HIGH END vs AFFORDABLE Audio Interface! A 9000$ difference! (including multitracks)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ม.ค. 2023
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➡️mailchi.mp/b8d7a5dc7bfd/krist...
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➡️www.kohleaudiokult.com
Today German producer Kristian Kohle (Aborted, Powerwolf, Electric Callboy, Hämatom, Van Canto, Emil Bulls) is looking for a mobile recording rig.
We're checking out the Audient EVO 16 and the brand new SP8 mic pre / converter and compare them to the high end setup used at Kohlekeller Studio (API mic pres and SSL converters). Lets' record some drums! Enjoy!
The links below might be affiliate links. I might get a commission if you buy something after clicking on the links. This is one way for you to support this channel:
The brand new Audient EVO SP8 smart preamp:
➡️US: bit.ly/3khb26R
➡️EU: bit.ly/3ZG8Vtz
The EVO 16 interface:
➡️US: bit.ly/3XkFPhK
➡️EU: bit.ly/3IU2InL
All the microphones used in the session: (affiliate link)
➡️bit.ly/3X97RN7
The "Atelier der Tonkunst" microphone splitters used in this video:
➡️bit.ly/3CUmVGk
#recordingstudio #audiointerface #audient
Which audio interfaces (and mic pres) are you guys using to record drums?
Neve and more neve lol
Behr xr18
xD
Not a recording engineer here, just a hobby drummer of sorts, but I was getting pretty decent results with a Behringer UMC404HD, two cheap Chinese large diaphragm condensers (Neewer NW-700) as "overheads" and an SM-57 on the snare in a Glyn Jones setup when I had a place to jam (except for the kick mic, that never sounded right). Right now my kit is unfortunately packed up in cases, but when I manage to find a place to set up, I'll most probably go with a Behringer X-Air 18 and a full close mic setup.
UA Apollo Twin X plus Audient ASP 800. It works. Unison slots on the UA get used, as well as the saturation of the Retro Channels on the ASP (nice for some stuff). Nice comparison btw., I can also hear a difference over TH-cam; API/SSL sounds a bit brighter and more scooped, but I will have to listen to the multitracks. Anyway, I'm confident you could make any of these two sound phenomenal. That being said, it's not a 9000 quid difference that I hear :)
Just my Scarlett 18i20 gen 2
A well known producer once said, "If I have to listen to something more than three times in order to hear a difference, then I'm no longer interested in what that difference is." Some wisdom in there somewhere, I think.
exactly.. like the guy in video said.. we are talking about music right? ;)
Very well said. I agree.
Who was this producer?
But remember: A pro listening for three times and not hearing the difference is a lot different to anyone else not hearing a difference.
@@mariopiluso3371 I believe this was Tchad Blake.
Wow! Kristian the detail you go to here is superb! Thanks ever so much for sharing!
Coming back to this video! Dang it’s on fire!! Amazing work Kristian
warren, so what would be the reason to buy high end preamps?
i could hear the difference only in a full mix situation. for some odd reason, soloed instruments don't sound any different, but say 6 instruments together does make a difference.
@@imslicc I have high end Pre amps for the colour they bring. Also, frankly, the romanticism of using a Pre Amp that would have been on my favourite albums! That’s a sound I’m going for! However, these Pres are truly amazing!! Bravo Audient
Right, this test is perfect. I've never seen anyone split the signal in real time so all the mics are the same and in the same place. I am absolutely blown away at how close they sound. I really couldn't tell any difference.
@@LorneVignettes yes, so good! Bravo Kristian
I can’t believe you do all of this work just for these comparisons. Comparisons that are so well done that most people wouldn’t be able to wrap their minds around, and skip over. Yet you do it anyways. Thanks!!!!
Agreed! Ridiculous detail!
Great job , bro , for doing this , at least someone care about the rest , that’s good that’s what we need in our community , help each other . So the company’s do not try to push expensive gear as crap gear.
