DDJ-SX2 Trim Control Issue

TonyC 8:15 PM - 3 November, 2014

Hello to all,
I am in a very strange situation with Pioneer DDj-SX2 and the software Serato Dj.
First of all, I have to say that I made more that 80 gigs with my old DDj-SX, a Macbook early 2009 with 4 Gb of ram, Mac OSX 10.6.8 and Serato Dj 1.5.1.
Everything was really perfect, even if the the macbook was very old, no audio drops, crashes or anything else even with very long sets (more than 4 hours continuously).

2 Weeks ago I sold my DDJ-SX to a friend and I bought a DDJ-SX2, I'm using it always with the same Macbook early 2009 updated to Mac OSX 10.7.
I have to say that I found a very crazy thing about the Trim controls of this new Pioneer unit.
The point is that the trim controls of all the 4 channels are not decreasing and increasing regurarly.
I mean:
I load a song on a channel, I put the trim control at 12 Hour position and the red led of the bar meter led of the channel is flashing, if I decrease the

trim control at 9 Hour position (that is a BIG decrease) the signal remains at the last yellow led with some flashes to the red one.
If I turn down the trim level to 7 hour position(that is only one step before the lower position) the level is only decreasing to the last green led with

some flashes to the first yellow led and if I put the trim control to the last lower position the bar led lights turn suddenly off with no lights on the led

bar meter.
This happens exactly on all the 4 channels so I cannot think that this could be related to a problem on the knobs circuit.
This crazy thing doesn't happen to the master volume Knob that, instead, is increasing and decreasing regurarly.

So I came to my friend's house to compare my new DDJ-SX2 with the old DDJ-SX that I sold him to try to understand which could be the problem.
He's using a DDJ-SX with a PC laptop, Windows 7 and serato Dj 1.5.1.
So i connected his PC to my DDJ-SX 2 but nothing to do, the same problem.
Instead, my macbook connected to his DDJ-SX was perfectly working, with the linear decrease and increase of trim controls.

N.B. The graphic position of the gain control in serato Dj was, for both laptop, at 12 hours for the channels and for the master.

So I don't know if this can be related to pioneer or Serato, but I cannot think that this can be specially done by Pioneer because it doesn't make sense.
I know that I can send back my unit and pretend a new one but before, I'd want to know if the new one will got the same problem.

The DDJ-SX2 is updated to the latest firmware available on the pioneer site.

Anyone with the DDJ-SX2 experienced this problem?

Any help will be very appreciated.

Many thanks.

Tony

Martin C 1:03 AM - 11 November, 2014

Hey TonyC,

Thanks for your feedback. It sounds like the issue you describe is similar to what other users are reporting here: serato.com check it out and let me know what you think.

Pioneer made this as a conscious design choice so there was consistency in gain levels when switching between Serato DJ and aux input sources. They make the following statement:

Quote:

The volume curve of Trim knob on SX2 is changed from that of SX because many SX users requested us to do so.
The background of this change is as follows:
The volume level of the output audio was different between playing a track on Serato DJ and playing the same track externally on SX.
Based on the users' request, we changed the volume curve to ensure similar audio output level to external playback audio level.

I hope this makes sense. Let me know if you have any other questions :)

m3xic4ndiy3i 6:01 PM - 16 November, 2014

same issue Tony, no, that Trim Curve is not ideal.....or maybe here we got two faulty units......

Martin C 4:44 AM - 17 November, 2014

Hey m3xic4ndiy3i,

You do not have a faulty unit - if you read my response you would see that this is intended spec for the DDJ-SX2.

TonyC 5:58 AM - 17 November, 2014

I really cannot understand how and why a user can request a feature like that. But first Of All, why to modify the curve in this kind of way?
From the 12 hours position to the 9 hours position the gain doesn't decrease, Who will find that so useful?
I think nobody, and, as I use more the "trim feature" vs the flip feature, I think i will switch back to DDJ-SX

LJ_WOOLSEY 10:07 AM - 17 November, 2014

So you guys are saying you turn the gain knob from 0 (all the way turned down) to the 9Oclock position then until 12oclock there is no difference in sound volume???

