External Audio Outputs for DJing
September 5, 2008 6:27 AM
I need another audio output socket so that I can DJ, obviously so I can mix with one sent to headphones, and send the other out to the PA. Speaking as someone totally oblivious to music and technology, what do i need?
Will something like this do?
I use a macbook which has only 1 audio out (1/8' socket). I will be using Traktor. Help MeFi!
Thanks!
posted by ashaw (2 comments total)
Will something like this do?
I use a macbook which has only 1 audio out (1/8' socket). I will be using Traktor. Help MeFi!
Thanks!
I've been using Traktor since version 1, so I've been through this a bunch.
Will something like this do?
Probably not. There are basically two kinds of "5.1 sound card". There's simulated 5.1, and then there's real 5.1, and the one you linked to is probably a cheap one with the simulated 5.1.
One kind isn't actually multichannel. It simulates "5.1" through DSPs, and may even be able to decode 5.1 data from movies or games, but still probably mashes it in the internal or software DSPs. But they have no mechanism for individual channel addressing - because they don't actually have multichannel support - just simulated 5.1 audio.
Also, that device has only one out. You don't want to be using one external sound card for output channel and your internal one for your cue channel. Even on the fastest computers there's a huge issue with lag, skittering and glitching between the two sound cards. This is very bad and frustrating. Also, since many of these cheapo (and often windows only) devices, they tend to not have strong/fast DSP chips, and handle much of the processing on the computer in software. This causes major lag in Traktor or Ableton Live.
You don't want one of these cheapo USB dongle sondcards, you really don't. I've tried using them and every single time they've sucked. Even the higher-end consumer models like the Creative Audigy (last time I checked) don't support true full duplex multichannel.
What you want is a pro-grade M-Audio (or similar) external sound card. It'll be a box about the size of a pack of cigs or a paperback book. It should have at least two full duplex stereo pair output channels. The key words here are "full duplex" and "true multichannel".
These external audio devices actually handle a lot of the Digital-to-Analog work internally, offloading some of the work from your computer, helping reduce lag. Plus, since there are effectively multiple D-to-A converter channels, you're assured that your cue and output channels are actually in sync.
Yeah, these pro-sumer grade soundcards are much more expensive, but you get what you pay for. It should last many years, and also will be handy if you get into writing or recording music.
Also, for the price of a high end external sound card, instead you may be able to afford one of those newfangled fancy DJ interface boxes with buttons and faders and jog wheels on it. Many of them have their own built-in external sound cards, and are comparable in price to a good multichannel audio card.
Me? I use a desktop PC with a $30 Turtle Beach Riveria internal 5.1 card. It works flawlessly for Traktor and multichannel recording. But I can't fit my DJ rig in a backpack, which sucks.
There's a third and fourth option, both free or almost free.
Third: Learn to DJ visually in Traktor without a cue channel. It's good practice, and on any computer faster than a p3-500 you should be able to eyeball the meters to cue and sync, especially with the autosync function in Traktor. The way I used to do it when mixing without a cue is I'd get a decent visual sync on the meters, then I'd usually mute two out of the three EQ channels so, say, only the highs were playing, or only the lows. This way when I mix in it doesn't totally overwhelm the track that's playing, and lets me hear right away if it's out of sync or in. You can just bring snippets of the incoming track in, and then begin adjusting your tempo sync accordingly.
Fourth: make your own audio splitter patch cord out of parts from Radio Shack or wherever. You can assign Traktor to use one single side of a stereo channel as output, and the other side as cue. This means your output and cue are both mono, but they're perfectly synced for DJ work because they're on the same soundcard.
I can't find a tutorial off the top of my head, but basically you take a 1/8" stereo cable, split it and solder on two stereo output plugs, one on each of the mono pairs, and then solder both left and right tabs of the stereo output jacks to the single mono half of the cable. What this does is makes that mono signal come out of both left and right speakers, instead of just the left or right. One plug goes to your output speakers, one plug goes to your headphones. Go into Traktor and configure for mono, assigning one side to out and one side to monitor, and assuming everying is soldered correctly you'll be golden.
posted by loquacious at 2:19 PM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
Will something like this do?
