SpBlackCat 
original nutter wrote :
Hi there SpBlackCat, no worries, l'm not partisan about Focusrite, except the actual brand name is a bit dull given their popularity.
My point was, as l mentioned:
You want punchy sound. You complain that Focusrite gives you audio realism (ok ok of course you could spend more and get better realism).
That is because punchy is not realism.
All l'm asking is: can't you add the punch, by the proverbial "Cut the mid range, drop the bass [and pump up the treble]" - aka the "smile" EQ?
After all, surely it would broadly then be similar from track to track so no need to make huge changes from track to track when you're DJing and sending audio thru the "realism" Focusrite?
Or is your complaint that: If you EQed via DJ mixer, for example, you would have less room to twiddle EQ dials in the mix, because the "smile" EQ that you need to add "punch" has physically taken up most of the room on your mixer sliders?
But then, surely the speakers themselves would have EQ dials? [I have no idea, l know little about speakers]
Therefore l don't see the necessity to have a soundcard that sweetens the sound / adds punch, when you could add punch at the speakers, or the DJ mixer (see above, probably not a good idea) or .... one more option: the soundcard's own software settings? Surely the soundcard's GUI will have a 10 band EQ or something like that, with plenty presets, right? My mobo's Realtek sound chip lets me EQ :)
My point was, as l mentioned:
You want punchy sound. You complain that Focusrite gives you audio realism (ok ok of course you could spend more and get better realism).
That is because punchy is not realism.
All l'm asking is: can't you add the punch, by the proverbial "Cut the mid range, drop the bass [and pump up the treble]" - aka the "smile" EQ?
After all, surely it would broadly then be similar from track to track so no need to make huge changes from track to track when you're DJing and sending audio thru the "realism" Focusrite?
Or is your complaint that: If you EQed via DJ mixer, for example, you would have less room to twiddle EQ dials in the mix, because the "smile" EQ that you need to add "punch" has physically taken up most of the room on your mixer sliders?
But then, surely the speakers themselves would have EQ dials? [I have no idea, l know little about speakers]
Therefore l don't see the necessity to have a soundcard that sweetens the sound / adds punch, when you could add punch at the speakers, or the DJ mixer (see above, probably not a good idea) or .... one more option: the soundcard's own software settings? Surely the soundcard's GUI will have a 10 band EQ or something like that, with plenty presets, right? My mobo's Realtek sound chip lets me EQ :)
Hello my Friend (original nutter),
"realism" is a very relative term.
What Focusrite interfaces do, is to bring in front mid range frequencies giving more emphasis to that, leaving behind (in the backround) and in a way (neglecting) Lower and Higher Frequencies like Bass (Beat) and Treble. This is very useful for a person recording, because when listening back to his work, he can listen to every instrument in detail, even to the most Faded percussion instruments, producing in a way a Crystal Clear Sound, "realism" like some people like to put it. But "bringing in front" the details and "Leaving Behind" in the Background the Base of the song is the exact opposite of what one needs in terms of DJing.
The 1st time I listened to Focusrite 2i4 2nd Gen with V DJ I said WOW !!! I can hear and notice things that I didn't pay much attention in many songs, but after I few minutes, I realized that the rest of the frequencies were weak and somewhere in the back of the Song, especially when it came to Electro type music. Crystal Clear Sound, Detail, but flat and weak ...!
I could even Max Up the Volume on the Interface and everything in Virtual DJ and my Studio Monitor Speakers wouldn't Budge or Beat. Something I could never do with my Hercules RMX2 controller which has a Great Sound Card built-in.
I returned it after a couple of days and than tried Novation's Interface.
The Sound not only ways Clear and everything in Terms of Frequencies was in the Right place, you could hear the details even in High Volumes where most Interfaces start distorting. The room filled up with music because it gave each song structure and that's what a DJ needs, to fill the Venue with Notes and Tunes !!!
What I'm trying to say, in order to answer your questions properly, is that with Focusrite you can try EQing via DJ Mixer in order to give a similar result-effect, but this is a risk, because the Venues Equipment (Apm, Mixer etc) have to be Very Good in Quality, which very few places have nowadays. But also, by doing this, you might wind up exceeding the songs headroom and distorting it, because your trying to produce the opposite effect of what the Interface is giving you and adding more frequencies that are being (Neglected) !!!
So trusting the Venues Equipment might actually fail the Task,
The EQ Smile might Frawn Back at you !!!
When I say Punchy, what I'm trying to say is that Not Only can you hear the Music Clearly but you Can also Feel it with your body, an effect that Vinyl Records produce and Focusrite doesn't.
