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Forum: Old versions

Topic: sound card suggestions

This topic is old and might contain outdated or incorrect information.

Guys my new rig has come a long way, below is a list of what I am using, what I need to know is can I get a sound card that will go between my Toshiba laptop (generic onboard sound card) and my mixers that will improve my sound quality:

EV-Q1212 amps (X3)
EV-DCONE (X2)
EV-TX1181 subs (X4)
EV-TX1152 tops (X2)
EV-TX1122 tops (X2)
Furman PLC PRO (x3)
EV-300 wireless Mic (X2)
Numark N4 Mixer (want to stay 4 deck)
Numark Mix Deck Express
Toshiba Laptops (X2) generic internal sound card
VDJ PRO

There is a noticable difference playing from my music library (it is all 256KB to 320KB) and playing on my Mix Deck via CD or USB. Somehow I am loosing something. My EQ is all flat in the computer, there is no sound boost anywhere and I have tried the computer volume from 20-100% with no change in sound quality only volume input to mixer level.

If it will improve my sound I would like to pick up an external sound device (card) that would interface with my mixers and improve my sound. I wan to keep my 4 deck capability on my N4.

Please give me suggestions, pro's and con's and how you would best hook it up to the two decks.

Thanks Ray J.
 
Posted Wed 03 Oct 12 @ 8:05 am
I'm not sure I understand you.

Are you saying that the output from the N4 is poor compared to the output from the Mixdeck?

Or are you saying the output directly from the computer(s) is poor? In which case, use the N4!
 
Posted Wed 03 Oct 12 @ 8:19 am
The output from the N4 and the mixdeck, when the input signal for both is the computer (VDJ) is not as good, as if I play a cd or usb memory stick with the mix deck.
 
Posted Wed 03 Oct 12 @ 8:26 am
So you're saying the output from VDJ is poor?

A CD is better (it should be, it's not compressed) but also an MP3 from flash drive is better?
 
Posted Wed 03 Oct 12 @ 9:14 am
The delay is due to sound card latency.

For low latency audio, ASIO is required. Neither the Numark N4 or MixDeck Express have native ASIO drivers available. This will also probably be the case for your laptop's internal sound card too.

If you need low latency (Only normally important for scratching, but also makes a difference if you need near instant start), you will need to purchase an external ASIO capable sound card such as Numark DJIO.

NOTE: ASIO4ALL is just a software-based ASIO emulator and does not provide true low latency audio - Please see http://www.virtualdj.com/wiki/ASIO4ALL.html
 
Posted Wed 03 Oct 12 @ 10:19 am
But he didn't mention delay at all - only quality.
 
Posted Wed 03 Oct 12 @ 10:31 am
I talked to Numark, everything in my system is set correctly. Yes I can hear a audiable difference between anything pulled from my audio library on the computer (all 256kbs-320kbs) songs and a song played from the cd drive of my Mix Deck (recorded in cd or mp3 format) or a song coming straight off the memory stick.

Guys don't get me wrong here, I am not getting bad sound from VDJ to my system, I can just hear a difference (better to me) in the sound from the other formats than I get coming from the computer to my N4 or Mix Deck and wanted to know if there was anything I could do to improve that, other than buying higher end mixers with better onboard sound cards.

Thanks Ray J.
 
Posted Wed 03 Oct 12 @ 11:57 am
A better sound card can make a considerable difference (There are plenty of posts from users on the forums who have found the sound card in one device to noticeably sound better than another they were previously using.)

The built-in sound card in most laptops/computers is not usually good quality. It also depends on how well the audio drivers are implemented.

When playing songs from CD or USB, the audio path will be different (CD would generally bypass the USB sound card component altogether and its likely this is also the case for USB media player.)

If you have a friend or know another DJ who has an external sound card and/or different MIDI controller with built-in sound card, then you could try these with your computer to see if the output is any better.

Also, check your CONFIG -> Performance settings in VirtualDJ. In particular, if you use keylock/master tempo, make sure that advanced stretching is chosen rather than fast stretching.
 
Posted Thu 04 Oct 12 @ 5:49 am
Support staff wrote :
A better sound card can make a considerable difference


Yes, generally - but in this case he's already stated that when playing an MP3 directly on the Mixdeck it sounds better than the computer (i.e. VDJ) through the Mixdeck.
 
Posted Thu 04 Oct 12 @ 6:07 am
As above, the USB media player part of the MixDeck probably does not use the USB sound card of the MixDeck. It may output the sound directly to the mixer part of the MixDeck. The same also applies to the CD players.

Playing VDJ's sound through the laptop's built-in sound card is also not a good comparison because as above, the sound card in most computers is not high-end and is usually a basic generic chipset. Most dedicated DJ sound cards will normally give superior sound quality to the computer's built-in sound card.

Also, as above, if the user's performance settings in VirtualDJ are not set optimally, this may lead to poorer sound quality as a result (Especially if he is using fast master tempo.)
 
Posted Thu 04 Oct 12 @ 6:36 am
"Probably" and "maybe" is just speculation. You don't know that for certain.

Also he's already stated the same applies for computer playback via the N4.

The common factor seems to be the software - VDJ.

That's why I suggested trying other software, to narrow the problem down.
 
Posted Thu 04 Oct 12 @ 8:07 am


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