Focusrite Clarett+ 8 Pre Rackmount USB Audio Interface - Pre Owned

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The Focusrite Clarett+ 8Pre is a rackmount USB audio interface aimed at project and professional studios that need a lot of high-quality analog inputs and outputs in one unit. It is essentially a studio hub for recording multiple microphones/instruments simultaneously and routing signals to monitors, headphones, outboard gear, and additional digital preamps.

• 8 microphone preamps: All eight inputs have Clarett+ preamps designed for low noise, low distortion, and substantial headroom. Inputs 1–2 are on the front and accept mic, line, or instrument signals; inputs 3–8 are on the rear.
• Air mode: Focusrite's analog Air circuit changes the input impedance and adds a brighter, more open character modeled after the classic ISA 110 preamp. It's particularly useful when you want extra presence on vocals, guitars, drums, etc
• Two dedicated JFET instrument inputs: These are designed to behave more like the input of a guitar amplifier, preserving the character of a guitar or bass pickup.
• 18-in/20-out capability: The analog I/O plus ADAT, S/PDIF and other connections give it considerably more routing flexibility than a typical 2- or 4-input interface.
• 10 balanced analog outputs: That's useful if you have multiple monitor mixes, external processors, headphone distribution, or hardware synths/outboard gear.
• ADAT expansion: The optical I/O can provide up to 8 additional channels at 44.1/48 kHz, making it possible to add something such as a Clarett+ OctoPre later.
• Two headphone outputs: Each has its own level control, making it practical for tracking with multiple performers.
• USB-C connection: It connects to Mac, Windows, and iPadOS systems, with support for sample rates up to 192 kHz at 24-bit.

Sound quality

The Clarett+ 8Pre is designed to be relatively clean and transparent rather than colored. Focusrite specifies up to 118 dB dynamic range on the mic inputs and 124 dB on the line outputs, with very low measured distortion and noise.

In practical terms, it's well suited to things like:

• Recording an entire drum kit
• Tracking a full band
• Recording multiple vocalists simultaneously
• Connecting several synthesizers
• Recording microphones while also using hardware compressors/EQs
• Building a larger home/project studio that may eventually expand via ADAT

A typical setup might look like:

Microphones / instruments → Clarett+ 8Pre → computer/DAW

and simultaneously:

Clarett+ 8Pre → studio monitors / headphones / external hardware

With ADAT, you could add another 8-channel preamp:

8Pre → ADAT → additional 8-channel converter/preamp

That makes the 8Pre particularly attractive if you expect your studio to grow.

One important distinction

There is an older Clarett 8Pre USB and the newer Clarett+ 8Pre. The Clarett+ is the later model with improved A/D and D/A conversion and the updated Clarett+ preamp design. So if you're shopping used, it's worth making sure you're looking at the “+” model rather than the original Clarett 8Pre USB.

In short: the Clarett+ 8Pre is best thought of as a high-quality, 8-preamp studio centerpiece rather than simply a USB sound card. Its big strengths are the number of simultaneous mic inputs, clean conversion, flexible routing, Air mode, and ADAT expandability.