Komplete Audio 1 & Audio 2

Native Instruments’ new two-strong line of
entry level audio interfaces (the eight-year-
old Komplete Audio 6 can’t really be considered
part of the same range) is aimed squarely at
newcomers to music production and recording.
The Komplete Audio 1 and Komplete Audio 2
are both 2-in/4-out bus-powered USB 2.0 boxes,
difering only in the nature of those ins and outs.
Made entirely of black plastic, they’re
aesthetically styled to sit alongside NI’s latest
Maschine and Komplete Kontrol hardware, with
the relective halves of their top panels housing
LEDs for two input ladder meters, USB
connection and 48V phantom power, and the
matt halves playing host to big output volume
knobs. They both weigh just 360g, and measure
140mm wide and 52mm high, but the Komplete
Audio 1 is the slightly deeper of the two at
117.5mm versus 112mm. In summary, both
Komplete Audios look fab, and feel reassuringly
solid yet conveniently light.
The same but different
Each Komplete Audio interface has a single
stereo headphones output and two main outs.
With the Komplete Audio 1, the latter are on RCA
phonos – appropriate for DJ mixers and
domestic/low-end systems – while the Komplete
Audio 2 puts them on 1/4" jacks, for serving
professional studio monitors and the like. The
big knob on top controls the main out level, and
the headphones get their own volume control
on the front panel.
Both interfaces can accept two simultaneous
channels of input, with separate Gain knobs for
each. With the Komplete Audio 1, one input is on
an XLR with optional 48V phantom power, and
the other is on a 1/4" jack, switchable between
line and instrument level. Ideal for recording a
guitar and a vocal mic at the same time.
The Komplete Audio 2 ramps up the
versatility considerably, with two combi XLR/
jack inputs, both phantom powered and
independently switchable between instrument
and line levels. Capture two mics, or bass and
guitar, or the left and right outs of a synth, etc.
Latencies are in line with USB 2.0
expectations, from 7.55ms round trip at 44.1kHz
with a 32-sample bufer, to 51.8ms at 1024
samples. Direct monitoring is supported by both
interfaces, so you can hear yourself sing and/or
play directly through the hardware with no
latency (or plugin efects, of course), before the
signal reaches the computer. The direct signal is
blended with the DAW signal using the Input/
Host mix knob, but unhelpfully, it only appears
at the headphone output, not the main outs.
Very strange and certainly not ideal.
Komplete package
The inability to use direct monitoring through
the main outs is a deinite point of note for
anyone considering either Komplete Audio
interface, and could well be a dealbreaker for
some, unfortunately.
Assuming you can live with that, though, it’s
got to be said that the combination of the small
pricetags, high audio quality and impressive
software bundle make both of NI’s diminutive
boxes very solid oferings for the ledgling
singer-songwriter or electronic producer who’s
looking to buy themselves their irst audio
interface. They also make eminently portable
mobile recording systems for the more
experienced user.
Web native-instruments.com
Native Instruments
Komplete
Audio 1 & 2
£79/109
Difering only in the speciication of their inputs and outputs, one of
these two audio interfaces should satisfy your basic recording needs
Verdict
For Very small and light
Great sound quality
Recording at up to 192kHz
Attractive design and inish
Good software bundle
Against Direct monitoring to
headphones only
Everything the music production novice
needs to get started, and a very viable
mobile solution for laptop recording
8 / 1 0
Alternatively
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
181 » 9/10 » £130
Identical in spec to the Komplete
Audio 2 but with a better direct
monitoring setup
Steinberg UR22 MkII
NA » NA » £111
Also very similar to the Komplete
Audio 2, but with the addition of
5-pin DIN MIDI I/O
Both Komplete Audios ships with the same
sizeable collection of bundled software.
Ableton Live 10 Lite is a cut-down version
of Ableton’s ubiquitous DAW, with eight audio
and MIDI tracks, and a healthy selection of
instrument, audio efect and MIDI efect
devices. It also ofers the vast majority of the
full Live 10 experience in terms of features
and worklow.
The rest of the bundle comes from NI
themselves. Monark is a Minimoog emulation
(8/10,
191) that serves as the perfect
introduction to virtual analogue synthesis;
while Maschine Essentials is the full Maschine
software with a reduced sound library.
Komplete Start comprises 15 Kontakt Player
and Reaktor Player instruments, as well as
the Supercharger compressor and Guitar Rig
5 Player efects plugins.
Last but not least, you also get two months
of Sounds.com access and £22 to spend in the
NI Online Shop.
Bundle of fun
92 / COMPUTER MUSIC / July 2019
> reviews / native instruments komplete audio 1 and 2
Native Instruments
Audio 1 & 2
native instruments komplete audio 1 and 2
CMU270.rev_kaudio2.indd 92 26/04/2019 15:18