Ive got a question about 4-deck DJ soundcards to connect a analog mixer (like Xone 42) to Traktor.
Is there any other soundcard except the A10, with almost same quality? Or even better/worse?
I know there is this Motu ultralite soundcard - which costs about same price as A10 but should offer a higher soundquality and even more connectivity (though through 6.4mm (1/4") jacks).
Are there any other good cards? If yes - which/how much/how good/worth it?/better than A10/worse?
Additional hint: I only need to connect my pc via usb to a 4 channel mixer…thats it. no need for a mic IN etc.
There’s a huge gap in the market at the moment for a soundcard with just 4 stereo outputs. Someone really needs to come along and release something. The A10 costs WAY too much to be considered for just outputting 4 stereo channels of audio to a mixer…
it’s not out yet, but maybe the Behringer Firepower FCA610 would be a suitable solution. 8 mono outputs on 1/4" jacks. They are balanced though- can you run balanced outputs into the unbalanced inputs on a DJ mixer?
Downside is that if you hook it up with USB rather than firewire it requires a power supply. I think. Not entirely sure on this one.
depends is this for bedroom or gigs. for bedroom use i would shell out for a rackmount firewire series from presonus amazing quality and not that expensive… if you want something small and portable check out the focusrite saffires.
i have used and owned both the firepod and the saffire 6 (get the model with more outputs) and both have great preamps sound quality and both are built like tanks
I also recommend Focusrite Saffires. The Pro 14 FW you could get for just above $200 which is a steal me thinks.
As a bonus, the few times I’ve contacted FocusRite support, they respond back with something technically reasonable within 24 hours.
PS: Actually the weakest part in Focusrite Saffires is their MixControl SW, it’s so powerful that my brain starts to bleed when I use it. I told them to make DJ centric default templates to help out the initial setup.
Gigaport seems to be nice. one question more: is this 1/4 jack good converted to chinch? like - no soundquality loss etc?
if im gonna use mono 1/4 to RCA cableadaptor?
Saffire 6 = not enough outputs + it’s USB 1.1 so you get noticeable latency even with the tiniest of buffers. Cue point playing etc will not be possible.
Yes you can have a 1/4" jack to RCA cable with no loss of quality. At least no more than any other cable.
A dreamcard would be a simple USB 2 to 4 outputs and a level control. nothing more. no additional INPUTs and def. no master output…
Ive got the output on a mixer, and a mic is normaly also connected to the mixer. there is no actual need (for me) to have higher connectivity.
All I want is 4 outputs (4x RCA left and right).
24bit 48000hz sound
low latency for maximum control
Sadly there are no such cards. They all are either 2 channel or too expensive…with a lot of additional features.
To be perfectly honest this “higher sound quality” argument doesn’t make a whole lot of sense here- after a certain point you are not going to hear a difference and the audio 10 is definitely at that ‘sounds pretty great and transparent’ point. No one here could tell the difference in sound quality between a motu ultralite and an audio 10 in a proper blind test. Both cards are more than high enough sound quality and I doubt anyone could even tell the difference between an A10 and high end apogee or RME cards for DJ purposes of just hooking up to a DJ mixer. People often think their soundcards sound better just because of confirmation bias and they see a fancy looking card connected.
With those cards it’s more about use in a studio where you want great converters and lots of I/O and want to be sure it is absolutely clear and stable when you are interfacing with lots of other hardware in the chain like external FX, mixing, instruments, etc.
If you want to look at other cards there may be good options but it is going to be more about what other features you want, design, and price rather than a sound quality issue.
Yes - I fully agree. And I was not searching for a better sounding one, just for alternate possibilities.
I to be honest dont hear any difference at all after 24 bit 48000 hz, (have A2).
Im just searching for a good card that wouldnt fuck up the sound possibilites of a xone 42 (good known for very neat sound as all of you here know).
Im new into real DJing altough Ive been playing and spinning since I was like 10. So my knowledge is not really deep and Im asking you for more experienced advice.
Thanks for all replies so far
its firewire for the higher end models