Hello Julian, I'm a bass player of nearly 15 years and recently started home recording. Your videos are invaluable for my research and I cannot appreciate enough how well made they are. Thank you for all of your efforts which enable us to have this information freely available on TH-cam.
Your in-depth reviews of interfaces helped a lot in my decision making process! Now I’m able to make a educated purchase based on facts, and my needs, as opposed to buying a product based on hype, and sales tactics. Thanks Julian, and keep up the good work!
Great review! the numbers on the chart seem crazy good. I don't think they warrant an upgrade for those who own the old version but it's nice to see them improve on them. It's especially nice to see them improve on the volume knob. It seems for level imput meters motu m2 is still king in this price range. Cheers!
1. Correction: At 07:00 the sample rate should say 96 kHz. 2. Regarding the interference in the preamp noise sample: Some people have pointed out that you can hear a tiny amount of interference at 10:03. I went back and checked the recorded noise. For the test I recorded a few minutes of preamp noise and for about seconds you can hear a low 300 Hz hum. For the video I apparently picked a section from exactly these 12 seconds. I wasn't able to replicate this hum and this wouldn't be audible in a normal recording situation. Treat the noise preamp noise sample of the iD4 MKII as a worst-case scenario.
yes I was writing about the 192khz, and thank you for the uhm 300hz noise info, it is something I wouldn't expect by this interfaces but actually it's quite difficult to notice it in normal situations. Does the problem appear only on the id4 or does it also with the id14?
@@andrewherrera9769 type c is a port, there is nothing about power delivery. Usb3 provides more power then usb2. Regardless of type c or a or b or whatever else.
One other thing that I think bears mentioning is the top-mounted controls, which I find a lot easier to use compared to the front-mounted controls on other budget interfaces like the MOTU and Focusrite.
Thanks again for the amazing set of videos. I am trying to find an interface which has the smallest amount of RTL. The HP Output Performance chart that you have is amazing. Do you have a similar chart for the latencies? Comparing best latencies (at lowest possible buffers) and also latencies at a standard buffer setting (say 64 / 128). That'll be super useful, thanks.
Julian, thank you for your reviews. Thanks to you, I've chosen Audient iD4 as my new interface. I need to be at several places trough the day, and this interface is perfect for carrying with me. It's robust, quality is great and that wheel..! Amazing. Keep up the great work! Greetings from Lithuania!
Thanks Julian, just made my purchase and I'm delighted with the iD14. Your review was a tremendous help as I still count myself as a newby to home studio building.
If I had to buy a 2 input device, for a typical home studio, it would be the ID 14 Mk 2. Not exactly cheap, but relatively decent quality, and decent features. The ID 4 is also a great device for someone who is not likely to record any stereo inputs. A good achievement. Output dynamic range over 125dB - awesome.
I feel so good for my audient id44, which have the same DAC .. excellent job audient again.. serious company.. antelope sorry, with the double price you can't reach that thing.. bravo julian
Brilliant review, thanks. I have iD4 Mk I and this confirms that I have made a good choice but maybe not yet upgrading to Mk II as the first one still is amongst the best ones out there.
First of all, thanks for all these reviews! Could you make an overall comparison of all the interfaces you've tested? Like you did with the headphone outputs
Of course I gave this video a „thumbs up“ because you absolutely deserve it. Such a great amount of work you must have put into this video… But I must say… since I‘ve never dealt with recording technology, I don‘t understand a word at all. If only I had paid attention in physics class… 🧐
I bought the ID4 MkII as no sellers had the Motu M2 in stock but there weren't enough reviews at the time. This review would've given me confidence at the time but I'm beyond than satisfied with the ID4 MkII! Also the full licensed software and lessons it comes with really makes it worth it. The JFET instrument input is also a positive though not really having much experience with a lot of guitar amps, I couldn't make a fair comparison. I'm just happy I don't have to use my motherboard's noisy line-in and mic-in anymore. Now just to fix my house's lack of proper grounding... yay old house.
I'd love to see a review of yours of the Apogee Symphony Desktop (just to see how it really compares to the Audients and some other mid-priced interfaces and not just by the price tag and the fame and name behind Apogee).
Great job as always! And thank you for all the information about the differences between the previous models and also about the converter's names, information that audient didn't want to share. How can you explain the difference between the audient specification A/D dynamic range and your mesurements? Audient claim that its dinamic range is of 120dba 7db more than your measurements, but for the DA converter's dynamic range your measurements are really close to their 126dba
thanks, after seeing the numbers and graphs I feel like I am finally decided and will go for the ID4 as I need it mainly to mix and master on speakers and 250ohm headphones...
I have the iD4mkII and love it, first time I can record vocals and not have to do any noise reduction in post, so very quiet preamps in deed. I do however need more inputs and outputs so I ordered a iD14mkII today! I can use a ASIO buffer size as low as 16 and have virtually no latency with vst fx or instruments. You need to increase the buffer size as you load more and more plugins obviously.This also depends on your cpu power. You want to connect this to a usb c port if possible which sends more power to the interface than a usb 2 port does. Increases headphone volume amongst other things.
All the videos are really great! Thank you for charting this all out. I'd be curious how the newer Motu Ultralight MK5 stacks up against these smaller interfaces. Hope this finds you well. Cheers!
Thank you for the review. On Audients homepage they say that the interface will be able to work just as well using the USB A connection, as long as it is on the 3.0 standard (thus providing 900ma of current). They do say that using USB-C provides extra headroom, but it would be unfortunate if the quality deteriorated significantly when not using this. Did you make sure that you connected to a type A port of the correct type?
