I am using a DJM-S7 mixer, which does not have a separate pre-cue channel for in-library pre-cue . So I tried using the output from my laptop’s headphone jack, an external sound card, MacBook speakers, and finally another controller output—in my case, the Xone K2. In all of these combinations, the problem remained the same: after some time (usually 5–10 minutes), the sound in the pre-cue channel becomes heavily distorted. It clears up if you switch the pre-cue channel to something else and then back to the device you intend to use for pre-cueing, but the distortion returns after a certain interval.
Another thing: when you use a separate device for pre-cueing, the pre-cue volume slider is ignored. It always outputs at a fixed level and cannot be changed inside djay Pro. When I switch to using only the K2 for internal mixing, I can regulate the volume again with no problem. So maybe this is connected to the fact that I’m operating in external-mixer mode on the S7.
Just in case:
MacBook Pro M4
macOS 15.4 Sonoma
Latest djay Pro
Pioneer DJM-S7 + various other outputs: MacBook Pro speakers, headphones, Xone K2 channels, Focusrite Scarlett soundcard.
Update: I found this 12 years old topic - so it’s an old issue, but I don’t see any solution for this still?
Splitting the main output and pre-cueing across 2 devices creates an aggregate audio device setup. While aggregating audio devices usually works fine, some combinations of audio devices can be unreliable e.g. if they don’t support the same sample rates or if their clocks cannot be brought in sync.
That being said you can try adjusting the settings in the “Audio MIDI Setup” system app to see if that helps:
While djay is running and configured with an aggregate device, select the “Aggregate-Audio-Device” device in the “Audio Devices” window of Audio MIDI Setup.
Try disabling “Drift Correction” for one or both devices that are being aggregated.
Try adjusting the sample rate of the aggregate device.
Try changing the “clock source” of the aggregate device.
If that doesn’t solve your issue, I recommend that you send both the main and pre-cueing audio to the same device.
I created an aggregate device, but when I tried using it, pre-cueing didn’t work at all—it produced no sound. I experimented with various settings, but it only functioned correctly in internal mixing mode. So I decided to forget about it; it’s not worth the hassle. I’ll just stick with Serato-style on-deck pre-cueing using S7 only. Anyway, thanks for the info!
