The information below applies to the Clarett Thunderbolt range. Whilst the Clarett USB and Clarett+ range can be connected to a Thunderbolt 3/4 port, they are still USB 2.0 devices.
Requirements:
- Computer with Thunderbolt 3 port.
- Thunderbolt 1 and 2 systems are not supported, but may work.
- Thunderbolt 4 systems are not officially supported and are unlikely to function as accessories built to Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 specifications are not supported by Thunderbolt 4 PCs, therefore we cannot recommend them for use with the Clarett range at this time.
- Windows 10/11 64-bit operating system
- Configured as per our optimisation and troubleshooting steps outlined in this article
- Intel processor*
- Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter**
- The latest version of Focusrite Control (see the Downloads section of our website)
The following systems have been seen to work well with Clarett devices:
Model | Processor | Thunderbolt Controller |
Dell XPS 15 | 9th Gen Intel i7 | 1575 - Alpine Ridge 2C 2015 |
Lenovo P70 | 6th Gen Intel i7 | 1577 - Alpine Ridge 4C 2015 |
Molten Music ASUS X-99 | 5th Gen Intel i7 | 1577 - Alpine Ridge 4C 2015 |
Dell XPS 13 9370 | 8th Gen Intel i7 | 15D2 - Alpine Ridge 4C 2016 |
ASUS Z390A + ThunderboltEX 3 card | 9th Gen Intel i5 | 15D2 - Alpine Ridge 4C 2016 |
Dell Precision 7530 | 8th Gen Intel i7 | 15EB - Titan Ridge 4C 2018 |
ASUS Z590-A + ThunderboltEX 4 card* | 11th Gen Intel i7* | 1137 - Maple Ridge 4C 2020* |
ASUS Z790 A WIFI + ThunderboltEX 4 card** | 14th Gen Intel i7* |
*specs kindly provided by an external beta tester but as full testing has not been conducted there is the chance it may have issues
**specs kindly provided by some external users ThunderboltEX 4 card firmware needs to be on older firmware as outlined by ASUS, if the card is running newer FW or the Motherboard has an updated BIOS THunderbolt 1-2 devices will not work - ASUS Thunderbolt
On particular systems, we have seen an issue that can sometimes cause short bursts of output-only glitches with the Clarett Thunderbolt range.
Systems that have exhibited playback problems with Claretts:
Model | Processor | Thunderbolt Controller |
Intel NUC (NUC8i5BEK) | 8th Gen Intel i5 | 15D9 - Alpine Ridge 2C 2016 |
Intel NUC (BXNUC10i7FNK) | 10th Gen Intel i7 | 15E8 - Titan Ridge 2C 2018 |
HP ZBook 15 2020 | 8th Gen Intel i7 | 15E8 - Titan Ridge 2C 2018 |
If your computer has one of the potentially problematic Thunderbolt Controllers listed above and you encounter sporadic output glitching then please Contact Technical Support and we can run a scan to determine whether the issue is caused by the Thunderbolt implementation on your computer or by something else (in which case we can troubleshoot). Please note that the aforementioned “scan” can only be run when a Focusrite Clarett Thunderbolt interface is connected to the computer in question.
Systems that have exhibited crashes whenever Thunderbolt 1 or 2 devices are connected:
Model | Processor | Thunderbolt Controller |
Dell Latitude 5520
|
11th Gen Intel i5 | 9A1B - Tiger Lake |
Dell Latitude 7520
|
11th Gen Intel i7 | 9A1B - Tiger Lake |
Asus UX482EG
|
11th Gen Intel i7 | 9A1B - Tiger Lake |
If you’re unsure as to what Thunderbolt Controller chipset your machine has, then you can check:
- Go to Device Manager (right-click the Windows icon and select “Device Manager”)
- Expand “System Devices”
- Locate the “Thunderbolt Controller” in this section:
* Initial testing of the performance of our Thunderbolt devices on Windows systems with AMD processors has revealed some potential problems, which we are investigating. It's entirely possible that these problems have nothing to do with our Thunderbolt implementation and therefore cannot be solved by us. This being the case, we currently do not support or recommend AMD-based Thunderbolt systems.
** We’ve seen differing performances between the various Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapters on the market depending on what particular computer they’re used in conjunction with. On some systems, an adapter allows for “hot-plugging” (connecting/disconnecting the Focusrite interface while the computer is switched on), on other systems the same adapter does not allow this.
This being the case, we can’t recommend a specific adapter. All we can advise is to try one adapter (e.g. the Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter) and, if that doesn’t support hot-plugging, either remember to avoid hot-plugging entirely or try a different adapter (e.g. the Startech or Cable Matters Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapters).
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