helix (floor) vs focusrite clarett

[requietus666]

hi all,

I have a firewire (yeah, I know, it's 2020... back to the point) Saffire Pro 14 services to terminate in favor of a better (and Windows-compatible) interface, so I'm really curious how do the inputs on Helix and Clarett compare. I'm targeting perhaps USB 4PRE, and please don't talk me into the Scarlett afaik their preamps are far inferior to the Clarett series. Or maybe somebody has both Helix and Clarett and could kindly provide some DI of both interfaces ? The thing is, audio-wise Helix has set a high standard for me, so my secondary (or should I say - other) audio interface has to have as good audio inputs.

[rd2rk]

Here's the actual specs for the Clarett:

 

https://us.focusrite.com/en/usb-c-audio-interface/clarett-usb/clarett-2pre-usb

 

And for the Scarlett:

 

https://us.focusrite.com/en/usb-audio-interface/scarlett/scarlett-2i2

 

And Helix:

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

If you manage to find a link to the Helix specs, please post. I've never been able to find it.

I can tell you that if latency matters, the Scarlett has better latency than Helix. I don't have a Clarett so IDK about it's latency vs Scarlett. Ask their support, they have always been prompt and helpful when I've contacted them with questions.

 

As for a DI comparison, I doubt you'll glean much of value from that, I'd stick to the actual published specs.

[requietus666]

thanks for the insight

 

I should have mentioned that I am NOT looking to replace Helix but only the Saffire Pro. Yes, latency matters a lot and as much as I love hx probably anything from the focusrite lineup has better performance here than hx :-)

[qwerty42]

FWIW, Helix's input dynamic range is 123dB***. So if you're looking to match that, the Clarett is closer. Honestly the Helix is a great ASIO input device, it just has pretty poor latency (higher than most modern interfaces).

 

***for the instrument input. Not sure if it's different for the various other inputs.