What a fair comparison, it’s incredible how accurate you were giving fair conditions for both, TH-cam needs more people like you man 🔥🔥🔥
Amazing video and tbh pretty much the result I was hoping for (and expecting). What awesome times we are living in - spend 1000 bucks for a killer sounding 24 channel setup. Unbelievable.
Thanks a lot for all the effort that went into making this video!
Yep, even the AD/DA on a Zoom field recorder is just fine. Maybe if someone really needs 192 Khz and higher, that limits the field... truth is that a lot of the "sound" people liked in various converters is overloading the inputs on purpose to get a bit of distortion.
have to correct you on the price there. If you go for Evo 16 + 2xSP8 you would be at around 1400€ for 24 channels.
You could get 16 for under 1k with one SP8.
Thank you for taking the time, and putting in the work to do such a comprehensive test. Enlightening.
Love this shootout!!! I listened with headphones and found the API just had this slight weight on the lower end, super subtle though and the cost difference is pretty huge for a small difference! well done
Love these types of tests. The stock quality of preamps and converters nowadays is great
Mmm....It took me a while to realize that you were already switching between setups! That's just WOW! Thank you for this comparision!
I have been researching the EVO as an affordable ADDA/preamp rig for exactly this purpose and this is exactly the kind of comparison I wanted to see! Thanks so much for taking the time to do a proper like-for-like test man. Subscribed!
Welcome! 🤘
Great video, thanks for putting so much effort into setting this up and sharing
Just did my first session with my Evo 16 into a MacBookPro and was really impressed! Five channels for drums, one for bass, one for guitar, and one for vocals. Considering how easy it was to get levels with the Smartgain feature and how affordable it was, I think it’s a game changer!
Thanks Kohle for this! Both setups sound great.
great test! I'm not surprised and glad it confirms what I already thought. On some super cheap interfaces, there can be issues with noisy preamps, but that's about it. Latency is another consideration, but most are pretty close there too. I've only upgraded for a few reasons: more channels, one developed super scratchy preamps that I couldn't fix that rendered it mostly useless, one had bad issues with drivers and crashing all the time, and my current Scarlett 18i20 has been flawless and I love it.
Great video idea, nice to see you playing drums! :D
Great video as always! Thank you very much!
Amazing job!!! Insane comparison!👏👏👏
Amazing! Technology has come so far anyone can do professional recordings with the right gear and knowledge, and save a lot of money in the process!
Not surprised this video showed up for me, the search algorithm being what it is these days.... but this is exactly what I'm researching right now, and you laid it out beautifully. Thanks for doing this.
Thanks for this vid, Kristian! BTW, cool grooves :)
Hugely helpful comparison 🤘
Love the comparison! Both sound amazing. I can only hear a tiny difference, and definitely not $9,000 worth of difference. Thanks again!
Man -- this is excellent. I've been looking at all the ways I could expand my setup for tracking by leveraging the ADAT/Optical ins I have with my Apollos (Cranborne 500ADAT, UA 4-710), and now this looks like it may have become the frontrunner. I used a good set of headphones to listen and the only thing I heard as even a slight difference was a bit more topend on the Audient. Thanks for doing this Kohle!
Great as always!🤘
This makes me feel quite proud of my little EVO 4.
Thanks!
Great, awesome video Kris
thats awesome, tx for the great a/b test
Awesome! My favourite as the API/SSL combo. But what if you use the API's into the line inputs of the evo and compare that to the SSL AD ?
Cheers for your lessons.
Thank you for this. I’m amazed!
Love it man. This is amazing.
Havent followed long but my favorite part was seeing you on drums for the first time. Like it. Also. Great video like usual. Cheers for your inspiration and wisdom brotha.
Great comparison Kristian! Now I got my eyes on that Audient EVO preamp 😎
Very informative! Looking forward to acoustic recordings/.
Very slight difference, thanks a lot!
