Focusrite Scarlett 16i16 USB Audio Interface, 16 In 16 Out Recording Interface, 24 Bit 192kHz, Dual Mic Preamps, ADAT S PDIF MIDI I O, USB C Studio Interface
- Two ultra-low-noise mic/line/instrument preamps
- Four additional line inputs
- Two Air preamp modes for classic console sound
- Clip Safe and Auto Gain modes
- Alt speaker switching
- MIDI, S/PDIF, and ADAT connectivity
- Includes Hitmaker Expansion and DAW software bundle
Warranty: 1 Year — effortless warranty claims with UK-wide coverage. Learn more
Key specifications
- Connection
- USB
Details
- Shipping Weight
- 2.05 Kg
- Shipping Dimensions
- 9.00 cm x 34.00 cm x 21.50 cm
- Microphone Preamps
- 2
- Phantom Power
- Yes (Independent)
- Instrument Inputs
- 2
- Line Inputs
- 6
- Air Mode
- Yes
- Auto Gain
- Yes
- Clip Safe
- Yes
- Line Outputs
- 4
- Headphone Outputs
- 2
- ADAT Inputs
- 1
- ADAT Outputs
- 1
- SPDIF Inputs
- 1
- SPDIF Outputs
- 1
- MIDI Inputs
- 1
- MIDI Outputs
- 1
- Loopback
- Yes
- Connectivity
- USB Type-C
- Protocol
- USB 2.0
- Form Factor
- Desktop
- Simultaneous I/O
- 18 × 18 (including Loopback)
- A/D Resolution
- 24-bit / 192 kHz
- Bus Powered
- Yes (3 A)
- Dimensions (H × W × D)
- 60.5 × 220 × 155.2 mm
- Weight
- 1.25 kg
- Supported Sample Rates
- 44.1 / 48 / 88.2 / 96 / 176.4 / 192 kHz
- Mic Frequency Response
- 20–20 kHz ±0.06 dB
- Mic Dynamic Range
- 116 dB
- Mic THD+N
- -100 dB
- Mic Noise EIN
- -127 dBu
- Mic Max Input Level
- 16 dBu
- Mic Gain Range
- 69 dB
- Mic Impedance
- 3 kΩ
- Variable Line Frequency Response
- 20–20 kHz ±0.05 dB
- Variable Line Dynamic Range
- 115.5 dB
- Variable Line THD+N
- -100 dB
- Variable Line Max Input Level
- 22 dBu
- Variable Line Gain Range
- 69 dB
- Variable Line Impedance
- 24 kΩ
- Fixed Line Frequency Response
- 20–20 kHz ±0.02 dB
- Fixed Line Dynamic Range
- 115.5 dB
- Fixed Line THD+N
- -106 dB
- Fixed Line Max Input Level
- 22 dBu
- Fixed Line Impedance
- 48 kΩ
- Instrument Frequency Response
- 20–20 kHz ±0.05 dB
- Instrument Dynamic Range
- 113 dB
- Instrument THD+N
- -80 dB
- Instrument Max Input Level
- 12 dBu
- Instrument Gain Range
- 62 dB
- Instrument Impedance
- 1 MΩ
- Line Output Frequency Response
- 20–20 kHz ±0.02 dB
- Line Output Dynamic Range
- 122 dB
- Line Output THD+N
- -112 dB
- Line Output Max Level
- 16 dBu
- Line Output Impedance
- 200 Ω
- Headphone Frequency Response
- 20–20 kHz ±0.1 dB
- Headphone Dynamic Range
- 112 dB (33Ω), 116 dB (300Ω)
- Headphone THD+N
- -100 dB (33Ω), -110 dB (300Ω)
- Headphone Max Output Level
- 5 dBu (33Ω), 11 dBu (300Ω)
- Headphone Output Power
- 57 mW (33Ω), 27 mW (300Ω)
- Headphone Impedance
- 11 Ω
- ADC THD+N
- -110 dB
- ADC Dynamic Range
- 120 dB
- DAC THD+N
- -115 dB
- DAC Dynamic Range
- 130 dB
- Power
- USB 3 A (External optional 15 W)
- Compatibility
- Windows (Intel, AMD, Arm64), macOS (Apple Silicon, Intel)
- In the Box
- Scarlett 16i16, 1.5 m USB-C to USB-C cable, USB-C to USB-A adapter, external PSU
4.49 reviews
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Louie B. Used for: More than a year
Pros
The analogue side is genuinely good for the money
Cons
Two Windows updates have broken the driver and the fix is not obvious
Comment
A year and a half of use and my opinion has gone from very good to complicated. The hardware has never let me down. Preamps are quiet, the converters are honest, the outputs go where you tell them. The driver is another matter. Twice now a Windows feature update has left the box present but silent, and both times the fix was to strip the driver out, restart, install a version that is not the newest, restart again. Nothing about that is discoverable, and both times it happened the evening before I needed it. If you are on a Mac, ignore all of that and buy it.