"They do say that using USB-C provides extra headroom, but it would be unfortunate if the quality deteriorated significantly when not using this. Did you make sure that you connected to a type A port of the correct type?" Would like to know this as well. Was about to buy it but when it got to that point of the review I didnt find a reason to continue...Very unfortunate. If the usb 3.1 doesnt do it it's very sad. Dont have a type c ready to go on my build and I would have to customize a lot to make it work.
@@IngoGarza I have tried with DT 990 PRO (250 ohm) and it worked well with USB A 3.0. In the manual is stated that minimum requirement is 0.9A @ 5V which is at least USB 3.0. And maximum is 1.5A @ 5V which is 3.1 if I am not wrong. On their site is not stated that USB-C provides extra headroom, it's just stated that provides more power. In wikipedia I found this information "USB 3.0 ports may implement other USB specifications for increased power, including the USB Battery Charging Specification for up to 1.5 A or 7.5 W, or, in the case of USB 3.1, the USB Power Delivery Specification for charging the host device up to 100 W". So I am not sure what is going on...
@@ivayloivanov3744 3.0 is renamed 3.1 with 5V and 0.9A... However, 3.2 is a different beast, as it is at 5V and 1.5A. We really need Usb 4 to come out and clean this mess up. Class C wires are rated to usb 3.2, however C to A wires can also be rated to 3.2 as the generation of USB ports (on both ends) decides the power levels.
Now, if you check the Tech Specs or the USB port article under FAQ, they do mention it! So, have purchased it? Could it drive your high impedance headphones via USB-A 3.0?
@@ivayloivanov3744 I am experiencing a lot of distortion with my DT 990 Pros at higher volume - the last 4 volume steps are unusable for me. (Tried this on USB 3.1 A und C ports)
Thanks for the excellent review, Julian. I purchased an Audient iD14 MKII a couple of days ago. I have a MOTU M4 but my wife tried it on her PC and she likes it. The MOTU is no longer in stock here so I tried the Audient. I was a bit worried that it would end up not being good performing, so I'm very happy to see your results.
But due to the bad reputation audient has, I would choose ssl 2 or Motu over id14. Just Google "AUDIENT INTERFACE DIED AFTER ONE YEAR OF USE" and you will see how many people are disappointed.
@@reinulf656 I just Google and I got these results: www.soundonsound.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=74871&p=719920&hilit= gearspace.com/board/music-computers/1168648-audient-id22-disappointment.html www.amazon.com/-/es/gp/customer-reviews/R2CBO3XXPIPBNQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00ECTTGFA#R2CBO3XXPIPBNQ gearspace.com/board/newbie-audio-engineering-production-question-zone/1253664-audient-id14-problems.html At one point I wanted to buy an audient interface, but I saw so many bad experiences in users that I preferred to pass on that brand. Not only did it die in a few years or months, but in many cases, parts such as preamps, or outputs, knobs begin to damage, which does not seem to me to be good in such a prestigious brand. And with such good options currently, such as Motu, SSL, and others, it is not mandatory to buy audient. Many times we do not need recent products to have an excellent quality, I did a shootout of several interfaces and my Pod x3 live, to finally realize that the Pod was a better all in one solution. Better DIs guitar tracks, quieter preamps, no latency problem monitoring Vst Amp Sims from the Daw in real time, effects like reverb, delay, chorus of excellent quality. In addition, the noise gate included the best I have tried, it beats a boss noise suppressor and any of Vst that I tried, be it the overloud Th-u, amplitube, Guitar rig, and others, only that noise gate is worth the 200 USD that the Pod costs used.
Thanks for the review. It seems these are some of the best in the business. I think the lack of input metering is a big downside, but the performance is definitely acceptable.
As always, great review. Any chance you could review the Rodecaster and Zoom Podtrak? Would be great to see a proper review of their performance in the sound chain rather than the ability to play jingles and canned laughter.
great video which really helped me to understand the product and enabled me to decide on what was best for me! thanks v much dude, keep up the great work
Nice review, I see a lot of question regarding "MOTU M2 vs. iD14 MKII" and that would be my question too. :D 1. In terms of Mic IN (not important to me because I don't record) 2. Balanced Out (audio quality, especially for users with active speakers) 3. Headphone Out (audio quality, the Audient seems to have more power for headphones which need quite some juice?!?!) Optics are subjective but I think the M2 looks better, which is not that important. :) The MOTU is sold out for quite a while, pretty hard to get your hands on it, M2 and iD14 are now almost the same price.
Thank you so much for the review of these devices! After watching it several times I found it to be very detailed and informative and I got but one question to ask: I wonder, what is „sufficient gain“? You didn’t bring a number. You might want to add that to your pinned comment. :)
It will be at the maximum or close to that...as mentioned the gain knob is not linear so therefore experiment for optimum levels...low noise preamps here will drive an sm7b
Hi Julian, thanks for this video. Quite helpful. One question though. Did you test the Audient SONO as well? I know it's aimed at guitarists but if you ignore the two notes section how good are the preamps (both tube and transistor) and the converters in this compared to the ID series?
Was waiting for this video. Danke! Listening to preamp noises I heard some kind of interference in addition to regular white noise (10:02). Is that just an unlucky catch?
