You have Virtual DJ, so I would suggest you try checking the software from your laptop through the Prime 2 to see if things improve significantly. It could also be a combination of the particular headphone jack and Engine OS. Maybe you’ll find some improvement bypassing just one of the two, but not 100%.
At first, I thought it was a gain issue but it’s more about quality. Increasing the high knob helps but it still lacks bass.
My old VDJ doesn’t work with the Prime 2 (or I couldn’t get it to work) I may have to download the trial.
Yes, I currently use the Hercules. Have been for 13 years
Not really, just that my Hercules sounded good. A lot of other stuff sounds good and tests good, too. My Hercules sounded particularly nice because it both had decent build and didn’t have any internal processing to worry about. It was a very complicated controller and interface with a lot of weird options on it, too. It’s possible his Hercules has a better headphone jack or DACs or both than the Prime 2 or a Pioneer DJ all-in-one console, but since he didn’t bother trying the two all-in-one consoles with a laptop & software, it’s hard to say.
Can the Prime 2 be used just as a basic interface from a computer with older VDJ or even Foobar? I’m not sure if it’s class compliant, but you might not need the controller capability just to test the sound on it. Ditto with trying your favored headphones just directly into your laptop headphone jack or anything else… a phone, stereo receiver, etc, to make additional comparisons.
I’ll try that!
Have you tried connecting the output to a monitor speaker?
I can only speak for myself here, I dont want much bass in the cans, its fatiguing for the ears and I prefer that clear and punchy sound of the mids and top for beat mixing.
Gosh, I would hate to spend money on a standalone and be hauling my laptop to gigs. Even though folks still do that. Kinda defeats the purpose.
Yeah, but we’re first just finding out where your problems are coming from.
I’ve used all-in-one consoles like the Versadeck a few times with laptops and had the internal mode as a backup. Even ran turntables into it.
If you do find it’s purely Engine OS you don’t like the sound of, you can add your voice to those asking for its fidelity (and fidelity-related options) to be improved. I guess ditto if it’s just part of the problem.
Also…
Mixxx 2.4 - Denon Prime Engine Export - YouTube
They were previously working on Prime 4 support, but I’m not sure how much progress they made or if Prime 2 ever was added. I believe when I last tested Mixxx, it was roughly at the level of VDJ 8 sound quality, which isn’t perfect, but is pretty good.
Denon Prime 4 - MIDI Mapping by whanake-music · Pull Request #4027 · mixxxdj/mixxx · GitHub
It’s also possible, by the way, that your favorite headphones are weird, and your Hercules just has some nice synergy with it that nothing else does, rather than your favorite headphones being truly reference. Stranger things have happened.
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All the headphones I used has similar great sound. I was just picky over how the fit on my head.
Mixer internal settings - would any of you have recommendations on what to have these at? Not seeing much on this topic.
I don’t think mine has an option to change it
Equalizer settings on the Prime 2? For best sound, set it to EQ mode if you have a choice between EQ and Iso. On the X18xx mixers, Iso does bypass when the channel’s knobs are zeroed.
Sorry, I’m referring to the settings under the hood.
Oh, you mean for setting up the Prime 2 with a laptop?
BTW, if you can get the Prime 2 acting as just a simple DAC with your computer, you might want to A-B it with the Hercules doing the same thing with the same software.
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No, the mixer settings inside the standalone.
Well what are they set at currently? There’s a factory reset, which is probably a good starting point. After that, it’s personal choice.
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I have my EQ on the non isolate option usually. I don’t fiddle with the crossover
What’s the difference between isolate and the other? I’m not seeing anything on mixer settings in the manual.
Isolate fully cuts each frequency so when all are down there is no sound, the normal one goes to -28db or something, so when all 3 are down there is still a little bit of sound. I find the EQ curve slightly smoother on the normal… but you may want that extra bit of cut you get from the isolation