Focusrite Scarlett 18i6
Eighteen inputs in a half-rack box for $399 — the interface that let a laptop rig punch well above its weight class.
Overview
The Scarlett 18i6 is an 18-input, 6-output USB 2.0 audio interface. It has two Focusrite preamps, six line inputs, and an ADAT optical input that adds another eight channels when you need them. It's a half-rack unit. The name is plain arithmetic: count the analog and digital inputs and you get 18, count the outputs and you get six. At $399 street, it sat one rung above its sibling, the Scarlett 8i6 at $299. The two differed mainly in how many analog and digital line inputs they carried, according to Mix (August 2011, p.80). Both shared the same two XLR combo jacks on the front, each taking a microphone, a line-level source, or a high-impedance instrument, and both ran the Focusrite preamps at up to 60 dB of gain.
The preamps are the reason anyone cared. Focusrite's own documentation for the 18i6 says the two preamps are phantom-powered and each supply up to 60 dB of gain. They pair with a 24-bit/96 kHz USB interface that specifies a 110 dB A/D dynamic range. The two Hi-Z instrument inputs let a guitar or bass plug straight in without a DI box. A dedicated headphone bus with front-panel level control keeps monitoring off the main outputs. LED analog input metering shows what's hitting the converters before it clips.
The routing brain is Scarlett MixControl, an 18x6 DSP mixer. It lets you build six separate low-latency mixes and route any combination of input signals and sequencer outputs to any of the 18i6's outputs, with one-click recall of saved configurations. Mix (May 2011, p.52) covered the 18i6 in its new-products pages at the $399 price. It noted the two preamps, six line inputs, ADAT optical input, stereo S/PDIF, and MIDI I/O, along with the bundled Scarlett plug-in suite - EQ, compression, reverb, and gating - plus a stack of royalty-free loops and samples, a soft synth, and Ableton Live Lite 8.
The digital I/O is where the 18i6 separates itself from a plain two-channel desktop box. The ADAT optical input adds eight channels at up to 48 kHz. With an external preamp that has a lightpipe output, that's enough to track a drum kit or a small ensemble. Stereo S/PDIF and MIDI In/Out round out the back panel. Mix (August 2011, p.80) confirmed the half-rack format and the six simultaneous output channels shared across the Scarlett 8i6 and 18i6, and the 24-bit/96 kHz conversion spec common to both.
Owners and reviewers also found the 18i6 a capable partner for mobile and iPad-based recording. ProAudio Review (January 2013) documented using the 18i6 with Auria, the iPad DAW, over a powered USB hub and Apple's camera connection kit. It reported that it worked the first time, providing up to 18 simultaneous inputs through a mix of XLR mic, line, and instrument connections.
The bundled software was part of the pitch. Alongside the Scarlett plug-ins, the 18i6 shipped with Xcite+ software and the loops and synth content that made the box usable out of the carton. Scarlett MixControl handled the six low-latency mixes and the one-click routing recall.
On the used market, the 18i6 sits in the same spot as the rest of the early Scarlett line: common enough to be affordable, capable enough to still earn a place on a desk. The half-rack metal chassis and USB 2.0 bus power leave little to break beyond the usual wear on the combo jacks and the front-panel controls. Driver support for a first-generation Scarlett on a modern operating system is the thing to check before buying. The hardware is durable, but the software around a 2011-era USB interface has moved on. Collectors and home recordists note that the 18i6 is less celebrated than the 18i20 that followed. It still suits anyone who needs ADAT expansion and a pair of Focusrite preamps without paying flagship money.
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