Audient iD48 Review | Professional Sound & Hybrid Routing Power in a 1U Interface

Headliner checks out Audient’s first 1U rackmount iD interface – a compact yet feature-packed unit promising pro-level performance at an appealing price point.

First Impressions

Style-wise, the iD48 takes its visual cues from Audient’s desktop range, but it also shares similarities with the darker, equally well-laid-out Oria unit and the highly successful ASP880 eight-channel preamp. It’s a unit we’ve been looking forward to putting through its paces – not least because fellow engineers and producers who swear by Audient’s iD interfaces have been telling us we should give them a listen.

As with everything I review, I like to plug in and go. If a product needs me to reach for the manual immediately, it’s already failed a key usability test. The iD48, however, worked straight out of the box. Even before downloading any software, it was passing audio via Apple’s Core Audio to my monitors. Registration was simple, and software installation was quick and painless.

First impressions are important – and this one needs sharing. The iD48 sounds really good. In fact, surprisingly good for a unit at this price point.

A Brief History

I’ll be honest: this is the first iD interface I’ve used personally, although I’ve had plenty of experience with Audient gear over the years – including an analogue live console over two decades ago. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised, though. 

Founded in 1997 by Dave Dearden and Gareth Davies (who met while working at Soundcraft in the late ’70s), Audient’s pedigree runs deep. Dearden’s earlier career saw him at Advision Studios, where he designed one of the first automated consoles before co-founding DDA (Dearden Davies Associates) in 1980. When DDA was later acquired by Klark Teknik and Midas, Dearden went on to design several classic consoles, including the Midas XL200, XL250, and Heritage 1000.

It’s no wonder, then, that Audient’s modern range remains firmly rooted in studio-grade design and performance nearly three decades on.

The Inputs

Headliner’s studio projects have made good use of Audient’s ASP800 and ASP880 preamps over the years, and both remain in our racks today. Their console-grade mic pres have long been a standout feature – and unsurprisingly, these have found their way into the iD range, including the new iD48 (albeit in simplified form).

Gone are the harmonic colouration circuits found on channels one and two of the ASP800 and the front-panel controls of the ASP880. Instead, these functions are now software-controlled. The mic preamps themselves are essentially the same as those found in Audient’s flagship 8024 console and across most of the company’s range. 

It’s easy to see why: they’re superb. The sweepable high-pass filter (HPF) from the ASP880 has been replaced with a fixed 100Hz option, alongside pad, boost, phase reverse, and input mode controls – all managed via the software interface.

Phantom power is toggled by a mini switch beside each gain control, with LEDs for phantom, input mode, HPF, and pad. The front panel offers basic signal and peak metering, with more detailed level control handled within the software.

The front panel also features two instrument-level inputs for guitar or bass, addressable via the software on channels one and two. Two stereo headphone outputs, each with independent level control, sit on the right-hand side. A large rotary encoder controls master monitor volume, while four hotkeys provide quick access to Alt Speaker, Dim, Cut, Talkback, and Mono functions. 

Buttons one and two are also assignable via the software. Despite the impressive routing options, the control software remains refreshingly simple, taking the form of a clear, intuitive mixer. Given the flexibility on offer, it’s remarkable how easy it is to navigate.

The Ins and Outs

On the rear panel, you’ll find the usual combo XLR/TRS inputs, along with two 25-pin D-Sub connectors providing additional analogue I/O and insert sends/returns for integrating external hardware. Here’s where things get clever: the software allows routing on each channel, letting you send the mic pre signal directly to your outboard before it hits the ADC, or select ADC direct to use inserts for mixing or mastering chains. 

Alternatively, you can bypass the analogue chain entirely and go straight into your DAW for plug-in processing. The choice is yours.

The monitor output page in the software offers full flexibility over routing for the four available cue mixes. You can assign these to any of the line, headphone, or digital outputs, making it easy to integrate your favourite compressors, reverbs, and delays across multiple DAW outputs simultaneously.

To my knowledge, no other manufacturer currently offers this level of routing flexibility within an interface at this price. The ability to configure hybrid analogue/digital processing chains at the click of a button is genuinely impressive – something that would typically require a patchbay, separate mic pres, and standalone converters.

Also on the back: two sets of balanced TRS monitor outputs, optical I/O switchable between ADAT and S/PDIF, Word Clock in/out with switchable termination, USB-C, and a standard IEC mains input. There’s no power switch, but pressing and holding the front-panel volume encoder puts the iD48 into standby. It automatically wakes when USB activity resumes.

There’s no built-in MIDI interface, but with most modern controllers supporting MIDI over USB, this is unlikely to be a deal-breaker.

Conclusion

The Audient iD48 stands out as one of the best-sounding and most flexible interfaces in its price class. It offers a rare combination of high-quality conversion, transparent preamps, and genuinely useful routing options that blur the line between analogue and digital workflows.

It might not match the ultra-low latency of high-end units from Avid or Prism, but its converters perform far above what its price tag might suggest. Combined with smooth, transparent mic pres and thoughtful design, the iD48 gives small studios and serious home recordists everything they need to step confidently into the hybrid recording world.

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