Dude thank you!!! This is the review I was looking for! The Evo line doesn’t get enough attention imho
You're content is consistently fire,Hombre. Big thanks,but I'm saying this video is almost exhausting -- every minute is solid good-to-know info and no doubts you put in the work so we didn't have to. I wish we all had big SSL boards,except....why? Amazing options nowadayz
Now, this is what a test should be like! Perfect!
I came here for a shootout and you delivered. Thanks for doing this! So few people do a proper comparison. Well done. Da kannst du Gift drauf nehmen.
Great content, and thank you for the detail! Would love to see a labeled diagram of the various setups you're discussing, with you doing voiceover. Like, PowerPoint art of the instruments showing the mics, the splitters, the different interfaces, etc.
audient makes great stuff! i own an id4 mkii, previously owned the first id4, and wouldn't change for nothing else in that budget range. pretty awesome stuff!
Great video Kristian, thanks danke.
I've been looking to upgrade as well. I"m considering the Evo 16 as well so this was a nice video to watch to get some more info. I love Audient gear. Learned on a ASP 8024 HE. Love that console. It has a lot of character.
interesting contribution. Was not aware of you guys have special kick mic over there. However the comparison you make seems fascinating and helps me at my decision. thx
Really nice test! Listening to the recordings from my top-quality mastering room tells me that, sure, I absolutely prefer the API/SSL without a doubt since those recordings got some of the details you would expect from high-quality preamps, but the Audient is really not that far behind. It would be interesting to hear a comparison with the API preamps going into the Audient converters ;)
It's a great idea
I would try the Audient w/ Api Vision UAD would probably be the closest to the real deal and save the $9000 for a good used car.
@@jonathanrichard6881 I do this with my ASP800 all the time, they're such clean clear pre's that using the modeling after the fact gets the richness that I'd get from an API or Neve pre. I do still have some nice pre's but when I need more it's an excellent alternative
I bought an EVO16 just a few months ago and its auto gain feature is realy handy for recording drums on your own. Altho I found myself adjusting the gain again sometimes, but most of the time it's fine.
I've seen a lot of people saying the auto gain feature is for noobs. which i would agree as far as the smaller interfaces. but for interfaces with 8+ inputs? for drums by yourself? this is a dream haha
How are you liking it so far? I've read mixed reviews so I'm hoping to hear from someone that's put it through the paces!
Interesting! I'm using an older Audient interface for drums - ASP 880. Big fan of theirs.
I might have missed this in the video but what sample rate did you use? It could be interesting to test the interfaces at different sample rates and see if a bigger difference shows up there.
Awesome video, as we've come to expect!
Amazing video!!!! Thank you so much
I bought the Evo 16 last august as a birthday present for myself, as an upgrade from my focusrite 2i4. The Evo 16 is awesome, i`m very happy with it!! This video confirms i made a good choice, haha ;-). Great video, cheers!!
They were so close in sound, it’s crazy but if I was to dig that deep, the audient sounded great on the snare n overheads, but I liked the API/SSL setup on the kick n toms. Great video!
Thanks for the video, it is very self-explaining, I think it will be very interesting to see an extension about how the audio from both sources behave in a mixing scenario with the same plug-ins, I believe there must be some sort of curiosity in that matter.
Fascinating to hear the difference, thanks for the comparison! I have a hugely complicated drum recording set up atm but now Evo has sent me the 16 & SP8, I think I'll just track through them and mix analog as I've been doing! 🔥
Fantastic info! Thanks ever so much for sharing
I ordered the EVO16 right away when it was available last summer. Great interface, great features, and I never had any sound issues with it although there are reviews out there that say otherwise. Only feature that I am missing is an option to start smart gain from the mixer app or remote - or with a pre set delay start.
Go into option on the app it lets you view the pre gain and adjust it on the mixer it helps out a lot
I bought the EVO4 and I absolutely love it. Only reason I want the 8 is because on the 4 the headphone Jack stops the output jacks from working. So you can’t listen out loud and on the headphones.
