# Scarlett 2i4 Drivers Performance Problems



## Zelorkq (Apr 22, 2016)

Hi,

I'm using a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 as Audio Interface and I seem to be getting *way* worse performance with their drivers than with Asio4All. My project in Cubase is quite big, and with the Focusrite drivers set to highest latency (which is 10ms, you can't set the buffer in samples, but in ms) I get terrible performance and bad crackles in my project. Using Asio4All I can go down to 64 or 128, which is awesome (I used to have 1024 before I got the 2i4) with lots of headroom and no crackles.

I've heard from some others before that they get better performance with Asio4All, but isn't that counter-intuitive? Is there a way to use Focusrite drivers better somehow?...

I prefer using the Focusrite drivers because I hate having Asio4All taking control of the audio and blocking *every* other program. With Focusrite I can have music playing in the background, Skype session on at the same time, etc, but with Asio4All it's one thing only..

Thanks

Cheers!


----------



## Zelorkq (Apr 22, 2016)

... OK nevermind the last paragraph I wrote, that does not apply anymore since using the 2i4, phew.

But still, the Focusrite drivers should still be better than Asio4All, any thoughts on what could be wrong?...


----------



## Gerhard Westphalen (Apr 22, 2016)

I remember when I first got it I found a different version of the driver. I think it might've been a beta. It allowed you to choose different modes like recording or mixing. This version was more stable than the one that I first had installed. I think it worked fine for me but I haven't used it in a year. I'm not sure what buffer size I was using.


----------



## Zelorkq (Apr 22, 2016)

Ah interesting, I'll have a look if I can get a beta version and test that. Thanks


----------



## TekNoir (Apr 22, 2016)

http://beta.focusrite.com/releases/focusrite_usb2_drivers/

Disconnect your interface and uninstall your old device drivers before installing the new drivers. After installing the new beta drivers, you can reconnect your interface.


----------



## Zelorkq (Apr 24, 2016)

Well I tried the beta, and it was much better than the 2.5.1 Focusrite driver. But weirdly enough I still got better performance with Asio4All, less crackles and less latency. I'll just stick with Asio4All then.

Sadly once Asio4All is being used by Cubase all other audio devices are disabled, can't use any other audio program other than Cubase at the same time... Anyone know if there is a work-around to this? (In my second post I did mention that it works now, but weirdly enough that didn't last for very long, weird programming this all is...)


----------



## TekNoir (Apr 24, 2016)

Unfortunately, ASIO4ALL wasn't written to be a multi-client driver, so you cannot have sound from more than one application at a time. Some applications will let you set them to release access when they are in the background, which will let you swap between them and have sound in both (just not concurrently).

There are a few workarounds:

You can use a server or mixer driver, such as Steinberg's ASIO Multi-Client Wrapper (not recommended due to lack of updates) or O Deus ASIO Link Pro or other similar Windows audio solution, but these tend to be much more difficult to set up (however, offering many more features) than simply installing a native device driver (such as Focusrite USB2) or interface wrapper (such as ASIO4ALL).

A much simpler solution would be to install a different driver (WDM or WDF wrapper if not using a native device driver) that was programmed to have multi-client support, such as FL Studio ASIO, which comes with the application demo.


----------



## Suganthan (Apr 24, 2016)

Zelorkq said:


> Sadly once Asio4All is being used by Cubase all other audio devices are disabled, can't use any other audio program other than Cubase at the same time... Anyone know if there is a work-around to this?


Another solution is VB Virtual Audio Cable. I have my windows default routed to "VB Cable out". I can get that audio from "VB Cable in" within my DAW.

Route: Windows apps--> VB Cable out --> VB Cable in --> Cubase --> Scarlett 2i4

Hope it helps.


----------



## Zelorkq (Apr 24, 2016)

Thanks guys, I'll have a look at those solutions. I don't want anything complicated, so I'll see if one of these solutions works best for me 

It's really weird, but after installing the original Focusrite drivers, then Asio4All and using Asio4All in Cubase, I could use Cubase and Winamp at the same time, both playing music. This worked for a few days, until I reinstalled a few things. I had the performance of Asio4All and no crackles so I really don't know what happened there. Figures...


----------

