I'm a wedding DJ and need help picking a DAC for my iPad

[TheOtherWeddingDJ]

I DJ weddings and sometimes I use my iPad (Air 4th Gen) for the ceremony. The sound quality from the Apple usb-c to 3.5 is pretty weak and when I have to crank up the song, it sounds pretty bad. Because of this forum, I'm looking at Fanmusic Truthear, Topping D10 Balanced, Sonata BHD Pro. Ultimately, I'm looking for more volume from these DACs compared to the iPad.

With that in mind, what do you think of the DAC's I'm looking at? Any one you'd recommend over the other?

 

[GXAlan]

What speakers are you using? Going with something with more gain might be better than trying to increase your output at the tablet stage

 

[TheOtherWeddingDJ]

What speakers are you using? Going with something with more gain might be better than trying to increase your output at the tablet stage

I either plug into a QSC K10.2 or a JBL EON MK2

 

[DVDdoug]

I don't think all DACs are compatible with IOS, but I could be wrong...

The sound quality from the Apple usb-c to 3.5 is pretty weak and when I have to crank up the song, it sounds pretty bad.

What's wrong with the sound?

Are you turning-up the iPad volume or the analog/amplifier volume?

If you have noise from the amplifier, a DAC with higher output will give you a better signal-to-noise ratio. But double the voltage is only +6dB and that will help but it won't turn "bad sound" into "good sound". And, you'll be in an acoustically-noisy environment anyway and the listeners will be some distance from the speakers.

If you are getting distortion, most applications don't go over "100%" volume (0dBFS) so the DAC shouldn't clip.

P.S.
Bring a back-up laptop, or something. And backups for as much other equipment you can get your hands on.

 

[TheOtherWeddingDJ]

I don't think all DACs are compatible with IOS, but I could be wrong...


What's wrong with the sound?

Are you turning-up the iPad volume or the analog/amplifier volume?

If you have noise from the amplifier, a DAC with higher output will give you a better signal-to-noise ratio. But double the voltage is only +6dB and that will help but it won't turn "bad sound" into "good sound". And, you'll be in an acoustically-noisy environment anyway and the listeners will be some distance from the speakers.

If you are getting distortion, most applications don't go over "100%" volume (0dBFS) so the DAC shouldn't clip.

P.S.
Bring a back-up laptop, or something. And backups for as much other equipment you can get your hands on.

Ipad is maxed and then I have to raise the volume at the speaker. I have also turned the iPad down a bit for some headroom and jacked it up at the iPad. I just don't think I get enough volume from the apple dongle.

 

[GXAlan]

I either plug into a QSC K10.2 or a JBL EON MK2

With your EON Mk2, it has Bluetooth. Even though you would not use that for a gig, to confirm, when you use Bluetooth it is loud enough, and just the analog 3.5 in is too quiet?

 

[TheOtherWeddingDJ]

With your EON Mk2, it has Bluetooth. Even though you would not use that for a gig, to confirm, when you use Bluetooth it is loud enough, and just the analog 3.5 in is too quiet?

I have never tried out the Bluetooth actually b/c I would never depend on that for a wedding. That is def a good idea to at least suss out what is going on.

 

[Zensō]

This may not fit your budget, but the RME Babyface Pro FS is a good fit for your use case.

Babyface Pro FS - RME Audio Interfaces | Format Converters | Preamps | Network Audio & MADI Solutions

RME Audio Professional Live, Studio, Recording and Broadcast Solutions. Unrivalled Quality, Performance & Stability MADI Interfaces, Converters & Preamps.

www.rme-audio.de

 

[TheOtherWeddingDJ]

This may not fit your budget, but the RME Babyface Pro FS is a good fit for your use case.

Babyface Pro FS - RME Audio Interfaces | Format Converters | Preamps | Network Audio & MADI Solutions

RME Audio Professional Live, Studio, Recording and Broadcast Solutions. Unrivalled Quality, Performance & Stability MADI Interfaces, Converters & Preamps.

www.rme-audio.de

Def outside my budget for this and do not need any types of inputs.

 

[sgent]

Option 1: Use the headphone jack on the iPad (I think the pads still have them). Apple has a very good reputation when it comes to DAC's and audio.
Option 2: Use an Apple dongle.

The downside is you will get unbalanced signals, but if you can live with that, I would choose 1 or 2. If you need a balanced signal, then there are a lot of options. For ease of use I would probably go with an audio interface or controller that also monitors the rest of the system.

 

[Jimbob54]

Option 1: Use the headphone jack on the iPad (I think the pads still have them). Apple has a very good reputation when it comes to DAC's and audio.
Option 2: Use an Apple dongle.

The downside is you will get unbalanced signals, but if you can live with that, I would choose 1 or 2. If you need a balanced signal, then there are a lot of options. For ease of use I would probably go with an audio interface or controller that also monitors the rest of the system.

Pretty sure he is already using the dongle.

But it is only 1v so getting a 2v dongle might be a good idea BUT I'm not sure how the iOS devices cope with higher power draw devices and if its a longer set, might need to think about adding a power source in there.

 

[DSJR]

I have both the EU and US issue of the Apple dongle and excellent as they are for general headphone use, their output as line drivers (into an amp/preamp 'aux' socket) is subjectively weak as described and just turning up the volume or power amp gain controls doesn't seem to help here (subjective I know).

Good luck with alternatives here. I have no idea what pros use with their Apple laptops so cannot really help further. Granny sucking eggs here so apologies - Can you easily obtain lightning to USB adaptors which work reliably? If so, would a Topping D10s or the balanced version do the trick, the laptop then being the 'volume control' you need?

 

[Jimbob54]

I have both the EU and US issue of the Apple dongle and excellent as they are for general headphone use, their output as line drivers (into an amp/preamp 'aux' socket) is subjectively weak as described and just turning up the volume or power amp gain controls doesn't seem to help here (subjective I know).

Good luck with alternatives here. I have no idea what pros use with their Apple laptops so cannot really help further. Granny sucking eggs here so apologies - Can you easily obtain lightning to USB adaptors which work reliably? If so, would a Topping D10s or the balanced version do the trick, the laptop then being the 'volume control' you need?

Think he has an ipad with usb c. Not sure how well they play in supplying power to higher output dongles though.

 

[DSJR]

Think he has an ipad with usb c. Not sure how well they play in supplying power to higher output dongles though.

Ah OK. My Apple dongles are USB-C. I use mine via little adaptors to USB A, but surely somehow, a clean digital audio output can be got from the laptop and converted to USB B or whatever the dac needs? Further apologies if this is granny sucking eggs.