Focusrite Control and the driver software needed for the Clarett⁺ 8Pre are available for download from the Focusrite website: downloads.focusrite.com.
Click Clarett⁺ range on the Downloads page. This will take you to a page with all the downloads which are available for the Clarett⁺ range.
To download the Focusrite Control version you need, click the Download button.
Note
The Windows driver is included within the Focusrite Control download. No additional driver is needed for Macs.
If you are having trouble with the steps below, please watch our video guide here: getstarted.focusrite.com
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If you don't have Focusrite Group account, fill out your details to create an account.
If you do have an account, log in.
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Select your Clarett⁺ device from the Product drop-down list.
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Enter your device’s Serial Number at the bottom of the page.
You can find the serial number on the bottom of your Clarett⁺ 8Pre, and also on the gift box.
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Follow the rest of the on-screen instructions to finish registering your device.
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When registration is complete, your Clarett⁺ 8Pre appears in your Account under the My Hardware tab.
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All your bundled software can be found under the My Software tab in your account.
The Clarett⁺ 8Pre must be powered using the supplied PSU. Connect the PSU to the rear panel power socket.
The Clarett⁺ 8Pre has a USB-C port (on the rear panel). Once the software installation is complete, connect the Clarett⁺ 8Pre to your computer using one of the supplied USB-C cables.
Turn the unit on with the power switch.
When you connect your Clarett⁺ 8Pre to your computer for the first time, you need to select it as the audio input/output device.
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macOS: pick your sound device in System Preferences and Sound: select the Clarett⁺ 8Pre on both the Input and Output pages.
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Windows: pick your sound device in Control Panel and Sound: right-click on Focusrite USB ASIO device and select Set as Default Device in both Recording and Playback tabs.
If you have any problems, you can find videos on how to select the Clarett⁺ 8Pre as the audio device at getstarted.focusrite.com.
After the first connection, your OS should automatically select the Clarett⁺ 8Pre as your default audio device.
After installing the drivers and connecting the hardware, you can start using the Clarett⁺ 8Pre with your DAW.
Your DAW may not automatically select the Clarett⁺ 8Pre as its default I/O device. In this case, you must manually select the driver on your DAW’s Audio Setup page, and selectClarett⁺ 8Pre (Mac) or Focusrite USB ASIO (Windows). Please refer to your DAW’s documentation or Help files if you are unsure where to select the Clarett⁺ 8Pre as your audio device.
The 1/4” jack OUTPUTS 1 and 2 on the back panel will normally be used to drive monitoring speakers. Self-powered monitors have internal amplifiers, and may be connected directly. Passive loudspeakers will require a separate stereo amplifier; in this case, the outputs should be connected to the amplifier’s inputs.
Connecting active speakers:
Connecting passive speakers with a stereo amplifier:
Professional equipment generally has balanced inputs. If your amplifier or powered speakers have balanced inputs, use 3-pole (TRS) 1/4” jacks to connect them to the Clarett⁺ 8Pre.
All line output connectors are 3-pole (TRS) ¼” jack sockets, and are electronically balanced. Typical consumer (hi-fi) amplifiers and small powered monitors have unbalanced inputs on RCA sockets.
You can connect two pairs of monitor speakers using the Clarett⁺ 8Pre's line outputs. You can adjust the level of each pair independently in software (via Focusrite Control), or the level of both pairs together with the hardware monitor knob.
The Clarett⁺ 8Pre doesn’t include speaker switching; but you can buy third-party hardware to do this.
Important
Line outputs 1 and 2 have “anti-thump” circuitry that protects your speakers if the Clarett⁺ 8Pre is turned on while the speakers (and amplifier if used) are connected and on.
The other line outputs do not have anti-thump circuitry. If you’re using additional speakers connected to these outputs, power your Clarett⁺ 8Pre on first, then turn on the speakers or power amplifier.
But get into the habit of following this rule- it is good audio practice to turn on any speaker system after turning on the equipment feeding it.
Because the Clarett+ 8Pre is equipped with ten line outputs, it is suitable for working in multichannel sound formats – LCRS, 5.1 surround or 7.1 surround, for example.
To route each channel to the correct output, you will need to route the DAW outputs to the Line Outputs in Focusrite Control (e.g. DAW Output 1 → Line Output 1, DAW Output 2 → Line Output 2, etc.).
The example below shows how you would connect the six loudspeakers in a 5.1 surround monitoring arrangement.
On Windows, surround sound can only be used in software supporting multichannel ASIO. In most cases this will be your DAW, and in general, DAWs capable of mixing in surround allow you to set the speaker mapping up in the DAW’s Audio Output Preferences or I/O Settings page.
Please see the User Manual (or Help files) for your DAW for guidance on setting up the outputs for surround mixing with the speaker configuration you wish to use.
On macOS, surround sound configuration can be done from all applications that support multichannel audio (DAWs and in regular macOS Applications). To do this, go to: Applications → Utilities → Audio MIDI Setup → Clarett+ 8Pre → Configure Speakers → Configuration → Select the desired configuration.