Topic: UCX vs Scarlett

In your opinion, how much better is the RME UCX compared to a Focusrite Scarlett?

I am aware about the technical supremacy of RME Firefaces over the Scarlett series,
thus the different budget categories of the two,
but just want to hear a practical user's experience on this.

Thank you!

Re: UCX vs Scarlett

How to compare a filet-steak to a banana ?
For a vegetarian the banana is better...

What is your demand and budget ?
The UCX is is of course much better in every technical aspect, but it's also more expensive.
The Scarlett is a good student device.

M1-Sequoia, Madiface Pro, Digiface USB, Babyface silver and blue

Re: UCX vs Scarlett

There are several generations of the Scarlett and two generations of the UCX, so it's better to be more specific.

The sound quality has been improved greatly in the Scarlett series over time, but there are some caveats still. But the UCX and even more so the UCX II are in a totally different league when it comes to features, flexibility, stability, support. UCX II is the ultimate audio interface in this form factor.

I think you should first define your use case requirements and your budget, as waedi said.

Fireface UCX II + ARC USB > ADI-2 Pro FS R BE > Neumann KH 750 DSP + MA 1 > KH 120 A

4 (edited by ramses 2024-09-07 10:52:25)

Re: UCX vs Scarlett

temel_igor wrote:

In your opinion, how much better is the RME UCX compared to a Focusrite Scarlett?

I am aware about the technical supremacy of RME Firefaces over the Scarlett series,
thus the different budget categories of the two,
but just want to hear a practical user's experience on this.

Thank you!

Sorry, but I do not understand your request / question because you wrote yesterday that you are now a new and proud owner of a UCX. So you have already an UCX. Why now a Focusrite Scarlet?

https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.ph … 82#p223982

Can you please explain what's the rationale behind your question?
Is there anything wrong with the UCX?

You now have a professional RME recording interface, which is superb in many ways.
What is the goal now? It sounds as if you want to downgrade to a cheap Focusrite consumer product with limitations.

My experience with Focusrite:
Many years ago I had a combination of Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56 and OctoPre preamp.

I disliked Focusrite digital mixer software because it was a pain to operate, and it had limitations.
Level meters at the front of the device were inaccurate, according to a technical review.
I lost 1h of a recording session (500 km from here, friends that I only see every couple of years)
because of all sudden the Focusrite LS 56 didn't record anything anymore.

Different aspects why RME interfaces are the better invest, here in my blog:
https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/blog/Ent … B-MADIfac/

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

Re: UCX vs Scarlett

Thank you for answering!

Of course I know the huge differences between the two
in every aspect (price included),
and I used to have a Scarlett 1st gen which was not so good
compared to the next gens.
But now, the UCX is an enormous upgrade for my studio work.

I just wanted to hear what do you think about the UCX
if you ever had a Scarlett prior to that
(or any equivalent interface in that price range).

Re: UCX vs Scarlett

Sorry, but I do not understand your question. You say you have the UCX (or is it the UCX II?), and you also had a Scarlett previously. Why wouldn't you compare them yourself and make your own conclusions? What exactly do you expect to hear from others? Or are you seeking some kind of a peer confirmation of your choice?

Fireface UCX II + ARC USB > ADI-2 Pro FS R BE > Neumann KH 750 DSP + MA 1 > KH 120 A

7 (edited by ramses 2024-09-09 08:04:57)

Re: UCX vs Scarlett

temel_igor wrote:

Thank you for answering!

Of course I know the huge differences between the two
in every aspect (price included),
and I used to have a Scarlett 1st gen which was not so good
compared to the next gens.
But now, the UCX is an enormous upgrade for my studio work.

I just wanted to hear what do you think about the UCX
if you ever had a Scarlett prior to that
(or any equivalent interface in that price range).

RME delivers the best you can get on the market at a still affordable price.
All the consumer devices are at a significantly lower quality level and that in almost every respect.

But even the competition with comparable or devices of higher prices do not come close to RME when you consider all aspects of a device including software, drivers, documentation, operation and features.

Because of the quality in all aspects and very long driver and firmware support, RME devices still have a very high resale value even as used devices.

But that should be clear, why else would you have bought an RME device, you ask that usually beforehand.

See information in my previous posting and link to blog article.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

Re: UCX vs Scarlett

I was just trying to ask for the experiences of others.

Re: UCX vs Scarlett

I had a Focusrite and MOTU interfaces before switching to RME. All had good value for the price, even the focusrite had software eq and dynamics.
But once I switched to RME for many reasons i never looked back.
If there were no budget constraints, there are other nice devices out there, e.g. by DAD or Metric Halo (those even allow for hardware upgrades and have a really flexible DSP). But RME is still having a pretty reasonable price value ratio.