To Buy or Not to BUY!!!
Well I have I was very very close to buying the S4 and still am in a way. But I hear nothing but bad reports now on the S4 with loads of issues such as popping, and the actual product itself being faulty. Then its alot of hassle to get work back from NI when something bad does happen.
Was wondering on wether or not to go through with this purchase as I am not spending alot of hard earned cash just to gain more stress and a faulty product.
If you are a windows user, you should wait until a software update comes.
Some guys can get it to work, some guys can’t. Some guys on macs have reported having small issues as well. but, with the setups they’ve posted, some of which are more powerful than my unibody macbook pro 2.4GHz w/ 8GB ram, i’m not sure what else they actually have going on that is giving them problems.
as a snow leopard user, i’ve not had any of the cpu or recording issues that have been listed. i love my s4 and it works for me. it’s unfortunate for those that got excited to buy one but are having problems.
The only real “problem” that occurs with each (or did when it was first released) was the JogWheel plate (the top part) falling off, and the re-calibration that was needed.
For each person who posted on any forum saying they had a faulty product, there were 20+ i’m sure who didn’t post anything because theirs was fine.
But as any product that is brand new - there will always be initial kinks, I mean look at the iPhone 4.
I got my S4, had a faulty FX / lighting system, exchanged it at my local Guitar Center and the S4 I have now is perfect!
I love my S4, but as I have never really used any other DJTools I would not know what to compare it to 
.
I love my S4 and Coldfusion is right. Most people that are having no trouble at all aren’t going to post on a forum saying they have no troubles. So by default all you’re going to see is the negative reports.
i had issues and i still have issues with the S4 sound card/drivers.
i was really fustrated with it to be honest (im sure i ranted on here somewhere) 
but i will say, the S4 is great.
my advice would be to buy local even if it means spending a little extra,
the peace of mind of been able to return it if you do have any issues or if you aint happy with it, you can simply walk in and replace it.
there was some slight hardware issues at first, not too many, and i aint seen anyone posting with hardware issues in a good while so thats good.
the drivers how ever do need an update. the last one fixed most people issues
if you have an extra sound card great.
if you dont, id highly recommend setting aside an extra little bit ($/£100) for your budget.
that way if your one of the unlucky few (like me) that still have issues even after no matter what tweeks you do.
because with a differnt soundcard there is no issuses.
(for me at least)
and doing all the NI recomended tweeks are not needed.
(but of course some are wise to do for extra stabilty)
ps. if you do need to buy an external soundcard. the S4 IMHO is still a bargin and a great peice of kit.
I have the S4 and the flight case, and i’m still in awe at how good it is! Its an immense piece of kit and I havent any problems with it! 
Touches wood <.<
all depends what computer you have.
I know members here with Windows that have had ZERO issues. And like Jason said MAC’s have been great. I wouldn’t hesitate if I had a MAC.
I have an s4 and a windows 7 64 bit PC. Asus K60IJ w/ a dual core T4400 @ 2.2 Ghz and 4 GB RAM. When I first got it I tried it out and it ran like dog shit. I didn’t bother cause I have an Audio 4, but the other day I decided to mess with the soundcard and it ran perfectly w just the wireless turned off and nothing else. Actually went smoother than when I have the A4 set up. I was actually running a complete system virus scan at the time too. So needless to say an easy compromise to make it work for me.
no probs at all 20+ 4 hour gigs with my s4 on macbook. Anybody who DJ’s for a living is nuts to use a windows machine in my opinion and if you do get something stable windows 7 vista etc cut down versions you should use the laptop as a dedicated dj machine and not use it for everyday usage.
No problems here, love the S4. I am also a Windows 7 64-bit 2.2ghz 3mb, but it is a dual boot system, and the DJ drive is optimised for DJ’n and running Game Booster.
I own an audio 8 so shouldn’t be a problem. I hope not anyway. I have a mac as well so hopefully that will help .
Think I will go ahead with this with all the feedback. Just needed a bit of re-assurance to make sure I was spending my cash well and not on some piece of overrated equipment.
Cheers lads
get it, no probs on a mac here. worked like a dream out of the box even without recalibrating it (but did it some mins later or photo would haunt me in my dreams)
keep in mind the loud minority is the one claiming problems, not only with the s4
You better believe it!
your good then man. I have both and have never needed to use the audio 8.
It’s a sweet piece of gear and well worth the money.
Enjoy!