New 8 channel interface choices: Focusrite Clarett+8Pre vs. Audient EVO 16

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Apologies for the longest title I think I've ever created. For years, I've been using a Presonus Firestudio project interface on my recording desk. It's been fine for what I do, and I really like having all 8 channels on the front. It has finally died and is unusable. In looking to replace it, I have been looking at 8 channel 1 rack space interfaces with at least 2 inputs available on the front (I hate digging around behind my desk). I have a 6 channel snake that I can use to make the other inputs easier to get to for projects requiring more than 2 channels.

I've narrowed the two top choices down to the Clarett + 8Pre and the EVO16. Both have great reviews as lines of interfaces in their smaller versions, but both are currently not available for purchase yet but expected any time. Both would be an upgrade from what I have been using. I have a big project coming up at the end of July, but until then I have an Audient id22 that sounds great and can take care of what I need.

As for my uses: it is literally for audio recording only, no monitoring needed as just about everything is just played acoustically in the room (Grand piano, bass, horns/guitar sometimes). If I ever record with drums, they would have to go in my wife's room next door with cables fed under the door, and they would monitor live (I hope).

Does anybody have experience and/or input, good, bad or ugly, about the Clarett and EVO lines of interfaces? I know the Clarett is more expensive, but for now, let's not call that a consideration. Thanks!

 

[Bonafide]

Does anybody have experience and/or input, good, bad or ugly, about the Clarett and EVO lines of interfaces? I know the Clarett is more expensive, but for now, let's not call that a consideration. Thanks!

Hey Chris, sorry no experience with Focusrite Clarett+ but they are well regarded for project studio interfaces. Stable. The updated AD/DA will keep you in good running for years. If you can swing it, I wouldn't over-think it. I think both are priced for what you get. I set up a Focusrite Scarlett 2 years ago in my wife's streaming media studio where we film alot. It's a simple thing, but it has been solid and stable on Windows. And while I can't help your choice through personal comparison, with pro audio, the better the pres and AD/DA the better in general even if you are only monitoring in phones. It also provides a usable platform if you do ever decide to upgrade the pres to separate hardware. I personally always choose the better option with audio...particularly considering the organic sources you are recording.

If you run Mac you'll need one of the following - macOS 10.14 (Mojave), 10.15 (Catalina), 11 (Big Sur) and 12 (Monterey). Congrats on being forced to upgrade...

BTW- looks like it is in stock at Sweetwater

 

[silky smoove]

They’re both prosumer-tier products with no transformers. In a blind shootout you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two provided the Focusrite Air circuit is disengaged. I’d pick the one with the most gain on tap and call it good.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

If you run Mac you'll need one of the following - macOS 10.14 (Mojave), 10.15 (Catalina), 11 (Big Sur) and 12 (Monterey). Congrats on being forced to upgrade...

BTW- looks like it is in stock at Sweetwater

Thanks for the reminder. Oy vey… I forgot about the software. My computer at home is running High Sierra because I still use Sibelius 6. But I do have a laptop with a later OS that I can use for these sessions, and Logic will accept projects from an older OS, so I can easily save to the project on an SSD and open on the big screen.

@silky smoove I was thinking along the same lines. For the kind of stuff I’m recording - basically acoustic chamber music, mostly jazz centric and meant for release on video - it’s more about the performances and the last batch I did was recorded on a ZoomH6 at the university where I teach - I used external mics, but got decent results with the pres on the Zoom.

I’m leaning towards the Audient because I like the features and I don’t want to get caught up in a gear chasing wormhole when experience has shown me that the best way to improve the quality of my recordings is to play better, which means more time practicing instead of chasing the diminishing returns of high end gear.

 

[Bonafide]

I’m leaning towards the Audient because I like the features and I don’t want to get caught up in a gear chasing wormhole when experience has shown me that the best way to improve the quality of my recordings is to play better, which means more time practicing instead of chasing the diminishing returns of high end gear.

Buying the Audient for budget reasons or features is relevant and sound. That is the primary relevance in as far as the two. It isn’t an equal interface. With any pro audio (no gear chasing involved) all gains are made in multiple small steps, repeated. A small gain repeated becomes the difference (track after track etc…same with practice) The biggest gain in base hardware are the AD/DA and pres, and the Clarett+ is professional entry level…and genuine respect to @silky smoove unless I am mis-interpreting this, nowhere close to ‘prosumer’ (an unfortunate outdated marketing phrase from the 2000s that does not apply here). Transformer-less pres are common in pro audio.

