Edit: Turns out in below scenario I was actually comparing the Reloop DAC with its line ins. I now tested the players with the Denon 1850s, the sound is not brilliant, but it is pretty good I would say.
I just got a pair of SC6000 and I am a bit disappointed I have to say. Formerly, I was using Serato with two RP8000s and a Reloop Elite Mixer. When I first tried the SC6000 with my relood mixer, I already got the feeling that there is something off with the sound. I then compared the SC6000s (via Tidal, lossless) side by side to my RP8000s (via Serato) and I can clearly hear a difference: From the mids up it sounds a bit dull, lows are less punchy and I also think that there are some aspects of the sound missing completely.
Now, I know that the Reloop Elite might not be the best sounding mixer, but I still hear the difference, and it is markedly enough that I will return the players if I cannot sort this out somehow.
I planned to get a Xone96 to use with the SC6000s. Any chance that this will improve the issue, or should I not even bother? Is there any other known way to improve the sound quality (cables, digital connection, settings, anything that worked for you)? Is there a chance that this will/can be addressed by the InMusic Engineers (I guess it is a software problem tbh).
Donât get me wrong, I donât want to bash the product. I think this is such a great piece of hardware in many ways. But at least for me, I am not happy with going for mediocre sound at that price point. :-/
[I am aware that there are one or two threads around, but they are all kind of old and I wanted to revive the discussion, maybe there are some new insights].
I use SC6000 with Xone 96.
Reloop doesnât come close to Xone 96 with sound quality. There is definitely no issue with SC6000 sound. Unless You have a defective modelâŚ?
Or it looks like You got too much used to how that reloop soundsâŚ
Hey, thanks a lot for your reply! Okay, great, I hope the Xone96 will resolve the issue for me then. I donât think it is a defective model, I tried it with two players, both the same issue - less punch in the lows and clarity from the mids up.
I might have been a bit ambiguous in my formulation in the OP. To clarify, I used both the SC6000 and Serato with the same Reloop Mixer. Serato sounds better.
I agree with NoiseRiserâs suggestion that possibly youâve got used to the sound from the Reloop equipment and Serato.
Rather than the SC players being dull, maybe the Reloops are bright and the SC response is more accurate.
For example, historically, accurate monitor speakers sound âdullâ in comparison to hifi speakers - because the response of the hifi speakers is tweaked to make them sound âimpressiveâ (i.e. Bose products).
Of course, it could be that Serato does some colouring. I am a bit skeptical of this though - never read anything like this; and it is really the case that I feel that there are some frequencies in the mids/highs missing with the SC6000s.
I now also played a bit more with the Denons. And I even have the feeling that they lack a bit in their summing.
Regarding highs missing, there are some old threads here which go into detail about that. Apparently they are rolled off slightly (at the very top) - but IMO thatâs a good thing considering their likely use through a PA system.
PA speakers use compression drivers which are notoriously harsh compared to the silk dome or ribbon drivers of domestic speakers, so rolling off a little high end can help.
I donât think, that serato is colouring the sound. It could be the usb sound card from the reloop it self. Line inputs go thru, but usb soundcard can work differently. And there You can have the differences in sound.
Your actually comparing the dacs on the relooop mixer to the analog input bus on the Reloop mixer in this scenario. The Elite and Kut are both known to have less than quality line inputs.
Had the opportunity to switch to the X1850 (no knock on Denon mixer) but I canât part with those warm analog pre-amps and dual 32bit sounds cards LOL, it has itâs quirks but itâs an amazing mixer.
You may be hearing the high frequency roll off and the intermodulation distortion. There is currently no known way for users to âimproveâ the sound quality of the Prime playback, as it appears to be a player firmware attribute, though certain analog mixers may obscure the distortion with less offensive forms of other distortion. You could probably get a similar seeming (and probably more real) improvement by simply using an even better digital mixer, but people have different tastes. You may want to take a look at the following link and start meandering through all the related threads if you want to learn moreâŚ
Me2. Since I own the Xone:96 with 2 SC6000M, Iâm very happy with the setup. No problems anymore. Xone:96 is the best sounding piece of mixer in the last decade. No hangups or crackle sound, no ghosting on any channels, no bad faders or pots etc.
Xone:96 is definitive another level, awesome build quality like a tank and the warm analog sound, no digital crap comes ever close too. Possibilities with the inbuilt Filters in combination with send & returns are endlessâŚ
Okay, seems that some people have good results with the XONE96. Did those of you also try the SC6000 with other mixers (e.g. the 1850, and there possibly going the full digital input)? I am currently hesitating which to try of these two mixers.
Yes, I did use sc5000 and 6000 on full digital with x1700, x1800, x1850 and djm900. Always digital. Only worst sound quality I had on the djm900.
Best was x1700.
With âfull digitalâ you mean you also used âdigitalâ SPDIF cables? Does this really make a difference? Or can I simply use the included RCA cables, split them and use for the SPDIF out of the players?
If it makes a difference, is there anything I need to pay attention to when buying a digital coax cable? Or just pick any.
I always used supplied cables. On that distance You will not get any better signal. Digital is 1âs and 0âs - if there is something wrong with the cable, You will hear dropouts, digital noise, crackle⌠I never encountered any of this issues when using cables from Denon. I never split the cables as I used both layers on all decks. So I had always a nice cable for layer A and B from my SC players - this also makes a bit better cable management.
I now tried the players with the 1850 mixer. While it is not brilliant - as others have mentioned - the sound is quite good I would say, relatively neutral I would say. I am happy with this for now. I set the mixerâs sampling rate to 96khz, somehow felt that it brought a bit more clarity (or less modulation).
One thing, in contrast to others, I couldnât really hear a notable difference using the line vs. digital connections.