EVO 16

I suspect something is wrong with my unit.

The volume knob has always been pretty weird, there is no audible volume untill I turn the volume to at least 20, but it doesn't get to a useful level before 40.

That is a minor annoyance, but what is much worse is that whatever is playing out my speakers, seems to feedback into the input channels 1/2. It's not the input routing which is causing this. If I set the main speaker output to other ports than outputs 1/2, such as 3/4, 5/6 or 7/8, then the output is STILL coming out of outputs 1/2 and it is still being fed back into inputs 1/2? So basically inputs 1/2 are unusable. The only workaround to not having the speaker output being fed back into inputs 1/2 seems to be to turn on the alt speaker mode and go into the settings and set outputs 1/2 to alt speaker. But then outputs 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8 stop working, so I can't use those outputs for external effects. If I set those outputs to alt mode aswell, then the main output mirrors onto ALL output ports.

Final workaround is to turn it to alt mode, go into the settings and set speakers 1/2 to alt mode and speakers 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8 to DAW mode. Then finally, nothing is mirrored and fed back into inputs 1/2 so I can use those inputs for my instruments without any weird feedback issues. But the problem with this setting is that it bypasses all volume control, so whatever signal is coming out of outputs 3/4, 5/6 and 7/8 will be EXTREMELY loud, but at least I can use all inputs and outputs with this setting.

Oh yeah, and I can't get Cue A, B, C or D working at all. Does not work. Don't buy this, it may be somewhat cheap, but that's because it's crap. And considering that it is crap, it is not cheap at all. It's rather expensive crap. I'm not considering getting something like an Apollo instead. Hopefully I will be able to use this unit for ADAT expansion, because I do need a lot of inputs and outputs for hooking up all of my gear.

... and I needed a quick replacement for my beautiful, but outdated Focusrite Clarrett 8PreX, which stopped working with my computer/OS.

I needed 24 channels to marry up with my mixing console, and I didn't (still don't) have the money for a UFX , so my choices were limited.

With 8 analogue i/o and two sets of ADAT i/o, on paper the EVO16 ticked all the boxes. However, and this is my fault for not doing deeper research, in the flesh, this unit was not what I wanted it to be.

My main issue is its form factor; it has a rack mounting kit available, which you have to pay for separately, but as is, it's neither full nor half standard rack size, but somewhere in between, and at 10", is much deeper than most gear.

The odd width also leads to my second issue with it, which is that it has the first two combijack inputs on the front, with all of the other inputs and outputs (except the headphone outputs) on the back. If Audient had made the dimensions conform to the standard, they would have had enough space to put inputs 1 and 2 on the back with the rest. They could have duplicated them on the front, like other manufacturers do, and charged a little more without putting off many potential customers, IMHO.

Basically, what I wanted was the yet to exist at the time, ID48, with its more standard form factor, and bypassable mic preamps.

While some will appreciate the 'auto gain' technology the EVO16 provides, it isn't a feature I have much use for personally.

Overall, it performs well, and it got me out of a bind, but with hindsight I would not have bought it for my particular set up. However, it may yet come in handy if I start a mobile recording service, and for those who don't use traditional rack equipment, they may find that my issues are non-issues.

I used this interface to record an album and it does it's job, but honestly the smart gain is not much use unless you mic up drums. And I constantly have this weird coil winding sound when on quiet sounds. Additionally, 48V phantom translates the electrical sounds to the recording somehow. Great features, mid sound. Build of the interface is OK, buttons seen like they could fall out, because they move around, yet the sides are made from metal.