The fact is with your monitoring, you'll be hard pressed to tell anything of detail, but at least with the better AD/DA and better pres (including but not because of the 'air' feature) the better capture will be there (over and over), whether you know it or not.

There is never a wrong choice, but as with instrument practice, the consistent little gains add up, which may or may not be relevant here.

 

[silky smoove]

The biggest gain in base hardware are the AD/DA and pres, and the Clarett+ is professional entry level…and genuine respect to @silky smoove unless I am mis-interpreting this, nowhere close to ‘prosumer’ (an unfortunate outdated marketing phrase from the 2000s that does not apply here).

The internet hive mind (ie Gearspace, KVR, TapeOp, Sound On Sound, etc.) have all labeled the Clarrett as Focusrite’s prosumer tier with the Scarlett occupying the consumer and Red occupying the professional tiers. Whether or not that holds up to scrutiny is beyond me as Focusrite has made a variety of products over the years at wildly different price points from the smallest Scarlett interface to the large format console in Joseph Jack Puig’s studio.

Regardless, even consumer tier AD and DA stages are alarmingly good and have been since the early 2000s if not earlier. Preamps without an intended color circuit or transformers are among the smallest differentiators of sonic quality available. Based on that, regardless of purchasing tier nomenclature, I would hazard a guess that these two would sound indistinguishable from one another in a blind shootout of recorded material.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Thanks for the replies! To be clear, in most recording situations there will be no monitoring needed whatsoever, since all parts will be tracked together live and it will be just as though we were playing live. In these situations, there are no overdubs possible, which is a part of the approach to the music as basically a live recording.

If I decide to try to record with drums at some point, those would be in another room and I would have to figure out how to send monitor signals then. But I've not done that before here, and it's not a big part of my plans, to be honest.

The only time monitoring will be used here is when i am multi tracking something where i play a part on the piano, then go back and overdub a bass part while listening to the recorded piano part. I don't tend to even have the bass in the headphones when I do this, but rather go with the "one ear on, one ear off" approach. Even in the most professional studios I've recorded in, I still do some version of this. The sound and response of a double bass through a signal chain and then through headphones is completely different from the sound and response of one played acoustically; so when I record, I want to be recording the sound of me reacting to the acoustic response of the instrument.

 

[Bonafide]

The internet hive mind (ie Gearspace, KVR, TapeOp, Sound On Sound, etc.) have all labeled the Clarrett as Focusrite’s prosumer tier with the Scarlett occupying the consumer and Red occupying the professional tiers. Whether or not that holds up to scrutiny is beyond me as Focusrite has made a variety of products over the years at wildly different price points from the smallest Scarlett interface to the large format console in Joseph Jack Puig’s studio.

Regardless, even consumer tier AD and DA stages are alarmingly good and have been since the early 2000s if not earlier. Preamps without an intended color circuit or transformers are among the smallest differentiators of sonic quality available. Based on that, regardless of purchasing tier nomenclature, I would hazard a guess that these two would sound indistinguishable from one another in a blind shootout of recorded material.

Sure bro, I understand this. But only a select use it.

I was a part of the 'hive mind' using the phrase as a near 20 year GS veteran when those forums were created and 25 year veteran of the original Music player forums with Craig Anderton (I am on all the MP released cd's) I was fortunate to be hired by several pro audio companies to build forums back in the day, which I mention only to say, the challenge is that when it was coined for pro-audio it was very applicable to the rapid rise in technology and the mixed-manufacturing companies offering cheap 'pro audio' components like DATs, CD Burners, Monitors etc. available at Best Buy and the like. Designed to look professional but were meant for the living room.

It's an unfortunate throw-back word that was adopted and mis-used for anything 'mid level'. Commonly used in a derogatory manner amongst a select in the home studio pro audio community and gear resellers. Professionals, don't care, they use anything and everything of every cost if it's working.

As you stated, today’s professional entry level interfaces, exceed most early 2000s higher end interfaces. Which makes the term, even more useless since we were praising the 'high-end' specs back then. I remember when the Mackie ONYX was first released (same level as the Clarett) and the converters were matching the Apogee Rosetta in clarity at the time. Sterile, but stunningly clear. Not very musical, but great for mastering. That changed a lot of things going forward. And it also had some clinging to the 'high-end' identity and slagging gear on price point.

 

[silky smoove]

Well, all I can say is that it’s a widely used piece of nomenclature these days. Whether you use it or not it has entered the zeitgeist and is generally understood by most, and in that regard it serves it purpose.

 

[Bonafide]

Well, all I can say is that it’s a widely used piece of nomenclature these days. Whether you use it or not it has entered the zeitgeist and is generally understood by most, and in that regard it serves it purpose.

