Hercules RMX - sound quality - combinding it Audio 2 DJ?
Hercules RMX - sound quality - combinding it Audio 2 DJ? Posted on: 10.06.2010 by Marinda Hegemann Hi. Im using Mac Book Pro/Traktor Duo/Hercules Rmx when playing at clubs. I usually connect the Hercules (output 1 and 2 with RCA) to the club's mixer. I use mp3 320kbps. I experience that the sound quality is not great. It's not BAD, but rather low, dull and without the boost I'm getting with CD or turntables. I'm trying to figure out other ways of increasing the sound quality and level. I assume there are certain possibilities: 1) USING JACK 1/4? I have learned that the sound will probably be better (or at least louder) if I use jack 1/4" output from Hercules, because the jack has a louder output level than the rca. I will then have to use jack-to-rca cable, as the club's mixer does not have jack input, but I assume that does not decrease the sound quality? Correct me if I'm wrong. 2) ADJUSTING SETTINGS? Is there any settings of Traktor or the Mac which may be adjusted to increase sound level/quality? Now I'm using sample rate 44100 Hz, 4,0 latency, 100 % sound volume of the mac, approx. 85 % sound volume of traktor (avoiding the red as much as I can) and auto-gain. 3) USING ANOTHER EXTERNAL SOUND CARD? I have read that the sound card of Hercules Rmx is not great (not bad, but average). Is it possible to use another external sound card - in particular I'm believeing about Audio 2 DJ - and deactivate/not use the sound card of Hercules Rmx? My suggestion would be to connect Hercules Rmx to the Mac with one USB, to connect Audio 2 DJ to the Mac with another USB, to further connect the Audio 2 DJ to the club's mixer. By this, I assume that I can control Traktor with Hercules while the sound streams through Audio 2 DJ. Does this work? And what about the headphones? Will the sound card of the Hercules be deactivated so that there will be no sound if I plug the headphones to it? How can I then pre-listen to songs that I am about to play? 4) A COMBINATION? The three options I have suggested above may perhaps be used in parallell? 5) ANOTHER CONTROLLER? Should I perhaps buy another controller, such as the Vestax VCI-100? Thanks in advance for any help. Rune | |
| Marinda Hegemann 10.06.2010 | Hi. Im using Mac Book Pro/Traktor Duo/Hercules Rmx when playing at clubs. I usually connect the Hercules (output 1 and 2 with RCA) to the club's mixer. I use mp3 320kbps. I experience that the sound quality is not great. It's not BAD, but rather low, dull and without the boost I'm getting with CD or turntables. I'm trying to figure out other ways of increasing the sound quality and level. I assume there are certain possibilities: 1) USING JACK 1/4? I have learned that the sound will probably be better (or at least louder) if I use jack 1/4" output from Hercules, because the jack has a louder output level than the rca. I will then have to use jack-to-rca cable, as the club's mixer does not have jack input, but I assume that does not decrease the sound quality? Correct me if I'm wrong. 2) ADJUSTING SETTINGS? Is there any settings of Traktor or the Mac which may be adjusted to increase sound level/quality? Now I'm using sample rate 44100 Hz, 4,0 latency, 100 % sound volume of the mac, approx. 85 % sound volume of traktor (avoiding the red as much as I can) and auto-gain. 3) USING ANOTHER EXTERNAL SOUND CARD? I have read that the sound card of Hercules Rmx is not great (not bad, but average). Is it possible to use another external sound card - in particular I'm believeing about Audio 2 DJ - and deactivate/not use the sound card of Hercules Rmx? My suggestion would be to connect Hercules Rmx to the Mac with one USB, to connect Audio 2 DJ to the Mac with another USB, to further connect the Audio 2 DJ to the club's mixer. By this, I assume that I can control Traktor with Hercules while the sound streams through Audio 2 DJ. Does this work? And what about the headphones? Will the sound card of the Hercules be deactivated so that there will be no sound if I plug the headphones to it? How can I then pre-listen to songs that I am about to play? 4) A COMBINATION? The three options I have suggested above may perhaps be used in parallell? 5) ANOTHER CONTROLLER? Should I perhaps buy another controller, such as the Vestax VCI-100? Thanks in advance for any help. Rune |
| Rolanda Clodfelder 14.01.2011 | Are you using the limiter in Traktor, for some reason it makes everything sound like muck on the RMX, don't use it and keep the volumes well in the green. For some reason headphones jack on the macbook don't have the problem and as a result I use an aggregate soundcard to combine the outputs for headphones (from hercules) and master output from Macbook. The fact that the macbook onboard card sounds better than the hercules, I can only imagine that yes the audio4/8 will sound "quite" a bit better than the hercules soundcard or the Mac's, the built in one is fine for parties i guess, bigger clubs warrant paying a lil extra |
