Would this be overkill?

[Snowi_]

So I mainly just play games, listen to music and talk to my friends on discord. Would an audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo paired with Beyerdynamics DT-990pros and an Audio Technica AT2020 be overkill for what I do? Also what would be the best way to set up the microphone maybe a boom arm or something?

[Freakwise]

9 minutes ago, Snowi_ said:

So I mainly just play games, listen to music and talk to my friends on discord. Would an audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo paired with Beyerdynamics DT-990pros and an Audio Technica AT2020 be overkill for what I do? Also what would be the best way to set up the microphone maybe a boom arm or something?

I don't think it was was Overkill's 

And you maybe want to change the focusrite scarlett solo to audient id4 or if you on the budget Behringer umc22 

[AMD A10-9600P]

If you already have a motherboard that supports multiple audio connections, then yes it is overkill. Modern mobos support great audio qualities and getting any external card to use alongside it is useless and a waste of money in my opinion.

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, Snowi_ said:

So I mainly just play games, listen to music and talk to my friends on discord. Would an audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo paired with Beyerdynamics DT-990pros and an Audio Technica AT2020 be overkill for what I do? Also what would be the best way to set up the microphone maybe a boom arm or something?

I would honestly kinda sidestep and go with a usb mic and not opt to get the Scarlett. It's a pretty weak source for the headphone. I would go for like a liquid spark amp and feed that with your motherboard or buy a dac with the money you save on a cheaper mic.  and a usb mic like a Samson q2u. You gain more personally with how good the thing you hear sounds than what you personally sound like if you are not doing something like streaming or content creation.

 

[The Flying Sloth]

I agree with Rice, 
You really don't need to get an XLR setup and an XLR/USB combo mic like the Samson Q2U or AT2005 would do just fine

Though,
If you really need an XLR mic I would strongly recommend stepping down on the interface to a UMC202HD and getting a better mic, it's really not hard to beat an AT2020 for the price so I'd suggest taking a look at the guide in my signature.

[TudorFinalBosz]

I had the Scarlett Solo for a few days and returned it. Its drivers are pretty bad, it has high latency, I was getting like half a second delay from mic input to feedback in headphones.

I returned it and got a Yamaha AG03, one of the best purchases I ever made.

For me it was worth it, even tho I don't record music, the mic is mostly unused now.

But having the interface handle everything audio externally has been very useful, since I don't have to rely on motherboard internal chips or anything that is subject to interference.

And I have physical controls right in front of me, instead of software controls in the OS that need to be clicked first, etc.

And so many possibilities of connecting extra devices, through AUX, headset mic, RCA, balanced jacks, instruments, etc.

Also separate, dedicated outputs for headphones that can take both normal TRS jack and minijack.

[The Flying Sloth]

14 minutes ago, TudorF said:

I had the Scarlett Solo for a few days and returned it. Its drivers are pretty bad, it has high latency, I was getting like half a second delay from mic input to feedback in headphones.

I strongly suspect you didn't do something correctly as the Scarlett is an audio interface that easily achieves sub-20ms RTL, if you're getting a full second of delay you're doing something wrong....

[TudorFinalBosz]

@The Flying Sloth

It was more like half a second, it wasn't too long latency but it was like saying something in the mic then hearing the feedback in the headphones with some delay.

I followed the steps to install the drivers according to their official docs.

I reinstalled, tried all sorts of things to fix that, but nothing worked.

 

It also sucks because their XLR input is not hybrid so you can't connect a jack in it if you need to.

And the Solo model does not have a separate volume control for the headphones, it has one that controls all volume. You have this switch knob you can use to switch between the headphones volume and the volume for the monitors connected through the RCA connectors.

 

 

This model also only has RCA unbalanced outputs, which again, is inferior to other entry level interfaces. I paid like 50 bucks more and got that Yamaha which has a lot more options for both outputs and inputs and a few extra cool controls, like a fader for the mic.

 

I just can't recommend the Scarlett solo, it's not worth the money. I'm sure their midrange and higher end interfaces are great but this entry-level one isn't. People buy it because it's red and nice and has a metallic aspect, but if you check out what it offers technically, you can get the same from cheaper Behringer and Steinberg models.

[Entropy.]

On 5/31/2021 at 6:02 AM, Snowi_ said:

So I mainly just play games, listen to music and talk to my friends on discord. Would an audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo paired with Beyerdynamics DT-990pros and an Audio Technica AT2020 be overkill for what I do? Also what would be the best way to set up the microphone maybe a boom arm or something?

Focusing more on the headphones, make sure they're what you want. Generally they're not considered great by some due to their boosted treble- which some describe as overly sibilant- and some also say it has bloated bass. Alternatives from beyre include the 250ohm 880 pro/770 pro, competitors include cheaper headphones such as the Sennhesier hd560 (more analytical sound), and the Hifiman he400se. I'd either consider the other options out there, or if you have the cash to spare, I'd recommend purchasing another headphone- or perhaps all three, and taking a look at which you like the best, before returning those that you don't prefer. Both sennhesier and hifiman have 30 day return policies that iirc allow for you to try out headphones.  

[The Flying Sloth]

10 hours ago, TudorF said:

I just can't recommend the Scarlett solo, it's not worth the money. I'm sure their midrange and higher end interfaces are great but this entry-level one isn't. People buy it because it's red and nice and has a metallic aspect, but if you check out what it offers technically, you can get the same from cheaper Behringer and Steinberg models.

This is why I refuse to recommend interfaces below the UMC202HD or Focusrite 2i2, I agree, the single input interfaces with very poor headphone amplification (to me at least) just aren't worth it. As a general rule I find that the Scarlett line are no better than the Behringer alternatives and as such my go-to recc on here has become the UMC202HD, great drivers, decent preamp and just generally does what you need it to do better than the UM2, UMC22 or Scarlett Solo.

[H713]

Yeah, the Solo isn't my favorite. I've got a 2i2 V2, and it's alright, but not amazing. It's better than the Behringer interfaces I've used, but not by that much. The drivers are great, latency is fine, but the build quality, while better than the Behringer, isn't as good as some of the higher-end interfaces. The 2i2 V3 is a big improvement in this regard, so it gets my recommendation.

 

The UMC202HD is fine for what it is. I'm not a huge fan of Behringer for a variety of reasons (ethics, intellectual property, mediocre documentation, crappy product support over time), but the UMC202HD, while far from being measurement-grade, is OK. M-Audio has an interface in that price range as well. I've had significantly better luck with M-Audio than with Behringer, though I wouldn't put much weight in that assessment.

 

FWIW, I have used Scarlett Solos before for acoustic measurements. The latency described above was not present and it generally behaved exactly as one would expect it to. In other words, it does what Focusrite says it does.