Audient Horizon 16

Audient Horizon 16 – 34-in/34-out Thunderbolt hub

Horizon 16 is the hybrid interface for a room with one good rack rather than a machine hall. Four Tascam-pinout DB25 connectors carry 16 channels in and 16 out of 32-bit conversion, so your summing box and outboard chain stay wired while everything else happens in the DAW.

Key Features

• 32 channels of elite conversion: 16 in and 16 out of analogue I/O across four industry-standard DB25 connectors.
• 133 dB dynamic range: ESS ES9823PRO and ES9039 converters running 32-bit / 192 kHz.
• 0.99 ms round-trip latency: Thunderbolt 3 at a 64-sample buffer, so native plugins track in real time.
• Dedicated mix-bus path: A separate stereo print path keeps all 16 D-Sub channels wired to your outboard.
• Scales to 200 × 200: Daisy-chain up to four Horizon units under one macOS driver.
• Dual ADAT and BNC word clock: 16 more digital channels plus sync with switchable internal termination.

Customer Benefits

Most project studios outgrow their interface on I/O long before they outgrow its sound. Horizon 16 pushes that ceiling back: sixteen analogue sends and returns stay permanently patched to the rack, the stereo monitor outputs sit outside the mix bus, and Horizon Control re-routes the whole matrix in software. If the room later grows, the same driver covers up to four chained units, so an upgrade is another box rather than a new workflow.

Quick Specs

• Total I/O: 34 in / 34 out
• Analogue I/O: 16 in / 16 out via 4 × DB25 (Tascam pinout)
• Conversion: 32-bit / 192 kHz, 133 dB dynamic range
• Digital I/O: Dual ADAT in/out, BNC word clock in/out
• Host connection: Thunderbolt 3, forward compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and 5
• Round-trip latency: 0.99 ms at 192 kHz / 64 samples
• Reference levels: +18 dBu / +24 dBu, switchable
• Dimensions and weight: 48.3 × 33 × 4.45 cm, 4.05 kg, 1U all-metal chassis

Ideal For

• Project studios running a summing box or a 16-channel outboard rack
• Producers who need transparent conversion more than more preamps
• Rooms planning to scale I/O later without changing driver or workflow

Compatibility

macOS only, over Thunderbolt 3 and forward compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and 5; registering in Audient ARC unlocks the bundled plugin and software offers.

Pros & Cons

• ✅ Same converters and latency figures as the larger Horizon 32
• ✅ Dedicated mix-bus inputs keep the main I/O free
• ✅ Fanless 1U chassis, quiet enough for the control room
• ✅ Chainable to 200 × 200 I/O if the room grows

• ⚠️ macOS only — there is no Windows driver for the Horizon range
• ⚠️ No mic preamps on board; pair it with Horizon 8P or your existing pres
• ⚠️ Four DB25 looms are a real cabling cost on top of the interface

If your outboard is good and your interface is the part holding the session up, Horizon 16 is the smaller half of the same argument the Horizon 32 makes.