ISA C8X combines the trademark ISA sound with comprehensive remote control and all the analogue and digital I/O, routing, and recallability you need to run your entire studio, plus switchable impedance, balanced inserts, and high-pass filtering. The first two channels feature ISA preamps with classic Lundahl LL1538 transformers and Console and 430 Air modes for new tonal options. All eight are fully controllable from the front panel and via Focusrite Control 2.
The ISA sound, evolved
The ISA story starts in 1985 with a request from Sir George Martin to Rupert Neve: build a no-compromise mic preamp. That circuit became the foundation of every ISA product made since. 40 years on, it lives in ISA C8X — Focusrite's first ISA audio interface, housed in anodised aluminium in Focusrite's original blue colour, with heritage transformer sound in a 26-in, 28-out USB-C interface built for the modern studio.
The two ISA preamps at the heart of ISA C8X feature the same Lundahl LL1538 transformers Rupert Neve chose in 1985. Warm, rich, and detailed on any source, with up to 79dB of gain, switchable impedance, and balanced inserts — and for the first time in ISA’s storied history, remotely controllable via Focusrite Control 2.
ISA gives you two relay-switchable analogue circuits. Console mode introduces warm saturation and low-end punch via a variable soft-clip circuit. 430 Air, lifted directly from the ISA 430 MkII, adds high-end shimmer through an inductor-based high-shelf filter. Both are completely analogue with full-bodied sound.
