Audient Horizon: New Thunderbolt Audio Interfaces. Meet the 8P, 16 and 32
Audient named the range Horizon, so nobody at Wired Tunes had to invent the pun, and the first joke about a new horizon in the studio is out of the way. Now the substance: Audient Horizon 8P, 16 and 32 are not three versions of one box. The 8P is for recording with microphones. The 16 and 32 are for patching outboard gear through DB25 connectors.
Short version. Tracking vocals, guitar or a drum kit and you want eight console preamps? Horizon 8P. Got a rack of compressors, EQs and a summing box that should stay patched in? Horizon 16. Working at a channel count where a normal interface runs out in a minute? Horizon 32.
Audient introduces the Horizon range
Horizon is Audient's new line of Thunderbolt 3 audio interfaces, launched as its flagship range. The three models went on sale on 28 September 2026, and Audient's Chief Product Officer Andrew Allen says the project took five years. The range targets hybrid and professional studios: the kind where a rack of analogue gear sits next to the computer and a high channel count and low latency matter.
This is not an interface for a first home setup. It is a family for someone who already knows four inputs are not enough. If you are at the start of the road, read our piece on choosing an audio interface first.
What sets the Audient Horizon range apart
All three run 32-bit conversion, 0.99ms round-trip latency at 192kHz and a native architecture with no proprietary DSP, so you do not buy a locked plugin ecosystem with the interface. Latency under a millisecond is shorter than my reply time to texts, and that is not a high bar. If you wonder what 192kHz really changes, we explain it in what sample rate and bit depth mean.
On top come selectable reference levels for calibrating against analogue gear, BNC word clock I/O and ADAT for digital expansion. The control software was rebuilt from the ground up, but check the manufacturer's documentation for the details of its features before you base a purchase on them.
Three models, three different jobs
Each model on its own below, followed by the side-by-side comparison.
Horizon 8P: eight console preamps in one rack unit
The preamps in the 8P come from the ASP8024-HE console, squeezed into a single rack unit. On top sits ORBIT Control, variable input impedance, so you can match a ribbon, dynamic or condenser mic at the input instead of fixing it later with EQ. If you are not sure how that differs from the preamp in a cheap interface, we cover it in what a preamp is and whether you need a better one.
The front carries channel buttons, 48V and a high-pass filter, with volume, two headphone outputs (HP1 and HP2) and a function button on the right. Two instrument inputs on channels 1 and 2 take a guitar without a DI box. Current price and availability are always on the product page.
Horizon 16 and 32: no microphones, a lot of rack
The 16 and 32 have no microphone preamps and do not pretend to. Instead you get line channels on DB25 connectors, one cable per eight channels. The 16 has four of them, the 32 has eight. In practice the 16 handles a full rack of compressors, EQs and a summing box wired in permanently, and the 32 matches a small console for scale.
Both have a dedicated stereo path so the mix comes back into the session without using an input channel. If one unit is not enough, you chain up to four Horizons on a single macOS driver, for a system maximum of 200 inputs and 200 outputs.
The photo also shows why picking between the 16 and 32 is closer to arithmetic than taste: from the front they are identical, and the difference sits on the back, in the number of DB25 connectors. That arithmetic deserves honesty.
Audient Horizon 8P vs 16 vs 32: comparison
All three are Thunderbolt 3 in a fanless 1U chassis with a three-year manufacturer warranty. What separates them is what happens to the signal on the way in. The figures below come from the manufacturer's launch material and trade press coverage.
| Horizon 8P | Horizon 16 | Horizon 32 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total inputs / outputs | 24 / 32 | 34 / 34 | 50 / 50 |
| Microphone preamps | 8, Audient Console | none | none |
| Analogue I/O over DB25 | 8 channels | 32 channels, 4 connectors | 64 channels, 8 connectors |
| Stereo mix-bus path | n/a | yes | yes |
| Shared by all three | 0.99ms round-trip latency at 192kHz, ADAT, BNC word clock, recall of settings, up to 4 units chained | ||
The photo below shows it without the table. Three front panels with the same size, the same knob and the same small display. The difference is one row of buttons on the 8P.
Which Audient Horizon to choose for your studio
- Recording with microphones and want console preamps: Horizon 8P.
- Have a rack of outboard gear patched in permanently: Horizon 16.
- Working at a high line channel count, small console territory: Horizon 32.
- Recording vocals, guitar and a synth at home: a smaller interface, see below.
The opinion that costs us a bit of margin
If you are eyeing the 32 "just in case", skip it. Four extra DB25 connectors are four more cables to buy, label and patch, and the extra channels only pay off once you have that much to plug in. Start with the 16 and count how many inputs you fill after the first month. If you run out, nothing stops you adding a second unit, because Horizons chain together (that is the point where a rack grows faster than a wallet).
What to put next to a Horizon
The 16 and 32 will not record a microphone on their own. If you need mics and the rack is already full of compressors, add eight channels with a preamp that has an ADAT output, for instance the Audient ASP880, since Horizon has an ADAT input. It is a standard route, but check clocking and channel setup in the manual before your first session.
The other side of the coin: if you record vocals, guitar and a synth at home and the room still sounds like a bathroom, Horizon is not your problem. A smaller interface such as the Audient EVO 16 does the same job for a fraction of the price, and the difference goes into acoustic treatment. A better preamp shows you the room's flaws more clearly, it does not fix them.
Audient Horizon at Wired Tunes
All three stand in our showroom at Nowogrodzka 6A/102 in Warsaw. You can look at the panels, check the footprint against your rack and talk to someone who is not on commission, so nobody has a reason to sell you channels you will not use. Call +48 573 580 840 before you come so we have them ready to show. We are open Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 19:00 and on Saturdays from 12:00 to 17:00. Every product we sell comes with a 36-month warranty.
- Audient Horizon 8P. Eight console preamps, recording with microphones.
- Audient Horizon 16. 32 analogue channels over four DB25 connectors, a rack of outboard gear.
- Audient Horizon 32. 64 analogue channels over eight DB25 connectors, small console scale.
Straight answers
What is the difference between Horizon 8P, 16 and 32?
The 8P has eight microphone preamps and is built for recording with microphones. The 16 and 32 have no preamps and offer line channels on DB25 connectors instead: 32 channels on the 16 and 64 channels on the 32.
How many Horizon units can be linked together?
Up to four on a single macOS driver. The system maximum is 200 inputs and 200 outputs, reached with four Horizon 32 units.
Does the Horizon 16 have microphone preamps?
No. The Horizon 16 is a line interface with DB25 channels. For microphones you need external preamps, for example one with an ADAT output.
Do I need a Horizon for a home studio?
Usually not. Horizon makes sense when you have outboard gear you want patched in permanently, or when you record many microphones at once. For vocals and guitar at home a smaller interface is enough.
If your rack still has no idea where to stop, come by, and we will work out together which Horizon is the one where you stop buying cables.
Read next
- The best audio interface and how to actually choose one. For when a Horizon is too much and you still need an interface.
- Your first studio: start here. The order to buy things in before you think about a rack.
- What a DAW is and what you need to run one. The other half of the puzzle after you pick an interface.