I have been building rock solid DAWs for people since 1998. One thing very few people discuss on any of these review channels, is one of the most important to me! And that is, the LATENCY of the product in question. I have not changed my Recording Interface since 2011 because I've not found an interface with better Latency.. I use an ESI 1010e, and recording at 24/96, 32 samples, I get a Latency of 0.500ms. So thanks for the heads up
It's not the audio interface that's the latency bottleneck, it's the software processing the plugins. A RME HDSPe does exactly what your asking for with 3x' s the samples and faster lower latency I'm talking .96ms PCIe Audio Interface Cards Will be faster than regular audio interfaces because it's the closest thing to the source Mic>preamp(optional) >audio interface> >Cpu Mic>preamp>Cpu/Pcie audio interface card
hello julian! i found your reviews amusing and so i have subbed.. ever since i was watching you you would kinda like the motu m2, but now i see this id4 mk2 is pretty good too.. wich one would you reccomend for a 120ohms headphones? also the trip latency is so much worse or just a tiny bit vs the motu m2?
I'm having a really, really hard time deciding between the iD14 MK2, Motu M2 and 2i2 3rd gen. The latter is by far the cheapest, but seeing as I mostly use 1 mic + headphones/monitors I could also opt for the iD4 MK2, making the Motu m2 the most expensive here. However, combining headphone DAW output + direct monitoring is important as well... man choices...
@sYKE What's the points that make you doubt which one to get the most? I'm driving 2 mics (usually not at the same time though; sm58 & at2020), 2 monitors and a set of headphones (usually either a 32ohm or 150 ohm set). Use cases are listening to music, gaming, amateur vocal recordings and the likes. Basically asking for a good all-in-one unit for a penny or two. It's a lot to ask, obviously, but these three all have their pros and cons. Currently trying the 2i2, but the headphone out is a bit disappointing on my 32ohm headphones and it provides just barely enough gain to drive my mics. M2 will have the most gain on tap, more I/O, meters etc. ID4/ID14 MK2 will be the best to drive the 150ohm headphones, but partially rely on software... Hmz... The id4 mk2 is really, really cheap here though. Like 110 or something currently.
@sYKE motu m2 us is ok u hear lots of people either say its great or it died and has bad customer support while audient mk ii has everything for a home studio/ podcast/ whatever same with the SSL2+ they did a 500 round-trip audio test with SSL2+ and Audient id14 mkii and SSL2+ won, but it's sound seem to be gear towards music production while the Audient is more natural sounding and a speck more clearer sound.
Thank you. I would love an rme ou apollo review buy they are really expensive, you do really help for beginners like us to know and understand what we use. Thanks a lot
Do you plan reviewing some bigger interfaces ? Like ID44, ID22, Motu 828, Apogee ? It could be great to have an idea on how different price ranges really behave. We even can have some surprising results I think !
Hi Julian, I have read on ASR forum that iD4 & iD14 mk2 have been using ES9822PRO ADC instead of the AK5574EN since the latter half of 2021 because of the fire in AKM. The updated iD4 also replaced CS43198 DAC with CS43199. Both updated chips are apparently worse than the original setup (AK5574EN+CS43198). You can follow the thread here: Post in thread 'iD4 & iD14 MK II - Audient updated their Audio Interfaces' These changes were silently made by Audient and It seems no one has measured the updated versions using the inferior ADC. Consumers are therefore basing their purchasing decisions on the many positive reviews of the original products, including yours. I believe it is important to review the updated versions, compare their performance against the original version as well as against the competition. In that regard, it is also important to verify if due to the AKM fire, other products got silently updated, such as for example SSL 2/SSL 2+. I hope you can help us to find answers to these questions. Thank you 🙏
Hi. Could you review some of Zoom's Mixers and recorders? I owned the L12, L8, P4, P8 etc... I wonder how their pre-amps match up with your system. Also the P8 has a TERRIBLE headphones amp issue, it literally distorts in high volumes and I have to live with it. Thought it would be good content to call them out on it. Love your work, you are the best I've seen for thsese reviews, please never stop :)
I saw Audient marketing their Instrument input with JFET transistor having a more "tube like" feel. Is that a common thing other good quality interfaces use like SSL 2, Motu M2,... without mentioning or is it really something specific to Audient (and I saw also Focusrite) products? P.S. Thanks for all the amazing vides!
what mic for singing can work well with this interface? People say the Shure sm7b is too quiet and need a cloud lifter as well to get enough gain... Is that true? people say they set the gain to maximum to hear themselves!? Sounds really bad 🤦🏼and that recommended mic goes for 400-500 euro... but is used by the Swedish public radio here in Stockholm. So a bit confused to how quiet it is and or useful for singers!? seems to also get very expensive if one must add another 150 euro to get gain... 🤷🏼 I want a more vintage look mic for singing and use the iD to an iPad or Mac Mini pro if apple will release that now... and nice silver metallic vintage mic 🎙 you experienced as good for this interface around 300-400 euro? thanks for a great comparison 👍🏻😊
Hi, great review. One question, can I with the Audient ID14 MKII control the volume of the monitors and headphones, each one separately? I mean, do the monitors have their own independent volume signal and the headphones have their own independent volume signal? If yes, can the ID4 MKII do this as well? Thank you very much.
Hey! Thanks for all your work. Is there a way to use a load or converter in the headphone output on the interface to decrease the impedance and use cheaper (low ohms) headphones so the frequency response remains unaltered? Thank you.
Great video Julian! Very informative. I like to record my guitar directly using amp sims and my DAW. For someone who uses DT 770 250 ohm headphones, would you recommend the ID14 MKII over the Motu M2/M4?
I'm not sure how easy it is to measure driver reliability, but knowing how stable the drivers are on Windows would be nice. I can see though that you are running it on a Windows system yourself and didn't mention any problems, I suppose.
Great review !!! I enjoyed it and decided to upgrade to the mkii. Between usb A and usb C I’m getting the same headphone volume. Is the difference obvious by ear?? The numbers you’ve posted suggest it’s quite obvious. Thanks
Great review! Thanks a lot! I'm currently using id4mkii to drive my HD800s and it's working fine. I was wondering whether should I upgrade to apogee duet 2 (3's specs degraded) or spl phonitor. And I found out it's not a huge difference/upgrade from id4mkii according to my current needs.
