Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen - crackling

[Rising Night Wave]

oy.

just a short and simple question:

how many of you, who own this audio interface, are experiencing crackling when adjusting loudness level?
- for both channels: main for speakers and secondary for headphones


i just want to know if they are all the same (cheap budget audio interface) or it is just that i have this bad luck.
i have a second in a row Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen audio interface and both are having the same problem - crackling.
after relativelly short time both started to produce crackling when adjusting loudness level. for both outputs.
i had to buy a new audio interface becasue my first Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen got damaged because of a thunder lightning that struck in our neighbourhood.
so i just simply bougth the same audio interface at a completely different store.
but sadly both have the same problem.

how it is with your Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen?

[moneykube]

my 4i4 3rd generation does not do it on reason 12 or earlier... Mac intel
Are you using R13 or does it happen in R10 as well?
I see you have r10 and reason +

[Benedict]

I don't have one of these (not sure I ever would tbh). My Balance and EVO 4 have never done this.

What I do wonder is whether the crackling is software based OR dust in the volume pot which will crackly like a dusty pot if it is dusty. To test this, does the crackly thing happen when listening to music or YooBoob OR only when using Reason? How about in another DAW or Audacity??

If it is only Reason, then I would wonder if you have your latency settings too low - too short for the system/device to keep up.

[Rising Night Wave]

it seems I was not clear enough with my writing or you do not understand what I wrote.

the problem I described in my first post is not related to software and/or computer hardware: CPU, GPU, APU, VST, Plug-Ins, DAW, media player, latency... but is related to only two possible scenarios:
- is it physical dust that I have quite a lot of in my room
- is it a bad/cheap potentiometer that is built into the audio interface

as said or written:
this did not appear or happen at first. but it slowly started to happen or appear.

as an interesting fact: this only happens in the volume range that I always use. below or above this limit this crackling does not occur.

so:
- either dust that has settled in the potentiometer
- or is the graphite base in the potentiometer of poor quality

look at this: https://www.google.com/search?q=electro ... e&ie=UTF-8 ... and you will know what i am writing about

so... for dust scenariot - i will do a test and try to blow out the dust with air compressor. i will report it.
but for bad/poor graphite base... i will have to wait or i simply won't do anything. perhaps i will throw this audio interface into the wall or drive over it with my car or i will use a bigger hammer and smash/demolish it. cheap and f.u. chicken s**t.

[esme]

is dirt
spray with pot cleaner

[Rising Night Wave]

perhaps. i hope.

[selig]

Dirty pots need “exercising” (moving back and forth quickly). If you’ve do this several times and the problem goes away or even diminishes, it’s a dirty pot (potentiometer, not cooking pot or smoking pot, just for clarification).

[Rising Night Wave]

yes, i know.

i tried it numerous times to move it quickly up and down and it wont go away.
i hadn't have time to try using air compressor today. i hope tomorrow i will do it. i will report.

[Benedict]

Then I think you have a potted pot that has potential for popping.
Seeing you have several that do the same thing it is either your environment and/or just cheap pottyness.

As I said neither my Balance nor EVO 4 have done this. I not that both of these have upward-facing knobs which may reduce incursions which in turn strips pot potential. (but my P6 MW now does pop and jitter and that is typically open to cat fur.

[Rising Night Wave]

hehe

[gkillmaster]

I had a Scarlett 2i2 and had the same problem come and go for several years and I ended up having to get a new interface (Audient ID14 MKII which I love) which doesn't have that issue. I tried getting support from Focusrite and was never able to fix it. I'm not sure what the problem really was but it was a crackling sound which sounded like the sample rate was not synced properly or something. It would happen intermittently and required a reboot to fix. It started happening more and more often to the point where it was unusable. This was on an Intel i7 iMac. I now have an m4 Mac Mini and I use it as a second interface for external hardware eurorack. It seems to work ok but on one occasion, the sound stopped completely and rebooting fixed it.