Probably not. There are basically two kinds of "5.1 sound card". There's simulated 5.1, and then there's real 5.1, and the one you linked to is probably a cheap one with the simulated 5.1.
One kind isn't actually multichannel. It simulates "5.1" through DSPs, and may even be able to decode 5.1 data from movies or games, but still probably mashes it in the internal or software DSPs. But they have no mechanism for individual channel addressing - because they don't actually have multichannel support - just simulated 5.1 audio.
Also, that device has only one out. You don't want to be using one external sound card for output channel and your internal one for your cue channel. Even on the fastest computers there's a huge issue with lag, skittering and glitching between the two sound cards. This is very bad and frustrating. Also, since many of these cheapo (and often windows only) devices, they tend to not have strong/fast DSP chips, and handle much of the processing on the computer in software. This causes major lag in Traktor or Ableton Live.
You don't want one of these cheapo USB dongle sondcards, you really don't. I've tried using them and every single time they've sucked. Even the higher-end consumer models like the Creative Audigy (last time I checked) don't support true full duplex multichannel.
What you want is a pro-grade M-Audio (or similar) external sound card. It'll be a box about the size of a pack of cigs or a paperback book. It should have at least two full duplex stereo pair output channels. The key words here are "full duplex" and "true multichannel".
These external audio devices actually handle a lot of the Digital-to-Analog work internally, offloading some of the work from your computer, helping reduce lag. Plus, since there are effectively multiple D-to-A converter channels, you're assured that your cue and output channels are actually in sync.
Yeah, these pro-sumer grade soundcards are much more expensive, but you get what you pay for. It should last many years, and also will be handy if you get into writing or recording music.
Also, for the price of a high end external sound card, instead you may be able to afford one of those newfangled fancy DJ interface boxes with buttons and faders and jog wheels on it. Many of them have their own built-in external sound cards, and are comparable in price to a good multichannel audio card.
Me? I use a desktop PC with a $30 Turtle Beach Riveria internal 5.1 card. It works flawlessly for Traktor and multichannel recording. But I can't fit my DJ rig in a backpack, which sucks.
There's a third and fourth option, both free or almost free.
Third: Learn to DJ visually in Traktor without a cue channel. It's good practice, and on any computer faster than a p3-500 you should be able to eyeball the meters to cue and sync, especially with the autosync function in Traktor. The way I used to do it when mixing without a cue is I'd get a decent visual sync on the meters, then I'd usually mute two out of the three EQ channels so, say, only the highs were playing, or only the lows. This way when I mix in it doesn't totally overwhelm the track that's playing, and lets me hear right away if it's out of sync or in. You can just bring snippets of the incoming track in, and then begin adjusting your tempo sync accordingly.
Fourth: make your own audio splitter patch cord out of parts from Radio Shack or wherever. You can assign Traktor to use one single side of a stereo channel as output, and the other side as cue. This means your output and cue are both mono, but they're perfectly synced for DJ work because they're on the same soundcard.
I can't find a tutorial off the top of my head, but basically you take a 1/8" stereo cable, split it and solder on two stereo output plugs, one on each of the mono pairs, and then solder both left and right tabs of the stereo output jacks to the single mono half of the cable. What this does is makes that mono signal come out of both left and right speakers, instead of just the left or right. One plug goes to your output speakers, one plug goes to your headphones. Go into Traktor and configure for mono, assigning one side to out and one side to monitor, and assuming everying is soldered correctly you'll be golden.
posted by loquacious at 2:19 PM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]
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I use an M-Audio FastTrack Pro for this purpose, but those are about fifty times more expensive than the little widget you link to.
posted by tomierna at 10:34 PM on September 6, 2008