Thanks for doing this comparison. I'm always interested in the differences between high end gear and budget friendly gear and to my 60 year old ears, I really could not tell the difference in this case.
Amazing work, Thank you so much for your effort and transparency! Audient products are a blessing for the whole industry. I use an iD4 for my mobile vocal setup and it sounds fantastic. the preamp can handle a sm7b without any noise. the evo line would definitely be my choice if i would build a drumroom.
mindblowing how that could significantly lift the budget for acoustic treatment, drumkit, mics, cables etc you name it without a sacrifice in audio quality. love your stuff man!
Grüße aus Österreich!
I don't think it's possible to recognize the difference in a TH-cam video, but I see that the Evo 16 sounds amazing. Thanks for the comparison
I just stumbled upon your channel. Nice work dude!
Welcome!
Wow. Couldn't hear a diff on my Apple airpod pro. Will listen n studio on my Eve Sc408 tomorrow.
Usually I find that I hear a difference when actually start working with the files, rather than just listening.
Another good video. Thanks!
I love it! Not surprised
Hey Kristian ,
greeeeaaat video,
I've downloaded the multitracks and I'm listening it with my Amphion two15, the same beasts as you 've got in your studio !!!
The best! 😍
If you still have the Audient kit setup it would be interesting to hear how it sounds with an external preamp set up in front of it. For example with the API pre, does that sound still come across or does the Audient colour it significantly?
Interesting timing with this video, as I'm in the same boat! I bought an Audient ID14 not so long ago that I love as a desktop unit, but I'm looking to eventually sell my 1st gen rack mount Apollo and all my external mic pres to buy something like the PreSonus StudioLive 24R and control all the preamp gain from their app. I just don't think the juice is worth the squeeze with high end preamps anymore (with this video confirming my bias), and with something like the PreSonus you get 24 mic pres in a 2U rack space.
This is a great review.
Those ssl converters are ancient and are anything but high end compared to what’s out there now. The evo stuff is good for budget stuff. Best for the price is the slate vrs8 - about $500 used and smokes everything until you get into prism or aurora stuff.
Thaaaaanks, man! ❤❤❤
I just bought this exact setup for my studio, which includes 13 mics on drums. So far, it's utterly amazing. I came from FocusWRONG Clarett 8 Pre and Octopre. The auto gain feature is beyond amazing. It sets it perfectly. As a solo musician/engineer this saves SO much time! It's not only super quick, it sounds legitimately amazing! Took mere minutes to setup. I'm officially a fan!
Hi . I am trying to decide between focusrite scarlett 18i20 or the evo16. They are about the same price. Does the 24 bit / 192 kHz vs 24 bit / 96 kHz have any say.
I’ve owned 5 Focusrite interfaces in the past 18 months. They sounded great. But ultimately all failed to work for the long haul. I have the EVO16 and SP8 now. With ZERO issues thus far. Granted, it’s only been maybe 6-8 weeks. I am only able to record at 48kHz. Which is a minor disappointment. The sound quality and features MORE than make up for the lack of 96kHz. I would highly recommend the EVO16. I do find that the auto gain feature is a bit cautious. I do end up turning things up 3-4dB. I hope in a future firmware update they can install some sort of a ‘master gain adjust feature’. Where we can still use the auto gain, but make it a bit hotter if we so desire. The S/N ratio is stellar on the EVO/SP setup as well. I am VERY impressed. And to think, I paid $1150 shipped to my door for 16 inputs. 🤯
Here’s a brief summary of the issues i had with focuswrong…
18i20 brand new in box from amazon. The ADAT input did not work. Thereby not allowing me to use the OctoPre. Returned to Amazon.
Bought a used 8 Pre X from Reverb. After 6 months it started randomly losing Thunderbolt connection.
Replaced with another used 8 Pre X from Reverb. Same issue later occurred.
Replaced with brand new in box Clarret+ 8 Pre. Ch. 1 phantom power went out randomly.
