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How much will I benefit from upgrading a NI Komplete Audio 6 to a RME or UA audio interface?

L

lucor

Senior Member
I'm really inexperienced with audio interfaces and never owned anything else than my Komplete Audio 6 from Native Instruments so this question might seem kind of naive, but I'm not sure how much I will benefit from switching to an RME Babyface or an Apollo Twin? Is there a really noticable difference in the latency, that makes it worth to spend up to 1000 bucks on it? Any other benefits (besides UAD plugin on the Apollo of course)?
Thanks! :)
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There should be a local music shop (or friend) that will let you borrow an audio interface to test it out. That's the best way of knowing if it's worth upgrading for you.
 
I too have the Audio 6: I’m quite happy with it, but like you, wasn’t sure what I might be missing compared to other interfaces. I previously had the Apogee One, and ‘upgraded’ to the Audio 6. I noticed almost no difference, and if anything the One was slightly better (I had mainly upgraded as I needed more inputs). This thread convinced me that other, more expensive interfaces, would have little impact:

https://vi-control.net/community/th...ce-because-i-realized-it-doesnt-matter.68020/
 
I recently went from a Focusrite 18i20 to an RME UFX+ so pretty big price increase. I would say its an improvement but definitely not a £2000+ improvement. I made a video about my experience here:



One thing that surprised me was that the improvements in latency were only really at the lowest buffer settings. At 256+ I saw very little difference.
 
Well, 256 samples at a certain sample rate is always going to be 256 samples no matter what the interface. Then you get USB bus and ADC/DAC latency on top of that (ADC/DAC latency usually being just a few samples, but still, it's there). It's how well the drivers are written that enables better performance at lower latencies. And RME are kings in that regard.
 
Another benefit is audio quality, but that can be hard to hear unless you also get top-notch speakers, amp, and cables. Upgrading one on its own may not produce a huge audible difference, but upgrading everything does.

What's the difference?

You can hear what you are doing so much more clearly. It significantly reduces smear, enhances clarity of stereo and depth placement of instruments, clarifies low end response -- you can hear what you are really doing. Surprisingly to me at least, this was true even working with electronic instruments and samples, not just live recordings.

It's pretty expensive, unfortunately, but if you have the money and intend a long-term commitment to composing, well worth it. I put it off for years and years and was shocked at the difference when I finally upgraded everything (did it in one go).
 
will_m said:
I recently went from a Focusrite 18i20 to an RME UFX+ so pretty big price increase. I would say its an improvement but definitely not a £2000+ improvement.
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I, on the other hand, downgraded from a analogue/digital mixer hybrid interface (with boutique preamps!!!) that cost me nearly two grand to a Behringer UMC202HD that cost me about $50. The difference in sound quality, clarity, etc., is barely perceptible, if at all, unless you're seventeen years old, and the latency is better.
 
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lucor said:
I'm really inexperienced with audio interfaces and never owned anything else than my Komplete Audio 6 from Native Instruments so this question might seem kind of naive, but I'm not sure how much I will benefit from switching to an RME Babyface or an Apollo Twin? Is there a really noticable difference in the latency, that makes it worth to spend up to 1000 bucks on it? Any other benefits (besides UAD plugin on the Apollo of course)?
Thanks! :)
Click to expand...

Curious as well. Usually RME units provide very, very low latency. BTW those Komplete Audio units seem to get fine reviews.
 
EvilDragon said:
No, just no. :grin:

http://archimago.blogspot.hr/2015/06/measurements-speaker-cables-wires.html
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Sorry. I don't agree, having changed the cables at the last stage of upgrading and hearing the difference. I couldn't believe it either.

I had been scornful for 20 years of "audiophile" cables. Not any more.

I see this guy's results too, which normally would make me think it's confirmation bias, but it's also possible that there is some other weakness in his signal chain or some other reason he was able to measure no difference.
 
I have Komplete Audio 6 since many years and it's a very stable workhorse. The headphone monitoring volume is too low, but others than that, very few complaints. When recording with mic's I usually switch to my old Apogee Duet (1st gen) which supposedly has got world class pre-amps, but I honestly have a very hard time hearing the difference.
 
EvilDragon said:
How can graphed measurements be confirmation bias? Be serious, please :)
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I meant my bias, not his. To clarify:

1. I upgraded my speakers, amplifier, and D/A converter all at once. Noticed a big improvement. It was a huge jump in the grade of everything, from very pedestrian to very good.

2. After all those other upgrades, I substituted new speaker wire and it was instantly noticeable how different it was.

I wondered if it was just my own bias (that I assumed the more expensive wires were better) but fortunately I wasn't on my own with the test so I asked my engineer, Mike Aarvold, to switch back and forth.

One of the noticeable differences is that the more expensive wire (compared with the very ordinary speaker cables I'd been using) were louder -- quite a bit louder, maybe 3-6dB. That alone can introduce a trick of the ear and make you favour the louder signal.

The other issue I have with these graphs is that the guy is using a $60 microphone -- I know price does not equal perfection and I am no engineer, but it does make me wonder whether his signal path (didn't research the whole thing) or measuring devices are really able to make a distinction that one's ears can hear.

I heard it, I didn't believe I would hear anything, but it was undeniable.
 
JohnG said:
Sorry. I don't agree, having changed the cables at the last stage of upgrading and hearing the difference. I couldn't believe it either.
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I'm curious to know how much you spent on these cables. An article I read said that some audiophile cables cost as much as $1,000 apiece.
I, frankly, believe it's all snake oil in regard to cables. And I think most audio experts would agree. I have to wonder if there aren't certain psychological factors involved in our perception of sound. Certainly there are differences between lo-fidelity and hi-fidelity, but I don't for a minute believe expensive cables have anything to do with it.
 
JohnG said:
The other issue I have with these graphs is that the guy is using a $60 microphone -- I know price does not equal perfection and I am no engineer, but it does make me wonder whether his signal path (didn't research the whole thing) or measuring devices are really able to make a distinction that one's ears can hear.
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As long as it's the same mic done throughout the test, it's a known variable so it can be considered a reference point of sorts. Of course if you used an Earthworks the graph might've been more precise in certain areas. But even so, a cheap mic picking up fractions of a dB of difference (but the curve otherwise having exactly the same trends regardless of cables tested) is still saying something, don't you think?


Also regarding 3-6 dB difference, this almost sounds to me like a difference between unbalanced and balanced connectors, rather than the quality of the cable itself. This is a known fact regarding (un)balanced leads - balanced are louder. I'd wager this is what you heard - the old cable you used wasn't balanced, the more expensive one was.
 
Use a Neumann U87 mic and test some audio-interfaces and yeah, you will identify the differences very quickly. Of course, mostly only in a well treated room ... , and you have to have good ears.
 
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