Focusrite ISA Two 2-channel Microphone Preamp Reviews

Great preamp, with a lot of headroom, and great features. I use it in my keyboard rig and run my Nords thru this pre into a Warm Audio Bus Compressor. Night and day difference in presence, sound quality. All this then runs into a V.3 Spacestation and a 10" Presonus Temblor Sub. Everyone who here's this system is blown away. Have been playing out since 1984 and this is the best rig I have ever owned, bar none.

It's responsive, quiet, easy to use, and it just sounds great. I use it in my keyboard rack and it brings the Nord Stage 3 to life. It makes it larger than life and brings out all the nuances that are in the samples. I have used one in each of my racks for the last 10 years. This is my third ISA 2 I have purchased. Technical service is great and the quality is first class.

I love the fact that I can use this one unit to receive either dry guitar or a mic or a keyboard on each of the two channels and it only takes up one space in the rack. Better yet all audio i put through it is full and warm and beautiful sounding. I'd replace my ISA two units immediately if I was without them for whatever reason. The filter option is great to get rid of excess low frequencies. The insert is fantastic for adding a studio EQ in the loop, the selectable impedance truest helps shape the sound of your mics, especially ribbons, and the gain is plentiful and clean! Not as clean as my grace but I use this more cause i love its sound and subtle almost console flavor. My only gripe is the layout, I'd like to see it laid out better, maybe some room to add labels and the instrument inputs would maybe be better side by side rather than virtical, at least for my wiring setup.
Get one or two and you'll be happy with the functionality and sound. I'd love a whole rack full!

Fantastic sounding preamps. For my taste perfect amount of color while being clean. PLENTY of gain. Versatile with Hi-Z inputs on the front. I love the insert function! I have tried it through a dbx 160A and got fantastic results!

Get this (from Chris Jenkins at Sweetwater), You WILL NOT be disappointed!

It lived up to all the Hype. I read a million reviews and couldn't decide on this or the BEAST by Warm Audio. I still want the Warm Audio Model but this is probably the best choice for beginners( even though more money ) because of the quality,Ease of use ( not a lot of knobs ) and most importantly to me at least was the transparency. It still has the ability to break up a guitar or over drive a dynamic mic if you want so you do have a lot of wiggle room if you want a more defined sound.I love the connections. I can either use my patch bay or my direct MIC inputs. I love this for mix downs and fast recording options.The knobs feel nice . I still need to adjust my meter setting in the back of the unit ( I already racked it ) and I'm hoping it fixes the one issue I have, the Meter. Its almost of no use to me but the sound quality ( to me ) makes up for it.With a little experimenting I was able to reach a comfortable understanding of how hot this pre amp can drive a condenser mic.I still gave it 5 stars because I love it THAT much. after I get the Warm Pre amp ( The Beast ) I hope one day to afford another ISA 2. 4 Channels of this would be insane for mixdowns,recordings ect.

I was using a multiple-unit interface and wanted to go to next level in sound quality. I met Sweetwater for first time and Tyler Berggren was the sales engineer. He took my experience and needs and made this suggestion. What a good choice! There is a lot of subtlety in sound work, and this unit has helped me understand and train and hear what everybody talks about. I can trust that any of my mics will sound their best, with some experimentation of course. There is a place for all kinds different equipment, but there is a lot to be said for solid units at each level and then concentrate on performance and technique and room sound! This unit is solid.

I'm giving this unit 5 stars because of its sound, design, build quality, and looks. All of which are superb. A fantastic unit in general.

Actually I have quite a few preamps in my studio and this is one of my favorite sounding. It's really "hi-fi" super ultra clean, bright, and it can change its impedance from smooth-vintagey vibe to more punchy-bright-modern tone.

It sounds great on my Neumann M149, K2, NT1, SM57, and absolutely stunning on my SM7B.

If you're looking for a preamp for your SM7(b), look no further. With 80db's of very clean and very quiet gain this is the best preamp (by far) that I've ever used with my SM7B. Those mics suffer a bit from high-end loss, and this preamp accounts for that, assuring every bit of sparkly high end is picked up and never lost in transit.

All of that being said. Time for the bad news.

The meters suck. In fact, they're worthless in the digital age. I own three of these units, one purchased from Sweetwater, and two elsewhere at a separate time, so I can assure this isn't just a manufacturing defect, it's a design decision made by the company, and a terrible one at that.

