Audient iD14

I've worked with many professional audio interfaces, and I know what requirements are needed to work in the studio. The main advantages for me are high-quality Burr Brown AD/DA converters, stunning Audient console-style preamps, convenient and functional iD mixer app, low latency, ScrollControl mode for adjust any parameters in your DAW, and the possibility to expand up to 10 inputs via ADAT!
I'll highly recommend this interface for all professionals.

Main usage
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1) Audio recording : Voice, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Bass and Virtual instrument
2) Mixing
3) Listening to music on computer
4) Shooting video with a smartphone or DSLR
5) Monitoring on headphone

My setup
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1) Garageband, logic Pro and Ableton Live on Mac Mini
2) Ableton Live on Windows 10 laptop
3) Audio Evolution App and Filmic Pro App on Android Smartphone

Experience with other Audio interfaces
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1) Apogee One (MkI)
2) Focusrite Scarlet 8i6
3) Zoom H6
4) M-Audio Firewire 18/14
5) TC Electronic Konnekt 48
6) Hoontech DSP 24

The decision-making process
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So I was scanning the market for a consumer audio interface with some pros feature and I ended up with the Audient ID22 and SPL crimson in my shortlist. Meanwhile, Audient released the ID14 and SPL released the Creon. I was really after the Crimson because of the stand-alone feature and Android compatibility. But they started to release the MK2 and it became too expensive compared to the Audient.

Then I compared the ID22 to the ID14 and realised the difference in feature wouldn't justify paying a double price. According to an Audient repsentative, the preamps are the same and there's some minor differences between the converters (. And the money I save by not buying the ID22 could be used to buy a more colored external preamp or better mics.

My experience with the ID14
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Where it excel:

- The DAC and headphone output really blew my mind. That alone can justify the acquisition. I was already impressed by the listening experience with the Apogee One but the Audient ID14 take it to another level if you have decent headphones. I listen with an AKG K701 and a Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro
- The instrument input is also really good. My perception is that the DI is on paar the Apogee One instrument input for guitar and slightly better for bass.

Where it compares well to other products I know:

- Preamps: 66dB headroom where other device in that price range hardly hit 60dB. Other than looking at the specs, it's hard to judge a preamp because it's difficult to isolate one factor without doing a testing protocol. However I made some tests with a Golden Age Pre73 Jr and I could not hear any improvement. I even preferred the result without the external preamp. However, the ID14 doesn't has insert so what I did is to use the balanced MIC input and set the gain to zero so to minimize the contribution of the Audient internal pres. I have no idea if the ability to bypass the internal preamplification circuit would make a difference here. At the end I returned the Golden Age Pre to the reseller.
- The quality of the build is awesome. The box is solid and the potentiometers works well machanically. The inputs are tight. Whenever I plug a jack, I have a good feeling about it. Not too hard, not to loose.
- The ability to control your DAW from the ID14 is handy

Where it's on paar with the other interfaces I have:

- Latency on MAC OS is ok, not better nor worse than other interfaces I know
- Driver installation worked well on MAC OS 10.9

Where there's room for improvement:

- Allthough it is officially supported, I couldn't install the driver on my Windows 10 laptop
- After a few mail exchange, Audient Support didn't answer anymore
- The ID14 doesn't work with my Android phones (Zoom H6 works with Galaxy S7, Apogee One works with HTC One M8 and a special driver from Audio Evolution)
- You need to plug the external power if you use MICs with phantom power

Excellent packaging and presentation, easy set up on Mac, running current IOS preamps are very good, read good things, better than expected

A got this a month ago. Its easy to use and sounds amazing!