EVO 16-24 in/24 out USB audio interface with Smartgain

Product Information

The EVO 16 by Audient is a 24 in/24 out audio interface, perfect for musicians, engineers, producers, content creators and more. Add to that, intelligent mic preamps that set their own levels with Smartgain, the all new, groundbreaking Motion UI control system, and enough I/O firepower to tackle even the biggest of sessions, EVO 16 is truly a studio powerhouse, designed from the ground up to make recording easy. Evo 16 is a single source LED spotlight that comes as standard in white, black and brushed aluminium finishes. Like most interfaces of its ilk, the EVO 16 has a built‑in DSP mixer to handle routing, low‑latency cue mixing and use as a standalone mic preamp. The form factor reminds me of typical rackmount interfaces, and you can in fact mount the EVO 16 in a rack.

Did my first proper recording session yesterday and it worked perfectly; Cue mixes with "more me", simple level setting and instant response. In the studio, every second counts – and with rock solid driver performance, high-speed USB connection, and ultra low latency monitoring, EVO 16 will always deliver the reliability needed to keep up with your creativity. The sweet icing on this particular cake is Smartgain, which is a means of effortlessly optimising the gain for all the channels you’re using, in one go. Clearly this basic functionality makes interfaces inherently ‘invisible’ in the studio; indeed the best ones should be exactly that. The EVO software mixer is clear and simple, but gives access to some surprisingly deep functionality.While Smartgain is obviously a quick and very beginner-friendly way to set the preamp gain for various channels, I do prefer the traditional, manual method.

In addition to the two JFET instrument inputs, the front panel houses a very nice display, an encoder with an LED ring, and a good selection of buttons. The majority of decisions are given instantly, so you could get your new gear sooner than you thought! This makes the recording process easier than ever before, eliminating the need to adjust levels manually. If you’re trying to record birdsong 10 metres away with an SM7B then you might be disappointed, but for everything else, EVO 16’s inputs are clean and detailed, and its headphone outputs are loud are clear with moderate loads.

However, the Gear4music extended warranty scheme provides an enhanced service, and is designed to offer a higher level of protection than many 'free' warranties offered by some retailers and manufacturers.

The plastic case feels fine on my 8 (one of the criticisms posted elsewhere) and was a fair way to keep cost low. Whether you are switching between two sets of speakers using the ALT monitor feature, checking your mix in Mono, or quickly communicating with your artist using Talkback - all features can be activated straight from EVO 16’s front panel.I had never bothered with Talkback before but setting the function button to Talkback using the laptop built-in mic array worked great. The plastic casing of the EVO 8 and 4 raised some eyebrows, but I can’t find anything to complain about in the physical design of the EVO 16, which is predominantly made of metal and feels very sturdy. Make recording easy with the Evo by Audient, the perfect interface for beginner and pro musicians alike.