Virtual audio routing

General Discussion
1

Hi all,

There have been in the last few years several treads regarding virtual audio routing and I would like to have a bit of a summary and to see whether there is some consensus. I am using Djay AI on Ios (iPad).

  1. Can the Djai be routed via AUM or Audiobus3 (or any other piece of software)?
  2. Is there any options to have the main output streamed via Bluetooth/wifi (eg to network speakers, etc.) and the precue via Bluetooth (eg to wireless headphones)?
  3. Are there suggestions to record the mix output to a network stream eg another application or another machine - I understand Djay does not allow to record from streaming services.
  4. Is having an external soundcard and relative cables etc. the best option to play music and precue? I would like to be lightweight as much as possible.

Any suggestions on app, setups or workflows that would reduce the hardware requirement are appreciated.

Thanks

2 Likes
2

1 & 2. Not that I’m aware.
3. Another app. You can use e.g. Loopy Pro as a ‘Main out effect’ in DJAYs settings.
4. Yup. BT also has very annoying latency.

You can search on ‘portable’ for more tips…

3

  1. Pass

  2. I’d asked before and the answer was no, there’s not enough bandwidth in a Bluetooth signal to do it. It’s a shame cos personally I find from the iPad - I don’t know how it works but the latency isn’t really noticeable on my speakers. It definitely is of you send it through a separate Bluetooth transmitter though. If you do find a way, please update on here as I’m very interested.

  3. I use this currently - Amazon.co.uk - smaller mixer which I bought to combine 2 audio sources (Djay + a microphone) but found the usb power … if you plug that badboy in to a PC it only sends the ‘out’ audio down there too so you can record mic + Djay! :slight_smile: I of course haven’t tried to record mixes that use streaming services that way so wouldn’t know if you could do that. No sirree, definitely not. Nope. (Walking off whistling)

  4. I was wondering the same thing! Annoyingly you don’t seem to be able to use the iPad’s Bluetooth + an external soundcard (can someone confirm that?), so you might need 1 with 2 out channels. If you have any suggestions as I was looking in to something similar …

1 Like
5

I accepted the idea that there is no wireless connection between Djay and speakers yet. Let’s wait a few more years.

The best I could find is a compromise between sound quality and portability.

If of interest, these are my setups:

  1. Fully portable setup - iPhone and airplay.
    Cons: The latency (2s) and no precue possibility;
    Pros: Audio resolution is high, e.g. to support potentially any speaker volume; small investment; few components to manage.

This solution simply involves having Djay in the iPhone and then use Airplay to connect to the speakers (needs also an intermediate DAC and amplifier), and it could potentially work also with the setup below, but I haven’t tested it yet.

  1. Semi portable setup - iPad and external soundcard
    Cons: hardware and cables required; some cable connections are unstable; cost; several parts to manage; ‘lower’ sound quality.
    Pros: ‘plug and play’, once setup no more changes needed; precue possible and no noticeable latency.

This solution involves connecting the iPad to a USB hub, which then connects via USB C to a 2 channel external soundcard (one channel for output and the other for precue). The main out then feeds into a Bluetooth transmitter directly to the speaker. The USB hub powers iPad, soundcard, and transmitter. I can ‘plug and play’ the one USB C cable and I am good to go. Cables can be a pain, especially the USB C connection to the iPad and the USB B connection to the sound card. Bluetooth is stable and only needs to be paired once.

My current setup has an old, crappy Bluetooth transmitter/receiver pair delivering 320 kbps at 16 bit (?) and around 30 ms latency (little noticeable), i.e. Spotify quality - although I am not able to quantify the audio quality loss is in the DADA conversions to connect soundcard, Bluetooth pair, and speaker.
Depending on the intended use, this setup can be cost-effective (read cheap) and workable. One can also add a stand-alone Bluetooth pair for the headphones.

A modern Bluetooth transmitter/receiver pair can give almost CD quality, no latency, and a stable connection for under 200$. Definitely a reliable technology and stand-alone in the setup. I will try to develop a system that allows me to stay digital until the speaker side Bluetooth receiver.

Of course, I would still like to DJ using the full definition and quality potential of my audio system using wifi streaming, and I reckon this is still not achievable and not in sight, especially in regards to audio quality.

I can post the list of the components I have if of interest.

I hope this helps.

1 Like
6

If you want minimum setup I can recommend Reloop. Most of their stuff powers your iPad and it works great with DJAY.

I expect you can get the original Mixtour for example (not the new Pro) for reasonable prices if you look around.

7

I’m interested in the hardware you use for this …