One thing I didn’t see mentioned in the article about time code on the front page, the sound quality difference between mixing tracks together on a dvs or cdj system through a good mixer (A&H, Ecler, etc) and mixing tracks on a midi controller setup, like the S4.
I see a lot of people saying they prefer the S4 over DVS or CDJ for the convenience factor, but it seems that sound quality wise DVS/CDJ might be better. I know in recording circles it’s pretty much accepted knowledge that mixing down on an analogue mixer sounds better than mixdowns done in the computer. I don’t see why the same wouldn’t apply to DJ’ing.
Anybody have a chance to compare the setups through a nice sound system?
Ofcourse not, if you use the S4 the sound goes trough an audio-interface to the PA. When you use DVS, the sound goes trough the audio interface, trough the mixer, to an PA. So i don’t really get you, cuz the mixer isn’t going to improve the soundquality…
technically if you use the likes of NI’s audio 8 dj, you can get the sample rate higher than that used by cds, but it all depends on the quality of the files you have
The mixer isn’t going to improve the sound quality, but since the mixing is done in the analogue domain, passing through resistors, capacitors, etc, it should impart a pleasurable distortion to the mixing quality. That’s why nice recording studios have big SSL and Neve consoles, so that they can mix analogue.
When you mix two tracks together on a S4 the mixing is 100% software. And while that shouldn’t sound bad technically, summing your digital signals outboard might actually sound better.
Technically the sound quality will sound better from a controller because the tempo is rock solid. With a CDJ you will get a tiny amount of jitter with timecode and more so with the wow-and flutter of a record which means that the either the pitch is changing minutely or the keylock is persistently recalculating - lesser sound quality
Sound wise there is absolutely no real difference. The crappy sound system and the fact everyone uses crappy mp3s is the limited factor. If you’re worried about sound quality only buy .wav files.
You won’t be able to notice a difference at all.
@risc12: You don’t have to use an analogue mixer for a dvs.
Surprisingly, not really. Some people prefer mixing on analog desks, but this is more due to familiarity+ergonomics than sound quality.
Summing on analog and digital equipment is basically identical. You won’t get any quality difference whatsoever by switching between summing internally and summing externally.
Good analog EQs and good digital EQs are of a similar quality level. However, good digital EQs (such as the Waves plugins) add a fair bit of latency and CPU load. For production this doesn’t matter: for DJing it does.
Digital DJ EQs like those in Traktor are not as well-modelled as professional production EQs, presumably to reduce latency and CPU load. Because of this, they aren’t quite as clean as analog DJ EQs such as those on the A&H mixers.
EQs on digital mixers like the newer Pioneers have similar issues, although they use dedicated hardware so tend to be a little bit cleaner than the EQs in Traktor etc.
In general I’m very pro-digital, but DJ EQs/filters is one of the few areas I think analog hardware is still objectively superior. However, this is only true for good mixers, it’s quite subtle and is somewhat offset by the reduced convenience.
My policy is: if a venue has an exceptionally good mixer (Xone 92 or something), I’ll mix externally on that with an X1. If the venue only has something mediocre like a Pioneer, I’ll mix internally on my S4.
If i get it right this aint about DVS, but more about mixing internal/external right? Because timecode isnt going to affect the soundquality. That is what i meant in my previous post.
yeah it is a diff. between internal and external mixing, but since most DVSs use external and most controllers internal (although there are exceptions), it seems like it should be something to consider when comparing the two setups.
it’s not just about controlling midi via record vs. controlling midi via midi controller, but also what happens to the audio from source to finish.
First, that statement shows an informal logical fallacy of an appeal to the majority.
Second, it’s wrong. Some specific pieces of analog gear sound like those pieces. They don’t necessarily sound “better.”
Frankly, I defy you to be able to hear the difference between an analog and a digital mixing setup (whether DJ mixing or track mixdown/mastering) when you’re not pushing anything into distortion…which you shouldn’t be doing anyway.
The only times in my life that I can flat-out say “analog is better” is in the world of guitars, where it’s really “Tubes are better.” And there are digital guitar amps that sound just as good as their tube counterparts, they’re just really expensive and aren’t sold at Guitar Center, so very few have played them.
(btw, Line 6, Vox, and Native Instruments software and hardware don’t count…they’re all crap)
The quality won’t be ‘better’ through an external mixer, but many add a certain ‘colour’ to the sound which some people like. Music sounded different through my DJM-600 to how it did direct from my soundcard, and does from my 800.
The old addage is that your audio will only sound as good as the worst link in the chain, and in many performance cases that will either be the sound system (shitty speakers or amps) or the music file.
Basically I guess I’m still waiting to hear from someone who has both setups, or has listened to both setups back to back on a good speaker system.
I’ve read posts on the Native Instrument forum of people who swear mixing on a good analogue mixer sounds better. Of course this is their subjective judgement, not a “better” you can measure.
As the same time all the S4 or controller owners are adamant that their setup sounds just as good as a DVS or CDJ setup (or at least not worse).
It would be interesting to hear from someone who has compared the two.
