[OPEN] DJM 900 bad sound quality sound (hitting reds) when using it as soundcard for Traktor.

Hi everyone and Pioneer gurus,

I've noticed by personal experience that when you use the DJM-900 or CDJ-2000s as a soundcard for Traktor, the sound quality is not as clear and punchy nor as using an USB key, CDs, or a soundcard for Traktor (you know the ones I mean). In order to get the sound a little more clear since it is quite low, you have to turn the gain up thus hitting reds...and that ladies and gents is not suitable since you end up looking like an amateur and the sound quality is still not clear.

This has been noted by other peers of the trade like DJ Endo; this is one comment from a conversation thread with other DJs including me: "I've found when using the DJM 900 as the soundcard for Traktor, you have to really crank the levels to "feel" the music. As much as I advise against going into the reds on a mixer, it seems thats the only way to get a proper loud punchy signal from the Pioneer DJM 900 when using it as a soundcard you have to crank the levels into touching the reds, which is terrible. With using the CDJs as the soundcard (aggregated), I'm noticing it lacks so much punch and the sound quality is suffering a lot. It just "doesn't sound right". With the Audio 10 the sound is so much warmer and punchier. I'm hoping Pioneer and Native Instruments learn to work together better to improve this because being able to plug into the mixer for your soundcard and using the CDJs aggregated is such an amazing setup. My workaround now is I use the Audio 8 as the soundcard and the CDJs as HID controllers. That gives you the best of both worlds."

Can this issue be addressed in a firmware update or is this hardware related? It is quite annoying, since I have to still carry my soundcard in order to get proper audio. Using the DJM-900 as a soundcard simply things as a industry standard outside the Rekordbox realm, as a true industry standard it should be more reliable and flexible for the implementation of other platforms. True limits should be creativity-wise and not platform-wise.

This is the only reason why I haven't updated yet my studio setup from my old and reliable DJM-800.

Looking forward to hear from you guys and hopefully find a solution.

Thanks.

Jorge 'pixelbreak' Alfaro April 22, 2013 04:10

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I experienced the same problem yesterday. I used the DJM 900 as a sound card for Traktor. I tested it before the club opens and compared it to tracks from a USB device connected directly to a CDJ 2000 Nexus. The music from the CDJ was loud and clear but the same track coming from my MacBook with the DJM as sound card was much quieter, had less bass and highs although the level was the same according to the LEDs. I made the DJM channel louder and already hit the reds but even then the sound was not as good as from the CDJ.

You can adjust the USB Output Level in the DJM Utility but this made no difference.

I'm sure the DJM firmware is not the newest. My question is, is it possible to resolve this issue with a firmware update or is this a hardware issue or maybe a strange setup at the club (amps or speakers)?

I used my Audio 8 this evening. The sound with it was much better than the sound with the DJM 900.

AndreB January 19, 2014 19:13 0 votes

Hey Husy,

I just did some A/B testing with this over several tracks and a couple of different apps -- it seems that Traktor is possibly the culprit. Try this for yourself...

load a few tracks from your hard drive to a USB drive
put the USB drive in a CDJ connected to the DJM900 (digital, please!), channel 2
set the crossfader assignments to LEFT for CH1 and RIGHT for CH2, change the crossfade pattern to the slope furthest right
connect the DJM900 to the computer via USB and assign it as the primary audio output for the OS (it will default to CH1 for most non-DJ applications)
open Traktor and verify that you have the audio configs set properly
load a track to deck A and cue up the same song on the CDJ from the USB
press play on both sources and adjust the CDJ as necessary so they're perfectly aligned
adjust both channel gains so both channel meters peak at the first orange
now crossfade (relatively quickly in one direction) between the two channels

You should hear both songs playing at the same volume - what you're looking for are differences in the body of the sound; there should be no coloration from either source and the audio should also not sound diminished in any way.

Now repeat the same process as above but instead of Traktor, use another application such as VLC or iTunes and compare between the CDJ and that application.

I found that Traktor lacked mid-low range, but VLC was fine (as was iTunes and Virtual DJ).

This is just my ears and I'd be curious to see what others find.

Pulse January 19, 2014 23:31 0 votes

Thanks for your test. I don't own a DJM 900. I have to check that next time at a club.

But i still have a question about the firmware. Is it possible that a firmware update will change the sound quality. The DJM I had to work with was probably never updated. Or is it impossible that a firmware update will help ?

AndreB January 20, 2014 19:32 0 votes

The audio can only be tweaked so much by way of firmware and I don't feel this is a firmware-related problem.

Pulse January 21, 2014 07:04 0 votes

Hi Pulse,

I've tried the same and with the new firmware and limiter, the sound over USB is better, although I've notice the same regarding Traktor...it no longer peaks into red but the mid - low range is lacking. Not a complete deal-breaker but to keep in mind when performing.

This is outside the initial inquiry, Pulse in order to sound good via USB, do you recommend to stick with -19 for the output or go to -15 or other setting?

Thanks

Jorge 'pixelbreak' Alfaro January 21, 2014 16:23 0 votes