Will it really be an audible improvement?

Davidmadeit

New member
First post. Long time reader.

Question: I have my microphone selection where I want it. I have my room acoustics tamed. And my pc optimized. Im "happy" with the sound Im getting, but heres my question....with all the hype around new interfaces....would I really hear an audible improvement by upgrading my Focusrite Scarlette 2i4 to a Focusrite Forte? Obviously it looks cooler, which got my interest. And then there are the specs, which are slightly better. But will I actually hear those numbers in a new recording? Has anyone hear upgraded from a scarlett or comparable interface to a Forte? I'd love to hear your opinion. Im only interested in audible improvement. The functional bells and whistles are of little interest to me.

THANKS!
 
Chances are... no :)

Most studio environments aren't even capable of discerning the audible differences between 16-bit and 24-bit, much less between two 24-bit interfaces.

If I were you, I'd spend more money to treat my room even more, calibrate the speakers, measure the room freq response and tweak the speaker placement, absorption panel placement to perfection. And if the speakers aren't up to scratch, upgrade! These will all definitely be more audible improvements than swapping out a perfectly good audio interface with another one.
 
Most studio environments aren't even capable of discerning the audible differences between 16-bit and 24-bit, much less between two 24-bit interfaces.

Not only the environment, which does matter, but our ears can't hear the difference even in the best sounding room.

If I were you, I'd spend more money to treat my room even more, calibrate the speakers, measure the room freq response and tweak the speaker placement, absorption panel placement to perfection. And if the speakers aren't up to scratch, upgrade! These will all definitely be more audible improvements than swapping out a perfectly good audio interface with another one.

Plus 100. :thumbs up:
 
Not only the environment, which does matter, but our ears can't hear the difference even in the best sounding room.

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that in a really quiet studio, you may be able to reap the benefit of the extra dynamics/headroom that 24-bit offers. I can't be sure though.

Guys, listen to Ethan - he's probably the ultimate audio expert :D
 
I vaguely remember reading somewhere that in a really quiet studio, you may be able to reap the benefit of the extra dynamics/headroom that 24-bit offers. I can't be sure though.

Guys, listen to Ethan - he's probably the ultimate audio expert :D

I really like Ethan because he puts stupid yet believable myths to rest.
 
@ David: I must ask, what do you mean by 'I have my room acoustics tamed'?

The most discernible improvements to any recording environment, will be the quality of the room itself. Learning what it takes to get it right, testing, then making more improvements, is likely the best investment you could make, in regards to hearing an 'actual' difference.

@ godchu; Stop reading crap. One cannot 'hear' the difference between 16 and 24, nor 32 bit, as ...well, I will just go away here . Aw hell, there are reasons when using effects, prior to dithering, but it just don't work the way that it seems you are gathering from what you have heard ('others' hear). I will leave it to Ethan to explain.
 
Hi jimmys69,

I don't claim to hear a difference between 16 and 24 bits. In fact, I don't even know if 24-bit is necessary or has been put to good use anywhere in the world, which is why I said I can't be sure.

If all crappy books and reading material on audio (forum posts included) tag themselves as "crap" as a forewarning, I'd most definitely not spend a second of my time reading them. Unfortunately, most people don't even know when they're spewing crap and we're forced to read them to evaluate for ourselves. So, all that we can do is keep a skeptical, open mind, and think about the information logically.
- stuff that I read and know for a fact that it can be scientifically proven, I say "I know", e.g. sampling rate determines the frequency range.
- stuff that I read but know for a fact that it's bullshit due to contradictions with known scientific facts, I simply ignore, e.g. $10,000 power cords.
- stuff that I read but can't be sure about, I say "I'm not sure, but I have heard/read reports...", and maybe bring it up for discussion. Hopefully some audio experts would shed more light, e.g. "is 24-bit better than 16-bit?" or like what the OP asked "will there be audible improvement if I upgrade from this interface to another?"

So, please pardon me for reading crap.

But anyway, yes I'd love to hear Ethan's explanation. And maybe it will give Davidmadeit and readers of this thread something valuable they can really improve in their systems with :D
 
Ethan's on-point again.

Do you have a major-dollar designed studio?
Do you have massively expensive monitoring equipment?
Do you have highly trained ears used to the two points above?

If not, spend your money on other things more important...
 
I wouldn't waste any more time on 16 vs 24 bit since both of the interfaces in question are 24 bit and so it's irrelevant to the OP's question

The biggest thing you may notice is that you will have a lot more gain available on the Forte (about 15dB more)which might be important to you if you are using dynamic mics and finding yourself constantly at the top of the gain range on the Scarlett which *Might* add more noise than being at 75% of the gain range on the Forte

The other thing is that the converters on the Forte are calibrated to give you more headroom above line level which might be of interest if you are bringing in dynamic line level sources. (-6dBFS = 0VU on the Scarlett vs. -12dBFS = 0VU on the Forte)

There's other stuff too but this is what jumped out to me as being noticeably different

So you might be able to hear the difference in the gain available, in the form of reduced hiss if the top end of the gain of the Scarletts pre's, if they are noisy when you crank them vs not having to crank the Forte so hard to get the same levels.
And if you are using synths or anything else at line level into your interface, more headroom in the converters will mean less chance of clipping, which is certainly audible

whether that is important to the OP and worth spending his hard earned cash on is of course entirely up to him

YMMV
 
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