I understand and I am clear on the intent, it's all good.. Not to side chat Chris's post any further, nothing wrong with any word per se, but like other myths in the forums (TB included), only grew outside of its meaning because it was perpetuated by a few who adopted it (not the industry) for their own agenda using a huge broad stroke for anything they wanted to quickly label mid-level or lower in pro audio, biased opinion only. Not specs. It was a legit part of the zeitgeist 2 decades ago, not anymore. There is a reason why it does not exist in any parallel music gear industry. Can't point to a prosumer bass amp.

 

[silky smoove]

For the most part it’s as arbitrary as consumer or professional since there’s no established standard.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Can't point to a prosumer bass amp.

I don't have a horse in this race, but I would call the Fender Rumble series amps "prosumer", only I don't see any pejorative aspect to the label. I have also been more than happy to find a Rumble 100 supplied as backline on more than one occasion. They are eminently workable if unspectacular - kind of like Presonus interfaces. And definitely the standards have changed in both audio recording and amplification to the point where what is "lower end" today would have been considered much higher end not too long ago.

 

[silky smoove]

Getting back on topic: I’ve been impressed with the quality of Audient products but frequently baffled by small things they do that could be easily resolved to make large improvements in their products. My Nero monitor controller, for instance, cant be powered down without causing a pop in whatever monitors are connected. Their competition at Drawmer and even the much cheaper Mackie and older Presonus offerings have been able to do this and email communications with them were less than helpful about it. Despite that I much preferred the construction and feature set of the Nero to the Drawmer offerings so I went with it. I don’t know if this will apply to the EVO16. Comparatively I demoed the Claret 8PreX when it was available. It was an incredibly well-built unit. I almost went with a pair of them but ultimately went in on 16 channels of Apogee only to have them be riddled with problems for two years before I finally got a refund. Had I bought the 8PreX models I suspect I’d still be using them today.

I think you’ll be hard pressed to make a bad decision on this.

 

[Bonafide]

I don't have a horse in this race, but I would call the Fender Rumble series amps "prosumer", only I don't see any pejorative aspect to the label. I have also been more than happy to find a Rumble 100 supplied as backline on more than one occasion. They are eminently workable if unspectacular - kind of like Presonus interfaces. And definitely the standards have changed in both audio recording and amplification to the point where what is "lower end" today would have been considered much higher end not too long ago.

You make an excellent point. There is lower price point gear in all industry's. And in so many ways we are at both a high peak and very low valley of gear quality. The term never gravitated or took hold in other industry's so we don't have a convenient catch-all phrase to blanket label anything we personally choose to be 'bedroom player quality' 'non professional' or similar. Which despite good intentions is exactly the implication. Outside of the internet forum world; on stage, in the studio, pre-post production etc.. the conversation doesn't exist in the daily grind. Both units will serve you well.

I think you’ll be hard pressed to make a bad decision on this.

 

[Aloe]

for latest 4 years I have the first-gen Clarret, the Thunderbolt one. oh, wait, I have two. and I'm recording second album through them.

what can I say? I really like it and the 'air' mode is very useful with mid-forward mics. with or without 'air', the mic preamps sound transparent and very detailed in mids. not fond of the in-built DIs, but that's kinda expected.

if you have specific questions that I may answer, I'm here, albeit my use case is very different (I heavily use software monitoring at minimal latencies and different outputs for different mixes).

 

[Kevorargh]

I have on Clarett 8PreX which I love. It replaced a Scarlett which died.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

As it turns out, it looks like the EVO line will run on my system: I for some reason thought that El Capitan came after High Sierra, but it's the other way around. w00t! Looks like I have a winner!

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[And I]

As an alternative to the models/brands you've listed I'll throw the Tascam US 16x08 out there for your consideration. It's less expensive than either the clarett or evo 16, has more I/O, and is likely extremely similar in quality / sound. Advantage is it can do 16 simultaneous inputs. 10 inputs on the front, the other 6 are available on the back.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

Unless your recording environment has been treated for sound, I doubt you will get extra value from those expensive interfaces. Prosumer gear will do just fine in a consumer setting.

Also, if you spend money professionalizing any part of the chain, you seriously must consider doing it to the entire chain. Especially microphones and quality stands for precise placement.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

My room is definitely sound treated, and my mics are similarly “prosumer” as well. Using Line Audio and Audio Technica mics for this project.

Another bit of good news is that the Focusrite software will also run on High Sierra, so now it just comes down to when the EVO becomes available. I may have to order before it is released.