Description
18i20 is the studio hub for engineers who need serious I/O. Whether you’re recording drums, a live session, or have plenty of hardware synths, you’ve got eight of our finest ultra-low-noise mic preamps, plus line, instrument, MIDI, S/PDIF, and expandability via ADAT connections. With 26 inputs and 26 outputs, you’re ready for whatever your session demands.
Key Features
- Eight ultra-low-noise mic/line preamps
- Two front-panel mic/line and instrument preamps
- Two Air preamp modes for classic console sound
- Clip Safe and Auto Gain modes
- Ten line outputs inc. Alt speaker switching
- Up to 16 channels of ADAT I/O
- S/PDIF, MIDI, and Word Clock
- Includes Hitmaker Expansion and DAW software bundle
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Eight remote-controllable preamps
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122dB dynamic range
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Auto Gain and Clip Safe
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Two Air modes
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Control remotely via mobile app
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Expandable I/O
Engineers. This is your Scarlett.
Eight of our most detailed, ultra-low-noise preamps.
Connect your studio to 18i20’s 4th-Generation remote-controlled preamps — Scarlett’s most transparent and detailed ever. 69dB of gain range provides all of the headroom you'll need to get the best result from the most intense multi-track recordings. Control preamp levels from anywhere in the studio using the Focusrite Control 2 apps, giving you the freedom to adjust settings remotely.
Auto Gain and Clip Safe.
Let 18i20 handle your levels. Auto Gain will set all eight microphone preamp levels instantly and Clip Safe keeps them in the sweet spot, automatically tweaking the gain if you’re in danger of clipping. You'll never lose a take again.
All the I/O you need
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Play your instruments.
Connect a guitar directly to 18i20’s Hi-Z inputs for an amp-like feel, plug synths and grooveboxes into the eight line inputs, or route your favourite outboard gear through the ten line outputs.
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Control MIDI devices.
Use 18i20 as a MIDI interface to receive and send data to your favourite external MIDI-controllable equipment.
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Expand your studio.
Increase your channel count with S/PDIF and ADAT connections. Dual ADAT supports 16 inputs and outputs at 44.1/48kHz or eight inputs and outputs at 96kHz. The Word Clock output keeps your external gear perfectly synced.
Mix your way, with independent outputs.
Take full control of your routing and mixing preferences using the Focusrite Control 2 apps, anywhere in the studio.
Dial in the perfect headphone mix for the artist, or route the signal directly to outboard gear to put the finishing touches on your mix.
Dial in the perfect headphone mix for the artist, or route the signal directly to outboard gear to put the finishing touches on your mix.
Get that big console sound with two re-engineered Air modes.
Presence mode boosts your signal’s high-end, bringing the sound to the front of the mix. Create intimate vocal recordings, capture every detail of acoustic guitars, and hear your drum overheads shimmer.
Presence and Harmonic Drive mode boosts mid-range harmonics in your sound, making its unique character shine through the mix. Try it on guitars, vocals, or anything else that needs a little more punch.
Presence and Harmonic Drive mode boosts mid-range harmonics in your sound, making its unique character shine through the mix. Try it on guitars, vocals, or anything else that needs a little more punch.
Huge 122dB dynamic range for incredible recordings.
Scarlett delivers incredible audio quality, with converters direct from our flagship RedNet interfaces — as found in high-end studios around the world.
Studio sound anywhere.
Powerful sound, powerful control.
Two custom-designed headphone amps deliver clear, powerful sound for high-impedance headphones, offering the best playback ever from a Scarlett.
A built-in talkback mic ensures seamless communication to the artists, while alt monitor switching lets you A/B your mixes between two speaker pairs.
A built-in talkback mic ensures seamless communication to the artists, while alt monitor switching lets you A/B your mixes between two speaker pairs.
All the software you need to make a hit record.
Once you've got started with Ableton Live Lite, Pro Tools Intro+, or six months of FL Studio Producer Edition recording software (all included), the Hitmaker Expansion bundle has everything you need to bring big studio sound to your songs, with an unbeatable range of record-making studio tools from the biggest names in the business.
Discover Hitmaker Expansion
Explore Hitmaker Expansion
For vocals
Get exceptional vocal tracks with Antares® Auto-Tune® Access, Sonnox VoxDoubler and Relab’s LX480 Essentials reverb.
For guitar
Heat up your guitar tones with a hyper-realistic model of Marshall®’s Silver Jubilee 2555 – brought to you by analogue-modelling experts Softube®.
Add drums
Need drums? No problem - XLN Audio®’s Addictive Drums 2: Studio Rock Kit has beats to get you started and the big sound of a great drum kit.
Keys, synths and samples
Keys and synths? You’re well covered with the legendary MASSIVE from Native Instruments and XLN Audio®’s Addictive Keys. You also get all the samples you need to get started, with three months of Splice Sounds on us.
Mix, master and release
When it’s time to mix and master your tracks, there’s an exclusive suite of Focusrite and Klevgrand plugins to quickly get you release-ready sound, and 5 free masters from Landr.
Focusrite Control 2
Focusrite Control 2 is a powerful app that easily manages Scarlett 4th Gen interfaces on Windows and macOS devices. Pair the iOS and Android app to your desktop computer to remotely control your Scarlett from anywhere in your recording space.
