Audient: ORIA Interface & Monitor Controller

I was extremely excited to see Audient – the British audio manufacturer that makes everything from budget-conscious USB interfaces to large format recording consoles – debut the ORIA immersive monitor controller/audio interface at this year’s NAMM Show. I recently expanded my studio for Dolby Atmos mixing, and I’ve been searching for an affordable, high-quality immersive monitor controller that suits my needs. Audient has knocked it out of the park with this product, combining the features of a professional audio interface with the capabilities of top-tier monitor controllers. Even if you don’t have an immersive setup, ORIA should still interest you.

Studio monitoring has become quite a complicated issue. My monitoring requirements include two stereo pairs of speakers, a twelve-channel 7.1.4 Atmos system, and at least one headphone output. Additionally, I need cue mix capabilities with talkback, room correction with bass management, plus hardware and software control for volume, DIM, polarity, and mono modes. I would also love connections for USB, analog, and some form of digital I/O for integration with my existing (and future) gear. Oh yeah, and please let it cost less than a vintage German microphone! I may have a more complicated monitor setup than some, but certainly everyone would find many of those features useful, if not imperative.

The ORIA is very sturdy and housed in a good-looking matte-black single rack space unit. It looks more like sophisticated home stereo equipment than typical studio gear. As an audio interface, it provides two front panel analog inputs that accept microphone, instrument, or line-level signals utilizing Audient’s excellent console preamps and JFET-based DI circuits. If you require more than two inputs, rear panel ADAT optical input ports provide additional inputs from external, digitally equipped preamps, such as Audient’s own ASP880 or those from many other manufacturers: 16-channels at 44.1 or 48 kHz / 8-channels (ADAT/SMUX) at 88.2 or 96 kHz. An optional Dante card can be installed for 16 AoIP inputs. Audient bills the ORIA as a monitor controller, and while its inputs are simple, though expandable, the outputs are where it excels.

The ORIA provides enough analog outputs (TRS) for a 9.1.6 system, plus two sets of stereo monitors and two headphone feeds. If your speakers support digital inputs, AES/EBU digital outputs are provided via a rear panel DB-25 connector. The two independent front panel headphone jacks derive their signals from one of three selectable sources, or each output can be fed via a custom cue mix created with ORIA’s low-latency software mixer. The mixer supports three stereo DAW signals, sixteen optical inputs, plus the onboard analog inputs. One of the onboard mic preamps can even be used as a talkback mic input. The software mixer is part of ORIA's desktop app. For online creators, audio loopback functionality is also supported.

The focus of the front panel is a large volume/control knob and a generous display panel. Speaker volume, analog inputs, headphone outputs, and many other features can be controlled directly from the front panel, and Audient thoughtfully includes a user-defined function button that activates either DIM, mono, polarity invert (with sum-to-mono), talkback, or Return To Reference (RTR) volume. While the most-used functions can be adjusted from the front panel, those same controls, plus many more, can be adjusted with the ORIA desktop app. The app (Mac, Win, with iOS upcoming) provides detailed metering and system controls, including the aforementioned cue mixer and room calibration settings, with per-speaker equalization, delay, and level offset. ORIA even supports automated speaker and headphone calibration using its Sonarworks SoundID Reference [Tape Op #108] integration, but more on this in a bit.

As you can see, ORIA is an extremely capable and feature-rich USB Type C interface, but if you already have an interface and only require monitor control, simply patch your current audio interface’s outputs into ORIA for control over your speakers, headphones, and cue mixes. As a standalone monitor controller, it provides all the same features mentioned earlier. You can even use the desktop app to control ORIA while your DAW accesses its own interface. For example, I can use my Avid HDX hardware with my DAW with ORIA as my monitor controller while also accessing an ORIA mic input for my Zoom conference microphone. This interface is Dolby Atmos certified. Immersive creators will appreciate that ORIA communicates with the Dolby Atmos Renderer to select and monitor the various downmix formats.

Room calibration is necessary for immersive speaker setups as well as stereo monitor setups (including headphones), and ORIA delivers in this regard. Via software, each speaker channel provides eight bands of EQ adjustment, plus a high and low shelf, output trim, delay time, and crossover point selection. ORIA generously comes bundled with a Sonarworks measurement microphone and a 60-day trial of SoundID software, which automates the room measurement process and then ports calibration settings into ORIA’s onboard DSP, relieving your computer’s CPU of the task. If you prefer not to use SoundID to measure your room, measurements can be taken with third-party software (such as REW's Room EQ Wizard) and manually entered into ORIA via its desktop app. I already use Sonarworks' SoundID Reference for my stereo and immersive monitor calibration, but I took new measurements using ORIA as my interface. ORIA and SoundID Reference work together to guide you through the room measurement process, which takes about 45 minutes.

ORIA allows multiple speaker routings and calibrations to be developed. Many settings can be customized, and 32 personalized profiles can be stored and instantly recalled. Profiles include the speaker and headphone routing as well as room calibration settings and can be named and organized into favorites for quick access. Audient recognizes the power and complexity of a device like ORIA and has created some excellent videos with a well-written manual to guide you through its use. I could intuitively navigate most functions without referring to the manual, but to take advantage of all its features, a bit of study is recommended. 

Audient positions ORIA as an immersive monitor controller, but it is just as useful for stereo setups. At first, I set up ORIA in my studio as a monitor controller combined with my AVID interfaces. Later, I switched to using ORIA as both an interface and a monitor controller. Set up for both situations was simple, and I created profiles for stereo or 7.1.4 monitoring, and also to switch between tracking and mixing configurations.

In use, I found the onboard mic preamps and instrument inputs to sound excellent, and I wouldn’t hesitate to record important tracks with these. The monitor outputs sound as good as any I’ve heard, and its powerful headphone outputs can easily drive any professional 'phones. Features like room calibration, talkback connectivity, and multiple profiles make this box a stand-out monitor controller. Add to that ORIA’s audio specifications, which rival or beat those of any similarly-priced or more expensive interfaces, and you can see why I’m excited about this device.

You can call ORIA a full-featured monitor controller that functions as an audio interface or an excellent audio interface with the features of a pricey monitor controller. Either way, it’s a win-win. ORIA connects to Mac and Windows computers via USB-C and supports sample rates up to 96 kHz (the highest that Atmos currently allows) with full word clock support.