14:04 Does anyone know if connecting the interface to a USB-C from a PCI-e expansion card would work? My motherboard doesn't have the connection unfortunately
Thanks for the informative video Julian. Since you also covered Behringer UMC202 & ID4, which one would you recommend for DI / Instrument input only use? I'll just play guitar with the interface and not interested in Mic preamp quality etc. Latency and Quality DI Input is most important factors for me (knowing that latency may change up to many different use cases).
Help! My Audient iD14 mk ii 3.5mm output port is really bad quality, if I hear a test song I cannot hear the vocal on my headphones and the song sounds very thin without all the bass. It’s brand new and I don’t know why is it.
If you watch both reviews back to back, it's pretty obvious he prefers the M4 hands down. The part that kills it for the ID14 for me is the lack of a proper mix knob (you have to use the software), and the input meters don't show clipping accurately. The second one isn't that big of a deal, but not having a dedicated mixing knob is :( I can only speak of the M4's quality as I've owned it for a little over a month, and it's top notch for the price. I'm sure the ID14 is great too though, don't think you could go wrong either way.
Trying to figure out wich interface I should go with...narrowed it down to id14mk2/motu m4/ssl2+....all of them SEEM great...but then when you take a deep diive on the forums you hear horror stories about bugs and horrible customer service...wobbly knobs and whatnot....guess it just blind luck in the end.
@@va941 Namely, the quality of the main outputs, the headphone output and the DA conversion. The soundstage is beautiful, making it easy to accurately perceive pans, delay times and stereo width. I’m not big on all the buzzwords people use to describe audio such as “warm” or “vibey”, BUT this interface’s sound is very pleasing without imparting any of its own sound on your music. I will also say that that preamps are good but I’ve only used them a handful of times (I use a FocusRite ISA preamp). In a vacuum, this interface is capable of getting you the sound you want fairly easily. All that’s left is the ability of the person operating it!
Hello Julian, I'm a bass player of nearly 15 years and recently started home recording. Your videos are invaluable for my research and I cannot appreciate enough how well made they are. Thank you for all of your efforts which enable us to have this information freely available on TH-cam.
Hello. What audio interface did you buy?
@@yakov.lopatin hi. I bought an Audient id4 mk2 and am happy with it.
this video made me buy an iD14 and boy i don't regret it.
Thanks again Julian
After 3 years it was good ?
Just bought id14 mk2, it's way better than mAudio192|6 and Evo4.
Plenty of gain, no cracking noise, no interference with 3g. Love it
is it possible to record two guitars at the same time with id14 mk2?
@@somerudedudeeeeyes there is two inputs in the interface
Your in-depth reviews of interfaces helped a lot in my decision making process! Now I’m able to make a educated purchase based on facts, and my needs, as opposed to buying a product based on hype, and sales tactics. Thanks Julian, and keep up the good work!
Glad you enjoy the videos! Thanks for the support 🙏
Great review! the numbers on the chart seem crazy good. I don't think they warrant an upgrade for those who own the old version but it's nice to see them improve on them. It's especially nice to see them improve on the volume knob. It seems for level imput meters motu m2 is still king in this price range. Cheers!
The audio output's distortion is unmeasurable.. Time to upgrade the audio analyzer.. :) We have found excellent DAC..
Thank you for the review.
1. Correction: At 07:00 the sample rate should say 96 kHz.
2. Regarding the interference in the preamp noise sample:
Some people have pointed out that you can hear a tiny amount of interference at 10:03. I went back and checked the recorded noise. For the test I recorded a few minutes of preamp noise and for about seconds you can hear a low 300 Hz hum. For the video I apparently picked a section from exactly these 12 seconds. I wasn't able to replicate this hum and this wouldn't be audible in a normal recording situation. Treat the noise preamp noise sample of the iD4 MKII as a worst-case scenario.
I believe type-c and tipe-A makes no difference.
Maybe the reason is your usb type-a is also usb2 not usb3 standard.
Dear Julian... Was your USB-c to USB-a cable USB 3?
@@lerlerler1 Nope, type C allows greater power delivery
yes I was writing about the 192khz, and thank you for the uhm 300hz noise info, it is something I wouldn't expect by this interfaces but actually it's quite difficult to notice it in normal situations. Does the problem appear only on the id4 or does it also with the id14?
@@andrewherrera9769 type c is a port, there is nothing about power delivery.
Usb3 provides more power then usb2.
Regardless of type c or a or b or whatever else.
Perfect timing, I was wondering.
I got mine two days ago and have been loving mine. Waiting for my guitar to arrive still though
I got my 1 a motnh ago! Happy out 😁
One other thing that I think bears mentioning is the top-mounted controls, which I find a lot easier to use compared to the front-mounted controls on other budget interfaces like the MOTU and Focusrite.
I just ordered an id14 After watching almost all your reviews. Thank you for the effort you put in this videos
How was it?
Thanks again for the amazing set of videos. I am trying to find an interface which has the smallest amount of RTL. The HP Output Performance chart that you have is amazing.
Do you have a similar chart for the latencies? Comparing best latencies (at lowest possible buffers) and also latencies at a standard buffer setting (say 64 / 128). That'll be super useful, thanks.
Great review, I went with the ID14 MKII for the windows 7 compatibility and for is incredibly critical details in audio spectrum 👍🙂
Windows 7 in 2021. Mate, just upgrade to Windows 10.
