Focusrite Red 8Line

Top-tier Conversion with Thunderbolt 3, DigiLink, and Dante Connectivity

Whether you use the Focusrite Red 8Line as a Thunderbolt 3 audio interface for your DAW, as a front end for your Pro Tools | HD recording system, or as an I/O device within your Dante digital audio network, you’ll be amazed at what you hear. The Red 8Line is equipped with top-quality converters with up to 121dB of dynamic range, plus a pair of Focusrite Red Evolution mic preamps for world-class input quality. Ample analog I/O is available, including dedicated monitoring outputs for speakers and headphones. And with connectivity options including Thunderbolt 3, Dante, DigiLink, ADAT optical, and S/PDIF, the Focusrite Red 8Line is one of the most versatile professional audio interfaces you’ll find.

Pristine Red Evolution preamps

The Red 8Line’s software-controlled Red Evolution mic preamps deliver 63dB of gain, so you can use your favorite low-output ribbon microphones. Also onboard is Focusrite’s famous Air effect, which emulates the sound of the company’s acclaimed transformer-based ISA preamps. If you’re looking to bring out the breathiness of a vocal or enhance the presence of an acoustic guitar, Sweetwater is sure the Red 8Line will delight you.

High-end converters with parallel path summing

Focusrite spec’d the Red 8Line with their new high-end conversion system that features parallel path summing, in which two matched converters run in parallel to optimize the S/N ratio. The converters operate at up to 24-bit/192kHz sampling and boast a dynamic range of 119dB (A/D), and 121dB (D/A). Noise and distortion? Not here! With a ruler-flat frequency response of 20Hz to 35kHz (±0.2dB), the Red 8Line delivers a miniscule 0.0008% THD+noise.

Thunderbolt, DigiLink, and Dante: Connectivity you need

The Red 8Line is designed for the modern studio. Dual DigiLink connectors give you a direct connection to Pro Tools | HD systems and Avid interfaces. Dual Thunderbolt 3 ports with incredibly low round-trip latency let you daisy-chain your displays or hard drives. Working in a Dante network environment? The Red 8Line is equipped with the Brooklyn II Dante chipset, offering up to 32 Tx and 32 Rx flows with an amazingly-low 0.25ms latency across the network.

Valuable software included

Your Focusrite Red 8Line ships with a hot software bundle that includes Focusrite Control, which gives you fast, intuitive control over your mic preamps and monitor/mix setups. The included Brainworx bx_console Focusrite SC channel strip plug-in puts the iconic sound of the classic Focusrite Studio Console in your DAW. Also included is the Red plug-in suite, which models Focusrite’s coveted Red 2 and 3 EQ and compression. You’ll also enjoy access to the Focusrite Pro Plug-in Collective.

Focusrite Red 8Line Rednet Audio Interface Features:

• Audio interface with Thunderbolt 3, Dante, and DigiLink connectivity
• 2 Focusrite Red Evolution Mic Preamps, with acclaimed Air effect for sweeter highs
• High-resolution 24-bit/192kHz converters with parallel path summing
• Dual Thunderbolt 3 ports enable easy daisy-chaining
• Dual DigiLink connectivity to Pro Tools | HD systems and Avid interfaces
• Dual Ethernet ports for Dante audio-over-IP networking
• Vanishingly low round-trip latency
• Focusrite Control software
• Focusrite Red plug-in suite
• Free Brainworx bx_console re-creation of Focusrite’s ISA 110 and ISA 130 modules

Audio Quality

• Max bit depth: 24-bit
• Max sampling rate: 192kHz

Inputs

• Total inputs: 58
• Mic preamps: 2
• XLR only jacks: 2
• S/PDIF in: 1
• ADAT/optical in: 2
• RCA in: 1
• AES/EBU DSUB: 2
• Dante: 2

Outputs

• Total outputs: 64
• XLR out: 0
• S/PDIF out: 1
• ADAT/optical out: 2
• RCA out: 1
• AES / EBU DSUB: 2
• Dante: 2

Other Connectivity

• Headphone output(s): 2
• Word-clock I/O: Yes
• Onboard Features
• Computer platform: Mac, PC
• Phantom power: Yes
• Direct monitoring: Yes
• Onboard DSP: No
• Metering: 3 LCD meters
• Display: 4K
• Latency control: Yes
• Monitor control: Yes
• Headphone control: Yes

User Guide