Which USB (Type C-A) Cable To Buy For Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 - 3rd Gen ?

A

astokesmusic

Member
Hello. Recently, I ordered an extra USB (Type C-A) cable for my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen audio interface. It came from Amazon and it had good reviews, but I noticed that the cable is 6.6 ft. long. I'm guessing with the cable I ordered from Amazon they just rounded the length to 6.6 ft. instead of making it exactly 6.56 ft. (or 2 meters) long? I found an article on Focusrite's website, advising users of the Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen to use a cable that is under 2 meters (or under 6.56 ft.). They explained that any longer of a cable "can have an adverse effect on audio quality and connectivity with your computer." That said... I wanted to ask if anyone has purchased a replacement cable for the Scarlett 2i2, one that is long, but under 6.56 ft. Also, what is a good brand, if it even matters?

It seems like the one from Amazon should work fine, but I wanted to check if anyone has used one like this before and if it's even worth stressing about returning the cable and getting another one for. Here's a link to the one I got from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09D3PYW4G?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_WSEQC18HAKK5GCBPJMDH_1
 
Digital cables have a strange property. They either work, or they don’t. Up to them moment they stop working, they sound perfectly fine. Analogue cables gradually changes the sound as they get longer. That is it. Digital cables are the subject of crazy levels of hype. Half an inch of cable length is ridiculously irrelevant. If yo7 bought the Amazon cable and sound comes out, move on.
The technical goings on are also simple. Digital communication relies on square waves being transmitted and received correctly. Cable properties round off the sharp edges. At some point, the receiver starts to mis-detect them. With perhaps 48 thousand of them a second, a few errors might not even be heard, but at some point, your computer gives up.

the reality with cheap cables vs expensive ones is usually strength and construction. Thin stiff ones wont lay flat, sturdy chunky and flexible ones do. Others have solid core cable inside that fractures if bent and unbent.

if you want further info search for topics on maximum cable length of usb. People seem to start to get problems once you reach 5 metres. At these sorts of lengths it becomes a bit hit or miss. Yesterday I installed an interface and the only USB cable the fella had was a really cheap thin, horrible one. It came with a battery charger. It worked fine.

there’s only one test that matters. Does it work. If it does, move on. Stop stressing. Just feel sorry for the people who get taken in by gold plated pins and connectors on oxygen free cable. It’s marketing hype and probably verging on a scam.
 
For analogue signals the cable's properties, resistance, capacitance, inductance can vary over a wide range and have little effect on signal quality. That depends however to a degree on the signal source resistance* and to a less extent on the input resistance. A mic cable for instance can have a very large capacitance (core core and cores to screen) of several nF but because mics usually are of around 150 to 200 Ohms impedance it has little effect. The same capacitance slapped across a passive guitar's output would cause a lot of treble loss. The dreaded "Tone Suck"!

"Digital" cables as Rob said, are different. These operate at Radio Frequencies and for technical reasons have to be "matched" source to sink. For video and S/PDIF that "characteristic impedance" is 75 Ohms (no, the CABLES are not 75R, it's weirder than that!) for USB it varies a bit but 90 Ohms seems common. If your cable is long enough and of the wrong enough impedance it will cause attenuation and "reflection" of the signals leading to loss of "bits".

Native Instruments suggest a maximum cable length of 3m for their KA6 interface and actually supply a good quality 1.5m jobby. I needed to run the maximum technically possible for USB 2.0 which is 5m. One decent quality cable I tried did not work but a second brand did! But obviously I was living on the ragged edge! In contrast I have a Brother USB printer/scanner that will work on 10m of any old rubbish!

So yes, don't pay silly money for cables especially for audio but you do need stuff rugged enough to last. Gold plating is pretty but won't last long on jacks say that get a lot of use but the corrosion resistance is useful for 'static' jobs such as the back of a mixer or patch bay. Gold is also a DREAM to solder!

*Not "impedance" because we want the output of an AI say to be constant with frequency and that is the very definition of "resistance". Indeed, the output of many devices is actually defined by a physical resistor usually in the range of 75 to 120 Ohms. (two for balanced outs)

Just seen this (sorry Rob.) Re "Oxygen free Copper" It turns out that a small amount of Oxygen is actually ADDED to refined Copper because it ENHANCES its conductivity! And of course. Make sure to label all your wire so that the lektrik all flows in the right direction! Cables not marked?! Bin them immediately and get onto Russ Andrews for proper ones! (phone the bank first)
Dave.
 
Last edited:
ecc83 said:
And of course. Make sure to label all your wire so that the lektrik all flows in the right direction! Cables not marked?! Bin them immediately and get onto Russ Andrews for proper ones! (phone the bank first)
Dave.
Click to expand...
That works best if you have unidirectional 'lectrons. Standard bidrectional 'lectrons don'r really care! :ROFLMAO:
 
rob aylestone said:
Digital cables have a strange property. They either work, or they don’t. Up to them moment they stop working, they sound perfectly fine. Analogue cables gradually changes the sound as they get longer. That is it. Digital cables are the subject of crazy levels of hype. Half an inch of cable length is ridiculously irrelevant. If yo7 bought the Amazon cable and sound comes out, move on.
The technical goings on are also simple. Digital communication relies on square waves being transmitted and received correctly. Cable properties round off the sharp edges. At some point, the receiver starts to mis-detect them. With perhaps 48 thousand of them a second, a few errors might not even be heard, but at some point, your computer gives up.

the reality with cheap cables vs expensive ones is usually strength and construction. Thin stiff ones wont lay flat, sturdy chunky and flexible ones do. Others have solid core cable inside that fractures if bent and unbent.