@@JTCPingas I have a stable machine, don't need a upgrade as far is not connected to the net.
Julian, thank you for your reviews. Thanks to you, I've chosen Audient iD4 as my new interface. I need to be at several places trough the day, and this interface is perfect for carrying with me. It's robust, quality is great and that wheel..! Amazing. Keep up the great work! Greetings from Lithuania!
You are by far the best. Thank you for your clear precise and intelligent reviews.
Thanks Julian, just made my purchase and I'm delighted with the iD14. Your review was a tremendous help as I still count myself as a newby to home studio building.
If I had to buy a 2 input device, for a typical home studio, it would be the ID 14 Mk 2. Not exactly cheap, but relatively decent quality, and decent features. The ID 4 is also a great device for someone who is not likely to record any stereo inputs. A good achievement. Output dynamic range over 125dB - awesome.
I bought the 4 and am kicking myself for not getting the 14.
x
@@xyzct but there is no difference in sound quality. It has the same chip . Only difference is software and the number of in & output .
Why ?@@xyzct
So hard to decide tbh idk if I should get a Scarlett, volt 2 or id14
Got the id4 mkii a week ago and it's great!
It will be interesting and useful to see the iD44 measured and reviewed by you Julian.Nice work!👏👏👏
I feel so good for my audient id44, which have the same DAC .. excellent job audient again.. serious company.. antelope sorry, with the double price you can't reach that thing.. bravo julian
So the id44 and id14mkll have the same dac?
@@VallyTheHitman ADC/DAC same 100% in this two.
The DAC is same .. The ADC is different chip. for the id44 is the ak5578
Brilliant review, thanks. I have iD4 Mk I and this confirms that I have made a good choice but maybe not yet upgrading to Mk II as the first one still is amongst the best ones out there.
Just bought the ID14 MKII! Perfect timing!
First of all, thanks for all these reviews! Could you make an overall comparison of all the interfaces you've tested? Like you did with the headphone outputs
I have been using it for 2 weeks ,preamps very clean & i expected good DAC quality
Bought the iD4 from watching a few of your videos. Thank you so much for being the best interface reviewer on youtube.
Of course I gave this video a „thumbs up“ because you absolutely deserve it. Such a great amount of work you must have put into this video…
But I must say… since I‘ve never dealt with recording technology, I don‘t understand a word at all. If only I had paid attention in physics class… 🧐
I love the way you review everything, it's always everything that you really really need to know that most forget. Thanks alot!
I bought the ID4 MkII as no sellers had the Motu M2 in stock but there weren't enough reviews at the time. This review would've given me confidence at the time but I'm beyond than satisfied with the ID4 MkII! Also the full licensed software and lessons it comes with really makes it worth it. The JFET instrument input is also a positive though not really having much experience with a lot of guitar amps, I couldn't make a fair comparison. I'm just happy I don't have to use my motherboard's noisy line-in and mic-in anymore. Now just to fix my house's lack of proper grounding... yay old house.
just buy a di-box, ground problem solved
Very nice very well managed video... Thanks a lot 🙏
I'd love to see a review of yours of the Apogee Symphony Desktop (just to see how it really compares to the Audients and some other mid-priced interfaces and not just by the price tag and the fame and name behind Apogee).
Yes please
Julian macht einfach die besten reviews! / this guy makes the best review`s ever
Thanks for the review. I especially wanted to see yours one.
best technical audio interface review! well done!
Great job as always! And thank you for all the information about the differences between the previous models and also about the converter's names, information that audient didn't want to share.
How can you explain the difference between the audient specification A/D dynamic range and your mesurements? Audient claim that its dinamic range is of 120dba 7db more than your measurements, but for the DA converter's dynamic range your measurements are really close to their 126dba
thanks, after seeing the numbers and graphs I feel like I am finally decided and will go for the ID4 as I need it mainly to mix and master on speakers and 250ohm headphones...
It was a pleasant surprise seeing you Warren's channel reviewing the id14. Maybe you can pop up in Podcastage or Booth Junkie?
I have the iD4mkII and love it, first time I can record vocals and not have to do any noise reduction in post, so very quiet preamps in deed. I do however need more inputs and outputs so I ordered a iD14mkII today! I can use a ASIO buffer size as low as 16 and have virtually no latency with vst fx or instruments. You need to increase the buffer size as you load more and more plugins obviously.This also depends on your cpu power. You want to connect this to a usb c port if possible which sends more power to the interface than a usb 2 port does. Increases headphone volume amongst other things.
why do you need more inputs and outputs ?
All the videos are really great! Thank you for charting this all out. I'd be curious how the newer Motu Ultralight MK5 stacks up against these smaller interfaces. Hope this finds you well. Cheers!
Thank you for the review. On Audients homepage they say that the interface will be able to work just as well using the USB A connection, as long as it is on the 3.0 standard (thus providing 900ma of current). They do say that using USB-C provides extra headroom, but it would be unfortunate if the quality deteriorated significantly when not using this. Did you make sure that you connected to a type A port of the correct type?
"They do say that using USB-C provides extra headroom, but it would be unfortunate if the quality deteriorated significantly when not using this. Did you make sure that you connected to a type A port of the correct type?"
Would like to know this as well. Was about to buy it but when it got to that point of the review I didnt find a reason to continue...Very unfortunate. If the usb 3.1 doesnt do it it's very sad. Dont have a type c ready to go on my build and I would have to customize a lot to make it work.
@@IngoGarza I have tried with DT 990 PRO (250 ohm) and it worked well with USB A 3.0.
In the manual is stated that minimum requirement is 0.9A @ 5V which is at least USB 3.0. And maximum is 1.5A @ 5V which is 3.1 if I am not wrong. On their site is not stated that USB-C provides extra headroom, it's just stated that provides more power.
