Problems with limiter in Traktor
Problems with limiter in Traktor Posted on: 11.02.2013 by Thuy Fetherman Howzit guys.I am having problems with the sound coming from my setup. Here is a run-down of my setup: | |
| Valene Guasp 27.02.2013 |
Originally Posted by Taka
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| Thuy Fetherman 12.02.2013 |
Originally Posted by SirReal
Mind you two weekends ago I plugged my mixtrack into another setup at a house party. When I was done playing, the owner plugged in his laptop and played music via Windows Media Player. I remember now he told me that the music had much more bass compared to when I played. I played with headroom at -3db, limiter on and low EQ at halfway mark. His setup was a smallish Gemini power amp hooked up to two 12 inch tops. Short unbalanced RCA to 1/4 jack cables with no interference issues. The little setup churned out more bass than mine and I was left baffled. That is when went home and turned up my low EQ's to max and was impressed by the bass I then got from the setup but at expense of the other frequencies. I'll plug in some other sources and check toevening . If it works then it may just be that the Mixtracks sound card is not up to scratch as a another user suggested whom also had bass issues with his BCD3000 which as is the case with the Mixtrack is a budget controller. |
| Ela Hoeger 11.02.2013 |
Originally Posted by Era 7
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| Valene Guasp 27.02.2013 | I was meerly stating to the OP that RCA to XLR is not a balanced cable which may help him with any future problems he has |
| Alphonso Deitchman 27.02.2013 | OP has already added in a mixer to manage the signal balancing, no need for more unnecessary wires. |
| Valene Guasp 27.02.2013 |
Originally Posted by Taka
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| Thuy Fetherman 28.02.2013 | Hi guys. So I finally got to hookup a mixer to my setup and wow. Wow wow and wow!!! It made ALL the difference. I knew my sound setup was capable of producing good deep punchy bass but the mixer even enhanced the treble and mid range as well. A bass bin is definitely not required. The EVPX's handle the notes with ease. No distortion. Thanks for all the responses. |
| Alphonso Deitchman 12.02.2013 | Yes, it might be that consumer level line out of the RCA (-10dBV) is just inadequate in comparison to a professional level line out(+4dBu). Testing your amp+speakers with any device that has a high quality balanced output should settle things properly. |
| Thuy Fetherman 12.02.2013 | I have two sets of cables. RCA to XLR and RCA to 1/4 inch. The amp allows balanced input via XLR and unbalanced input signals via 1/4 inch. Switching the cables made no difference. All this talk is triggering more and more memories. I remember a friend of mine using the exact same amp and speakers as mine with a Vestax Typhoon (another low budget controller) saying that he got much better sound out of his setup by adding a cross over. He ran the mid and hi through channel A on 15's and low through channel B on 15's as well. All speakers are EVPX15's as well. The prelim conclusion I am drawing is that for pro sound the Mixtracks RCA outs are not cutting it. I need either a mixer or X over to further enhanced the frequencies. So it's possibly a Mixtrack thing......cheap soundcards as at least two users suggested. Whether you have a Typhoon, BCD3000 or Mixtrack, if you hookup directly from your RCA's to Pro Audio you will probably have similar issues. Correct me if I am wrong but I don't believe it is the fact that the output is unbalanced though coz the length of my cables are not more than 1 meter in length. I believe that at such a short lengths XLR vs unbalanced makes no difference??? Yes/no??? I have no interference issues. Many thanks to all for your responses. Great community . Very informative. |
| Alphonso Deitchman 12.02.2013 | The Mixtrack only has unbalanced outs which are generally unsuitable for amps, unless they specifically have unbalanced inputs available. The best test would be connecting the Mixtrack through something that can generate a balanced signal like a mixer or DI box. I'd also check the difference between using the unbalanced RCAs and balanced 1/4 inch jack outputs of the S4 when you get around to testing that. |
| Thuy Fetherman 12.02.2013 | I believe so too Sir. I'll keep you experts posted. If it is the Mixtrack then i wonder is it faulty or are all Mixtracks not suited for direct connection to power amps. I see so any packages being sold on the net where Mixtracks are sold with RCA to 1/4 inch jack cables and power amps and tops. I'm plugging in a S4 this weekend as well to test soundcards. |
| Antonetta Wikel 12.02.2013 | Sounds like the mixtrack may be the culprit then. |
| Thuy Fetherman 12.02.2013 |
Originally Posted by SirReal
