4 Deck External Mixing With Mono Outputs?

[DJ Now]

Hi,

Just wanted to know if there are any disadvantages to mixing externally using a 2 stereo channel sound card (eg NI Audio 2) especially when it comes to sound quality.

I mix in mono so I figured; 'why not save money on soundcards by plugging 4 mono channels into a mixer (using mono to stereo phono cable) instead of 4 stereo channels'?

Thanks for your time, James!

[soundinmotiondj]

In general terms, a summed stereo signal will be about +6dB relative to a single mono signal. That difference can be trivially corrected with a decent mixer. BUT, with some more "entry level" mixers, needing to turn up the channel gains and channel faders by +6dB may introduce some noise that is noticeable in the final mix. The details will depend on the details of the mixer and the gain structure of the signal chain.

There may also be issues on the mixer side depending on how the mixer handles mono inputs. Again, the details depend on the details.

[DJ Now]

Thx for the tips!

I use an Xone 62 so the noise level should be fine when boosting the gain. Then again (like you said) it depends on the details so I might as well get a 8 out soundcard just in case I have to gig on a noisy mixer.

[soundinmotiondj]

If the mixer will natively handle a mono signal into one RCA jack on each channel, so much the better.

BUT, if you need to introduce a "Y-connector" into the system, do so with care. Any ONLY use it to SPLIT a signal, never to mix a signal. For more, see this: http://www.rane.com/note109.html