VCI-100 sound card

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

VCI-100 sound card

i know this has been asked a million times, and i really cant seem to make up my mind. ill tell you guys my purpose, and hopefully i can get a surefire decision made by the end of this thread. Here it goes…

Im considering buying a Vestax VCI-100 (black edition), but I am going to need a sound card. Since my music library is strictly digital (on hard drive), i dont think i will need many inputs to a sound card (for things like CD players or vinyl).
With my VCI-100, a sound card, and laptop, i plan on using them for hobby DJing and school dances.

I need a sound card that has headphone output which will allow me to cue songs, microphone input, and also an output to large speakers.

What is a cheap (no more than $200) sound card I can use with my VCI-100 that will let me do this? *I would prefer Mac and Windows compatible.

Thanks!
-Tom

2

Ean already wrote an article detailing the best soundcards under $200.

Hope this helps

3

yup, i already saw that. i think where im lost is- how does everything hook up? is there a diagram i can see somewhere? like what hooks up to what? then i know what im looking for exactly. i dont get how everything works together.

4

Well, this is the point where I say that you should do a little research on how this stuff works.

And then, cause I’m a sucker for n00bs and the help they need (as I was one not too long ago (it feels like yesterday)), I will tell you what to do.

If you’re just using the VCI-100, soundcard and laptop your set up will be really… really easy.

Your soundcard plugs into your laptop via USB
Your VCI-100 plugs into your laptop via USB
Your speakers connect to your USB sound card.

There ya go. While my day is slow I don’t have the time to explain how everything works. There are lots of resources on the internets already to explain how these things communicate. But that’s pretty much the basics. Also, read your manuals. They explain LOTS.

5

well thank you alot because everything went from night to day and its becoming a clearer picture.

so now im pretty sure im not going to need a sound card with that fancy “MIDI Input” because the VCI goes to the computer.

headphones on the other hand, are going to the sound card and i should be able to configure that through Traktor or my software? and a microphone will go into the soundcard aswell?

6

When u hook up everything together, you will find that in the Traktor preferences traktor recognizes your new soundcard and then you manualy assign each channel for its purpose: usualy goes like:

channel 1/2 goes for master
channel 3/4 for monitor

in case of M-Audio fast track pro. Then just plug your speakers to outputs 1 and 2, and headphone plug into headphone jack (then just adjust the button to asign channel 3/4 for the headphone output) and u are good to go.

gl hf

7

ahh i see. my main concern about buying a sound card is price and latency (also reliability).

so in any scenario, a microphone for me would be independently controlled by the sound card? i would just have to use a gain nob on a sound card when i would like to speak through a mic?

8

Actualy can’t help you there, have no experience with mics…

9

You’ll plug the mic into the external sound card, use its gain, but you should also have a volume control in whatever software you’re using :slight_smile:

10

I use a Numark i/o. It’s relatively cheap as it doesn’t have lots of features you probably won’t use - but has a good build quality and is able to provide a very low latency too.


You get two sets of phono outputs, a mic in and headphone out - that seems to cover what you’re looking for right?

11

I’d say get something with the most bang for the buck as far as inputs and outputs . Search ebay and craigslist for something in your price range as well as second hand in a local music store . Just remember you may not think you need a feature that you may want in the future .

12

i have the numark dj io as mentioned above, but i wouldnt personally recommend it, as i have had quite the trouble with it lately. most likely related to drivers, and on my mac running osx 10.5.6 it crashes all the time, requiring the whole system to be restarted.

i just ordered the audiofire 2. that should hopefully be a ‘sound’ purchase teehee

13

dirtyroot,
thanks for the reply. for being $99 and having exactly what i want that seems like a great suggestion. however im feeling shifty only about that sound card (and also the fast track pro) because im super concerned about reliability and latency.

darrel855,
thanks for the suggestion. ill try craigslist! (once i decide which soundcard i will get)

kilbot,
let me know how the audiofire 2 is. i would love to know how it performs!