Audient’s iD48 goes all-out for channel count and routing flexibility£799 / €899 / $999, audient.com
Recently, we’ve seen a flurry of flagships being added to popular USB audio interface lines. These interfaces are loaded with additional monitoring and preamp functions, plus higher input/output counts required by producers who want to track a whole band simultaneously or dabble with analogue outboard gear.

READ MORE: Native Instruments Traktor Z1 MK2 review: A massive upgrade – but does it go far enough?

Focusrite crowned its 4th Gen Scarlett series with the 18i20. SSL complemented its desktop range with the rackmount SSL 18.
Now Audient has joined the party, its new iD48 massively outstripping the channel counts of its siblings, and sporting pro-grade features rarely found on any audio interface. Let’s take a closer look…
Image: Press
What connectivity does the Audient iD48 have?
Although the iD48 comes from the factory configured for desktop use, it has a standard 1U enclosure and so its natural habitat is a rack cabinet. Removing the rubber feet and attaching the included rack lugs takes only a few twiddles of a screwdriver, but I’m nonetheless surprised that it isn’t rack-ready straight from the box.
Connectivity starts in a familiar way, with a set of eight XLR/jack combo sockets for mic or line signals, and a pair of front-mounted jacks for connecting instrument-level signals to the first two channels. The use of rear-facing combo sockets on rack mounting interfaces is a bugbear of mine due to the faff associated with changing between mic and line connections, but iD48 mitigates this in a really convenient way.
This workaround comes in the form of a D-Sub (DB25) input connector that carries eight balanced signal paths when the input path is set to ADC mode in the software. One use of this is to feed line signals directly into a channel’s analogue-to-digital converter (ADC), thereby bypassing the preamp and negating the need to dig around in the back of a rack case. An attractive selling point for those wishing to plumb in their own, boutique mic preamps.
Image: Press
Analogue output connectivity is handled by four rear-panel balanced jacks, two independent stereo headphone jacks located on the front panel, and a second D-Sub connector carrying a further eight line outs. The first pair of jack outputs is intended as a main monitor feed, and the second as alternate monitor outs, but you can route main and alt monitor feeds to any of the unit’s physical outputs.
The D-Subs use the standardised Tascam wiring method, so it’s easy to source compatible looms. Prices can vary hugely depending on supplier and cable/connector quality, so expect to pay anywhere between £50 and £150 per loom to break out to jack or XLR plugs.
Digital connectivity is via two pairs of optical in/out ports, with each pair switchable between stereo S/PDIF and multichannel ADAT modes, and supporting up-to iD48’s maximum 96 kHz sample rate. When operating in ADAT mode, each pair provides eight input and output channels at up to 48 kHz, and four channels at 88.2 kHz and 96 kHz. Wordclock in and out allows easy syncing with any external preamps or converters being used to access iD48’s digital channels.
Image: Press
How does iD48 differ from similar interfaces?
The new interface features the Audient Console Mic Preamp used across the iD range. This uses the exact-same discrete Class-A design as the preamps found in Audient’s ASP8024-HE large format console, the only significant difference being that the iD preamps are modified to function at the lower power levels used within an interface.
These preamps perform wonderfully! Sonic details are captured with exceptional confidence and clarity, and benefit from a soupçon of analogue sizzle. They truly do deliver the ‘console-like’ sound boasted by Audient’s marketing literature. Also, with a 100Hz low cut filter, polarity reverse, -10dB pad and opposing +10dB boost, the preamp can adapt to practically any source.
Another feature of iD48 that stems from Audient’s console-building roots is the provision of balanced insert points that can be engaged on any of the eight preamps. When enabled using Mic Insert mode on inputs, a preamp’s output is sent via the corresponding D-Sub output bus (making the bus unavailable for general output duties) and the results are returned to the ADC via the corresponding D-Sub input bus.
