Benefits of External Sound Card vs Laptop's Internal

[mvizzion]

So I'm just getting into DJing and have a Mixtrack, a good pair of headphones, and a cheap $5 sound card for monitoring/cueing. So far as I've just been practicing, I've used my Macbook Pro's headphone jack as the output (connected to speakers) and the cheap $5 USB sound card to monitor w/my headphones.

I'm about to purchase Traktor Pro 2 and noticed that if I buy the Traktor Audio 2 sound card I can get Traktor Pro 2.5 for free. (Traktor is now $89; the Audio 2 is $119, so I could essentially get the Audio 2 for $30 extra!).

My question is: Would my Macbook's internal sound card and 3.5mm headphone jack be enough to power larger speakers for future gigs? Is there a reason (besides headphone cueing since I already have that) that I should invest in the Traktor Audio 2?

Thanks!

[Sample Seven]

My question is: Would my Macbook's internal sound card and 3.5mm headphone jack be enough to power larger speakers for future gigs?

Yes. Your MacBook's soundcard is outputting a line-level audio signal just like an iPod/CDJ/Turntable. You can plug it into a mixer or amp and it will work.

Is there a reason (besides headphone cueing since I already have that) that I should invest in the Traktor Audio 2?

Using the Traktor Audio 2 would be a more robust solution for playing live. The 3.5mm headphone jack on your MacBook is fragile, if you bump it while using your laptop you could knock it out of the socket (clearing the dancefloor with a huge buzzing sound) or break it. The Audio 2 has bigger 1/4" jacks and lets you put the sound card out of harm's way.

Feature wise, you wouldn't be getting anything more, but when it comes to playing live gigs, reliability and simplicity are key for your setup.

[mvizzion]

Awesome, thanks for the quick response! I decided to go with it - found it on Amazon (and later realized it was here too) for $99. An extra $10 for the reliability and simplicity is an absolute no-brainer. It's helpful to get a second opinion and understand a little more about the setup. Thanks!

[Shishdisma]

The amp in the MacBook 3.5mm jacks is probably one of the most robustly useless pieces of hardware I can think of. Unless you enjoy low power-high distortion noise, a quality external card is the way to go.

[sss18734]

Nice work. The outputs in the Audio 2 are much higher, which lets you run your amps at a lower gain, which in turn results in less static. The Audio 2 was my first sound card and I still use it as a backup.

[coupon]

audio 2 all the way. especially now that it comes with traktor pro, no brainer

[mvizzion]

Nice work. The outputs in the Audio 2 are much higher, which lets you run your amps at a lower gain, which in turn results in less static. The Audio 2 was my first sound card and I still use it as a backup.

Good to know - that makes sense. Thanks!

[mixhipster]

I've used cheap USB sound cards paired with built in audio and it sounded terrible. Once you upgrade to a proper sound card you'll notice a huge difference .

[ghztomash]

since this post is around I would like to add that my internal sound card had really terrible latency time (on windows), playing something on time was a nightmare. But I managed to squeeze out really low latency (around 10ms) by using ASIO4ALL drivers.
How about Audio 2? is it a low latency sound interface, that can be used for, lets say live performance with other software as well?

[padi_04]

How about Audio 2? is it a low latency sound interface, that can be used for, lets say live performance with other software as well?

yuup.