This has been this way for a while despite updates but only getting to writing this now. With a good quality mixer, setting to external mode in djay pro will produce sound output closer to the original sound file when compared to the internal mixer mode. It is not a “night and day difference” but it’s audibly more detailed and bass less muffled/tighter. Testing with a frequency response spectral analyzer through the master out confirmed this; there are variable differences in the response curve depending on the track in internal mode and external mode is closer to sound file. This has been something I have tested extensively on Mixon 8 pro with latest dJay pro on iPad, which is very capable of making a good comparison given I can use the same controller functions, but the only difference being if its using Mixon hardware mixer, or the apple internal audio hardware. I also very briefly checked this on a DJM A9.I pretty much use only Flac files to the extent that is relevant.
To keep it simple, I suspect that the internal audio quality mixing (at least for the iPad) is not as good as the external hardware. This is either:
A: a fundamental problem with apple hardware where its DAC is just not as good as ones in external mixers
B: may be in issue in how djay pro processes the audio files
Though not sure I did this experiment perfectly, I tried doing a test of playing the same track through the Mixon via just a regular Apple Music player. It sounds similar to the internal mixer output, which may suggest this is related to iPad’s audio processing such as its DAC. In the audio signal chain, what is the difference between internal or external mode? Is internal having the iPad’s DAC send the analog signal to the master out of the controller and external is using the mixer’s DAC?
This is an issue because controller functions are wonkier in external mode (knobs overshoot or undershoot there representation in djay pro) in a way that makes it seem the mixer is working with a different signal and not as in sync with the software. Internal mode works very smoothly from a controller standpoint (the knobs line up perfectly with the djay pro representation of them) but at the expense of inferior sound quality. It seems like there’s a fundamental difference in how the audio signal is manipulated in these modes. Maybe there could be a hybrid sort of mode that maintains the close integration of the controller and djay pro app but only at the final stage of audio processing sends to the external mixer for it to digital-analog convert to the master out?
NOTE: Please use the search function above before posting to avoid creating duplicate topics.
Internal mode does nothing with the iPad DAC unless you use the iPad for your audio output.
Internal means DJAY does the summing of audio signals (and the combined result is going to whatever audio output you select), external means DJAY outputs the individual audio signals and your external hardware takes care of the summing.
This can sound radically different though, depending on what DJAY does internally. There have been posts in the past asking for clarification on this subject (bit depth, sampling rate, etc.) but so far there’s no word from Algo AFAIK.
Thank you for this input that makes a lot of sense. Assuming what you are saying is correct, this would indicate that DJAY’s summing of the signals is affecting the quality. Clearly something different is happening that I can say for sure. In external mode the master channel, pre cueing channel, and even the native looper samples all sound better! These differences can be heard with reasonable headphones alone, no need to output to speakers. It also translates to my set recordings as they sound much better using external mode than internal mode (using channel 7-8 on Mixon 8 pro under recording, which btw for the file to actually save properly I need to switch to internal after the recording and then back to external or it loses the recording file very weird glitch).
So generally speaking two potential solutions would either be:
improving how djay handles those audio signals internally (probably the best option, everyone benefits)
improving the synchrony between the hardware controls and the djay pro software in external mode because as of now turning a EQ knob half way, djay pro sees that as 100% change of the knob (benefits only people using external mode)
Summing always is (just to be clear: both analog and digital variants). Most high end audio software (like DAWs) use double precision (64 bit) calculations when mixing signals, but might internally work at 32 bit. And all of them still need dithering (basically adding ‘noise’) when doing sample rate conversions for example. What DJAYs engine does is unknown. Also keep in mind that higher precision means lower performance, so it’s always a trade-off.
This (analog vs. digital) debate started after the first digital audio showed up. There are even people claiming to hear the difference between the audio engines of Logic and Ableton for example.
Analog doesn’t have these ‘problems’, but has its own set of issues of course. Most of which are solved with good hardware.
You might try to open a ticket, since all platforms are now on what appears to be the same architecture, maybe Algo has something new to share about the topic…
My 2 cents. Audio quality is vastly different on Windows and Android devices. Android just sounds weak and awful. Unusable in club environment. Not tested on iPad so I cannot compare. I am planning to buy one soon.