I think there was another Focusrite piece in there somewhere. Maybe it was just the 4 units. Idk. But it was very stressful. Not a whole of music being made. Just endless trouble shooting.
Switched to Audient. So far so good. Hasn’t been very long though. But I feel everything’s gonna be alright!!!
Thank you for your input. I am getting close to making a decision @@shotgunndunn
Awesome! Let me know what you choose.
I was expecting the API to be an obvious choice, because it does a certain thing for drums, I've heard it time and time again. I'm positively shocked that in terms of what API does audient nailed. If it was sold as a 512 clone at 500/channel in 500 format, most folks would buy into it with blind listening. It seriously sounds more like the 512 than half the clones do.
It's a great time to be alive
Great video! some of my thoughts:
API/SSL is more punchy in the mid range on the kick and snare (as you mentioned), which is what API is known for (as you may know being an owner) and why people buy it. It is more pronounced when pushed a tad too (not done here as you mentioned). You may not use this feature, but I definitely do. I tried pushing my Audient ID14 and it clips BAD without a way to fix that. Good thing I don't use the mic pres on it and just the ADAT. That's the reason to spend a ton of money on preamps is for that color and texture.
At the end of the day, Audient isn't competing with API/SSL and the fact that it gets as close as it does, is super impressive! This is major competition for focusrite who's downside is their pres (though not as bad as it used to be). I'll be recommending this interface to a LOT of people looking for mutlichannel interfaces in the future! thanks for the video! I also want to add that the real context of the clarity of pres/converters is how it sits in a mix with transient response, not just tone. Cheap preamps will need to be worked harder to sit in the mix while a good pre just fits right in. I got a feeling these will do just fine though. Great job Audient! It continues to amaze me how great low end gear is getting these days.
Also why did you opt for the splitters over a patchbay with mults? I feel like it could have been cheaper? Well if you already own a patchbay.
Pretty awesome. As you mentioned late in the video, there is probably a fair bit more difference once you drive stuff. All my high end pres pretty much sound the same when you leave headroom, but when you start driving them or even compressing them downstream and their detail comes up in level it changes thing. Still super impressive though.
Very good observation. With nowadays converters, really low noise floor and 24 bit and floating point bit depth/resolution in processing, there is absolutely no need to record hot signals. There is plenty of headroom. So far, the differences from going from a good oldschool console into good converters to using the cheap modern usable interfaces and their pres are really subtle and most of the time not the bottleneck to produce a good mix afterwards. Things have changed a lot in the last 2 decades. What counts are noise and distortion figures of the converters, and that's it basically. There is a lot of myth going on to sell expensive studio gear (and many so-called experts are willing to feed the myths because they invested a lot of money into expensive stuff themselves, it is necessary to protect their investments...)
(And as for coloring signals, digital possibilities have advanced to indistinguishable levels from analog, e.g. the Acustica Audio stuff and other high-end technologies.)
Very good work!!! :)
🤘❤️
This video couldn't have come at a better time, I'm in the market for something to get 16 inputs.
I'd love to see a video of you doing a mix using the converters in each of those setups!!! I'm wondering how good the converters are, to mix through, compared to the SSL. 🤘🏻🤘🏻
Nice video thanks man. Would be interesting to hear this same comparison across a number of interfaces at the same time, RME/UAD/Apogee. I have just bought an Apogee desktop symphony and have already been thinking about how I might expand that unit via ADAT without sacrificing conversion quality too much. Seems like I won’t have to go too crazy as even the cheaper products out there put out good sound
Thank you!!
I just noticed your headphone mixerin the live room. Is that the Behringer system? I'm looking at getting something like that for my studio. Have you done any videos on setting up monitoring via Pro Tools/UAD console or similar setup?
Great test.
Surprisingly I thought the API setup sounded a bit darker on the high frequencies. I think the Audient has a more open and clear high end.
What RTL can you achieve with the Audient?