I love the facility of being able to make use of iD48’s excellent preamps whilst also bringing outboard EQs and compressors into the signal path. I’m also impressed with the flexibility of being able to choose the routing/ADC source on a per-channel basis. This flexibility has come at the cost of complexity, and I found keeping track of each channel’s particular configuration, and therefore how each D-Sub-based bus is being used and patched, weighed on the mental workload.
Image: Press
How is the Audient iD48 controlled?
iD48’s front panel is rather austere. Each channel has a gain pot and phantom power switch, along with a small light panel that indicates the status of the channel’s 100 Hz low cut filter, phase reverse, pad and boost switches, which are accessed via the iD mixer software.
The monitor section features a level controller, seven-segment meter, and a cluster of four buttons. Two of these can have monitor control functions assigned to them, with a choice of phase flip, mono, dim and cut. The other two are dedicated to main/alt monitor switching, and engaging the talkback channel. An abundantly handy feature here is that as well as being sourced from any iD48 input, the talkback mic can also be sourced from any other mic connected to the host computer including a laptop’s onboard mic.
Accessing iD48’s full complement of features and settings means turning to the iD software mixer. This provides access to all channel and monitor switches, shows detailed level metering, and allows five different monitor mixes to be created – a main mix and four cue mixes. These can be routed to any of the system’s output buses.
The software follows the tried-and-tested concept used across the whole iD range, but there’s a sense that iD48’s routing flexibility has pushed this concept to its limits. For example, in the manual and on the mixer’s routing setup screens, DAW output options include ‘DAW Analogue’, ‘DAW ADAT’ and ‘DAW THRU’… say what? The manual tries valiantly to demystify all of this, but you need to be wearing your best thinking trousers to make sense of its often turgid explanations and diagrams.
Image: Press
Should I buy the Audient iD48?
Granted, these complexities lessen as one becomes more familiar with the unit, leaving little to be disgruntled by. The maximum sample rate of 96 kHz may pose a problem for some, but I doubt there are many producers who routinely record at higher than this… in fact I’d bet the majority rarely exceed 48 kHz!
At a full £100 less than the closely-competing SSL 18, iD48’s £799 asking price appears extremely competitive. However, the Audient’s unique selling points rely on utilising D-Sub connectors and, with that cost added, the price differential disappears, or could even swing to SSL’s favour. The extra expense brings tangible benefits, though, enabling a feature set that SSL 18 simply can’t match.
In use, I find that the iD48 preamps sound better than those of the SSL 18 (which are themselves impressive), and that there’s little – if any – audible difference in the conversion quality despite SSL 18’s higher A/D and D/A specifications. On the flip side, I find the SSL more pleasant to work with thanks to a front panel that facilitates more direct control, as well as a personal preference for how the SSL 360° mixer software looks and works. There really isn’t much to separate the two units, though.
In theory, given a price differential of around £2,000, there should be a far larger distinction between iD48 and a higher-end multi-in/out interface such as a Universal Audio Apollo x8. Certainly Apollo’s DSP-powered insert processing, which allows UAD plugins to be hosted on every channel, is more flexible and convenient than iD48’s analogue insert points, and of course doesn’t rely on you owning suitable (and often expensive) outboard hardware.
But the most important consideration is sound quality, and here iD48 does not put a foot wrong. So much so that, pitted against the Apollo x8 in a blind listening test, I found it challenging to tell the difference between Apollo and iD48. There are tiny differences that give the game away, if you know what to listen for – Apollo delivers exquisite high-end detail and pinpoint positional accuracy – but iD48 is not far behind at all. Are such tiny differences worth an extra £2K? Well, it’s your money so it’s your call!

Key Features

USB2 audio interface via USB-C
1U rackmount with removable/refittable rack lugs and rubber feet (included)
24-bit / 96 kHz maximum sample depth and rate
Up to 24 input and 32 output channels
8 Audient Console Mic Preamps
12 analogue line outputs
2 stereo headphone outputs
8 switchable balanced insert points
2 optical ins/outs supporting S/PDIF and ADAT S/MUX protocols
Wordclock in/out

The post Audient’s iD48 goes all-out for channel count and routing flexibility appeared first on MusicTech.