New Music Gear Monday: Focusrite ISA C8X Audio Interface

In 1985, Sir George Martin, always a stickler for sound quality, commissioned the brilliant audio designer Rupert Neve to build a no-compromise microphone preamp for his new AIR Studios. The result was the ISA 110 module, featuring a Lundahl LL1538 input transformer that Neve hand-selected for its warm, open, and detailed character. That same transformer circuit has lived at the heart of every ISA product Focusrite has made ever since. Now, forty years later, it finally makes its way into a computer audio interface with the new Focusrite ISA C8X.

Two Preamps Worth Talking About

The ISA C8X is a 2U rackmount, 26-in/28-out USB-C audio interface with eight total mic preamps, but the first two are where the story is.

They carry those same Lundahl LL1538 transformers as the standalone ISA units, featuring up to 79dB of gain (great for those low-output dynamic and ribbon mics), switchable impedance, balanced insert points, and a high-pass filter.

The six other mic channels are transformerless, but they do feature an ultra-low-noise Focusrite design with 69dB of gain each.

All eight preamps are fully remote-controllable via the Focusrite Control 2 app on desktop or mobile, which is a much different than the traditional ISA workflow. Being able to adjust the gain from the mix position without walking back to the rack is the kind of thing you appreciate the first time you use it, but there’s also an Auto Gain function that sets optimal levels across all eight preamps at once included as a bonus.

Plenty Of Tone

The C8X doesn’t stop there though. Each of the input channels features two all-analog, relay-switchable tone circuits with no DSP in the chain, and both are controllable from the front panel or remotely via the Focusrite Control 2 app.

Console mode runs the signal through a variable soft-clip circuit for warm saturation and low-end punch, while the 430 Air mode adds high-end shimmer via an inductor-based high-shelf filter like in the original ISA 430 MkII module that Sir George liked so well.

Inputs And Outputs

Conversion is important, and here it’s handled by the same 24-bit/192kHz AD/DA hardware found in Focusrite’s flagship RedNet range, rated at up to 125dB of dynamic range.

Twelve balanced line outputs cover monitoring from stereo all the way up to 7.1.4 across three switchable monitor groups.

There are also two ADAT ports that allow for up to 16 channels of additional input expansion, and two class-AB headphone outputs with independent level control take care of the performers.

Finally, there’s also S/PDIF, MIDI I/O, and Word Clock also on board.

But There’s More

The ISA C8X ships also with the Hitmaker Expansion plugin bundle, which includes the Brainworx bx_console Focusrite SC plugin (an emulation of the original ISA 110 and 130 modules) and Oxford Reverb by Sonnox. There’s an additional option to add several Sonnox bundle upgrades for EQ, dynamics, and additional processing tools as well.

Priced at $2,299.99, you can see how the ISA C8X gives you plenty of bang for your buck. It’s available for pre-order now with units expected to ship in late June.

You can find out more here, or watch the video below.

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