Optimal USB-C to everything else connections from iPad?

Hello,

I’m not new to DJing but I am to most of the technology developments in the past decade or so, so please bear with me.

I’m looking for advice on the most optimal ways to connect everything from iPad which only has the one USB-C port.

For context I’m travelling and wanted something as light and portable as possible, hence - initial - decision to try just using an iPad, that might also allow me to more or less set up anywhere. What i’m discovering of course, is that it’s not that simple, especially without a controller (yes, i’ll very likely get that but not there yet), and a lot of extra paraphernalia is likely needed (again travelling is making this more challenging).

Anyway, I’d just like to know, from those of you who have met these challenges, if my proposed set up here will work or - getting a controller aside - there is a better way.

The grey items are currently secondary, as in I’d like to have these options open to me, but they are not crucial as i just get my shit together.

Secondly, is there anything i need to be aware of that might affect audio output quality?

Thirdly, is there anyway to connect to both a monitor and the main sound system (and headphones) without a controller or is that just asking too much?

Apologies for my rudimentary diagram. Hope it makes sense.

Thanks

PS: The cables here are examples, I won’t have option but to take what i can find right now.



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Be aware that these adapters which offer a secondary USB-C port “for charging” won’t necessarily allow it to work with anything else. You need to ensure that any dongles/hubs have a fully wired secondary port, not just a charging port.

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An iPad with a single controller is an excellent simple rig; but as you add features the MacBook quickly becomes the more portable and cleaner setup. If you really want video, the MacBook will be a better choice.

Main issue with the iPad is the rats nest of dongles, wires and power plugs that are needed to connect multiple devices. It all looks good until you actually connect everything and see the Frankenstein octopus you’ve created. It will work in a studio setting, but if you’re doing impromptu live events, it can get messy with a lot of points of failure, plus all the small components that are easy to lose.

For the iPad - a Reloop Ready, Buddy, Mixtour, Traktor S2/S3 or FLX4 will give you a very portable and clean 4-channel setup. You can extend the rig a bit and still keep it clean by using a Reloop Stand Hub - Reloop

Otherwise, for a more feature-rich rig, an entry-level MacBook with a hub like this can be cleaner and more portable:


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Thanks again for the input @PKtheDJ and @Michael_Wisniewski. Really appreciated!

Hi @N_C, my personal setup for using an iPad without a controller is:

  1. The Baseus 11 in 1 USB-C Hub (Baseus Online | Baseus USB C Hub 11 in 1 Docking Station Adapter with 4K HDMI for MacBook Pro, Surface Pro, iPad Pro and Other Type C Devices). This hub has 2 HDMI ports plus a 3.5mm headphone socket so you can connect an external screen/monitor and a DJ Headphone Splitter cable.
  2. For the DJ Splitter cable, I use the Native Instruments Traktor DJ Cable (https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/traktor/traktor-for-ios/traktor-dj-cable).

I’ve been using this setup as a backup for years and it works great.

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Thanks. This will probably annoy you, but what is a “fully wired secondary port”, as in how do I I know this what I’m getting (or not)?

Thanks. That stand look pretty user friendly.

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Ok, so its the data transfer thing which is not always a thing, that at least i do understand. Thanks.

Here’s an example of a USB C hub which has both power and data C ports:

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