Audient Ltd. is a British company based in Herriard, Hampshire, England that designs, manufactures, and markets

mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for Audio mixing (recorded music), mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals fro ...

audio interface An audio interface is a piece of computer hardware that allows the input and output of audio signals to and from a host computer or recording device. Audio interfaces are closely related to computer sound cards, but whereas sound cards are opt ...

microphone preamplifier The term microphone preamplifier can either refer to the electronic circuitry within a microphone, or to a separate device or circuit that the microphone is connected to. In either instance, the purpose of the microphone preamplifier is the same. ...

s, monitor controllers and signal processors.

History

Background

Audient was founded by David Dearden and Gareth Davies. Dearden started his recording career in 1968, moving to London two years later to work as a junior maintenance engineer at

Advision Studios Advision Studios was a recording studio in Fitzrovia, central London, England. Origins Founded in the 1960s by Guy Whetstone and Stephen Appleby, Advision originally provided voiceovers and jingles for television advertisements. The studio wa ...

and later led the design of two Quad Eight consoles for the studio, one which was the first automated console in England. Dearden also worked with studio designer Eddie Veale, building a custom mixing console for John Lennon's private Ascot Sound Studios, as well as consoles for

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...

, and

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having r ...

. Dearden met Gareth Davies while working at

Soundcraft Soundcraft is a British designer and importer (formerly a manufacturer) of mixing consoles and other professional audio equipment. It is a subsidiary of Harman International Industries, which is owned by South Korean company Samsung Electronic ...

, and the two partnered in 1980 to co-found DDA (Dearden-Davies Associates) – a company known for designing

in the 1980s and 1990s. After Klark Teknik's acquisition of DDA in 1986 and

Midas Midas (; ) was a king of Phrygia with whom many myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. His father was Gordias, and his mother was Cybele. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek m ...

the following year, Dearden designed the Midas XL200 and the initial concept of the Midas H1000.

Company

Audient was co-founded by Dearden and Davies in 1997. The company is based in Herriard (near

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

, Hampshire, England), with employees in Bulgaria and throughout the UK. A widespread global distribution network is in place outside of the United Kingdom, with Audient taking British distribution in-house as of July 2010. In 2013, Audient was purchased by Simon Blackwood. In 2021, the company rebranded with a website redesign and new logo.

Products

Mixing consoles

Audient's initial and flagship product is the ASP8024 large-format analog in-line recording console, originally introduced in 1998. An acronym for analogue signal processing, ASP Series consoles are built-to-order and fully customizable, available in configurations up to 60 channels, all with Class-A microphone preamplifiers, 2-band

parametric equalizer Equalization, or simply EQ, in sound recording and reproduction is the process of adjusting the volume of different frequency bands within an audio signal. The circuit or equipment used to achieve this is called an equalizer. Most hi-fi eq ...

with high and low shelving filter, and integrated patchbay, with available options including automation and DAW control. The company introduced a smaller, compact version of the console, the ASP4816, in 2012. In 2016, Audient updated the ASP8024 to the "Heritage Edition", with various internal design upgrades, as well as vintage-style cosmetic updates. In 2022 Audient introduced the smaller ASP4816 "Heritage Edition", with similar design upgrades to ASP8024HE as well as giving the original ASP4816 a makeover.

Preamps and processors

In 2006, Audient introduced the ASP008, which packaged 8-channels of the company's microphone preamplifiers in a 1U rackmountable chassis. A 2-channel version, the Mico, was introduced in 2009. In 2014 the company introduced the ASP880 as a replacement to the ASP008, adding the ASP800 to their preamplifier offerings the following year. In 2008, Audient introduced the Black Series modular signal processing system, with available preamplifier, equalizer,

compressor A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor. Many compressors can be staged, that is, the gas is compressed several times in steps o ...

, AD converter, and

master clock A master clock is a precision clock that provides timing signals to synchronise slave clocks as part of a clock network. Networks of electric clocks connected by wires to a precision master pendulum clock began to be used in institutions lik ...

modules, along with a frame capable of housing, powering, and providing connectivity to up to 10 modules. In 2023 the EVO SP8 8-channel Smart Preamp was added to the EVO range.

Audio interfaces

In 2013, Audient entered the

market with the first iD Series interface, the iD22, introducing the iD14 the following year, the iD4 in 2016, and iD44 in 2019. In 2021 the second generation iD4 MKII and iD14 MKII were introduced, followed by iD44 MKII in 2022 and iD24 in 2023. In 2019 Audient released the guitar-centric Sono in collaboration wit
Two notes
In 2020, the company introduced the EVO Series audio interfaces, including the EVO 4 and EVO 8. The EVO Start Recording Bundle including EVO 4, headphones and microphone came out in 2021. In 2022 the EVO 16 audio interface was released.

Monitor controllers

Audient released ASP510 surround sound monitor controller in 2001. In 2019 Audient introduced Nero desktop monitor controller.

Notable users

Audient equipment is in use at many major studios worldwide, such as

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

's Eel Pie Studios and

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers (film), The Blues Brothers''. The ...

, USA. Audient gear can also be found at producer/audio engineer

Cenzo Townshend Vincenzo "Cenzo" Capellini Townshend (born 25 March 1963) is an English record producer, mixer, and audio engineer, and has worked with artists and bands including the Rolling Stones, a-ha, Kaiser Chiefs, U2, Snow Patrol, Florence and the Machi ...

'
Decoy Studios
Nicholas Lloyd Webber's central London studio an
Romesh Dodangoda
s Long Wave in Cardiff. Mark Crew and

Charlie Simpson Charles Robert Simpson (born 7 June 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician from Suffolk. He is a member of the pop punk band Busted (band), Busted and the rock band Fightstar. AllMusic has noted that Simpson is "perhaps the only p ...

''( Busted,

Fightstar Fightstar were a British rock band from London that formed in 2003. The band is composed of lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Charlie Simpson, guitarist and co-vocalist Alex Westaway, bassist Dan Haigh and drummer Omar Abidi. Genera ...

)'' both own Audient consoles. Other users include sound engineer, Damien Lewis,

Skunk Anansie Skunk Anansie are a British Rock music, rock band whose members include Skin (musician), Skin (vocals, guitar), Cass (bass, guitar), Ace (guitar) and Mark Richardson (musician), Mark Richardson (drums). Skunk Anansie formed in 1994, disbanded ...

rock singer SKIN, TV choirmaster Gareth Malone, film composer Kurt Oldman, and producer

Warren Huart Warren Huart (born 28 January 1969) is an English record producer, musician, composer and recording engineer based in Los Angeles, California who is most associated as a music producer and/or engineer in the recording industry as a multi-platin ...

Educational facilities with Audient consoles installed in their music production studios include

Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

(LIPA), Institute of Contemporary Music (ICMP),

University of West London The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860 when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing Colleg ...

, Royal High School in Bath an
ACM

References

{{Authority control Manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Hampshire Audio mixing console manufacturers Audio equipment manufacturers of the United Kingdom