EVO by Audient announced the EVO SP8, an eight-channel Smart Preamp with onboard AD/DA conversion.

‘Bigger sessions demand more channels, and expanding your existing interface via ADAT might be the most cost-effective solution to scale up your studio,’ says Audient/EVO Marketing Director, Andy Allen. ‘SP8 does exactly that, giving eight studio-quality analogue preamps, a modern and intuitive user experience with exceptional audio performance across the board.’

With eight mic/line inputs, eight line outputs and two Adat I/O connections, this eighht-channel smart mic preamp provides enough I/O to tackle multi-mic sessions including recording drums or a full band. SP8 benefits from the company’s Smartgain feature, which provides the option of automatically setting gain with the touch of a button. ‘As with EVO 16, EVO SP8 can automatically set the gain for all eight channels at once,’ Allen explains, highlighting the added advantage for musicians who have multiple mic inputs (drummers) or line inputs (synth players).

‘If you’re expanding your current non-EVO audio interface, you get up to eight channels of simultaneous Smartgain with SP8, which not only takes the guesswork out of setting your levels, but also saves you time. If you are pairing two SP8s with your EVO 16 then you have Smartgain on all 24 channels! Soundcheck an entire band in less than 20 seconds. Imagine how that could transform a session and allow producers to stay focused on what’s important – making music.’

There’s also a high-resolution, full-colour LCD screen built into the unit. ‘Navigate SP8’s hardware features with blazing speed, courtesy of our Motion User Interface. The wide angle screen intelligently displays information as you need it, transforming EVO SP8 into a fully immersive, easy to use Smart Preamp – the first of its kind,’ Allen continues. With the option to view the channel status and keep an eye on metering levels, Motion UI uses a centralised one-knob system to adjust all EVO 16’s hardware parameters.

‘We’re calling it the mic preamp of the future,’ Allen says. ‘Our powerful EVO Mic Preamp technology combines all the sonic advantages of a studio-grade analogue mic preamp with digitally controlled tactile precision, so you can set your gain with pin-point accuracy – right down to the decibel.’ EVO Mic Preamps provide 58dB Mic Gain, while its advanced 32-bit converter technology offers 121dB dynamic range.

Like EVO 16, the solid steel chassis with non-slip rubber feet allows EVO SP8 to sit on a desktop, be part of a portable rig or a permanent fixture in the studio. Optional rack-ears expand this flexibility.

Key features:

• 8 EVO mic preamps.
• 2 JFET instrument inputs.
• 8 line outputs.
• 2 ADAT inputs.
• 2 ADAT outputs.
• Class-leading AD/DA Conversion.
• Multichannel Smartgain.
• ‘EVO Motion UI’ control.
• High-Res LCD Screen.
• One Knob Centralised Control.
• Input/Output control.
• Channel status indication.
• Word Clock input.
• 96kHz, 24-bit conversion.

EVO SP8 is expected to ship in the first quarter of 2023 and will retail at £399 (inc VAT), €449 (inc local VAT) and US$499 MAP.

More: http://evo.audio