The Scarlett Solo Gen 3 is a budget interface from Focusrite sporting USB connectivity and two preamps capable of delivering 56 dB of gain. Let’s see if it knows how to Linux.
DRIVERS
Plug it in. You’re done.
PULSEAUDIO
The Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3 functions like any other sound device with PulseAudio. All the expected options are avialable in pavucontrol.
JACK
The Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3 just plugs in and works with Jack. Look at that graph – it’s got two record and two playback ports, ready to go.
PIPEWIRE
Taking a peek at qpwgraph reveals that PipeWire provides two capture ports, two playback ports, and two monitor ports.
HARDWARE CONTROL
Using the ALSA Scarlett GUI software, you can control several hardware functions. These include enabling/disabling the Air filter, phantom power, instrument input, and direct monitoring.
Just be warned, the control panel is tiny and can’t be made bigger, so get ready to squint!
ROUND-TRIP LATENCY
While many kinds of audio latency metrics exist, one useful and well-understood metric is round-trip latency; the time it takes for an audio signal to enter the input of a device, get processed, and exit the output.
The following measurements were taken using jack_iodelay.
TESTBENCH
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 1700 | ||
| RAM | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB | ||
| Motherboard | MSI B350 Tomahawk | ||
| GPU | Nvidia NVS 300 | ||
| SSD | Samsung 840 | ||
| PSU: | EVGA 600 B1 | ||
| Firewire: | Syba SY-PEX30016 | ||
| Network: | Intel i350-T4 | ||
| OS: | Debian Bullseye | ||
| Kernel: | 5.11-rt-amd64 | ||
| Desktop: | NA | ||
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- Connectivity: USB 2.0
- Simultaneous I/O: 2 x 2
- Preamps: 1 x mic, 1 x instrument
- Gain Range: 56 dB
- Phantom Power: Yes
- A/D Resolution: Up to 24-bit/192kHz
- Analogue Inputs: 1 x XLR (mic), 1 x 1/4″ (Hi-Z)
- Analogue Outputs: 2 x 1/4″ TRS
- Headphones: 1 x 1/4″
- USB: 1 x Type USB-C
- Bus Powered: Yes
- Power Supply: USB bus powered
VERDICT
The Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3 is the good kind of boring. It has two inputs and two outputs, and it just works™ under Linux. On top of that, it’s bus-powered, and all the hardware controls can be accessed via software.
Really, the only downside is the lack of an internal mixer like the Gen 4, but that can be done in software with Jack or PipeWire.
Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3
The Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3 is the good kind of boring. It has two inputs and two outputs, and it just works™ under Linux.
Pros
Easy to use
No drivers to install
56dB preamps
Cons
No MIDI
No hardware inserts
No line level inputs
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