if you want further info search for topics on maximum cable length of usb. People seem to start to get problems once you reach 5 metres. At these sorts of lengths it becomes a bit hit or miss. Yesterday I installed an interface and the only USB cable the fella had was a really cheap thin, horrible one. It came with a battery charger. It worked fine.

there’s only one test that matters. Does it work. If it does, move on. Stop stressing. Just feel sorry for the people who get taken in by gold plated pins and connectors on oxygen free cable. It’s marketing hype and probably verging on a scam.
Click to expand...
Thank you @rob aylestone !! I know it’s way simpler than I’ve been thinking, I just tend to geek a bit over the tech side, making sure things will be alright. But ya know, you’re right… all that matters is that it works. I appreciate your advice! :-)
 
ecc83 said:
For analogue signals the cable's properties, resistance, capacitance, inductance can vary over a wide range and have little effect on signal quality. That depends however to a degree on the signal source resistance* and to a less extent on the input resistance. A mic cable for instance can have a very large capacitance (core core and cores to screen) of several nF but because mics usually are of around 150 to 200 Ohms impedance it has little effect. The same capacitance slapped across a passive guitar's output would cause a lot of treble loss. The dreaded "Tone Suck"!

"Digital" cables as Rob said, are different. These operate at Radio Frequencies and for technical reasons have to be "matched" source to sink. For video and S/PDIF that "characteristic impedance" is 75 Ohms (no, the CABLES are not 75R, it's weirder than that!) for USB it varies a bit but 90 Ohms seems common. If your cable is long enough and of the wrong enough impedance it will cause attenuation and "reflection" of the signals leading to loss of "bits".

Native Instruments suggest a maximum cable length of 3m for their KA6 interface and actually supply a good quality 1.5m jobby. I needed to run the maximum technically possible for USB 2.0 which is 5m. One decent quality cable I tried did not work but a second brand did! But obviously I was living on the ragged edge! In contrast I have a Brother USB printer/scanner that will work on 10m of any old rubbish!

So yes, don't pay silly money for cables especially for audio but you do need stuff rugged enough to last. Gold plating is pretty but won't last long on jacks say that get a lot of use but the corrosion resistance is useful for 'static' jobs such as the back of a mixer or patch bay. Gold is also a DREAM to solder!

*Not "impedance" because we want the output of an AI say to be constant with frequency and that is the very definition of "resistance". Indeed, the output of many devices is actually defined by a physical resistor usually in the range of 75 to 120 Ohms. (two for balanced outs)

Just seen this (sorry Rob.) Re "Oxygen free Copper" It turns out that a small amount of Oxygen is actually ADDED to refined Copper because it ENHANCES its conductivity! And of course. Make sure to label all your wire so that the lektrik all flows in the right direction! Cables not marked?! Bin them immediately and get onto Russ Andrews for proper ones! (phone the bank first)
Dave.
Click to expand...
@ecc83 Thank you! I appreciate the advice!
 
astokesmusic said:
Hello. Recently, I ordered an extra USB (Type C-A) cable for my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen audio interface. It came from Amazon and it had good reviews, but I noticed that the cable is 6.6 ft. long. I'm guessing with the cable I ordered from Amazon they just rounded the length to 6.6 ft. instead of making it exactly 6.56 ft. (or 2 meters) long? I found an article on Focusrite's website, advising users of the Scarlett 2i2 3rd Gen to use a cable that is under 2 meters (or under 6.56 ft.). They explained that any longer of a cable "can have an adverse effect on audio quality and connectivity with your computer." That said... I wanted to ask if anyone has purchased a replacement cable for the Scarlett 2i2, one that is long, but under 6.56 ft. Also, what is a good brand, if it even matters?

It seems like the one from Amazon should work fine, but I wanted to check if anyone has used one like this before and if it's even worth stressing about returning the cable and getting another one for. Here's a link to the one I got from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09D3PYW4G?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_WSEQC18HAKK5GCBPJMDH_1
Click to expand...
Although I'm aware of cable lengths being meaningful to the USB tech/spec, it didn't occur to me when connecting my Focusrite 2i2. That said, I'm using USB-C to an available USB-C port on my motherboard, so I'd imagine that's ideal from a USB power draw and latency standpoint. I think my cable is 6 feet.

The best thing to do at this point is to use the interface, if you're having dropouts then maybe then worry about it.
 
Pinky said:
Although I'm aware of cable lengths being meaningful to the USB tech/spec, it didn't occur to me when connecting my Focusrite 2i2. That said, I'm using USB-C to an available USB-C port on my motherboard, so I'd imagine that's ideal from a USB power draw and latency standpoint. I think my cable is 6 feet.

The best thing to do at this point is to use the interface, if you're having dropouts then maybe then worry about it.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I hear you. Appreciate it 👍🏼
 
Cables really are go/nogo in the digital world. I rarely give them any thought at all, unless there is silence - and it is really rare, and 6ft - to 7ft is hardly vital 6 ft to 20ft might well be! If I want a longer cable, I'll rummage through and try the thicker ones first. A long, thin cable is probably the worst combination. I'm regularly shoving UltraHD SDI down cables and stupid things trip you up. Trying to use a phono(RCA) to phono cable because it's the right length with a couple of adaptors rarely works - the adaptors mess it up. The standard of USB connectors goes from dire to decent too. Pull a few of your USB cables out and squint inside. Where they get pushed in and out leaves marks on the thin surface where the contacts mate. Some are nice and wide and bright, but others are thin, and tarnished because the socket does a terrible job, electrically. These things are more critical than the length in practice.
 
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