Using an External Sound Card/All-in-one Controller

Most todays controller have a very good soundcard, especially when you move up the line into more expensive territory. But also some cheaper ones like the entry denon, pioneers or numark have very good sound output, however some cheaper controllers may only offer RCA (unbalanced) outputs, which is OK if you connect over less than 3m in my experience and do not have any sources of distortion near by (wireless microphones, power connectors etc.).

You should make up your mind which DJ software to use, then check out which controller is for you.

Interesting question. But your conclusion that it is possible is not quite correct.

What comes out of the back of your controller with on-board sound (i.e. the RCA, TRS or XLR outputs) is ANALOGUE audio.

The very nature of a (seperate) sound card is that it translates DIGITAL sound to ANALOGUE sound. Some sound cards will have inputs for analogue signals (for example if you want to record vocals through a mic or so), but it would convert that signal to digital, run it through some software in your PC/Mac and then convert it back to analogue again.

So, while you could go the route analogue out from controller into analogue in on the soundcard, digital through the PC and then back out as analogue through the sound card, there are a few things that would mess that up:
1) you can never improve on the output of the first DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) by running it’s signal through a better DAC later on in the process. So the weakest link is the relevant bit here.
2) all DA or AD processing adds to latency, which we would prefer to have none of ideally.

I agree with Terry that the current quality of sound cards in controllers is such, that there is no real reason to opt for a seperate sound card. The external option means more cables, more hookup time, more points of failure. Lost of controllers have up to 32-bit processing and 24-bit/96KHz sound cards, but even the 16-bit/48KHz ones sound great.

You HAVE to take into account what you will be using your sound output for. Usually it will go into club or PA systems that are primarily loud, often mono and a tad worn on occassion. They are performing in what is often not a perfect acoustic environment while there is a crowd around that creates a rather high sound treshold. So you get to hear only the bits that are louder than the audience (i.e. lots of fine detail is lost in the crowd). By no standard does this equal regular Hifi sound quality, let alone anything more audiophile.

So, like Terry says, first pick your software and then I would make a list of the features you are looking for in a controller, just to name a few:

• what dedicated knobs do I want/need
• what kind of extra inputs/outputs are there
• what kind of jogwheels do I like
• what sort of portability/size am I looking for
• what sort of budget am I willing to free up
• What look am I going for (image is everything lol)

Then compare your wishlist to what controllers are out there with good support for your software of choice that most closely match that list (you inevitably will end up compromising on some features) and make your choice.
Good luck and greetinx,
C.
P.s. more sound quality improvement can be had be making sure that the first bit in the chain, i.e. the songs are in the correct format. Nothing less than 320Kbps full stereo MP3 should do (or equivalent/better other formats).

Thanks m8 … you’re welcome 🙂

I use the Apogee Duet for my audio interface. It’s sound clarity is AMAZING. It’s on the pricey side, but specifically for Macs. Check it out…

http://www.apogeedigital.com