Thanks so much!!!
Very interesting comparison. Thanks for the video.
I certainly didn't hear a difference on either speakers or headphones.
Thanks for all this effort. I hear a difference in the clapy mids of the ssl/api, they’re more pronounced there in a saturated way maybe, sounds nice. Maybe it’s psychoacoustic. Sounds nice both ways
I can hear the differences when the kit is completely summed together and I can hear it clearly. The EVO definitely has more high end details (good, bad and indifferent) where the API/SSL has a tighter less washy sound. I believe that the differences are more in the mic pre than in the conversion itself. The Audient conversion is amazing as is the SSL, I have an Orion 32+ GEN 3 and it has shown me that with gr8 conversion you will hear the mic and pre amp differences more accurately. what would be more interesting to hear is what does the API sounds like when using conversion only with the EVO? Thanks for a gr8 video as always.
There is clearly a difference, even to my tinnitus trashed hearing. I so didn't want there to be. Your kit makes those drums sound like an expensive recording straight away, the detail is gorgeous. The less expensive system simply didn't have the same detail, well that's just to my old, severely bashed, hearing anyway! Thanks!
REALLY interesting video.
One Question: you are using the mic splitters, which means one goes directly, the other over the transformer. Did you sense any difference?
awesome video! to me api-ssl combo was behaving a touch more 3d. It felt like it would blend better with other instruments in the mix. Audient sounded like typical modern interface - very upfront, but as a 10 years user of affordable interfaces I've found this upfrontness to be a little hard to push back in the mix - not to make it quieter but to make it farer away from the listener. And your api/ssl did had that musical pushback immediately. is it worth the money? well... if I had the money I wouldn't consider and pick the high-end setup
Amazing. The difference if any is so small. Incredible what the quality of converters now can do for such a reduced cost. The lines are totally blurred.
Wow thank you for this serious test!
What would be interesting too is to test the USB driver latency ; would it be possible to feed headphones with "no" latency ?
Very good thank you!
the first comparison of the whole kit seemed to sound favourably toward the high end gear to me - but the snare/kick comparisons seemed fairly identical 😎
Just as well as I got the evo 16...
Cheers.
I wonder how adding some saturation or preamp emulations would affect the Audient tracks. To me the main difference is that the API setup has more harmonic overtones (but subtly), and it sounds just a tad more "like a record" - bigger and deeper. But only a SLIGHT amount! Could you compare other instruments and vocals next? Thanks!
I feel like on any given track the difference is subtle, but when they add up over the whole kit there’s a sense of weight and focus in the midrange on the SSL/API that I just don’t get on the Audients. Whether that’s “better” or not is a matter of taste though.
dame here. the sum of all channels sounds way more
dimensional and open than the sum of the audients.
great video 👍
I got a USB96 and having problems, and I was thinking about buying a new interface so good timing on this vid.
Thx now i'm more in to the audient
I would have liked to hear full mix comparison with all effects and instruments.
Sounds extremely close! Great comparison! I'd bet if you pushed the APIs into distortion a bit they will win for sure, but its a great time to get into audio engineering. Also I'd bet the SSL / API will last a bit longer, but you can use that extra $9k to buy another haha.
If you push it for distortion then you can use from the other side a fabfilter saturn to match it!!
I just bought this Audient Evo 16 and it is wonderful! I love the monitor mix ability also the sub-mixes ability! For myself and for my home-studio is wonderful, and the pres... oh my gosh they sound a lot better than those from the Focusrite Scarllet 18i20 that I had before. Love to see you using this one!
I have the focusrite 18i8, allowing me to have 4 mics, on the market for a 8 preamp one, might consider this one
I love this video! Can u please do Audient ASP 880 vs API or Neve?
Super Test. Danke und liebe Grüße ✌🏻
Evo sounds a touch more muffled in comparison but the difference is tiny and surely does not match the price difference.
Awesome job and video Kristian!
Great video. Im on the hunt as well