In this article and video test, Luke Goddard looks at the Audient EVO Start Recording Bundle, and all-in-one recording solution for music and post-audio professionals, content creators and gamers.
Many of us will have come across Audient gear before now, from the ID desktop interfaces right up to the imposing ASP consoles that have been with us for all of this century now. For those who haven’t, the Start Recording Bundle brings a taste of Audient’s world-class audio quality and adds devastating simplicity of use to the mix.
If you are a musician, podcaster, gamer, YouTuber, or post person who thought that producing high quality audio for content is difficult, read on...
What Is SRB?
The Evo Start Recording Bundle (SRB) from Audient marries the two-input, two output EVO 4 audio interface with a large diaphragm condenser mic with shockmount and XLR cable, professional headphones, plus a USB A to C cable and printed quickstart guide. The whole thing arrives in one of Audient’s pleasing pizza box style cartons.
What Can I Do With It?
Audient has curated SRB to empower Podcasters, gamers and YouTubers, or anyone who needs to record or stream computer audio the right tools for the job. With the SRB, you are ready to record and monitor high quality audio for music, screen recording, or post production using a package that has managed to distill a lot of functionality down into one high quality, easy to use affordable system.
EVO SR1 & EVO SR2000
The EVO SR1 mic that comes in the bundle is a fixed cardioid pattern large diaphragm condenser. It doesn't have the usual input conditioning switches for pad or roll off, but I think this is a great move on Audient’s part in the name of cost and simplicity, especially given the intended use and ease of processing in the mix. The mic has a pleasing weight to it and a quality feel which I wasn’t expecting.
Like most cardioids, its voicing lends itself to being positioned with some “breathing space” from the source, and with my voice the mic was happiest when used like this. With this in mind it’s possible to get some pretty professional results with the SR1.
The EVO shockmount is a push-in and tighten type design with a brass threaded receiver. This is solid enough in use and won’t break or drop elastic like a postman on Friday! If your mic stand has a ⅜ inch (European) thread you will need a thread adaptor to fit the mount’s ⅝ (US) size. The XLR has metal solderable plugs and will probably last you a long time as well. You also get a USB A to C cable. The accessories overall are pretty good considering SRB’s £199 RRP..
The included EVO SR2000 headphones have a padded metal headband, a one-sided 3 metre cable with screw-on 6.35mm adaptor, and pivots that let you use them one-sided if you fancy breaking out the decks! They are well matched to EVO 4’s headphone output for level, so you won’t struggle to hear your own voice in the cans. The tonal balance is more mid-forward and slightly darker than my Sony MDR7506’s, but less so than my DT100s (not difficult!). In short, you can monitor and mix with these and get results.
The EVO 4 Audio Interface
Anyone who has used an ASP console will recognise Audient’s fingerprint on the EVO 4, which shares its controls' clarity and space with its ancestors. The unit is designed to be used without any previous technical knowledge, and I think newbies will appreciate the clean logical controls that use icons instead of text. Another nice touch is that surprisingly, it doesn’t slide about on the desktop despite its comparative lightness.
A single large rotary encoder with a very bright ring of white LEDs around it controls and shows input and output levels, as well as monitor blend and pan, with the whole thing having a light haptic click action in use. I love the arc-shaped “meter” that makes eyeballing your DAW for the level a thing of the past, and will make life easier for newbies and myself alike!
While level setting may be a fact of life, the big green Smart Gain button does it for you. Press it. Press an input number button. Press the big green button again. Play/talk/sing and it’s done… Audient have decided to take the guesswork out of setting levels, and it works beautifully. I think this is a standout feature that sets the EVO interfaces apart from the rest for usability.
You can read James Ivey's in-depth review of the EVO 4 with audio samples here.
The EVO App (Windows & Mac)
Downloading and installing the driver bundle from the Audient site gives you the EVO application which has a very clean two-window workflow. The Loopback mixer window allows the user to manage what they hear when streaming computer audio to their DAW or streaming encoder. Audrey Martinovich covers using loopback as part of her video series on using the EVO 4 here.
The EVO Control window basically mirrors the hardware, although it also has dedicated channel stereo link and mute buttons that make it easy to see whether you are muting inputs, outputs, or both. Handy if you’re re-plugging or dealing with errant guests during live streams… You can also mute inputs on the hardware which gets a big thumbs up from me.
Fast, Good, And A Great Price
Using SRB is a genuinely positive experience, and its ease-of-use and sound do not disappoint. As a front end, the EVO 4’s mic amps are really quiet even when wide open. The control surface seems like the logical conclusion of what an interface top panel should look like, and it works seamlessly in concert with the EVO app and the other bundled gear. At £199 RRP for the full bundle, it the perfect bundle for professionals, across a wide range of audio markets to get up and running.
Fast, good, and a great price. The old saying goes that you can only ever pick two. Having spent the last week working with SRB, I can honestly say that now you can pick three.
Check out the video below to see the Audient EVO Start Recording Bundle in action. Be sure to head over to the Audient EVO website for full information and to find your local dealer.