Digital setup and PciE sound card

[LiGhTeNPrOJeCt]

ok, so im a dj looking to move to the digital(dark) side, been having a lot of trouble trying to get my gear the way i want it. my first priority is ultra low latency, so when i touch the vinyl on the deck the sound coming out of my speakers is as close to using real vinyl decks as possible (latency wise). i purchased a pair of decks (dennon dns 3700) each had their own sound card built inside which controls internal midi in/out for the spinning plater ,buttons and lights ect, and the sound output of the decks via spdif/digital or Stereo analogue RCA. i use the spdif as i believe it will provide better sound and lower latency, because it doesn't require DAC conversion (tell me if i'm wrong). i want the DAC done in my genelec speakers.

the idea using these decks was to limit latency by having everything done in the decks rather then having a time code disk or vinyl and an external usb sound card which would lead to more conversion latency. IE: timecode disk to ADC to usb to computer/software to usb to DAC to mixer and finaly ADC of the digital/spdif out of my mixer.

ok now that all sounds great but i have been having several problems. my software of choice is Traktor, but Traktor doesn't natively support the dns 3700 and even though i can bodgy up a midi map the spinning platter still doesn't work properly AND on top of that even if i use different software (virtualdj) i cant get 2 decks to simultaneously work properly under windows.

so i have changed my plan.

1- change from pc to mac : macs allow you to use two decks/sound devices simultaneously

2- change sofware to virtualdj: so i can use the spinning platters (but i do love traktor)

and if im still not happty with the spinning platter situation under virtual dj

3- go back to Traktor and use timcode disks with 1/2 internal PciE sound card/s with 2 digital/Spdif ins and 2 digital/spdif outs : this will lower the latency by eliminating the usb connection latency, improve sound and lower latency by using only digital audio. IE: Timcode to digital audio to computer/software to digital audio to mixer/speakers

My questions are

1- is there any incorrect assumptions in my statement

2- any help getting any of my earlier or latter setup ideas working properly

3- what sound card/s should i use with the mac given that im using standard rca conectors for digital audio transmision

i have done hours and hours of research on all of this but the research required is getting broader and deeper also i forked out a lot of cash for gear that doesnt work the way i want by being misled by manufacturers or misunderstanding manufacturer info so i want to know all i can before i spend any more money. that said i'm going to get a couple apple macs and the DJM 800 has always been a super solid backbone of my gear.

Thankyou for any help

[Jaz]

hmm i wouldnt change to VDJ, i use it because i cant get my midi running with traktor, is pretty average program, alot less profesh than traktor

and i dont think Pc to Mac would change much but your bank account

but im no expert, there are alot of users on this site that will give much more help then me but being saturday night it may be pretty quite on here

in the mean time dude, throw up an intro in its section and tell us a bit about yourself here V

http://www.ausdjforums.com/modules.php? ... wforum&f=5

[Mattye]

@ LiGhTeNPrOJeCt

Have a good read of how to's on midi mapping for traktor...It took me a while but I sussed it all out for mapping my RMX.

If u have to do exactly what they tell u to do. (this helped me get my head around what was happening)

@ AZ

Ur running a RMX aren't u dude???

[Jaz]

yeh i am, there are many mapps available, they just dont seem to work, havent had a play with it in a while though

[DJ_Raptor]

in regards to latency...

I wouldnt think it would have anything to do with your sound card etc.. (could be wrong).

I would make sure all audio leads are as short as possible...

But more so, make sure you Computer is of decent spec and make sure you not only have good ram and fast CPU, but make sure you dont have too many programs running and also try disabling antivirus. Id look more at the computers processing ability than sound card or USB.. surely they shouldnt have poor latency.

[LiGhTeNPrOJeCt]

hmm i wouldnt change to VDJ, i use it because i cant get my midi running with traktor, is pretty average program, alot less profesh than traktor

and i dont think Pc to Mac would change much but your bank account

but im no expert, there are alot of users on this site that will give much more help then me but being saturday night it may be pretty quite on here

in the mean time dude, throw up an intro in its section and tell us a bit about yourself here V

http://www.ausdjforums.com/modules.php? ... wforum&f=5

Hiya DJaz, yea i agree.... VDJ is not as good as Traktor, i want to try and stick with Traktor.

im have never been a fan of macs and the price is fare to much in my opinion but osx allows device aggregation which allows you to use more then one audio device at a time, windows seems to have trouble addressing more then one. there are work arounds for windows but every one i have had expirience with either doesnt work properly or is really buggy

Cheers dude

[LiGhTeNPrOJeCt]

@ LiGhTeNPrOJeCt

Have a good read of how to's on midi mapping for traktor...It took me a while but I sussed it all out for mapping my RMX.

If u have to do exactly what they tell u to do. (this helped me get my head around what was happening)

Hiya Mattye, i will have another look at the mapping maybe they have worked out the spinning platter, but in my expirience tracktor has trouble with running the spinning platter on the dns3700.

RMX? are you talking about stylus? or somthing else?

Cheers LP

[LiGhTeNPrOJeCt]

in regards to latency...

I wouldnt think it would have anything to do with your sound card etc.. (could be wrong).

I would make sure all audio leads are as short as possible...

But more so, make sure you Computer is of decent spec and make sure you not only have good ram and fast CPU, but make sure you dont have too many programs running and also try disabling antivirus. Id look more at the computers processing ability than sound card or USB.. surely they shouldnt have poor latency.

Hiya Raptor, yea gots all good, short as audio leads and my dj rig is a 17" lappy with core2duo 2.4ghz, 4gb ram, dedicated 512mb gf8800gt and specialy bought HDD for djin. works great with my mobile setup (xponent and traktor). the lappy is just for djin and i have stripped down windows to the bare minimum needed for rinning my gear. works great.

you r right its not the sound card itself (as long as it supports ASIO), it is the amound of data format changes (eg. DACs, ADCs, USB, ect) along the way from you interaction device (decks) to you speakers), every change will reduce sound quality and increase latency. if i knew that the dns3700s were going to be so much trouble i wouldnt have got them and bought an audio 8 and used my sl1200s insted. but i have decided to keep them and attempt to make a setup even better then the standard ADC DAC time code vinyl setup.

Cheers

[Jaz]

@ LiGhTeNPrOJeCt

RMX? are you talking about stylus? or somthing else?

Hercules RMX, its a mid Range Midi Controller lol

[LiGhTeNPrOJeCt]

@ LiGhTeNPrOJeCt

RMX? are you talking about stylus? or somthing else?

Hercules RMX, its a mid Range Midi Controller lol

LOL Ahhh yes, never used it, ive got the m-audio xponent for my mobile setup

[LiGhTeNPrOJeCt]

Awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! new firmware for for dns3700, hybrib mode will be for me. still will need a DVS thou, cant wait to see it )

[LiGhTeNPrOJeCt]

!

[LiGhTeNPrOJeCt]

http://www.gearwire.com/denondj-dn-s370 ... -mode.html

[wazza]

Awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! new firmware for for dns3700, hybrib mode will be for me. still will need a DVS thou, cant wait to see it )

....

do a mix.......win a good open DVS ( miixvibes dvs 7 ) set-up for your Denon 3700

http://www.ausdjforums.com/modules.php? ... ic&p=32595

with mixvibes dvs 7 time code vinly & my edirol fa 66 fire-wire sound card I get 3 to 5 ms latency....thats as good as serato & traktor scratch