LJ_WOOLSEY 10:10 AM - 17 November, 2014

Quote:

I load a song on a channel, I put the trim control at 12 Hour position and the red led of the bar meter led of the channel is flashing, if I decrease the

trim control at 9 Hour position (that is a BIG decrease) the signal remains at the last yellow led with some flashes to the red one.
If I turn down the trim level to 7 hour position(that is only one step before the lower position) the level is only decreasing to the last green led with

This is how the channel gains are on Pioneer mixers. So they have matched the input of audio gear on Pioneer mixers to match with sdj on sx2 this is a good thing or people used to pioneer gear.

WHAT you can do is simply turn down the MASTER gain in sdj this will turn all your SDJ gains down. so set the gain on the sx2 to 12oclock then turn down the master in he sdj gui to the level you would like it.

Martin C 12:21 AM - 21 November, 2014

Hey TonyC,

Quote:

I really cannot understand how and why a user can request a feature like that. But first Of All, why to modify the curve in this kind of way?

As explained in Pioneers statement, users requested this adjustment so that there was more consistency between the gain settings when using Serato DJ and external input sources. I understand that you may not agree with that, but that is what they are saying.

Quote:

I think nobody, and, as I use more the "trim feature" vs the flip feature, I think i will switch back to DDJ-SX

I completely agree that trim is more commonly used than Flip, so its more likely that others users will raise this issue if they agree with you. I'm sorry that I can't really tell you if this functionality will be adjusted or not, but we have passed your (and others) comments onto Pioneer and they do appreciate feedback from users to help them make the best decision.

Dj EzBz 3:50 AM - 23 December, 2014

I just purchased my ddjsx2 and am experiencing the same issue. I think the channel clipping(red) affects my headphones when monitoring/cue . There's times where the sound on the headphones was distorted. Is it because the channel is clipping?

Martin C 1:04 AM - 24 December, 2014

It depends - do the LEDs on DDJ-SX2 show any red?

What about the level meters in Serato DJ? Usually if the limiter is being applied and sometime distortion happens, you see a red dot show up in the top right had corner of the screen. Do you see this?

If you reduce the gain levels on your controller, do you avoid the distortion?

SuperNova Dj 3:37 PM - 3 January, 2015

Quote:

WHAT you can do is simply turn down the MASTER gain in sdj this will turn all your SDJ gains down. so set the gain on the sx2 to 12oclock then turn down the master in he sdj gui to the level you would like it.

Is this the solution at the problem?

I have the same problem. and i don't like this!

raedonquan 3:14 PM - 4 January, 2015

take a screen shot and post... i would like to see where the levels are set

SuperNova Dj 3:33 PM - 4 January, 2015

www.dropbox.com

The autogain is set up @92dB(Raccomanded).

I have reduced the main gain of serato dj(in the up left corner of the screen) @50%(before was 100%)...

Is the solution @ the problem?

tomorrow i have a gig and i try it!

raedonquan 3:45 PM - 4 January, 2015

thanks for the pic... can you post a pic with the controller connected.. and the program running

SuperNova Dj 3:52 PM - 4 January, 2015

gain trim @9.00 it's ok(green-yellow leds).
gain trim @10:30-11:00(like ddj sx) it's not ok. (red-but sound not seems distorced)

LJ_WOOLSEY 3:59 PM - 4 January, 2015

Quote:

www.dropbox.com

The autogain is set up @92dB(Raccomanded).

I have reduced the main gain of serato dj(in the up left corner of the screen) @50%(before was 100%)...

Is the solution @ the problem?

tomorrow i have a gig and i try it!

You need to change the master gain on sdj with the controller connected not in the offline player.
Like stated this is to match the outputs of cdjs. So its giving the same volume output as a cdj.
So there really is no issue. The issue with normal sx is that when plugging in cdjs you had to have the gains real low to match the sdj gains.

So now its upto spec.

But if you just for whatever reason like low volume gains in sdj you can lower the master volume on the sdj GUI.
With a cd player you can NOT change the output gain so are stuck with it being that high.