In wikipedia I found this information "USB 3.0 ports may implement other USB specifications for increased power, including the USB Battery Charging Specification for up to 1.5 A or 7.5 W, or, in the case of USB 3.1, the USB Power Delivery Specification for charging the host device up to 100 W". So I am not sure what is going on...
@@ivayloivanov3744 3.0 is renamed 3.1 with 5V and 0.9A... However, 3.2 is a different beast, as it is at 5V and 1.5A. We really need Usb 4 to come out and clean this mess up. Class C wires are rated to usb 3.2, however C to A wires can also be rated to 3.2 as the generation of USB ports (on both ends) decides the power levels.
Now, if you check the Tech Specs or the USB port article under FAQ, they do mention it! So, have purchased it? Could it drive your high impedance headphones via USB-A 3.0?
@@ivayloivanov3744 I am experiencing a lot of distortion with my DT 990 Pros at higher volume - the last 4 volume steps are unusable for me. (Tried this on USB 3.1 A und C ports)
great quality! Thanks for your objective and analytical review! Keep up
Time to add some reference measurements in there. How about some RME stuff?
I've been waiting for a Julian Krause RME Babyface Pro FS review for a while myself.
Me too!
Thanks for the excellent review, Julian. I purchased an Audient iD14 MKII a couple of days ago. I have a MOTU M4 but my wife tried it on her PC and she likes it. The MOTU is no longer in stock here so I tried the Audient. I was a bit worried that it would end up not being good performing, so I'm very happy to see your results.
But due to the bad reputation audient has, I would choose ssl 2 or Motu over id14.
Just Google "AUDIENT INTERFACE DIED AFTER ONE YEAR OF USE" and you will see how many people are disappointed.
@@butcher_0392 I can't find anything.. Can you help with where to see this information? I googled it with and without quotation marks
@@reinulf656
I just Google and I got these results:
www.soundonsound.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=74871&p=719920&hilit=
gearspace.com/board/music-computers/1168648-audient-id22-disappointment.html
www.amazon.com/-/es/gp/customer-reviews/R2CBO3XXPIPBNQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00ECTTGFA#R2CBO3XXPIPBNQ
gearspace.com/board/newbie-audio-engineering-production-question-zone/1253664-audient-id14-problems.html
At one point I wanted to buy an audient interface, but I saw so many bad experiences in users that I preferred to pass on that brand.
Not only did it die in a few years or months, but in many cases, parts such as preamps, or outputs, knobs begin to damage, which does not seem to me to be good in such a prestigious brand.
And with such good options currently, such as Motu, SSL, and others, it is not mandatory to buy audient.
Many times we do not need recent products to have an excellent quality, I did a shootout of several interfaces and my Pod x3 live, to finally realize that the Pod was a better all in one solution.
Better DIs guitar tracks, quieter preamps, no latency problem monitoring Vst Amp Sims from the Daw in real time, effects like reverb, delay, chorus of excellent quality.
In addition, the noise gate included the best I have tried, it beats a boss noise suppressor and any of Vst that I tried, be it the overloud Th-u, amplitube, Guitar rig, and others, only that noise gate is worth the 200 USD that the Pod costs used.
@@butcher_0392 thank you very much!
When it comes to low latency RME devices are always on the top list if not the best
Thanks for the review. It seems these are some of the best in the business. I think the lack of input metering is a big downside, but the performance is definitely acceptable.
As always, great review. Any chance you could review the Rodecaster and Zoom Podtrak? Would be great to see a proper review of their performance in the sound chain rather than the ability to play jingles and canned laughter.
great video which really helped me to understand the product and enabled me to decide on what was best for me! thanks v much dude, keep up the great work
Thank you. I appreciate the fine details of this review. Most helpful.
Nice review, I see a lot of question regarding "MOTU M2 vs. iD14 MKII" and that would be my question too. :D
1. In terms of Mic IN (not important to me because I don't record)
2. Balanced Out (audio quality, especially for users with active speakers)
3. Headphone Out (audio quality, the Audient seems to have more power for headphones which need quite some juice?!?!)
Optics are subjective but I think the M2 looks better, which is not that important. :)
The MOTU is sold out for quite a while, pretty hard to get your hands on it, M2 and iD14 are now almost the same price.
Hi Julian. Excellent reviews. Please keep up the good work. Would you please consider reviewing the Arturia Audiofuse Rev 2? Thanks.
Thank you so much for the review of these devices! After watching it several times I found it to be very detailed and informative and I got but one question to ask: I wonder, what is „sufficient gain“? You didn’t bring a number. You might want to add that to your pinned comment. :)
It will be at the maximum or close to that...as mentioned the gain knob is not linear so therefore experiment for optimum levels...low noise preamps here will drive an sm7b
Probably. Who knows. Usually, it is stated in an actual value on his videos.
excellent reviews on your channel - many thanks 👍👍👍
thanks for the accurate review. It would be really nice to watch a review of the presonus quantum line of interfaces from you! :)
What a great work here, welldone !!
The best reviews - so well done
Hi Julian, thanks for this video. Quite helpful. One question though. Did you test the Audient SONO as well? I know it's aimed at guitarists but if you ignore the two notes section how good are the preamps (both tube and transistor) and the converters in this compared to the ID series?
Great review! Any chance you`ll also review the IK Multimedia AXE I/O ?
yes good idea mr Duke Silver +1
Great Julian. Seems they replaced chip AKM with ESS9822QPRO, and Cirrus Logic from 43198 to 43199.
THank you for everything man!
Was waiting for this video. Danke!
