Short answer
Both are audio interfaces, $750 against $720.
The Audient NERO reaches 100 dB on 559 of the 567 models here, the Audient EVO 16 on 558.
| Specification | Audient EVO 16 | Audient NERO |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 87 mW | 86 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 49 mW | 23 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 32 mW | 13 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 24 mW | 7.4 mW |
| Output impedance | 50 Ω | not published |
| Output noise | not published | not published |
| Price | $750 | $720 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 558 | 559 |
Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.
| Load | Audient EVO 16 | Audient NERO |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 150 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Derived | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Published | Published |
Both makers publish a power rating. Audient EVO 16 publishes at 600 Ω; Audient NERO at 600 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.
The two publish at the same loads, which is the one case where the rows of this table can be read straight across.
1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the Audient NERO but not on the Audient EVO 16 — Symphonium Triton.
558 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.
Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.
The widest gap on the list is the Audio-Technica ATH-R70X: Audient EVO 16 has +12 dB of headroom there against +7 dB. 5 dB is about 2.9 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for Audient EVO 16 and Audient NERO because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | Audient EVO 16 headroom | Audient NERO headroom | Audient EVO 16 hiss | Audient NERO hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +28 dB damping | +28 dB | not published | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +8 dB damping | +8 dB | not published | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +21 dB damping | +18 dB | not published | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +17 dB damping | +14 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +10 dB damping | +10 dB | not published | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +12 dB | +7 dB | not published | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +7 dB damping | +3 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +3 dB damping | +0 dB | not published | not published |
The Audient EVO 16 costs $30 more than the Audient NERO, and on these three axes the money buys nothing: among the 567 models here there is not one that the Audient EVO 16 handles and the Audient NERO does not — not on power, not on the one-eighth rule, not on hiss. The traffic runs the other way: the cheaper Audient NERO drives one model to 100 dB that the Audient EVO 16 does not.
Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.
Each in full: Audient EVO 16 and Audient NERO.