| Verda Wornum 14.01.2011 | Probably a dead discussion, but I's like to add my few cents. The Audio 2 DJ can be used in 2 different ways: - Channel A as output to amp, Channel B for headphone Cueing (internal mixer) - Channel A as dedicated output to mixer, Channel B as dedicated output to mixer (external mixer) As to the sound quality I'm really impressed! Compared to my older Edirol UA-1EX the dynamic range is noticeably larger as is the loudness. It's a big improvement and really adds some punch to the music. Really pleased with it and lit my day! On a sad note, I ordered a Vestax TR-1 but when hooked up and got Traktor up and running... one of the faders didn't seem to respond. As for a knob. And another. And another... Turns out 7 knobs/faders in total didn't send out any MIDI signals. After (crying for) a while called up the supplier and sent the package back. It seems my weekend will be a bit more boring as expected. |
| Edmond Batta 28.06.2010 | Where is your main volume set at on the controller? If it is all the way up then your main volume gain is set really high and probably the cause of it. |
| Clelia Braccini 25.06.2010 | It's pretty understandable. It comes with all the cables you'd need, so I'm sure you won't have any problems. I'll most likely be here nevertheless. Happy Mixing! |
| Marinda Hegemann 25.06.2010 | @Dynamics: Thanks again! I have done some more research, and have found a fairly good description of the set-up I may chose: http://www.nuloop.com/en/home-studio...udio_2_dj.html I don't yet really get how the cables should be connected, but I assume I figure it out as soon as I have the Audio 2 DJ in my possession. I will write another post if I don't get it Rune |
| Clelia Braccini 24.06.2010 | To answer your previous questions about cueing and the headphones. What I have been told, and been reading about is that, the 3/4 outputs and the headphone outputs (on the top and front) will actually put out all of the same audio. So whatever you have setup in Traktor as outputs 3/4, can potentially have the ability to be heard through 4 different sources (the 3/4 1/4" and RCA on the back, the headphone jack on the top, and the headphone jack on the front.) Said simply, the monitor out (3/4) is the same as the headphone outs. This is done so that when playing big gigs, one can have giant speakers in the DJ booth rather than headphones. To cue, just set your Monitor Outputs in Traktor as 3/4. I assume your headphones have the same jack as standard iPod earplugs (this is called 1/8" or mini-jack) so all that is left is to get a 1/8" (female) to 1/4" (male) converter. In regards to whether the Audio2 has better sound quality. I do not own either so I shouldn't really be regarded as a deciding factor, however according to what I've been reading, it would seem that the answer is yes. I see it this way because it is a dedicated soundcard, made by the company, designed for DJ's, rather than the all-in-one that Hercules is. However, I use the BCD3000, which according to many, is held high as the lowest and crappiest of all the pieces of gear out there. BUT, I've compared it to the soundcard on my CDJ's and can say for sure, for a fact, that on SMALL SYSTEMS (non-industrial, home-theater like speakers), there is no difference in the sound quality. (Just something to believe about). Glad I can help. Also if any of this is unclear in any way, just yell at me. (I can get a bit convoluted at times). |
| Marinda Hegemann 23.06.2010 | @DJ Phatso: Thanks. Then only one question remains: Is the Audio DJ 2 sound card (much) better than the Hercules RMX sound card? Rune |
| Celsa Courtemanche 22.06.2010 | Regarding headphone cuing: The Audio DJ 2 as 2 stereo outputs just like the Rmx: one for the main mix, the other for the headphone. |
