Any general consensus on soundcards for modular set ups?
So i’m planning on parting ways with my S8 and building a modular setup. I love my S8 and my S4 MK1 before that, but I like my Xone 92 tooooo much to stick with just the S8. I plan on running 2 D2s and my Xone 92, but it seems like the discussion around soundcards has dried up.
For production I have a Saffire Pro 40, but I’m not going to take my rack with me!
Any current recommendations on a solid, portable, 4 track audio interface?
I love Presonus as a brand, but if you need a DJ-centric combination of ins and outs, I also recommend NI. If you only need outs, the A2 travels extremely well. The A8 and A10 are built like tanks, but are discontinued. The next best thing now is the Komplete Audio 6 (if you don’t need DVS functionality). Of course Focusrite makes great interfaces as well, but I’ve never owned one.
Hi mate I just posted a similar thread. But my primary purpose for the soundcard will be recording onto my laptop. But I also use traktor sometimes too.
I think I’ve narrowed it down to either -
Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 USB Audio Interface
or
NI Komplete audio 6.
I think they both do the same job but the Scarlett is £50 cheaper!
I can’t recommend Behringer because of the way they handle driver development for most of their products. And not everyone uses OSX, so that’s a double whammy. They’re fine for utility and the low price, but I would never put myself in a situation where I had to rely on one.
Hi mate. Could you expand slightly on that (I’m a bit of a novice looking for a soundcard)…
What do you mean by ‘the way they handle their driver development’? and why is it a bad thing, is the sound poor?
And also you say, not everyone uses XOS’ - does that mean their soundcards arnt compatible with Windows computers. For eg. Xone 92 - Behringer UMC 404HD - Windows laptop.
A10 seems to fit the bill the most as I use 4 decks, but honestly I’d like some stronger DA/AD conversion. I just wanted to see what other options were recommended specifically by the DJ community. RME has a lot of interfaces that would seem to work as well.
They get many of their drivers done at a 3rd party. This in and of itself is not at all a bad thing. But I also know their driver testing procedure for these 3rd party drivers is less rigorous than I am comfortable with. That’s why I personally relegate their lower-end interfaces to the “utility” class of product. I don’t care if it crashes because I’m using it to (for instance) connect to an iOS device to run Smaart Tools.
If I’m going to depend on a product, it’s going to be a product I know is well tested and won’t be prone to letting me down in a pinch.
No, not in Windows. Windows users typically use ASIO drivers. Class compliant devices don’t require additional drivers, but they also operate through the HAL and have higher than acceptable latency. ASIO drivers allow the software low level access to the audio hardware, bypassing the HAL.
Bit late to the discussion but I have that exact set up and the NI Audio 10 has never failed me and can’t hear the difference between that and other brands i’ve seen used on traktor by DJs such as Guy Gerber. The audio 10 also gives you the possibility to use the 92s send and return loop for traktor effects on top of the 4 deck outputs, still leaving you with spare inputs to record your mixer out. Enjoy the new setup!
