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MillimeterTC Electronic Desktop Konnekt 6 Review
Dec 10, 2009 12:00 PM, By Gary Eskow
Audio interface offers outstanding analog/digital conversion.
TC Electronic Desktop Konnekt 6. Price: $199 (street)
Are you a videographer who has been shy or—come on, admit it—perhaps even afraid to dip your toes into the audio end of the industry? We've talked about the minimal investment it takes to get into the game these days, but with the release of the Desktop Konnekt 6, TC Electronic has made it possible for almost anyone to begin developing the skills necessary to record audio on a professional level.
The Desktop Konnekt 6 is an audio interface that offers outstanding analog/digital conversion, a quality mic preamp, built in reverb, and (of critical importance) a volume control that lets you handle the level of audio passing through your system at all times. The latest in a series of TC Electronic interfaces, the Konnekt 6 even ships with Cubase LE 4, the light edition of Steinberg's digital audio workstation.
Just about 6.5in. square, the Konnekt 6 is an attractive unit that's small enough to fit into almost any environment. The device connects to either a Mac or PC via FireWire, which can also supply power to the Konnekt 6. However, you're better off using the the wall wart that's included and leaving the FireWire bus to handle more essential tasks.
Inputs include a pair of 1/4in. line-ins and a single XLR input with phantom power provided. OK, your eyes are already glazing over, right? Things get really simple if we place this connectivity in a real-world context. You need a narration track for the corporate video you're working on, but you are tired of blowing your budget by going to an outside facility each time you need to record a voiceover. So you buy the Konnekt 6 and a microphone—if you budget a couple of hundred bucks for the latter, you'll be in good shape. The Konnekt 6's phantom power means that you can plug in your mic, launch Cubase LE 4 (or any DAW you may have on your system other than Digidesign Pro Tools; Real-Time AudioSuite [RTAS] drivers are not part of the package), and go to work without needing an outside power source for the mic. It's easy!
The Konnekt 6 does not provide MIDI to your system, but let's say you know a keyboard player. He or she brings over a digital keyboard and plugs into the stereo inputs, and the two of you are ready to begin scoring your film. See, you're an expert already. On the left side of the front panel, you'll find the Input section of Konnekt 6. Here's where you'll select from one of three scenes labeled "Mic + Instrument," "Dual Instrument," and "Stereo In." Once you begin working with the Konnekt 6, you'll find it easy to navigate among the scenes. Using the included Near Control Panel software, you'll be able to modify the presets—varying input levels or reverb settings, for example—and save them.
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