Listening to preamp noises I heard some kind of interference in addition to regular white noise (10:02). Is that just an unlucky catch?
Hey, I pinned a comment regarding the interference.
I have been building rock solid DAWs for people since 1998. One thing very few people discuss on any of these review channels, is one of the most important to me! And that is, the LATENCY of the product in question. I have not changed my Recording Interface since 2011 because I've not found an interface with better Latency.. I use an ESI 1010e, and recording at 24/96, 32 samples, I get a Latency of 0.500ms. So thanks for the heads up
It's not the audio interface that's the latency bottleneck, it's the software processing the plugins. A RME HDSPe does exactly what your asking for with 3x' s the samples and faster lower latency I'm talking .96ms
PCIe Audio Interface Cards
Will be faster than regular audio interfaces because it's the closest thing to the source
Mic>preamp(optional) >audio interface> >Cpu
Mic>preamp>Cpu/Pcie audio interface card
@@sikwitit773 I'm getting .50ms with my PCIe interface....
hello julian! i found your reviews amusing and so i have subbed.. ever since i was watching you you would kinda like the motu m2, but now i see this id4 mk2 is pretty good too.. wich one would you reccomend for a 120ohms headphones? also the trip latency is so much worse or just a tiny bit vs the motu m2?
I'm having a really, really hard time deciding between the iD14 MK2, Motu M2 and 2i2 3rd gen. The latter is by far the cheapest, but seeing as I mostly use 1 mic + headphones/monitors I could also opt for the iD4 MK2, making the Motu m2 the most expensive here. However, combining headphone DAW output + direct monitoring is important as well... man choices...
@sYKE What's the points that make you doubt which one to get the most? I'm driving 2 mics (usually not at the same time though; sm58 & at2020), 2 monitors and a set of headphones (usually either a 32ohm or 150 ohm set). Use cases are listening to music, gaming, amateur vocal recordings and the likes. Basically asking for a good all-in-one unit for a penny or two. It's a lot to ask, obviously, but these three all have their pros and cons. Currently trying the 2i2, but the headphone out is a bit disappointing on my 32ohm headphones and it provides just barely enough gain to drive my mics. M2 will have the most gain on tap, more I/O, meters etc. ID4/ID14 MK2 will be the best to drive the 150ohm headphones, but partially rely on software... Hmz... The id4 mk2 is really, really cheap here though. Like 110 or something currently.
@sYKE di you guys make a choice? i have the id4 mkII and can't find anything i don't like about it but
@sYKE motu m2 us is ok u hear lots of people either say its great or it died and has bad customer support while audient mk ii has everything for a home studio/ podcast/ whatever same with the SSL2+ they did a 500 round-trip audio test with SSL2+ and Audient id14 mkii and SSL2+ won, but it's sound seem to be gear towards music production while the Audient is more natural sounding and a speck more clearer sound.
@@KindOldRaven should you choose the audient or the 2i2 ?
what did you end up getting?
Thanks, this video is so awesome! I have the Id4 mkii for recording songs. Its so great!
thank you for the excellent and detailed review
Great review, thanks!
Thank you. I would love an rme ou apollo review buy they are really expensive, you do really help for beginners like us to know and understand what we use. Thanks a lot
the id4 mkii works wonderfully with Linux. audient really should support Linux more!
Pro reviews, thanks for your jobs.
Great review, Julian. Can you please review the Arturia Audiofuse?
Thanks for this Julian 😀
THANK YOU, really.
i was looking for an interface for a 470 ohms headset, and it's so hard to find those stats.
Do you plan reviewing some bigger interfaces ? Like ID44, ID22, Motu 828, Apogee ? It could be great to have an idea on how different price ranges really behave. We even can have some surprising results I think !
Id14 vs MOTU M4 vs ssl2+, please do it,and can we use the Direct monitoring knob in the id14?? In the software??,would love to know your opinion
Yes!
Maybe throw in the one of the new AU Volt? But either way. Yes!
Yes
Hi Julian, I have read on ASR forum that iD4 & iD14 mk2 have been using ES9822PRO ADC instead of the AK5574EN since the latter half of 2021 because of the fire in AKM.
The updated iD4 also replaced CS43198 DAC with CS43199. Both updated chips are apparently worse than the original setup (AK5574EN+CS43198).
You can follow the thread here: Post in thread 'iD4 & iD14 MK II - Audient updated their Audio Interfaces'
These changes were silently made by Audient and It seems no one has measured the updated versions using the inferior ADC. Consumers are therefore basing their purchasing decisions on the many positive reviews of the original products, including yours. I believe it is important to review the updated versions, compare their performance against the original version as well as against the competition. In that regard, it is also important to verify if due to the AKM fire, other products got silently updated, such as for example SSL 2/SSL 2+.
I hope you can help us to find answers to these questions. Thank you 🙏
CS43199 into id14 too
Hi. Could you review some of Zoom's Mixers and recorders? I owned the L12, L8, P4, P8 etc...
I wonder how their pre-amps match up with your system. Also the P8 has a TERRIBLE headphones amp issue, it literally distorts in high volumes and I have to live with it. Thought it would be good content to call them out on it.
Love your work, you are the best I've seen for thsese reviews, please never stop :)
Great review as always. Is it possible to get (FULL) power to the interface without USB c to c, as my computer only has usb a outlet connections
I was just about to buy this, until you've said that I can't control speakers and headphones volume separately on id4... what a shame.
I saw Audient marketing their Instrument input with JFET transistor having a more "tube like" feel. Is that a common thing other good quality interfaces use like SSL 2, Motu M2,... without mentioning or is it really something specific to Audient (and I saw also Focusrite) products? P.S. Thanks for all the amazing vides!
what mic for singing can work well with this interface?
