Precueing using external USB sound cards

Hi all,

How to do precueing with 2x external USB cards?

I have an iPad with USB-C connector and a simple USB hub, however DJay recognises only one USB card at the time, not two to enable precueing.

Thanks.

Nope… You can’t use multiple soundcards with iOS products.
It’s apple design decision to support multiple devices only on macOS based products not on iOS.
But who knows, maybe they change this on future products

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Thanks for the fast answer.

So how does one use 2x sound cards, one for precueing and the other for main speakers?

Any hardware recommendations? Or iOs simy wont let it no matter what?

Thanks

The easiest fix is to probably get a controller.

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For headphone preview/pre-cue in iOS your audio interface needs 4-channels (4 out). This will show up in djay Pro as stereo channels (1-2) and (3-4).

Examples of 4-channel (4 out) audio interfaces: MOTU M4, Audient ID14, SSL 2+ (Plus!), Presonus 26C and Scarlett 2i4.

Tip: iOS uses the last audio interface that was plugged in. So plug in your DJ controller 1st and the audio interface 2nd. Your DJ controller won’t show up as an audio interface but you can still use it to control djay Pro.

Notes: In macOS you can route the main audio (1-2) and headphone audio (3-4) to different devices; but iOS can only handle one audio device at a time - so you need a single 4-channel device to preview/pre-cue in iOS.

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Hello @Michael_Wisniewski,

Thanks for the suggestion, 4 channel interface seems the best option indeed.

Would something on the lower end of the cost options work? Eg Behringer U-CONTROL UCA202 (preferred) or a mixer like Depusheng U4?

Ideally something that does not need external power and it is powered via the iPad.

I am still trying options out.

Thanks.

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Would something on the lower end of the cost options work? Eg Behringer U-CONTROL UCA202 (preferred) or a mixer like Depusheng U4?

The UCA202 and Depusheng U4 only have 2 output channels - so no preview/pre-cueing on those devices.

Low cost DJ controllers with built-in 4-channel audio interfaces:

  • Numark DJ2GO2 Touch
  • Hercules DJControl Starlight
  • Hercules InPulse 200
  • Numark Party Mix II

Hello @Michael_Wisniewski

Got it now. One needs to use a pair of channels as main output and the other pair as headphones out. The latter i suppose also requires adaptors etc.

Thanks also for suggesting controllers. For now i will keep it simple and stick to the iPad - give the cost of the external soundcard it may just be worthwhile however :slight_smile:

Will keep you posted how it goes.

Hello @Michael_Wisniewski again,

The item below should work, correct? It only needs a 2x RCA to female 3.5 mm converter for each channel (precue and main)?

BEHRINGER UMC204HD

Thanks

BEHRINGER UMC204HD

The UMC204HD should work for headphone preview/cue. I’m not familiar with it, so I can’t be 100% sure; but it has 4 outs (2x stereo channels) - you should be able to route the audio correctly in djay Pro.

Hi @miche,

Thanks for the question. A very interesting topic indeed!

While we don’t have any native support for some of the hardware in question (particularly when it comes to pre-cueing) you can always check our gear page for additional information on hardware you’re looking to use with djay.

Also, big thanks to @Michael_Wisniewski for providing your own insight on this topic as well!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Thanks everybody for the support.

The BEHRINGER UMC204HD works just fine. It is an alternative to a DJ controller to precue.

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@Michael_Wisniewski you seem to have a pretty solid experience so I kindly ask to confirm if the following set up will work properly:

-Djay running on iPad with a usb hub
-first connect a Reloop Mixtour
-second connect a Apogee Duet 3
-select Apogee Duet 3 as master and cue out
-I should be able to control the app via Reloop Mixtour, have the master out on the duet and the cue out on the duet’s headphones out

Can you confirm that? Thanks a lot for your precious advices

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I can check later, but I suppose it works as long as the Mixtour only works as a midi controller.

I’m not completely sure if the automatic detection Djay does messes things up though… :thinking:

What would be your goal though, as Mixtour already has separate outputs… Better quality sound?

Yes the Mixtour + Apogee Duet 3 “should” work with the iPad (but no guarantees, as I haven’t used that particular setup). It’s a good idea to use the internal power supplies on both the Mixtour and Duet 3. Make sure the USB Hub and Apple adapter are quality/legit.

One tip - if you have problems connecting the Mixtour or Duet 3, try closing all programs and re-booting/re-starting the iPad.

On the Facebook Group: Algoriddim djay Pro AI (MacOS, iOS & iPadOS). There’s a guy running a similar setup (DDJ-200, Duet 3, iPad - all battery powered).

Yes, absolutely.
I want to use this setup for professional gigs and I need a top quality output to be combined with a standard Pioneer Nexus setup without using a MacBook.
I made a research about a proper test about interface results but I didn’t find nothing specific.
I suppose the apogee is the best match between dimension / portability + sound.

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Thanks Michael.
I think that guy posted something on youtube and I checked: with ddj 200 should be easier running it in Bluetooth, but I’m experiencing a very nice ue with Mixtour because of gain controls, fx merged with filters and other hardware features that I like. Otherwise the sound is very far away from pioneer mixers standard, that why I need a pro interface as output.

If you have any other suggestion about adapter / hub to be sure that the setup will work you’re welcome! (I think I need a powered usb C hub with usb B ports like this UGREEN Hub USB C).

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I just tried it with a second USB destination and I couldn’t get it to work. The thing works fine for the iPad (e.g. Spotify). It’s dead when using Djay and the Mixtour. It works fine again (with Djay) when the Mixtour has been disconnected.

The misleading thing is I can actually see, select and mix & match all outputs in Djay (so Mixtour 1-2, 3-4 and the secondary destination).

I suspect Djay somehow assumes the Mixtour to always be the output (due to its fancy detection feature), no matter what you select in the settings. The inconsistency is that the signal gets lost in space as all outputs are silent when you try to set them manually to a different destination in this case.

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If this is true you could report it as a bug and it might work in a future release @andreacasta.

I used to work with Mixtour only for cue and master out from iPad headphones (using a Radial passive di the sound is much better than the mixtour rca).
Maybe you have to try Michael suggestions to unplug and replug in order the gears

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