S4 popping/glitches/fixes( is it worth it?)

[Dj DoIn BaD]

Im really interested in buying myself the Traktor Kontrol S4 but ive heard real the good things and some real bad things about the kontrol. ( ex. clipping, dropout, popping nosies for both PC & Mac users, jog wheel not working, channel volume & cross faders not working correctly). Most of those hardware issue were from people that bought there S4 when they first came out.( never buy 1st generation electronics, they always have issues! Hahahha ) The popping and drop off issue is what i hear from a lot of people. My question is what causes the popping and how do you resolve this problem? (If i buy a new separate sound card will that fix the problem?) Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[makar1]

Popping is not specific to the S4 - it is caused by processes running on your computer and can happen with any audio device.

But you're right about the other issues. The S4 build quality is not that great.

[VanGogo]

I have an S4 from the first run that has given me zero hardware trouble, and I'm sure many others can say the same. With that being said, there are others who have had issues that you listed. I say do your home work, and see what controllers aren't having as many issues.

The pops and clicks, and other issues, have to do with how finicky Traktor is about working on different computers. It used to be mainly windows users having trouble, but since 2.5 some of the Mac folks have been having some trouble also. Having a Mac that is over the minimum requirement to run Traktor would be my best suggestion. This opinion has been formed from 2-3 years of dealing with Traktor on Windows issues, and reading about everyone else's Traktor problems on various forums. I haven't tried a different sound card, but I've heard of that working for some people. Using a different sound card kind of defeats the all-in-one concept though, and you will be paying for a sound card you won't use.
Even though I like my S4 and Traktor, it has been frustrating. So I would say look into the VCI-400for Traktor, or the new DDJ-SX for Serato for all in ones.

[scattrrbrain]

( ex. clipping, dropout, popping nosies for both PC & Mac users, jog wheel not working, channel volume & cross faders not working correctly).

I can tell you right now that the first couple of issues are due to network latency issues. There is a huge amount of research on this website about reducing traktor's network latency for better performance.

The "not working" issues is probably because of people trying to target the same controller with two different (or more) controller mappings under the traktor preferences.

Bottom line is, its all user error. You can identify these things quickly and if you already know how to solve these problems, I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the S4.

(your friendly fellow S4 owner...)

[makar1]

Bottom line is, its all user error. You can identify these things quickly and if you already know how to solve these problems, I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the S4.

Audio dropouts and glitches are not "user error". Poorly optimised drivers and an OS that is not designed with low latency audio in mind are what causes such problems.

And hardware faults on jog wheels and faders are not user error either. The fact is, the S4 is built cheaply and suffers from problems as a result.

[scattrrbrain]

Audio dropouts and glitches are not "user error". Poorly optimised drivers and an OS that is not designed with low latency audio in mind are what causes such problems.

And hardware faults on jog wheels and faders are not user error either. The fact is, the S4 is built cheaply and suffers from problems as a result.

I never have those problems with mine. Must just have gotten lucky and scored? Doubt it.

[makar1]

Good for you. Don't blame others for the problems they have though.