| Marinda Hegemann 22.06.2010 | @Dynamics: Many thanks for your helpful reply. Re 1: I will try to use 1/4 jacks as output, in order to utilize the louder output from Hercules, regardless of the potential degradation when it it changed back to RCA. Re 2: I do not experience cracking/clipping. The sound card is not damaged, nor are the cables. The sound is just somewhat flat and without the punch I would prefer. I have read that Hercules' sound card is not high end (which is not to be expected, since the controller is quite cheap). Re 3: To use another external sound card, such as Audio2, is probably the best option for increasing the sound quality, as this sound card is supposed to be better than Hercules' sound card. I will use Hercules solely as a MIDI controller. I do not believe I need more MIDI control. I am quite unsure when it comes to headphone cuing: To be able to use the headphones, you say that I shall plug the headphones in the 3/4. (The monitor out of the Hercules, I assume). I guess this imply that I will need an adapter for my headphone cable in order to divide it, as this at present does only have ONE (mini)jack. However, I am not sure whether this will work for headphone cuing (listening to the song that I am ABOUT to play). I assume that the monitor out (3/4) will only play what is played on the master out (1/2). (Similar to other MIDI-controllers, the Hercules comes with dedicated outputs for headphones, which is specified for headphone quing). Hope you can help me out on this issue. If you do, I will buy the Audio2. Thanks. Rune |
| Clelia Braccini 11.06.2010 | Ok! Here we go: 1. The level is always fixable. I'm sure that you're staying out of the red in the program, which is good. I'm looking at the console now and I'm actually quite shocked that there is no master level knob, but maybe that's what the Main Volum Fader is for? In any case, since you're out of the red in the program, you can always boost the Gain knob on the club's mixer. The 1/4" jacks DO have a louder output but once that's changed back into RCA, I'm pretty sure the level degrades, however none of this should have any noticeable effect on the sound quality, UNLESS your cables are bad. So make sure you have good, solid-working RCA's. 2. I'm assuming you're not using any aggregate devices, and JUST the Hercules soundcard. The quality starts with the music itself, so make sure you're actually using top notch mp3's. The volume on the MAc isn't going to make any difference here, however, just double-click on the master volume knob IN traktor to reset it to it's default. The levels may show up red, but in my case, I've never experienced any clipping/degradation in sound quality. Try increasing the latency if you experience any cracks in the sound, otherwise it may just be a level problem. (But make sure you have your output settings correct: 1/2 master out; 3/4 monitor out.) 3. This will definitely work, and is even simpler than you've imagined it to be. All you would need to do is to set your Audio Device to the Audio2, 1/2 Master out; 3/4 Monitor Out. Then the Hercules becomes solely a MIDI controller. This means that your cables for AUDIO will come from the Audio2 ONLY. The 1/2 1/4" jack splits to RCA's which go to the club's mixer, and you plug your headphones in the 3/4. (On a side note, if you want more MIDI control, you can use the external mixer setup, I can explain this more in detail if you'd like) 4. 1,2,3 can be used together, but may not be tremendously necessary. I would recommend making sure that the Hercules soundcard can actually work and is not damaged in some way before maing any purchases. This can mean making sure everything in the program is working, to different audio outputs routings, to making sure the your cables are in good condition, and finally making sure there's nothing wrong with the hardware you're putting your audio to (club mixer, headphones, personal sound system, etc.) 5. You CAN buy another controller such as the VCI-100, but that means you'd need a soundcard such as the Audio2. But if you do get an external soundcard, then you can still use your Hercules as MIDI only. Meaning you'd already have a controller, which then means you wouldn't exactly need the VCI-100. To put it simply, you already have a controller, the only issure is the sound. (But you can always buy it if you need you NEED more controls). Let me know how it works out. I've discovered multiple ways of setting up audio and some wild workarounds, so we can make sure that it isn't the soundcard on the Hercules itself that isn't damaged. Hope this helps. |
| Celsa Courtemanche 11.06.2010 | Traktor can only use one soundcard at a time, so unless an aggregate device combining both soundcards (which may or may not work), your best option is to use the Audio 3 DJ as a soundcard the second output is used for headphone BTW) and use the Rmx as a controller. However, you might as well use the Rmx 1/4" with adapters to RCA as you would need them with the Audio 2 DJ just the same. |
| Leeanna Ayla 10.06.2010 | Option 3 or options 3 and 5. You can cue from the Audio 2 and I believe you would still be able to cue from the RMX, but I'm not 100% on that. |
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