Audient Horizon 16

The Heart of a Hybrid Studio Designed to Stay Connected

The Horizon 16 is designed for studios that refuse to choose between the flexibility of digital and the character of analog hardware. It places 16 line channels at the heart of your setup, allowing your DAW, rack equipment and summing system to work together naturally.

Its approach focuses on a permanent workflow: instead of rewiring your equipment for every session, your external processors remain instantly available. Stereo compressors, equalizers, multi-effects, external preamps or mixing chains can be called up as quickly as a plug-in, while retaining the hands-on feel associated with analog consoles and racks.

The dedicated stereo path for the mix bus is a real asset in this context. It allows you to easily print a final mix or a summing return into the DAW, without sacrificing the line inputs needed for your inserts, synthesizers or external processors.

An Interface Designed for Demanding Audio Engineers, Producers and Mixers

The Horizon 16 is particularly well suited to production, mixing and mastering studios that use multiple analog devices. It also meets the needs of composers with extensive collections of synthesizers, drum machines and external modules, as well as recording facilities looking to centralize their line connections in a 1U rackmount format.

Thanks to its Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, the interface integrates into a modern macOS environment while providing fast communication with audio software. Its extremely low round-trip latency makes it easy to work with virtual instruments, native plug-ins and headphone returns, even when the project calls for precise monitoring and highly responsive performance.

It is also well suited to evolving control rooms. As input and output requirements increase, multiple Horizon units can be daisy-chained under a single driver. This modularity allows the setup to grow without disrupting established routing habits or requiring you to start from scratch.

Conversion, Routing and Monitoring: A No-Compromise Studio Architecture

High-Definition Conversion to Preserve Your Processing

With 32-bit / 192 kHz conversion and a claimed dynamic range of 133 dB, the Horizon 16 is designed to deliver transparent, detailed reproduction. Transients, reverb depth, the character of saturation and the subtleties of parallel compression are reproduced with great precision, both on the way into and on the way back from your analog chains.

This dynamic headroom is particularly valuable when multiple stages of processing are used. It helps preserve a clean, stable and nuanced signal between the converter, external equipment and the DAW, even in dense mixing sessions or productions with a wide dynamic range.

16 Analog Channels Ready for Hardware Inserts

The 16 main line inputs and 16 line outputs are distributed across four DB25 connectors. This compact layout makes it easy to connect a patchbay, console, analog summing unit or collection of rack processors. The selectable +18 dBu and +24 dBu reference levels make it easy to match the interface to your setup's gain standards.

The inputs dedicated to the stereo mix bus eliminate the need to tie up a pair of line inputs when recording your final mix. The dedicated stereo monitor outputs, meanwhile, provide independent reference monitoring from the outputs used for external processing. This separation makes routing clearer and session recalls faster.

Horizon Control, the Command Center for Your Signals

The Horizon Control software brings the interface's essential functions together in a single application: virtual patchbay, monitor source management, level control and detailed signal metering. Its workflow makes it possible to configure consistent routing between the physical inputs, DAW returns, analog outputs and digital expansions.

Advanced monitoring functions include mono mode, polarity inversion, Dim attenuation and reference level selection. An integrated comfort reverb also makes recording easier by providing artists with a more inspiring monitoring experience, without unnecessarily weighing down the production session.

A Digital Expansion Designed for Ambitious Setups

The dual ADAT input/output adds up to 16 digital channels for connecting preamps equipped with converters, input expansions or other compatible devices. BNC Word Clock connections, meanwhile, allow you to precisely synchronize the Horizon 16 with the rest of a complex digital system.

For large-scale installations, up to four Horizon interfaces can be combined under a single driver. The setup can then reach 200 inputs and 200 outputs, opening the door to multichannel control rooms, extensive summing systems or studios equipped with numerous analog and digital devices.

Technical specifications

Compatibility	Mac	Headphone outputs	No
Sampling frequency	192 kHz	Number of outputs	34
Max resolution	32-bits

Dynamic range	133 dB	Monitoring functions	mono, polarity inversion, Dim and reference level
Round-trip latency	0.99 ms at 192 kHz with a 64-sample buffer	Maximum sampling rate	192 kHz
Selectable reference levels	+18 dBu and +24 dBu	Warranty	3 years