aside from the obvious change there is now a knob to turn down your monitor speakers while still being able to hear the music in the headphones. That is HUGE for bedroom producers because with the Gen 3 I would have to unplug the speakers, turn them off, or just lower the volume and plug my headphones into my computer. All of which are minor inconveniences, but it becomes a huge pain when you want to analyze the vocals on the speakers and you are constantly going back and forth. 3. As for the built-in upgrades to the sound, I haven’t noticed much difference but I am also not an expert in vocal recording or analysis. I know you aren’t planning to use this as a paper weight, but if it’s any consolation it looks way better than the Gen 3 models. The lighting features, and the matte panel behind the knobs just give it a higher quality look. 4. This also comes with many free plug-ins. I never downloaded them when I bought the Solo Gen 3, but I decided to try them out, and they are solid! I highly recommend these as entry level audio interfaces. They have been recommended to me time and again. There are upgrades in the $500-1000 interfaces, but there are PLENTY of songs that are platinum records with samples bounced off of Instagram or YouTube videos, or even recorded with a cell phone mic. If you are deciding on spending more money on the expensive ones then I would urge you to put more time in learning vocal processing, and your saved money toward potential plug-ins.