Focusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen) vs Universal Audio Volt 476P

Short answer

  • More power: the Universal Audio Volt 476P, with 84 mW into 32 Ω; the Focusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen) has 55 mW. The Universal Audio Volt 476P drives 5 headphones to 100 dB that the Focusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen) cannot (HiFiMAN HE-6se V2, HiFiMAN HE6 Remastered, HiFiMAN Susvara, 2 more).
  • Hiss with sensitive IEMs: cannot be compared — neither maker publishes a noise figure.
  • Price: the Universal Audio Volt 476P costs $19 more; what that buys on these numbers is set out further down, under What the price difference buys.

Both are audio interfaces, $570 against $589.

The Universal Audio Volt 476P reaches 100 dB on 558 of the 567 models here, the Focusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen) on 553.

Every published figure, next to each other

SpecificationFocusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen)Universal Audio Volt 476P
Power into 32Ω55 mW84 mW
Power into 150Ω27 mW28 mW
Power into 300Ω27 mW22 mW
Power into 600Ω14 mW12 mW
Output impedance11 Ωnot published
Output noisenot publishednot published
Price$570$589
Headphones it reaches 100 dB on
out of 567
553558

Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.

Where each power figure comes from

LoadFocusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen)Universal Audio Volt 476P
32 ΩDerivedPublished
150 ΩDerivedDerived
300 ΩPublishedPublished
600 ΩDerivedPublished

Both makers publish a power rating. Focusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen) publishes at 300 Ω; Universal Audio Volt 476P at 32 Ω, at 300 Ω and at 600 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.

So the two columns are not equally firm row by row: at 32 Ω and at 600 Ω only the Universal Audio Volt 476P figure is the maker’s own. On those rows the derived number is the one to doubt first.

What the labels mean.

The headphones that tell them apart

5 headphones reach 100 dB on the Universal Audio Volt 476P but not on the Focusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen) — HiFiMAN HE-6se V2, HiFiMAN HE6 Remastered, HiFiMAN Susvara, 2 more.

553 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.

Headroom and hiss on 8 models, both sources

Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.

The widest gap on the list is the HiFiMAN HE400se: Universal Audio Volt 476P has +9 dB of headroom there against +7 dB. 2 dB is about 1.5 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.

The hiss columns are empty for Focusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen) and Universal Audio Volt 476P because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.

HeadphoneImpedanceNeedsFocusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen) headroomUniversal Audio Volt 476P headroomFocusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen) hissUniversal Audio Volt 476P hiss
Shure SE8469 Ω0.04 mW+26 dB damping+28 dBnot publishednot published
Campfire Audio Andromeda 20209 Ω4.0 mW+6 dB damping+8 dBnot publishednot published
Audeze LCD-2 Classic70 Ω0.79 mW+16 dB damping+18 dBnot publishednot published
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω)250 Ω0.63 mW+16 dB+16 dBnot publishednot published
HiFiMAN HE400se25 Ω7.9 mW+7 dB damping+9 dBnot publishednot published
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X470 Ω1.6 mW+10 dB+10 dBnot publishednot published
Sennheiser HD 600300 Ω6.6 mW+6 dB+5 dBnot publishednot published
HiFiMAN Susvara60 Ω50 mW-1 dB damping+0 dBnot publishednot published

The gap in dollars, against the gap in numbers

The Universal Audio Volt 476P costs $19 more than the Focusrite Scarlett 18i16 (4th Gen). Out of the 567 models here, that difference buys 5 more models driven to 100 dB.

Nothing runs the other way: there is no axis here on which the cheaper of the two does better.

Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.

Both pages in full

↑