NI Komplete Audio 6 phantom not powerful enough?

Configure and optimize you computer for Audio.
Post Reply New Topic
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

I have a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 interface which I love. It is connected to my laptop directly. It supplies phantom power (switchable) and does not have the option for external power as far as I can see.

I recently bought Behringer C1 and C3 condenser mics. The C1 powers up when connected, but the C3 simply lights up for half a second then the light fades and I get nothing.

I've tested the C3 with other systems (M-Audio FW 1814, and an external mic preamp) which both worked fine, so I doubt it is the mic. It's also the same cable that worked successfully with the C1, so I doubt it's that.

So, does anyone know if the C3 requires more power than the Komplete Audio 6 interface can provide? I can't find any info about the interface not being able to power certain mics, but to be honest that's all I can think of.
Top

Post

audington wrote:I have a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 interface which I love. It is connected to my laptop directly. It supplies phantom power (switchable) and does not have the option for external power as far as I can see.

I recently bought Behringer C1 and C3 condenser mics. The C1 powers up when connected, but the C3 simply lights up for half a second then the light fades and I get nothing.

I've tested the C3 with other systems (M-Audio FW 1814, and an external mic preamp) which both worked fine, so I doubt it is the mic. It's also the same cable that worked successfully with the C1, so I doubt it's that.

So, does anyone know if the C3 requires more power than the Komplete Audio 6 interface can provide? I can't find any info about the interface not being able to power certain mics, but to be honest that's all I can think of.

Are you using the two mics at the same time or is it also not working when you use only one condenser mic?
Because it's a known issue of the KA6, that it might not produce enough juice to power two condenser mics (depends on the mics).

Have a look at the second post in this thread: http://www.native-instruments.com/forum ... p?t=146380
Top

Post

Last week i was on the fence to buy either this or a used Profire 610. After searching for a while for any flaws of both and didn't find one i went for the Profire, mainly because of its tad lower latency. God i'm glad i made that choice, because this issue would be a big one for me.

Sorry for you having that issue, audington. It's unacceptable for NI to make that kind of failure to an almost perfect interface. The only help for you seems to be an external preamp.

Previously i had a Saffire 6 USB which is also bus powered like komplete 6, and it had zero problem to power two large condenser mics. USB power should be sufficient actually. NI has to fix it.
Top

Post

I think this is one of the things that was fixed in the newer version of the Komplete Audio 6... but I could be wrong.
rsp
sound sculptist
Top

Post

I'm just using one mic at a time, and it's really frustrating. Interesting that it might have been fixed in the most recent version of the hardware - I'm just putting together a support request for NI to see what they say.

I can get around this flaw by buying a cheap phantom power adapter (Behringer P400 is about £20 or so) but I'd really like to keep things as compact as possible and not rely on having multiple devices when the interface should do it on its own.

Thanks for all the advice guys!
Top

Post

audington wrote:I'm just using one mic at a time, and it's really frustrating. Interesting that it might have been fixed in the most recent version of the hardware - I'm just putting together a support request for NI to see what they say.

I can get around this flaw by buying a cheap phantom power adapter (Behringer P400 is about £20 or so) but I'd really like to keep things as compact as possible and not rely on having multiple devices when the interface should do it on its own.

Thanks for all the advice guys!
Hey,

I was deliberating between the Roland Quad Capture and the KA6. Can you update with your support ticket? That kind of flaw is unacceptable imo and it may swing my decision to Roland if it's not been fixed in the more recent versions.
Top

Post

Go to your KA6's control panel and check the firmware version; you'll see it in the about box. If it's not version 37, run the device updater:

http://co.native-instruments.com/index. ... te_Audio_6

ew
A spectral heretic...
Top

Post

Thanks for the tip ew - I'll try it this weekend.
Top

Post

Updated to latest firmware, but still fails to power the C3. There *is* a very low level signal even though the mic isn't lit up, but this is very low level even with gain at a maximum and is far too noisy to use. There's definitely an issue with the interface, I'm reporting this to NI to see what they say.

Thanks for your help guys.
Top

Post

NI has got back to me and confirmed there is a problem with the phantom power circuitry of the KA6 interface, and have said there will be a fixed version of the interface available in a couple of weeks and they will send me a replacement device as soon as they are available. All's well that ends well :)
Top

Post

So is there a recall for all those with a KA6? I've not had a problem with my mics, but I bought the KA6 the first month it was introduced. Is it defective too?
Berfab
So many plugins, so little time...
Top

Post

I honestly have no idea. I bought it in November last year and it was pretty hard to find, so I don't know if the batch they are waiting on are just out of stock or whether it's a completely new hardware revision. Someone earlier in the thread said that the hardware was fixed in the new version, but I'm not sure if that is the version that came out to coincide with the price drop or whether it's this next batch of stock. Might be worth borrowing some mics and testing yours? It's only fluke that I found one that wouldn't work - I've tried 7 or 8 condenser mics with it and only this one has been a problem.
Top

Post

i had the same mic (C3), same audio interface, and same problems as yours :/
you said that it worked if you used only 1 input, but mine doesn't work that way.
whether i used one or both, it doesn't seems to work properly. i tried recording my voice and all i heard was my voice within the max. gain (which was very slow), not from the original sounds from the c3. same goes if i record my guitar. so my questions are,


did you get your replacement and does it worked perfectly now?
Top

Post

dyanddazz wrote:i had the same mic (C3), same audio interface, and same problems as yours :/
you said that it worked if you used only 1 input, but mine doesn't work that way.
whether i used one or both, it doesn't seems to work properly. i tried recording my voice and all i heard was my voice within the max. gain (which was very slow), not from the original sounds from the c3. same goes if i record my guitar. so my questions are,


did you get your replacement and does it worked perfectly now?
Mine didn't work properly with one or two inputs - the only time I could get any sound from the C3 connected to the KA6 was with gain at max, and even then it was such a low level signal that the noise made it unusable.

My KA6 was collected a few days ago so is on its way back to NI.
Top

Post

Ikr, exactly the same thing i've been through. idrl what i should do right now because if i were to send this thing back for repair, maybe it'll cost me more than it should've been since i'm from malaysia. my dad spent bucks and trusted that it'll worth buying. i'm an enthusiast beginner, and knowing this happened when i'm about to start is kinda heartbreaking lol :\
Top
Post Reply

Return to “Computer Setup and System Configuration”