KVR Audio

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Sun Mar 22, 2026 3:03 am

Just quickly, I bought an Audient EVO 8 a few years ago and I really liked it but I had a problem with the USB power out of the Asus laptop I had at the time and it fried it, along with a Steinberg interface I'd also been using. The laptop got fixed under warranty but I got no compensation for the $700 or so worth of hardware it had wrecked. So I went back to my trusty Zoom U-24 and everything's been fine.

The other day I was buying a couple of things on Amazon and noticed an EVO 8 for about $80 off retail, so I decided to splash out on a new one. Installing the drivers this morning almost killed my current PC. The install failed twice and then I couldn't shut the machine down. After that, it wouldn't restart so I left it for 10 minutes and it booted up OK and I got everything installed and running.

Anyway, what hit me immediately was how much better the songs I've been working on for the past week or so suddenly sounded. I'd always been happy with the Zoom but the EVO has made it sound like a piece of krap. The sound now is much clearer, crisper (if that makes sense) and a whole lot punchier than with the Zoom.

To be fair, some of that might be that I had to run the sub-woofer through the Zoom's line out, which meant crawling under the table and reaching around the back of the sub to adjust its volume. With the EVO I can adjust it from the device while I am sitting in my normal listening position, so it's possible I have got that balance a lot better. Still, I'm sure the overall difference is more than just that, which has made me feel a lot better about a purchase I thought was maybe a bit indulgent and unnecessary.

I never really put much stock in the differences between I/O devices but there's no denying the difference between these two. And I don't think there is any confirmation bias going on because I put on one of the new songs I'm working on while I was doing something else and about half-way through the song I stopped what I was doing because I'd noticed the difference sort of peripherally. i.e. I wasn't listening for it, it just snuck up on me. ("Snuck" is the informal past-tense of "sneak" for those not used to that kind of idiom.)

legendCNCD · Post by **legendCNCD** » Sun Mar 22, 2026 11:31 am

Yep changed from trusty 20 year old M-Audio Audiophile2496 PCI to RME AiO Pro PCIe and felt like my ears had opened up a bit from 1000hz upwards. That and best of all the drivers out there.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Sun Mar 22, 2026 12:54 pm

I don't know that I've ever had an interface with bad drivers, it's not like they matter al that much.

Michael L · Post by **Michael L** » Sun Mar 22, 2026 4:08 pm

I just flushed out all the pots on my old Roland interface and it sounds much better.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Sun Mar 22, 2026 11:10 pm

Sounds very analogue.

Michael L · Post by **Michael L** » Mon Mar 23, 2026 12:29 am

I gave an enema to its electronics, and it put a smile on my interface.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Mon Mar 23, 2026 4:19 am

You dirty, dirty boy!

Michael L · Post by **Michael L** » Mon Mar 23, 2026 6:42 am

She just needed a few stiff shots of grog to get her all loosened up so I could have my way.

What A Difference An Interface Makes!