Audient ASP800 - can you rate preamps towards others?

[lfm]

Hi

Some unit with ADAT out would be perfect.
Never heard of the Audient brand, but found one article on SOS but did not seem like overly impressed. Said nothing bad, just not overjoyed.

How do they stand up against Focusrite and Mackie Onyx and others in this price range?

Focusrite ISA One 60 dB or like OctaPre, but OctaPre only 50 dB gain.
Onyx are 60 dB and like those.

Mackie used to have 800R which was rack module, but discontinued since long.
Mackie Blackbird is similar and can be set as standalone(Mackie support told me) for ADAT out - but needs firewire to do any settings and seems cumbersome to move to another computer just to shift a setting. I don't have room for my current RME card and firewire as well.

RME Babyface Pro - can be used as standalone with two preamps, and two line inputs. And a bit expensive for just those inputs.

Audient would though give 8 inputs and preamps.

Looked at Behringer ADA8200 - but read about some issued with predecessor ADA8000 and sync problems - so not sure how it stands out.

That's the range I looked at - any other ideas?

Thanks for any input.

[skipscada]

Never heard of the Audient brand, but found one article on SOS but did not seem like overly impressed. Said nothing bad, just not overjoyed.

I think you've misread the SOS review. It says: "This is an excellent multi-channel preamp/converter at an excellent price." Maybe you got the wrong impression because regardless of the overall quality of the product they tend to point out strengths and weaknesses to help you as a reader to decide if it has the features you want.

SOS often expect you to look up earlier reviews of similar products from the same manufacturer, to avoid repetitions. So you should read their review of the sibling product, the ASP880 (https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/audient-asp880) to get a better idea of what they think of these preamps. Key quote: "I can't think of a better‑performing or better‑equipped eight‑channel preamp at anywhere near the price, which makes the ASP880 a no‑brainer for anyone seeking a high‑quality professional multi‑channel mic preamp with digital outputs."

[lfm]

Never heard of the Audient brand, but found one article on SOS but did not seem like overly impressed. Said nothing bad, just not overjoyed.

I think you've misread the SOS review. It says: "This is an excellent multi-channel preamp/converter at an excellent price." Maybe you got the wrong impression because regardless of the overall quality of the product they tend to point out strengths and weaknesses to help you as a reader to decide if it has the features you want.

SOS often expect you to look up earlier reviews of similar products from the same manufacturer, to avoid repetitions. So you should read their review of the sibling product, the ASP880 (https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/audient-asp880) to get a better idea of what they think of these preamps. Key quote: "I can't think of a better‑performing or better‑equipped eight‑channel preamp at anywhere near the price, which makes the ASP880 a no‑brainer for anyone seeking a high‑quality professional multi‑channel mic preamp with digital outputs."

Thank you - appreciate the input.
Maybe I underread the SOS statement a bit.
The feeling that remained with last time me was ordinary, not that good.

I think this part help reduce overall feeling about review:
"A significant influence on the design was the need to produce a well-priced channel expander for the company’s iD14 interface, and the ASP800 fulfils that role perfectly. While the technical performance doesn’t quite match the ASP880 in a few areas, it’s only a smidgen off and is unnoticeable in practice, while the additional mic gain and better control linearity will be noticed and appreciated."

Maybe comparison with RME preamps, which I didn't read as anything that is jawdropping. Thinking of Neve or Grace or something spectacular - but I guess this is another price range.

You got me sorted a bit - thank you.
The Audient offer 8 channels with $100 less price tag than RME Babyface Pro with only 4(2 mic level) - so it settles it.