Audient EVO 4 USB Audio Interface sound card for music production (2 in / 2 out USB audio-interface, 48 Volt phantom power, 2 microphone preamps, etc.), Black

What a lovely device! +pro -con + Nice plastic case, well shielded, good weight (nice+good, not incredible+perfect) - It's NOT robust enough to be thrown in a gig-bag - No dB labels on the case near the LEDs [see screenshot attached of some video I watched on YouTube] - You need to be looking down on it to see all the lights - and you cannot put it on it's side if you are using the headphone or instrument jacks + I never thought I would use the "auto-input-level" toy, but it has made life SO much easier! + It has loopback for streaming (ie. mixing 'game' noises with 'commentary') + It has an instrument input for musos (overlaid on input #1) + Independent phantom power + The latency is low enough to use my PC for live effects (reverb, etc.) [*IF* you use the official drivers] + You can pair the two channels for stereo in/out if you wish. + Full support for both balanced and unbalanced inputs and outputs! + Auto-mutes the monitors when you plug in headphones - There is no way to override the headphone auto-mute feature - It can be a bit fiddly to press the buttons in the right order when pairing channels or selecting what the rotary encoder (volume knob) controls. - You cannot turn off the LEDs while it is connected to a PC - No MIDI ...Do you need MIDI? Consider a MOTU-M4 + The noise floor is *amazingly* low - Struggles to drive my DT770/80's with any great volume - especially when mixing between PC and Inputs - but I have lost a LOT of hearing over the years :/ ...Kids, invest a tenner in some Etymotics BEFORE you get tinnitus and start to go deaf :,( If your budget is £100 - I suggest you stop looking ...If you have £200 in your budget, consider the MOTU-M4, it upgrades to: MIDI (5pin DIN); better physical layout; mutliple 'knobs' for easier adjustments; a nice OLED display; 4 inputs; and other technical stuff you can find in YouTube videos by the likes of Julian Krause. I only bought the evo 4 while waiting for MOTU, who are are having problems shipping kit to the UK at the moment [Spring 2020] ...And I really don't think I could have made a better choice :) ...Why only 4*? See the "-" points above!

Bought this to replace my longstanding digital interface that annoyingly is no longer supported by the Apple operating system. I wanted the ability to use it in my home studio and also with an iPad. I found it quite a good interface but with some limitations. I have tested it with a number of different microphones including an Electrovoice RE20 and RE50, an Audio Technica ATM 31a, and even a Coles lip mic. What I found is that the preamps are very clean and quite good. The downside is that the 'Smart Gain' function will not work with every microphone so you will have to set it manually (not a great problem). A final thought that might help. If you are using something like an Electrovoice RE20, or a Shure SM7B which don't run on phantom power, you may find it very quiet using the EVO 4. You can boost the levels in post, but that can be a problem if for example, you are podcasting live. Therefore you may need to add something like a Cloudlifter or similar to boost the levels. Incidentally, you don't need to use a Cloudlifter. They are good but overly pricey. There are many other perfectly good cheap alternatives. I am currently using a Klark Teknik Mic Booster CT1, which is much cheaper but equally good. Hope that helps...

I've had quite a few interfaces over the years but needed something quick for a new project, which was reasonably priced and had 2 inputs. I'm normally disappointed with anything audio related where I've gone for the more budget option, but with the Evo 4 I was pleasantly surprised. It was easy to set up and I like the way the unit operates. I like the central wheel who's operation is set by the button which precedes it, it is intuitive to use. Sound wise it is very good. It's hard to rate mic pre amps, but you notice when they are not great. I had digital multitrackers where they were sub par and also interfaces, but the Evo 4 seems to have plenty of clean gain and works with a variety of mics (I have mainly used an SM57 and LDC so far). Also, unlike other interfaces I've had, there are no earth loops, buzzes or interference, just a clean sound. I've recorded vocals and loud harmonica and guitars, certainly high volume is not a problem with a mic which can handle the SPL's. So although it's probably aimed mainly at content creators etc, it has no issue in the studio. Based on the price I can't give anything but 5 starts so far. It is of lightweight construction, I would prefer it if it was metal, but I've no reason it won't hold up. The headphone amp is more suited to lower impedance phones if you are dealing with loud sources and want headroom in the cans. I tried it with DT770 80 ohms and it was okay, but changed to 32ohm cans to give me a bit more headroom. That said 80 ohm would be fine for solo acoustic or content creation. Just something to be mindful of. All in all a great value little unit, I wanted to get the ID14 but budget meant I went for the Evo and I have no regrets.