People say the Shure sm7b is too quiet and need a cloud lifter as well to get enough gain...
Is that true?
people say they set the gain to maximum to hear themselves!? Sounds really bad 🤦🏼and that recommended mic goes for 400-500 euro... but is used by the Swedish public radio here in Stockholm. So a bit confused to how quiet it is and or useful for singers!?
seems to also get very expensive if one must add another 150 euro to get gain... 🤷🏼
I want a more vintage look mic for singing and use the iD to an iPad or Mac Mini pro if apple will release that now...
and nice silver metallic vintage mic 🎙 you experienced as good for this interface around 300-400 euro?
thanks for a great comparison 👍🏻😊
Hi, great review. One question, can I with the Audient ID14 MKII control the volume of the monitors and headphones, each one separately? I mean, do the monitors have their own independent volume signal and the headphones have their own independent volume signal? If yes, can the ID4 MKII do this as well? Thank you very much.
Hey! Thanks for all your work. Is there a way to use a load or converter in the headphone output on the interface to decrease the impedance and use cheaper (low ohms) headphones so the frequency response remains unaltered? Thank you.
Any solutions?
Great video Julian! Very informative.
I like to record my guitar directly using amp sims and my DAW. For someone who uses DT 770 250 ohm headphones, would you recommend the ID14 MKII over the Motu M2/M4?
The big question is id14 II vs SSL2. I really like the build and finish of ID series.
I have them both and they are equally good...depends on what you want or workflow needs...
@@michaelj.4187 Thanks heaps for the information. Do you think SSL LED indicator to set the input gain more useful than ID series?
@@frankluo230 neither are class-leading but SSL slightly better...
@@michaelj.4187 which device is class leading?
@@MrNickdino - we were discussing led vu meters...in particular between SSL 2 and id14mkii
Hi, thanks for complete review. I would appreciate if you consider Steinberg ur-rt series, especially it's Rupert Neve design transformer. Good job 👍.
I'm not sure how easy it is to measure driver reliability, but knowing how stable the drivers are on Windows would be nice. I can see though that you are running it on a Windows system yourself and didn't mention any problems, I suppose.
Great review !!!
I enjoyed it and decided to upgrade to the mkii.
Between usb A and usb C I’m getting the same headphone volume. Is the difference obvious by ear??
The numbers you’ve posted suggest it’s quite obvious.
Thanks
Your videos are awesome!
That's weird. They advertise a Dynamic Range of 120dB(A) (ADC). You measured 113dB(A)...
Most honestly reviewer on youtube. Thanks again for good review.
Great review! Thanks a lot! I'm currently using id4mkii to drive my HD800s and it's working fine. I was wondering whether should I upgrade to apogee duet 2 (3's specs degraded) or spl phonitor. And I found out it's not a huge difference/upgrade from id4mkii according to my current needs.
I really enjoy your informative reviews. Would love to see you review the Black Lion Revolution 2 x 2!
My favorite reviews
14:04 Does anyone know if connecting the interface to a USB-C from a PCI-e expansion card would work? My motherboard doesn't have the connection unfortunately
Did you find a solution or Can you get enough volume with USB A cable to power 250 ohm headphones.
Thanks for the informative video Julian. Since you also covered Behringer UMC202 & ID4, which one would you recommend for DI / Instrument input only use? I'll just play guitar with the interface and not interested in Mic preamp quality etc. Latency and Quality DI Input is most important factors for me (knowing that latency may change up to many different use cases).
Help! My Audient iD14 mk ii 3.5mm output port is really bad quality, if I hear a test song I cannot hear the vocal on my headphones and the song sounds very thin without all the bass. It’s brand new and I don’t know why is it.
Julian, in terms of overall quality, which one would you suggest: Motu M4 or ID14 mk2?
If you watch both reviews back to back, it's pretty obvious he prefers the M4 hands down. The part that kills it for the ID14 for me is the lack of a proper mix knob (you have to use the software), and the input meters don't show clipping accurately. The second one isn't that big of a deal, but not having a dedicated mixing knob is :( I can only speak of the M4's quality as I've owned it for a little over a month, and it's top notch for the price. I'm sure the ID14 is great too though, don't think you could go wrong either way.
@@RADERFPV you also have a loopback feature on m4
Loopback on both
Trying to figure out wich interface I should go with...narrowed it down to id14mk2/motu m4/ssl2+....all of them SEEM great...but then when you take a deep diive on the forums you hear horror stories about bugs and horrible customer service...wobbly knobs and whatnot....guess it just blind luck in the end.
My vote is for the ID14 mkii
@@ctrlaltcreate3827 May I inquire why it won your vote?
@@va941 Namely, the quality of the main outputs, the headphone output and the DA conversion. The soundstage is beautiful, making it easy to accurately perceive pans, delay times and stereo width. I’m not big on all the buzzwords people use to describe audio such as “warm” or “vibey”, BUT this interface’s sound is very pleasing without imparting any of its own sound on your music. I will also say that that preamps are good but I’ve only used them a handful of times (I use a FocusRite ISA preamp). In a vacuum, this interface is capable of getting you the sound you want fairly easily. All that’s left is the ability of the person operating it!
Hello Julian, thank you for your videos.
Can we have a video of Universal Audio Volt series please? Keep up with the good work 💪🏼
Thank you
I'll have a look at them, omce they are available!
Please review RME FS Line. Thanks!
I noticed some interference in the mic preamp noise that wasn't just benign white noise... Not great.
Yes.. Even if it was a glitch it's a glitch that should not have happened.