00.0
Manual
AOFN · V1.0.0

KOMPIS+

A reference loudness tool that gets out of the way.

00.1
About

Kompis is a reference monitoring plugin for macOS*. Drop reference tracks alongside your mix, switch between them and your own audio with a single click, and use focused filtering, M/S monitoring and LUFS-matched gain to compare like for like.

Place it on your master bus or a dedicated monitoring channel. The plugin bypasses itself during offline bounces, so your printed file is always clean.

At a glance
Format
AU · VST3
Platform
macOS
Reference tracks
01.1 /
01.2 /
01.3 /
01
Listening
02.1 /
02.2 /
02
Solo filter
03.1 /
03.2 /
03
Match
04.1 /
04.2 /
04
Insert a plugin
05.1 /
05.2 /
05
Presets
06.1 /
06.2 /
06
Settings
07.1 /
07.2 /
07.3 /
07
Bounce safety
08.1 /
08
Updates
09.1 /
09
Specifications
10.1 /
10.2 /
10
01

Reference tracks

01.1 - Loading audio

Drag a file anywhere on the main panel

On first load you'll see a dashed drop zone. Drag a WAV, MP3, AIFF or FLAC file onto it. The file becomes a new slot and starts playing whenever transport is active. Drop multiple files at once to fill several slots in one pass.

You can also click + in the slot tab strip to pick a file via the system dialog.

01.2 - Slot tabs

Switch references with a single click

Each loaded reference is a tab in the top strip. The active tab is underlined with the accent colour. Click any tab to switch - the waveform and metering follow.

removes the currently selected slot. Keep clicking to remove all slots - you'll be returned to the empty drop zone.

01.3 - Drop zones

Drop anywhere - Kompis figures it out

  • On a loaded slotReplaces its track
  • On an empty slotLoads into it
  • On the empty area belowCreates a new slot per file
02

Listening

02.1 - DAW / Kompis toggle

A/B between your mix and the reference

The big button in the middle of the main panel swaps your monitoring source. DAW passes your mix through untouched. KOMPIS replaces the output with the active reference track, gain-matched if you've used Match.

The plugin colour shifts between the two modes so you always know which source you're hearing.

02.2 - M/S monitoring

Solo the mid or sides channel

The two-letter pad in the corner toggles Mid (sum) and Sides (difference) monitoring. Tap M to hear the mono image, S for the stereo difference. Tap the active one again to return to stereo. This always applies to both reference and DAW audio.

03

Solo filter

03.1 - Frequency bands

Listen to one band at a time

The filter strip carves the spectrum into four solo-able bands. Click any band to hear only that range; click again to return to full-range.

  • SUBLow-pass below the sub corner
  • LOW MIDNarrow band around the low-mid frequency
  • HIGH MIDNarrow band around the high-mid frequency
  • HIGHHigh-pass above the high corner
03.2 - Custom frequencies

Move the crossovers to fit you

Open Settings → Filter Frequencies to drag any of the four crossover points. Values save with the project. Hit Reset defaults to restore the factory values.

04

Match

04.1 - Gain matching

Equal loudness, fair comparison

Play the loudest part of both your Reference and your DAW track. Tap Match. Kompis measures the integrated loudness of your mix over the match duration (default 4 seconds) and applies the offset to the reference slot so both sources sit at the same LUFS. Switching to Kompis monitoring now compares like-for-like instead of being fooled by level.

Tap Match again mid-measurement to cancel. Each slot stores its own gain offset.

04.2 - LUFS readouts

M / I - momentary and integrated

M is momentary (400 ms window). I is integrated (gated, EBU R128). A short dash means no data yet - start transport to feed the meter.

05

Insert a plugin

05.1 - Loading a VST/AU

Run your reference audio through any plugin

Expand the Plugin panel and click Load plugin.

The first time it opens you'll see a prompt warning that scanning can be unstable. Save your project before continuing.

It is strongly advised to use the Browse... button and select individual plugins. You can also scan your entire plugin library. Depending on the size of your plugin collection, this can take some time. Kompis starts a separate process to scan plugins, so it shouldn't crash your DAW if it comes across a corrupted plugin file.
Since you probably don't need instruments etc. listed inside Kompis, browsing for individual plugins is the fastest and most secure approach.

Any plugin you've already opened before appears in the list. Pick one to insert it into the reference signal path. The plugin processes only the reference, never your mix.

If you use a metering plugin in your DAW, place it before Kompis in the signal chain so your readings stay consistent when toggling between your reference and your mix.

05.2 - Sidechain

Feed the DAW signal to the plugin's sidechain bus

If the loaded plugin exposes a sidechain input, the audio from your DAW will be automatically routed to the sidechain input.
This will give you the option to overlay the spectrum of both your DAW's audio and your reference, for example using TDR Prism or similar plugins.

06

Presets

06.1 - Save & recall

Snapshot your entire setup

Open the preset browser via the preset menu at the top of the plugin. New preset captures all loaded slots, the inserted plugin, monitoring mode, filter frequencies and match state. Double-click a preset name to rename it.

06.2 - Manage

Save writes the current state into the selected preset after confirmation. The trash icon next to each row deletes that preset, also with confirmation - both actions are reversible only via undo in the host before save.

07

Settings

07.1 - Behavior

Filter frequencies, match duration, bounce, updates

  • Filter FrequenciesDrag the four crossover sliders
  • Match durationHow long Match measures (1–30 s)
  • Auto-bypass on bounceSee Chapter 08
  • Auto-check for updatesSee Chapter 09
07.2 - Display

Light or dark theme

The Theme toggle switches between a light mode and a dark mode. The choice is stored per user, not per project. You need to close and reopen the plugin once for the theme switch to take full effect.

07.3 - License

Activation, version, device ID

The License section shows your version, key, email and a unique device identifier. Deactivate license releases this machine after confirmation - you can re-activate with the same key. Reach out to support with the device ID if you need help.

You can activate your license on up to five machines. They are on a per user basis.

08

Bounce safety

08.1 - Auto-bypass on bounce

Your printed file is always clean

When your host runs an offline render (export, bounce, freeze), Kompis detects it and gets out of the way - the reference signal never reaches your master. The monitoring chain, M/S processing and solo filter are all skipped during offline rendering.

You can disable this from Settings → Behavior if you'd prefer to control this yourself.

09

Updates

09.1 - Auto-checks

Kompis checks to see if a newer version is available on startup. No telemetry is sent. If a new version is found, a prompt appears when you open the plugin window. Dismiss with Later and you won't be asked again until the next release.
You can still update manually from within Settings.

Turn this off completely from Settings → Behavior. You can still press Check at any time to fetch on demand.

10

Specifications

10.1 - System
  • macOS11 Big Sur or later · Intel + Apple Silicon
  • Windows10 / 11 · 64-bit UNSUPPORTED
  • HostsAny AU/VST3 host
10.2 - Credits