Among the first audio engineers to get their hands on Audient’s new iD14 MkII audio interface on its arrival in the US is Daniel Irizarry, Chief Technical Engineer at PLUSHnyc, a boutique audio postproduction studio.
‘My old interface decided to die right around the same time as the MkII came out, and it was kind of a win/win situation. I had heard from a close friend how much he loves his first generation iD14 and based on his recommendation I decided to go ahead and try out the MkII. I’ve had it for a couple of months now and I feel like it checks all the boxes for me,’ he reports.
Over the past year, Irizarry and his colleagues have needed to accommodate working from home and in the office in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. ‘All our engineers at PLUSHnyc have home set-ups and we’ve worked hard to make it as effortless for clients and the voiceover talents we connect with,’ he explains.
‘We do still offer in-person sessions, for talent that might not have a home set-up, or clients that prefer the in-person experience and full service of our facility. For me, it’s all about the collaborative experience. Either helping the talented group of engineers I work with, or helping clients realize their creative vision.’
Irizarry’s own home set-up consists of an iMac running Pro Tools, a pair of Elac UB5 monitor speakers, a 32-inch external monitor for video playback and extra display real estate. He uses a Korg nanoKontrol for basic automation and transport control, and a Keystation Mini 32 Mk3 as a Midi controller.
Once he’d put the new Audient interface to work, the advantages really stood out to him. ‘The preamps are extremely clean, especially for it being bus powered,’ he says. ‘Portability is also a big plus but my favourite feature has to be the talkback functionality – in this “new normal”, working from home and having clients and talent remotely, your talkback often gets overlooked. I used to have to reach to my talkback track with my mouse to mute/unmute myself all while trying to edit and that can get tiring after a few hours. Now I just press the onboard iD button and keep moving.’
With recent studio projects including campaigns for The Weather Channel, Blistex, CNN and Altice, another facet of Irizarry’s work includes being a drummer for Duke of Vandals and Marble House (‘I’m always looking for new musicians to collaborate with’), and he is currently in the process of engineering a forthcoming coming EP for Duke of Vandals.
‘I also just finished a mix for my good friend and amazing musician from Puerto Rico, Abraham Dorta – all at home with the iD14.’
More: www.audient.com