"0db" on the meters is absolutely nowhere near 0db on the digital scale, the internal bias is so far off that the meters are unusable. Even accounting for the adjustment knob on the back turned all the way up, the meters internal bias is still set WAY too low. If you're near clipping on this unit's meters, everything else in your chain is being clipped to hell and back. 0db on this unit is like 15db in your DAW, straight distortion.

I hit 0db in my daw (with everything in the connection at +4) when the meter is just barely lighting up and showing -18, nowhere near clipping.

So yeah, absolutely worthless meters, all three of my units are this way, I've tried everything possible to fix that, even compensating from the converters end, and nothing quite makes up for it.

Buy the unit because it sounds amazing, buy it because it's built really really well, and uses really high quality internal components. But buy it KNOWING that the meters are completely useless for any modern digital recording use... If that's not a deal breaker for you, you'll absolutely love the sound of this unit.

It's really similar sounding to my Neve 1073dpa, just brighter, not as dark, and a bit cleaner, less of that rusty grit tone. 99% of listeners probably would never hear a difference. Many would probably prefer the Focusrite's clean hi-fi sound even if they could.

I am so happy with the Focusrite ISA Two. I really did my home work before buying this preamp. It can really get frustrating trying to find the right preamp at a great price and the Focusrite exceeded my expectations. It doesn't leave anything behind and has a really natural sound with just a pinch of sweetness. I am looking at adding another to my rig. Sounds great on everything. After owning it I have to say it's a no brainer.

I have been using this preamp for about a year it is by far one of the cleanest and also very studio friendly in terms of ease of use I've come across, it just sounds really good on everything. also the price point is not bad here you will get more for what you payed for. thanks carson m

i was using presonus channel strip when i got isa two
from the first record i said oh my god why i was stupid to get isa one instead of presonus
but no i am very happy with this one Especially Isa110 impedance great great great
recommend this for any one

Works really good with my vocal chain which includes jj audio akita mic- focusrite isa two mic pre- vintage audio m-76 compressor- universal audio apollo twin. Warmth+clarity is what da isa two provides. Thanks to chris lewis for helping me with this selection.

One of the biggest things I was looking for in a preamp was a nice clean sound that didn't distort. All I wanted was warmth, not necessarily color. This preamp delivers. I primarily deal with classical instrumental and vocal cliental. This makes the recordings sound great. Paired with a stereo pair of Shure KSM 141's you cannot go wrong. Great sound overall. Plus, when we do want the color, you have the option to really pop the gain up on the preamp and get that nice 110 sound. Just an awesome piece of gear really.

People will argue about how critical a mic pre "really" is…well let me say this: the Focusrite ISA Two MADE A MAJOR DIFFERENCE FOR ME. I record acoustic music and already had great mics (pair of Neumann KM 184's , AKG 451's and AKG 214's) and was running them thru 2 Presonus Tube Pres. The moment I recorded my first tracks of fingerstyle acoustic guitar and then vocals using the ISA Two..it was like heaven. The Focusrite took those Neumann's and AKG's to a new level. I thought my tracks sounded great before after having purchased the quality mics, However, I had no idea what I was missing till I heard the results of the Focusrite. The ISA Two just delivered a much stronger, full bodied, crystal clear signal. So even if you don't yet have killer mic's, I strongly believe the ISA Two will drastically improve the mic's you have. Unless you want to drop thousands for your mic pre's, I think there is no better option under $1,000.

my drums came alive , super sound warm, tone , all amazing

I have mic preamps that cost well over twice of what this one cost, but they don,t sound right on my voice for vocals. They are too colored! And, I wanted a cleaner, but not sterile sounding dual mono mic preamp for acoustic guitar and keyboards, etc. So I read a ton of reviews online, and liked what I read and decided to try this. So I called my sales engineer Matt Adams, and he said that I couldn,t go wrong, and he was right! The ISA Two, is perfect for my voice and sounds outstanding on acoustic guitar, and will work on any instrument, but what I really like is the variable impedance, high pass filter, and 80db of clean gain for ribbon and dynamic mics. And, it holds it own ground with other highend mic pres as well! A great value for sure. Thanks, Matt!

I owned the ISA One first and was so impressed by the quality and value ratio of the product. (clean & quiet.), that I decided to add two more channels of quality preamps....hence, the ISA Two. Love these preamps. Great service, too. As always.