This is just wonderful - a great investment. Got a shotgun NTG2 mic, needs phantom power and tried both a direct XLR to usb cable which worked ok but not great, then a cheap audio interface which was so bad it was returned immediately. This wee box is fantastic. Connected it to the Mac Studio, followed instructions, watched the setup video and was away. The sound is so much better, richer. The control interface is very intuitive after a little use, phantom power perfect and the smart gain function just lovely. One thing to be aware of - the exact headphones you use seem to make quite a difference to what you hear coming out of the box - impedance most likely.

✅ What an amazing piece of kit. I bought the EVO 8 for the convenience of not always having or wanting to turn on my main mixing desk and make a big thing out of it when all I want to do it get cracking with a project, and this allows me that. I literally plug it into my MacBook Air and away we go. Smartgain is a sensational feature that I wish I had decades ago. I like to record myself playing the guitar and singing simultaneously, and the big green button cuts out any guesswork when all I want to do is just start. It listens to me play and sing for 15 seconds and then it sets the levels on all of the mics separately, so all I then have to do is click the record button, amazing, but I can change them manually if I want to, but so far I've no need because the recordings have been perfect. The software is also extremely helpful. There's not much to it, which is great! ...which then automatically routes into my DAW. You will have to assign the four inputs to the accompanying tracks, but that takes 20 seconds. Done. However, there was one issue that occurred which was instantly fixed. After unplugging the device for the very first time, the playback in my DAW was slow whereupon I was given an error message: "Error while trying to synchronise Audio and MIDI. Sample Rate 16,114 recognised. Check conflict between (your DAW name) and external device". All I did to fix the issue was plug the EVO 8 device back into the USB-C port, play the song which was normal again, and then unplug it. Done. I've not had a problem since. I don't know why this happened - it could have been me or it could have been the manufacturer (Audient), but it was a 20 second fix and it's nothing to worry about. It may not even happen to you, but it was worth my mentioning just in case. Listen, I could go on about this product for ages, but just take it from someone who has a recording studio with many toys and says that the EVO 8 is a mini-workhorse which simplifies the recording process. It has been the best £139 I have spent on recording gear. Buy it.

Sounds pretty good, works well and looks good

I know this is aimed mostly at musicians, but I bought this first and foremost for gaming / streaming / podcasting and I am generally over the moon with the sound reproduction. Using it with a Shure MV7, the SM7B's little brother, but much like the SM7B, the MV7 is a gain hungry mic that requires a minimum of 55dB of gain from your interface for usable sound. This is just shy of the Evo 4's 60dB of supplied gain and to get a usable sound for Discord and good recording levels for my podcast, the Evo 4 needs the gain to be to be cranked up to the max. This is also how the Evo 4 sets the gain if I use the auto gain function with this specific microphone. Not ideal, but not a deal breaker as adding an in-line mic booster (I went for the Klark Technik CT1 - +25dB of gain for £40) has given me enough headroom to turn my mic up during my streams and gaming sessions as necessary. As for output sound, pairing this with a pair of DT770s (80ohm) has suddenly given me the ability to hear colours. I'm unstoppable in Halo Infinite, I can hear enemy Spartans breathing from across the map. But in all seriousness, I don't know if this will make footsteps easier to hear for you, but as for general improvement and offering a more rich, immersive and higher quality of sound, I really can't complain for the price. It's actually quite impressive. I will say, however, that if you are looking for live sound processing such as adding a noise gate or limiter to your voice or general EQing to make yourself sound better on stream or in your gaming session, it is not possible with this device / supplied Evo 4 software. Bear in mind, that the primary function of the Evo 4 is for recording and as such, Audient have assumed that you will add those effects in post production.

Writing this review negatively pains me as I've been an audient customer for years now and this is the first interface that I want to love because it is absolutely perfect apart from one feature that is the deal breaker. I'll start with the positives. This interface is just like every other audient product. Well built, fabulous value for money, intuitively genius in its portability, ability to drive studio headphones up to 600 ohms and in built automatic levelling for gain (should you turn it on). I want to adore this interface as I adore my ID4 mk2. However The negative let down I've experienced. This is the only audio interface I've ever owned that when you turn the volume wheel, it changes windows volume along with it as the driver takes full control of your pc audio. Not only is it infuriating that interface does this, apps such as Spotify seem to just have a nightmare and not work because of it. So what good is an interface that only works with my DAW and nothing else on my PC. If this interface operated the exact same as the audient ID series (such as my own ID4 Mk2 which i do adore and would absolutely recommend to anyone) then it would be an absolute game changer in the industry. Sadly, the evo app is a pain to use and the interface itself should not be controlling the Windows volume dial. If audient changes this in an update to make it operate the same as the ID series in terms of drivers and control, I would absolutely buy 10 of these interfaces as the concept and features and size is absolutely incredible. It's just such a shame that it is basically unusable in my setup so I will be refunding and buying another ID4 mk2 instead to travel with.