Millie H. Used for: 1–3 months
Pros
Every input arrives in the DAW already labelled sensibly
Cons
Front panel metering is a handful of LEDs and a hope
Comment
Rack mounted it, patched it once, and have not thought about it since, which is the highest compliment an interface gets from me
Maya C. Used for: 6–12 months
Pros
It has quietly become the middle of the studio and I never think about it
Comment
Podcast and music both, four people some weeks and nobody the rest, and the channel count means the setup does not change between them. Everything stays plugged in. The preamps have enough in hand for a quiet dynamic without a booster, which was the thing that made me spend more than I meant to. Monitoring through the box has no lag worth the word. Nine months of near daily use, and the software has behaved since the first week, which reads like faint praise but is genuinely what I wanted!
Florence G. Used for: More than a year
Pros
Still doing exactly what it did on day one
Cons
The software mixer is a maze
Comment
It lives in the rack, it never complains, and I forget it is there
Amelia W. Used for: 6–12 months
Pros
Sixteen in and sixteen out for the price of a decent microphone
Cons
Focusrite Control has to be running to change anything at all
Comment
Bought to get a small studio off a two channel interface and a patchbay full of compromises, and on channel count alone it has done exactly that. Two pres on the front, line inputs across the back, ADAT if you add a preamp box later, and everything appears in the DAW without a fight. Round trip on Windows sits at about 5 ms at a 128 sample buffer, which is fine for overdubs though not quite good enough for playing a virtual instrument with a light touch. Dropping to 64 works until the session gets big, then the clicks start. The routing software is the weak point. Everything beyond the basics lives in Focusrite Control, the mixer inside it is not obvious, and I have twice ended up with monitoring going somewhere unexpected after a Windows update. Eight months in, it is a very good box wrapped in software I still resent.
Jack H. Used for: Less than a month
Comment
Rack space was the deciding factor, because everything else at this channel count is a desktop lump that needs its own shelf. This is a single rack unit and it takes the whole studio. Gain on the front pres is more than a dynamic microphone needs and quiet with it. Headphone outputs are loud. Nothing has crashed. The only surprise was finding the loopback in a menu rather than on a button.
Ivy W. Used for: 6–12 months
Pros
ADAT means it grows without being replaced
Cons
Bus power is not an option, it wants the supply
Comment
Started as the only interface in the room and has since acquired an eight channel preamp over the optical input, so the drum kit is permanently wired and the box never gets unplugged. That is what the extra outlay over a small interface actually buys. There has been no driver trouble on Windows at all, which was not my experience of the brand in the past. The supply is the only annoyance, because it means it cannot go in a bag with a laptop.
Ella O. Used for: Less than a month
Comment
Came from a first generation Scarlett that had done years of service and finally started dropping out on a warm afternoon. The step up in channel count is the point, but the thing I noticed first was the gain: the pres go far enough for a ribbon, which the old box absolutely did not. Setup on a Mac was plug and play. On the studio PC it wanted the driver installed before the box would appear at all, and the installer wants a restart even though it says it does not. The monitor control is on the front, the talkback is a button, and the loopback works without pretending to be a virtual cable. For a rack box at this money that is a lot of interface, though the software still wants a rethink.
Theo K. Used for: 3–6 months
Pros
Two decent pres on the front and eight more over ADAT when you need them
Cons
The rack ears are extra, which stings on a rack unit
Comment
Home studio in a loft, and this replaced a tiny box that meant unplugging things constantly. Now the synths stay connected, the microphones stay connected, and nothing gets patched twice in an evening. Whoever decided to put the headphone outputs on the front deserves a drink, because the last one had them round the back next to the power!