I have two of these in my rack. I started out with one but bought another because I like the sound and function of this mic pre. That was probably five years ago. So why the review now? I have worked with this pre on numerous projects over the years. There isn't anything, in my experience, that the ISA2 doesn't sound good on. Drums, acoustic and electric guitar and vocals, timbales, and bongo drums. I have a pair of Grace Design pres that I use for acoustic as well when I am featuring an acoustic guitar in a song, but most of the time the ISA2 fits the bill. Oh, I also use it as a DI for Bass guitar also. I also have an ADL700 that I use for electric guitar, but it can get too crunchy when I want cleaner electric, and the ISA2 is great for that application. If you want to upgrade from interface pres, this is a good place to begin in my opinion.

I've been a huge fan of the ISA products for a long time and I have had the pleasure of recording on the original ISA 110. The Lundahl LL 1538 transformers on each channel are among the cleanest and transparent used in pro audio gear and are flawless. The ISA Two has an impressive amount of gain 60 db plus a sweepable 20 db giving you 80 db of gain total. Great for dynamic and ribbon mics. Switchable Phantom Power, Variable Hi-pass Filters, and Variable Input Impedance make this an outstanding pre for any source. The Rupert Neve connection aside the Focusrite ISA mic pre's in my opinion are the best you can get and the price just makes them a little bit better.

Love this pre! It takes anything I put into it and makes it POP! Anything recorded through it pops out of the mix much better than the conventional preamp in an interface. I have used these for vocals, kick, snare, overheads, electric and acoustic guitars, and much more! This is really a bang for the buck! I even prefer it over API and Neve preamps depending on the source. Highly recommended! The only downside is that the meters don't really match up with the record line level. Other than that, It's an amazing preamp!

Running a Tech 21 Bass DI into the ISA TWO turned a cheap bass into a bass worth an Ampeg

The ISA two is a great unit. I am producing a singer/songwriter and using it for acoustic guitar(the z options were great for a ribbon on 12th fret) bass (electric jazz bass sounds great thru instrument in), percussion and vocals. Recording vocals with this is very nice. You can work the amount of clean/dirty with all the options. Plus it plays nice with my dbx160x via the insert, (ps-i love having an insert on/off button- great for a/b.) good work focusrite!

This thing's wonderful - it's one of thos epieces of gear you "forget about" in a good way - it does its job, sounds great, and suits a lot of applications. I've been using mine for vocals and stereo drum overheads more than anything - just excellent, especially considering the price point. Won't be going anywhere anytime soon!

The ISA Two gave a depth to my EV RE-20 that I haven't heard since I worked with in a 24 track analog studio. Dial it in and don't ignore the Insert.

Does everything I need perfectly. Quiet until high gain settings.

Bought this preamp for my project studio because it was the right price for me for 2 channels. Previously I was using a UA solo 610, other than just going straight into the interface, and while that is a marvelous unit I needed 2 inputs to try some mid side recording with a AKG c214 and c414. This thing is a huge bang for the buck. It sounds very very good and easy to use. I only gave it a 4 because I havent had it long enough to explore all the possibilities it looks like it may provide.

I have a small home studio and this is the perfect piece to get a good line level of basically any instrument. Every home studio should have this versatile piece.

This thin is great whether you use it for your kick, snare, vocal or guitar man this thing can deliver that warm sounding studio quality you are looking for and to get a little bit of that history with a neve design product!

I find this mic pre to have a rather natural, uncolored sound. It can be brightend up with the ISA selectors, which is especially handy for dynamic mics, say on a drum kit. I think it's a very good value, if you're looking for a more high end mic pre.

On the downside, it took me a while to get used the the gain adjustment setup, which seems unnecessarily complicated to me. Do we really need a button and two knobs to set the gain? I guess so. Also, despite the fact that it has a meter staging knob on the rear, I've never been confident that it was dialed in accurately with my audio interface, so that's a bit disconcerting.

Still, I'm happy with the purchase, I like using it, and I think it looks pretty in my rack, so there's that too.

This seems well built and sounded actually slightly better on acoustic guitar than my RME pres did. Plenty of gain for low impedance mics. But on my vocals (which was my main reason for purchase), it left an artificial quality which was not as pleasant nor as full as my RME pres.

With all the glowing reviews and even the selection of Rupert Neve input transformer, I had high expectations for this pre. While it works well enough, I have to say I was disappointed overall. It lacks the Neve clarity, precision and headroom. It seemed to me there is only a very thin line between the amount of input gain that provides enough signal to mix, and overloading. clipping, and distorting the input. I expect I shall hang on to this unit, because it does provide a decent sound, and some interesting input impedance options, but I was expecting more headroom and a bit more clarity given it's pedigree.