Mind you two weekends ago I plugged my mixtrack into another setup at a house party. When I was done playing, the owner plugged in his laptop and played music via Windows Media Player. I remember now he told me that the music had much more bass compared to when I played. I played with headroom at -3db, limiter on and low EQ at halfway mark. His setup was a smallish Gemini power amp hooked up to two 12 inch tops. Short unbalanced RCA to 1/4 jack cables with no interference issues. The little setup churned out more bass than mine and I was left baffled. That is when went home and turned up my low EQ's to max and was impressed by the bass I then got from the setup but at expense of the other frequencies. I'll plug in some other sources and check toevening . If it works then it may just be that the Mixtracks sound card is not up to scratch as a another user suggested whom also had bass issues with his BCD3000 which as is the case with the Mixtrack is a budget controller. |
| Thuy Fetherman 12.02.2013 | Thanks for your input guys. I also suspected that the Mixtrack Pro's sound card isn't up to scratch. On the sound side, no I am not expecting club bass from my Wharfedales. They are midrange speakers but they are capable of producing decent clean punchy bass notes. I am not after deep sub 40Hz bass. I have heard many EVP's in action and they perform very well without a bass bin. The problem seems to be on the signal side of things. The RCA into XLR cables were bought from a sound shop. The power amp just amplifies whatever signal you give it. So the issue is definitely on the signal side. I am going to put a mixer in line this weekend and see what difference it makes. The amp can receive both balanced and unbalanced input signals and I have tried changing the cables as well. I had a chat with another buddy last evening and he says whenever they do gigs with there S2 and S4's they always plug into a mixer before sending the signal to the amp. Thanks for all the responses. I will keep you guys posted. Oh and my setup is in a large room, not a club. |
| Antonetta Wikel 11.02.2013 | A simple test you can do to check the phase of your speakers is to pan the master to either the left or right and see if you get a fuller signal from that channel. It if feels thinner as you pan to both speakers, you've got a phase issue. |
| Venetta Cawyer 11.02.2013 | Knowing mid-class 15" full range speakers.. they'll probably have a roll-off @ 100 ~ 80hz. |
| Ela Hoeger 11.02.2013 |
Originally Posted by Era 7
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| Alphonso Deitchman 11.02.2013 | If you're having to turn your low knob to max to get a good sound out of 15" PA speakers, either something is wrong with your system somewhere, or something is wrong with your hearing. To fill a club with bass you'll of course need proper subs, but you also wouldn't be using these more mobile speakers in the first place. |
| Venetta Cawyer 11.02.2013 | Oh lol yeah. I read past that part. You got two tops, zero subs. There's your problem. those 15" are allright for lowmids to highs, but no bass. |
| Edwardo Rothenberger 11.02.2013 | Sounds like you are trying to create club-like mega turbo base in a home environment, and cranking the Traktor EQ to do it, which just isn't going to work out. Sounds like subwoofers would be the best way to go, but clubs have an advantage since they have big rooms, and bass frequencies are big. |
| Alphonso Deitchman 11.02.2013 | Test your speakers using a decent sound card with a balanced output (use a mixer if you have to). It could be that your amp isn't capable of handling unbalanced signals properly. Your speakers should be capable of putting out a half decent amount of bass so it sounds like something is wrong in the chain. |
| Antonetta Wikel 12.02.2013 | Have you checked the phase on your speakers? Nobody should have to max out the low end eq to get good bass. Just reread your initial post. I see you're going rca to xlr unbalanced to balanced). Is this a factory made cable? |
| Harley Zitka 12.02.2013 | Dude... get a subwoofer. |
| Nedra Fresneda 11.02.2013 | The problem might just be the Mixtrack's soundcard, the only time I had weak bass frequencies was when I rocked a BCD3000 back in the day. I'm not entirely familiar with your PA and speakers so I can't comment on them other than saying that getting a sub might solve your issue just fine. On the cheaper side, go grab yourself an external EQ and put that between your mixtrack and PA in the signal path. |
| Thuy Fetherman 11.02.2013 | Thanks for your responses. I have tried removing the limiter but then the low EQ becomes very sensitive. It's not punchy enough at the halfway mark but when you push beyond that it distorts easily before it even gets nice and punchy. When I have the limiter activated and I go 3/4 to all out on the low EQ then the limiter prevents distortion and I end up with nice clean punchy bass but at the expense of the mid and hi frequencies. With limiter activated and with low EQ knob pushed beyond 3/4 all the way to max I get better bass with no distortion than with limiter removed and EQ just past halfway mark at the same volume. This is why I thought maybe I should stick to halfway mark and and keep Traktor happy and get an external mixer and increase the low frequencies there to keep myself the crowd happy. |
| Venetta Cawyer 11.02.2013 | Traktors limiter is a really weird compressor/brick wall limiter. It makes music sound really muddy and goes huffy puffy when it's triggered. Disable it = everybody happy. |
| nayit ruiz jaramillo 11.02.2013 | And turn the limiter off. Its rubbish. |
| Tesha Freudenstein 11.02.2013 | low EQ to the max?! what the hell? turn it down. |
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