Should I buy the NI Komplete Audio 6? In depth review

This post will take a relatively in depth look at the Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 interface after about a week’s use.

I’ve been looking to upgrade my old interface, the Apogee ONE USB from 2009, mainly due to the lack of proper balanced outputs and monitoring.

I did a fairly deep dive into currently available Audio Interfaces with at least 2 ins, 2 outs and proper MIDI ports. These included the Arturia Minfuse 4, THe Universal Audio Volt 2 and 4, the Behringer UMC404HD and the SSL 2+.

The Komplete 6 wasn’t really on my radar until it popped up when I was searching on the local equivalent of Amazon from a local pro audio supplier at 45% off. A quick search revealed it was on sale for this price pretty much worldwide, so I ASSUME that NI have a batch of new interfaces coming out sometime soon, although I could be way off the mark on that.

After reading some online reviews and checking out the excellent Julian Krause video on the smaller 2 in/out version of the Komplete I decided it was probably worth a shot at the price, which put it at about $70 less than the other interfaces I listed and a LOT cheaper than the Universal Audio products.

Komplete Audio 6 Hardware and Build Quality

General Impressions

I was pretty happy with the initial build quality of the Komplete 6. The casing is a mix of metal and plastics, it weighs enough to feel substantial and not get dragged around the desk after connecting cables, and all the inputs and outputs feel decently made.

The metering is on the top and has 5 LED segments in some pretty colors rather than the standard green/yellow/orange/red, but they are not particularly useful for settings levels, more on this later.

The main volume knob on the top has a nice action but feels very plastic (which it is), the toggle switches have a firm action.

The input gain and headphone volume knobs are very small and fiddly to use being located so close next to each other/cables etc.

I/O

For the price this has an excellent array of i/O options.

On the front panel you get the main Mic/Line/Instrument input with XLR combo sockets, a Line/Inst toggle and the corresponding gain pot.

On the rear you have an extra pair of LINE ins (no gain control), the main balanced outs as ¼ jacks and an additional ¾ output pair.

The rear also has a digital (SPDIF) in/out, MIDI 5 pin in/out and the USB type B connector (USB 2 standard).

It should be noted that the Komplete 6 is really a ‘4 in’ interface if you disregard the SPDIF, so unless you have an MPC1000 or a vintage (ish) synth or groovebox lying around you will probably not be able to make use of the extra input(s) available via SPDIF.

Equally, if you want to record more than 2 mics or instruments or some combination thereof again you are gonna be out of luck, I would really classify this interface as 2 in 4 Out with additional Line Ins. I know that is technically not correct but in terms of use cases this may trip some people up.

On the front panel is the direct monitoring section. This is quite versatile and allows you to switch between Input ½ and Input ¾ . You also have a mono/stereo toggle and a blend knob which goes from 100% source input at extreme left to 100% DAW/USB on the right.

There are also 2 headphone ports but bear in mind this is just an additional parallel connection, there is no independent monitoring for A/B headphones, they both output the same thing.

My Setup with Komplete Audio 6

I will just outline briefly how I have the Komplete Audio 6 setup as this is just a subjective review based on my experience, so the setup and how the Komplete is being used will have some importance.

Inputs

I have a Lewiit MP 250 DM dynamic mic running into front input 1, A Yamaha EOS synth running into front input 2 and the SP404 MKii running into the rear Lines Ins ¾. I also have the synth connected via the Komplete MIDI ports.

Outputs

For output I am running the main outs into a vintage DENON amp powering Bose 101 monitors and a small Subwoofer.

For headphones I’m using – and tested with the Komplete – DT990’s, Sennheiser HD599s, Superlux HD681 and Audio Technica ATH M30x.

Is the Komplete Audio 6 any good?

This is a subjective opinion, but in short, yes, for the price I got it I consider it a decently usable interface. Had I paid the full list price for it I would probably revise that opinion.

I’ve already outlined a lot of the basic stuff above so I’ll keep this to a pros and cons type of thing that can maybe help you decide if you are on the fence.

What's great about the Komplete Audio 6

Direct monitoring

I have used this a ton and mostly not for just monitoring recording, although it does work fine for that. I often just want to either noodle around on the synth practicing piano or jam on the SP404 on headphones when I’m not actively using my DAW for producing.

The Komplete allows you to keep one set of cans plugged into it and do this via direct monitoring. It’s a small thing but not having to plug/unplug my main or other sets of headphones multiple times a day is a really nice added bonus with this interface.

MIDI

I haven’t run any technical tests, but MIDI via the Komplete 6 seems rock solid both using my synth as a MIDI controller and sequencing parts on it and recording audio via Logic or Ableton, no latency that I am aware of.

Main Outputs

Very nice with my current setup, clean and clear.

Plug in and go

Unlike certain manufactures (ahem, Universal Audio), I was pleasantly surprised that the Komplete works immediately without having to do some BS registration with NI (unless you want to download the freebies which were not of interest to me personally).

What's bad about the Komplete Audio 6

I would not say there is anything terrible or deal breaker level about this interface, but having used it for a week I will be honest and say if I knew what I knew now before buying (even at 45% off) I would likely have considered a different interface.

Headphone Outputs

If I’m being generous I could call this adequate, I could also describe it as ‘wimpy’. I have several sets of headphones ranging in Ohms from fairly standard (2x 32 Ohm) to high (2x 150 Ohm). In all cases the headphone amp on this thing sounds fairly transparent but has no oomph whatsoever, you will be at 95% plus on the dial at most times.

I am comparing this mainly to the previously mentioned Apogee ONE and the difference is night and day, but even the M AUDIO M-Track Solo I have hanging around in a closet, which is a $50 interface, pisses all over this thing for headphone output, even the inbuilt Mac headphone jack sounds as good or slightly better particularly in volume.

For an interface this price the headphone amps are underpowered.

No mixer or controller app

This is not an issue in and of itself, but it does become a problem when the only way to set your gain is via the tiny gain knobs that appear to load 95% of the gain in about 5% of the pot i.e you will be at max gain to get a decent signal on a dynamic mic and reducing this even one notch (if you can physically do that which is a challenge in itself) will drop you down to -20db instantly. There is no way to accurately set the gain in this particular use case, it’s that simple.

The max gain of 45db is fairly standard for this price range of interface but honestly is a bit lacking.

For e.g. synths with their own volume control, this is not a huge issue but for mics and direct instruments it sucks to the point of making the interface very difficult to use.

When the Komplete 6 is plugged into a Mac it essentially ‘hijacks’ the entire core audio system making any software adjustments impossible. This is what your Mac core audio will look like when Komplete is plugged in:

As you can see all controls are grayed out, so thanks for the gain range and knobs NI….

In contrast, this is what it looks like with the Apogee, despite the fact that the Apogee controller app cannot be installed on apple silicon as it’s ancient for this device, it STILL functions perfectly in core audio, gain can be set accurately in software down to points of a DB and can even be set directly in Logic.

I am unsure why NI did not make a simple mixer/controller app for the Komplete line, I am guessing simple laziness/cost cutting. Is it necessary for the Komplete to work? No, all parameters can be accessed from the hardware. Does not having software control make the Komplete Audio worse? Absolutely and 100% yes.

For reference, I know that the Arturia and SSL products do feature mixers/controllers.