Problems with limiter in Traktor

[Taka]

Howzit guys.

I am having problems with the sound coming from my setup. Here is a run-down of my setup:

• Numark Mixtrack Pro
• Traktor Pro software
• Hybrid B1600 stereo club amp (similar to a Behringer EP2500 in terms of power output)
• 2 X 15inch Wharfedale Pro XVPX15’s


The L & R rca’s from the Mixtrack Pro soundcard is connected directly to the channel A and B XLR inputs on my amp and the amp is running in stereo mode. In Traktors “mixer” menu I generally set headroom on the “none” setting and the “limiter” is activated.

Problem: due to the fact that bass doesn’t sound as good as it can when all my EQ knobs are on the halfway mark I turn the bass all the way to max. The speakers have no problem at all with this and they play beautifully however Traktor master control level indicator keeps hitting the red when I up the master volume and then it limits the midrange and treble frequencies resulting in a muffled sound output. If I leave the master volume down then the sound is good but way too soft.

I have tried reducing the master volume in Traktor to prevent the Traktor master level from hitting the red and thus limiting the frequencies and I turn up my amp gains instead but because Traktors master volume hits red so easily due to the bass EQ knob being turned to the max, I have to pull the master volume so much that my amps gains needs to be turned up close to ¾ of the way and even then the sound does not sound great. It is dangerous as well because should anyone come and push up the Traktor master, my speakers will be on their way to heaven.

The bass kicks really nicely at max on the EQ knob in Traktor with limiter preventing distorted signal but the fact that it limits all other frequencies at the same time is annoying. When Traktor master is hitting limiter and I turn down the bass EQ then a loud burst of mid and hi comes through and when I turn the bass back up the mid and hi gets limited and sounds muffled again but the bass thumps nicely.

If I turn all my EQ’s to the halfway mark I can up the Traktor master quite far and the sound is really loud and clean but lacks a lot of bass. Crank up bass and limiter comes and spoils the show. If I switch the limiter off then the bass distorts easily. It seems the beast bass is at max low EQ with limiter activated.

So what do I do? Do I get a better sound card? Do I get an external mixer to up all the frequencies without Traktor knowing this ie: keeping knobs on halfway mark in Traktor while cranking up the frequencies on the mixer? Do I get an active cross over???

Apologies for the long read. Your help will be much appreciated.

[Era 7]

low EQ to the max?! what the hell? turn it down.

[Karlos Santos]

And turn the limiter off. Its rubbish.

[Audeo]

Traktors limiter is a really weird compressor/brick wall limiter. It makes music sound really muddy and goes huffy puffy when it's triggered.
Disable it = everybody happy.

[Taka]

Thanks for your responses.

I have tried removing the limiter but then the low EQ becomes very sensitive. It's not punchy enough at the halfway mark but when you push beyond that it distorts easily before it even gets nice and punchy.

When I have the limiter activated and I go 3/4 to all out on the low EQ then the limiter prevents distortion and I end up with nice clean punchy bass but at the expense of the mid and hi frequencies.

With limiter activated and with low EQ knob pushed beyond 3/4 all the way to max I get better bass with no distortion than with limiter removed and EQ just past halfway mark at the same volume.

This is why I thought maybe I should stick to halfway mark and and keep Traktor happy and get an external mixer and increase the low frequencies there to keep myself the crowd happy.

[padi_04]

The problem might just be the Mixtrack's soundcard, the only time I had weak bass frequencies was when I rocked a BCD3000 back in the day. I'm not entirely familiar with your PA and speakers so I can't comment on them other than saying that getting a sub might solve your issue just fine.

On the cheaper side, go grab yourself an external EQ and put that between your mixtrack and PA in the signal path.

[brocklambert]

Dude... get a subwoofer.

[SirReal]

Have you checked the phase on your speakers? Nobody should have to max out the low end eq to get good bass. Just reread your initial post. I see you're going rca to xlr unbalanced to balanced). Is this a factory made cable?

[makar1]

Test your speakers using a decent sound card with a balanced output (use a mixer if you have to). It could be that your amp isn't capable of handling unbalanced signals properly. Your speakers should be capable of putting out a half decent amount of bass so it sounds like something is wrong in the chain.

[Timbo21]

Sounds like you are trying to create club-like mega turbo base in a home environment, and cranking the Traktor EQ to do it, which just isn't going to work out.

Sounds like subwoofers would be the best way to go, but clubs have an advantage since they have big rooms, and bass frequencies are big.