[Rising Night Wave]

I had a Scarlett 2i2 and had the same problem come and go for several years and I ended up having to get a new interface (Audient ID14 MKII which I love) which doesn't have that issue. I tried getting support from Focusrite and was never able to fix it. I'm not sure what the problem really was but it was a crackling sound which sounded like the sample rate was not synced properly or something. It would happen intermittently and required a reboot to fix. It started happening more and more often to the point where it was unusable. This was on an Intel i7 iMac. I now have an m4 Mac Mini and I use it as a second interface for external hardware eurorack. It seems to work ok but on one occasion, the sound stopped completely and rebooting fixed it.

yes i understand what are you talking about. i read a bit on google about this crackling that is caused by software/computer hardware (latency and that).
i have crackling even if i do not play anything. meaning if i am turning the knob up and down meanwhile there is no sound playing. this crackling is tipical and recognizable for potentiiometers.
i hope i will today try to blow out a dust if that is the cause. if this won't help then i will buy a proper spray for that kind of electrotechnical elements.
if even that wont help then i simply do not know what is causing this. problem is this crackling is present only on the range of loudness i use most. below that or above that there is no crackling. meaning this is for sure not the software/computer hardware (latency) problem.

i opened this thread to clear us out if this scarlett 2i2 3rd gen is a poor quality product. that's all.

[Benedict]

i opened this thread to clear us out if this scarlett 2i2 3rd gen is a poor quality product. that's all.

I have tried to suggest that I (and serious ppl I know of) have never understood the hype around these products as they clearly seem average at best, poor in reality. I just think people like average*. The tools I mentioned are both interesting and rather lovely to use. Most Audient users seem delighted - except for one which did seem to have an issue.

My 2 cents: toss them and buy something special.


*that said we grabbed the cheap UAD interface for Jane and so far for her it has be pretty nice. Me, I'd hope to find something with more character.

[pushedbutton]

my 3rd gen 4i4 hasn't given me any trouble.
I've been using it since 2019, pretty much every week for recording vocals, and not so much as a scratch from the pots.
Maybe the 2i2 is built to a stricter budget but I still have a good opinion of Focusrite.

[moneykube]

Silly question, and likely redundant... but > have you opened Focusrite control to see if anything is clipping or routed weirdly
Reason and Focusrite control can be opened and seen at the same time ... but you likely know this and have checked this.
Grasping at straws here.
Focusrite replaced my 3rd gen 4i4 after the warranty had just run out, when I was unplugging it and it fried. It lost all connection to the computer. They replaced it, and gave me free shipping to send the defective one back. It was a known issue apparently.
I found there service stellar.

[selig]

i opened this thread to clear us out if this scarlett 2i2 3rd gen is a poor quality product. that's all.

I’ve had a few Scarletts and a Clarett now, never had a single problem with any of them. I find them to be solid and reliable and a great value.
I also have a HydraSynth with a crackling volume knob (and a desktop version that sounds fine).
I also have a MiniBrute 2s with a crackling Brute Factor knob.
I also have a 1970s Fender Rhodes with a crackling volume knob.

It’s not uncommon and it’s not a sign of overall quality IMO.
I keep a can of contact cleaner handy for just such an occasion…

[TrevorFR]

If the issue occurs only when changing the volume of your outputs, you may want to try using contact cleaner to clean your outputs. You can also try turning the "Monitor" dial for approx. 90 seconds. This works to clean the internal potentiometer. Debris within may be causing the crackling noise issue.

If the issue seems driver/computer related, there are a number of possible causes for that issue, and it would be best for you to reach out to the support team to look further into that. They can be reached at the link below:

https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/requests/new

[Rising Night Wave]

okay.

so... today, during the day, i removed the knob from the potentiometer and blew very hard into the potentiometer with my mouth a dozen of times and it helped. the crackling is completely gone.

i really just hope it was dust and nothing else.