Audient iD4 Audio Interface

F
or truly compact audio
interfacing on the
move, Audient’s
recent EVO series has
much to offer and I
was really impressed
by the slickness of the
design. However, if you’re after a
more audiophile experience their iD
desktop range has always been a good
bet. Up for review I have the new iD4,
which, alongside its sibling iD14, has
been given a mk2 upgrade, and now
features better dynamic range,
improved signal to noise ratio and a
beefed up headphone output.
The iD4 is a 2-in 2-out 24-bit /
96kHz compact desktop design with
one rear-mounted mic/line input and
one front-mounted instrument input.
The mic pre is Audient’s long
established 8024 Class A circuit and
the instrument input is a JFET
design. On the back is the 48V
phantom switch alongside a pair of
¼” balanced monitor outputs. On the
front edge is the instrument input and
both ¼” and ⅛” headphone outputs.
Both headphone sockets receive the
same signal and can be used
simultaneously, which is very handy.
On the top panel, in addition to
two preamp gain controls, you get
hardware monitoring via a simple
balance control (Input/DAW) and
output level is set via the large push
button volume encoder. The push
action dims both headphones and
main outputs and you can also mute
just the speaker outputs using the
speaker button. Meanwhile using the
speaker button and iD button together
allows you to adjust the left/right
balance of the zero latency
monitoring. Alone, said iD button
activates the encoder mode so you
can use the main knob to adjust DAW
plugin parameters. Finally, the top
panel includes a fi ve-step output
meter that temporarily doubles as a
level indicator when you adjust one of
the controls.
The iD4 mk2 is exclusively USB
bus powered, however unlike for its
predecessor, connectivity is now via
the latest USB-C style port. The iD4
also takes advantage of the higher
power supplied via the USB 3.0
protocol to deliver an improved
headphone output and provide true
48V phantom power to the mic pre.
To that end, a USB 3.0 connection is
required, and although I did get the
unit to function on a USB 2.0
connection, this is not supported and
keeping things simple and compact.
Yes, you’ll need a USB 3.0
connection to power it, but this is still
a very solid upgrade.
would likely be unreliable. Connection
to iOS devices is also possible,
though unless you’re using a new
USB-C equipped iPad Pro you’ll need
the Camera Connection Kit and a
PSU. The iD4 is solidly made with
all-metal casework, and with chunky
controls and decent connectors, it
defi nitely has a quality feel.
How does it sound? Well we
already know the mic pre is very
transparent and you’ve got 58dB of
clean quiet gain. But for me it’s the
instrument input that’s the star. The
JFET design is quiet and punchy with
plenty of headroom and if you do
happen to clip the input, the
distortion is natural and pleasing.
This mk2 release builds on the
iD4’s audiophile credentials whilst
THE PROS & CONS
+
Good amount of
clean gain from tried
and tested
Audient preamp
Tasty JFET
instrument input
Robust stylish
construction
Simple hardware
monitoring with
panning option
Useful additional
encoder features
-
Requires USB 3.0
connection for
correct operation
FM VERDICT
9.0
The iD4 provides a solid
uplift on its predecessor and
although the feature set is
pretty basic, there’s quality
where it counts
For me it’s the
instrument input that’s
the star
Audient iD4 MkII | Reviews
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