Let’s see if the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface can power the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro (250 Ohm) headphones sufficiently. We’ll compare three different scenarios to see if the interface will work well for power-hungry headphones.
1) Music Listening
2) Video Editing
3) Vocal Monitoring
Quick Answer: The Scarlett 2i2 was powerful enough for music playback and video/audio editing, but it left us wanting more volume for vocal monitoring during a recording.
What Does Focusrite Say?
For all 1st Gen, 2nd Gen, and 3rd Gen Bus-Powered Scarlett interfaces (Solo, 2i2, 2i4, and 4i4), look for headphones with a maximum impedance of 200 ohms.
https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/articles/210708269-What-impedance-headphones-should-I-use-with-my-audio-interface-
This makes sense with what we found as well.
This is what we found while testing this combination with various sources:
- Listening To Music – Lots of volume, low noise, and still lots of headroom on the monitor volume knob
- Video Editing & Audio Editing – When working with audio sources that aren’t fully normalized or compressed, we found that the headphone amp was still powerful enough for practical use.
- Live Vocal Monitoring – We wanted more volume than the Scarlett 2i2 could provide when monitoring a live vocal recording.
Summary:
Generally, the interface did a good job of music playback and video/audio editing. However, we don’t recommend this interface for vocal recording, podcasting, or voice-over work with 250-ohm headphones.
Scarlett 2i2 & 250 Ohm Headphone Pricing
- Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface: https://currentprice.io/scarlett_2i2
- Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro (250 Ohm) Headphones: https://currentprice.io/beyer_dt_990
- Shure SM7B Dynamic Microphone: https://currentprice.io/shure_sm7b
- Cloudlifter CL1 Inline Preamp: https://currentprice.io/cloudlifter
- XLR Cable: https://currentprice.io/xlr_cable
- Mic Stand: https://currentprice.io/desk_stand