I did my research before choosing the proper Interface for me and what Angered me the Most, is that whichever DJ Shop I would visit, they would 1st recommend Focusrite for DJing and tried to discourage me from getting Novation either by saying that they don't have it in stock or that the technology isn't good, although Novation Audiohub was designed in cooperation with Focusrite. I had the same issue when buying my DJ Controller and my Studio Monitor Speakers ...!
Posted Wed 09 Nov 16 @ 12:41 pm
groovindj
Ideally an audio interface shouldn't change the sound at all. It shouldn't have a "signature" of its own. It should be neutral - add nothing , take away nothing.
.....and that is what's required for studio monitoring, when producing or doing anything else with audio which requires accuracy. An interface designed for studio use ought to provide that. If the music sounds bland through it, then it's the EQ of the music that needs adjusting. That's the idea with studio monitoring. Listen for a balanced sound and adjust if you're not hearing it.
I'd rather have something which sounds "plain" on first listen than something which is not painting a true picture.
.....and that is what's required for studio monitoring, when producing or doing anything else with audio which requires accuracy. An interface designed for studio use ought to provide that. If the music sounds bland through it, then it's the EQ of the music that needs adjusting. That's the idea with studio monitoring. Listen for a balanced sound and adjust if you're not hearing it.
I'd rather have something which sounds "plain" on first listen than something which is not painting a true picture.
Posted Wed 09 Nov 16 @ 1:58 pm
Adion
I can't imagine any sound interface adding color to the sound, unless activated by eq/processing that comes with the driver installation.
$1 da converters can already deliver frequency response and noise levels near the limits of cd quality, so the only thing that sets interfaces apart is pre-amps (how loud the output is), electrical design (how susceptible it is to pick up noise/groundloops from other equipment) and drivers (mostly what latency you can achieve)
And of course number of inputs/outpus, but that's something you simply choose based on your needs i suppose.
$1 da converters can already deliver frequency response and noise levels near the limits of cd quality, so the only thing that sets interfaces apart is pre-amps (how loud the output is), electrical design (how susceptible it is to pick up noise/groundloops from other equipment) and drivers (mostly what latency you can achieve)
And of course number of inputs/outpus, but that's something you simply choose based on your needs i suppose.
Posted Wed 09 Nov 16 @ 2:25 pm
SpBlackCat
groovindj wrote :
Ideally an audio interface shouldn't change the sound at all. It shouldn't have a "signature" of its own. It should be neutral - add nothing , take away nothing.
.....and that is what's required for studio monitoring, when producing or doing anything else with audio which requires accuracy. An interface designed for studio use ought to provide that. If the music sounds bland through it, then it's the EQ of the music that needs adjusting. That's the idea with studio monitoring. Listen for a balanced sound and adjust if you're not hearing it.
I'd rather have something which sounds "plain" on first listen than something which is not painting a true picture.
.....and that is what's required for studio monitoring, when producing or doing anything else with audio which requires accuracy. An interface designed for studio use ought to provide that. If the music sounds bland through it, then it's the EQ of the music that needs adjusting. That's the idea with studio monitoring. Listen for a balanced sound and adjust if you're not hearing it.
I'd rather have something which sounds "plain" on first listen than something which is not painting a true picture.
My Friend :-)
All Audio Interfaces, Speakers and DJ mixers have their own Signature Sound, different equipment and Brands-Companies produce different Sound Results.
Not even Studio Monitor Speakers Sound the same, Focal sounds Differently from ADAM, Yamaha sounds different from Pioneer, even KRK and M-Audio have their own special sound.
I don't think that there is a such thing as Neutral or Plain sound. Maybe just in theory ...
Posted Wed 09 Nov 16 @ 8:31 pm
SpBlackCat
Adion wrote :
I can't imagine any sound interface adding color to the sound, unless activated by eq/processing that comes with the driver installation.
$1 da converters can already deliver frequency response and noise levels near the limits of cd quality, so the only thing that sets interfaces apart is pre-amps (how loud the output is), electrical design (how susceptible it is to pick up noise/groundloops from other equipment) and drivers (mostly what latency you can achieve)
And of course number of inputs/outpus, but that's something you simply choose based on your needs i suppose.
$1 da converters can already deliver frequency response and noise levels near the limits of cd quality, so the only thing that sets interfaces apart is pre-amps (how loud the output is), electrical design (how susceptible it is to pick up noise/groundloops from other equipment) and drivers (mostly what latency you can achieve)
And of course number of inputs/outpus, but that's something you simply choose based on your needs i suppose.
Hello Adian,
I never used the word Color when referring to sound in my post, I said Structure, which is totally different concept.
Coloring a song, adds Harmonics to it that didn't exist.
Structure means, giving body to the Harmonics that already exist.
Posted Wed 09 Nov 16 @ 8:40 pm