Find out more
Easy Start
Need help getting set up? Just tell our Easy Start tool what you want to do and we’ll guide you through all the software and setup you need, with recording tips and other helpful content along the way.
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Three-year warranty
Millions of music makers rely on Scarlett every day to keep the inspiration flowing. Built to the highest standards for ultra-reliable performance, every Scarlett interface comes with the peace of mind of a three-year warranty.
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Award-winning, global support
If you need help at any point you can reach out to our award-winning global support team. We work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, so you can too – if you want.
Specifications
Overview
- Number of Microphone Preamps8
- Phantom PowerYes (Independent)
- Instrument Inputs2
- Line Inputs8
- Air ModeYes
- Auto GainYes
- Clip SafeYes
- Line Outputs10
- Headphone Outputs2
- ADAT Inputs2 (16 channels at 44.1/48kHz and up to 8 channels at 96kHz)
- ADAT Outputs2 (16 channels at 44.1/48kHz and up to 8 channels at 96kHz)
- SPDIF Inputs1
- SPDIF Outputs1
- MIDI Inputs1
- MIDI Outputs1
- TalkbackYes
- LoopbackYes
- ConnectivityUSB Type-C
- ProtocolUSB 2.0
- Form FactorDesktop / Rack Mountable (1U)
- Simultaneous I/O26 x 26
- A/D Resolution24-bit/192 kHz
- Bus PoweredNo
Dimensions
- Height46.55mm
- Width442mm
- Depth259.73mm
- Weight3.304kg
Supported sample rates
- 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz
Microphone inputs
- Frequency Response20-20kHz ± 0.06dB
- Dynamic Range116dB (A-Weighted)
- THD+N-100dB @ 8dB gain
- Noise EIN-127dBu (A-Weighted)
- Maximum Input Level16dBu
- Gain Range69dB
- Impedance3kΩ
Variable Line inputs
- Frequency Response20-20kHz ± 0.05dB
- Dynamic Range115.5dB (A-Weighted)
- THD+N-100dB @ 8dB gain
- Maximum Input Level22dBu
- Gain Range69dB
- Impedance24kΩ
Instrument inputs
- Frequency Response20-20kHz ± 0.05dB
- Dynamic Range113dB (A-Weighted)
- THD+N-80dB @ 8dB gain
- Maximum Input Level12dBu
- Gain Range62dB
- Impedance1MΩ
Line outputs (Balanced)
- Frequency Response20-20kHz ± 0.02dB
- Dynamic Range122dB (A-Weighted)
- THD+N-112dB
- Maximum Output Level16dBu
- Impedance200Ω
Headphone outputs
- Frequency Response20-20kHz ± 0.1dB @ 33Ω / 300Ω
- Dynamic Range112dB @ 33Ω
116dB @ 300Ω - THD+N-100dB @ 33Ω (Minimum)
-110dB @ 300Ω (Minimum) - Maximum Output Level5dBu into 33Ω
11dBu into 300Ω - Maximum Output Power57mW into 33Ω
27mW into 300Ω - Impedance11Ω
Analogue to Digital Converter
- THD+N-110dB
- Dynamic Range120dB
Digital to Analogue Converter
- THD+N-115dB
- Dynamic Range130dB (A-Weighted)
Power
- External30W
What's in the box
- Scarlett 18i20 audio interface
- Rack Ears
- 1.5m USB-C to USB-C cable
- USB-C to USB-A adaptor
- IEC power cable
 Compare Scarlett
| Scarlett 16i16 | Scarlett 18i16 | Scarlett 18i20 | Scarlett 8i6 [3rd Gen] | Scarlett 18i8 [3rd Gen] | Scarlett 18i20 [3rd Gen] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlett microphone preamps | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Dynamic range (D-A) | 122dB | 122dB | 122dB | 108dB | 108dB | 108dB |
| Mic pre gain range | 69dB | 69dB | 69dB | 56dB | 56dB | 56dB |
| Air Presence & Harmonic Drive | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | Air Presence only | Air Presence only | Air Presence only |
| Loopback | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Headphone outputs | 2 (Independent) | 2 (Independent) | 2 (Independent) | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Auto Gain | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Clip Safe | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Output metering | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
| MIDI I/O | In and Out | In and Out | In and Out | In and Out | In and Out | In and Out |
| S/PDIF I/O | In and Out | In and Out | In and Out | In and Out | In and Out | In and Out |
| ADAT I/O | In and Out | In and Out | Dual In and Out* | ✘ | In | Dual In and Out |
| Speaker switching | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Built-in talkback mic | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ |
| Focusrite Control 2 - Desktop | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Focusrite Control 2 - Mobile | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Bus Powered | ✔ (3A) | ✔ (3A) | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ | ✘ |
| Simultaneous I/O | 16 in / 16 out | 18 in / 16 out | 26 in / 26 out | 8 in / 6 out | 18 in / 8 out | 18 in / 20 out |
| Find out more | Find out more | Find out more | Find out more | Find out more | Find out more |
*Up to 16 channels at 44.1/48kHz