Dj Personal 12:08 AM - 17 February, 2015

I myself is not liking it... Im feeling the same way. I really hope serato does something about it. I really close just selling the Sx2 and buying the Sx. Oh and when moving the jogwheel to speed up or down for mixing is different tooo.. I have to spin the jogwheel alot in order to move.

razvyy91 5:40 PM - 24 April, 2015

I can definitely feel a difference in the trim curve compared to the SX but not how you're describing it.

My trim volume goes down as it should, gradually till just before infinite, when it cuts out. Not that I use the trim to fade from a song to another, I only use it to make sure both tracks are at the same decibels.

Hope my input helped.

Gary Hoyles 8:49 AM - 21 September, 2015

Been having similar problems, but i took a close look at the printing around the trim and master knobs.

Have a look yourself, you will notice that the trims are have indicators the go from infinity to +9 db, like this:- infinity,0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9.

The the master trim goes :- infinity,-9,-8,-7,-6,-5,-4,-3,-2,-1,0.

For maximum dynamic range playing Mp3s ect in serato, set trim to 1 and master to 0.

I like the leave a little headroom so set the trim to 1 ( the 9 o'clock position ) and the master to -8 (the 3 o'clock position)

take a look at the left of the master , you can see its marked here for you.

Once set in these positions you will also note it will sound better and have more punch.

On many YouTube videos i have noted that most people have the trims set incorrectly.

Gary Hoyles 8:52 AM - 21 September, 2015

Made a small error,

I Said

"For maximum dynamic range playing Mp3s ect in serato, set trim to 1 and master to 0."

I mean to say:

"For maximum dynamic range playing Mp3s ect in serato, set trim to 0 and master to 0."

Gary Hoyles 8:58 AM - 21 September, 2015

Oh and turn off automatic gain control in the setting for maximum dynamic range.

cheekyme 12:30 PM - 4 December, 2015

Just to chime in here!!

This is terrible, 'upgraded' to the SX2, and the levels situation is terrible.

There is absolutely no fluent control over levels whilst working. It seems that the only usable volume zone is up up to 9/10 o'clock??

Pioneer states that 'dj's wanted blah blah blah', but this is simply un workable in the real world. I find that even the slightest touch to the gain/trim and it dips and increases massively!

Is anything happening regarding this??

Marcos B. 2:00 AM - 5 December, 2015

Don't know if it helps, but there is a new firmware update for the DDJ-SX2

"FIXED - Multiple Channel Faders worked incorrectly when used at the same time"

www.pioneerdj.com

cheekyme 2:34 PM - 5 December, 2015

Hi Marcos

Thanks for the post! Updated and it is still exactly the same! :(

DJBLACK2065 6:18 PM - 18 March, 2016

Hello ladies and gents. I have had the same issues for a while. But what i did was i looked in the manual and it tells you how the decrease the master level settings. "SETTING THE MASTER OUTPUT ATTENUATOR LEVEL". Hopefully this works for everyone that is having this issue

EXM 4:54 AM - 18 April, 2016

I use an sx2 with the autogain at 89 db with no issues

DJ SL1 3:57 PM - 8 July, 2016

any new word on this I sold my SZ and my ns7II and got this now and it is always red. I have my master on serato 12 oclock as well as my gains. I know when I first got my SZ I had to switch it to 50 percent just to get it running decent.

LJ_WOOLSEY 4:11 PM - 8 July, 2016

Quote:

I use an sx2 with the autogain at 89 db with no issues

Same here and my gains are at 12oclock just under hitting red leds.

DJ Tecniq 5:03 PM - 8 July, 2016

Something is seriously wrong with Serato DJ when you have to use your controller at 89db...I thought 92db was the default setting. Yup there's a problem🙄

cheekyme 5:12 PM - 8 July, 2016

Quote:

Something is seriously wrong with Serato DJ when you have to use your controller at 89db...I thought 92db was the default setting. Yup there's a problem🙄

Nope there's nothing wrong with Serato DJ. It is the hardware that is very wrong.

I have found the best settings to be, for all round use:

Use auto gain (89db)

Master out within serato at 12 o'clock. (If you are losing the bottom end, turn to 1 o'clock).

The Master out on the sx2 at 1 o'clock. (This is the best balance for the effects not being too overpowering)

And the rest is just being really delicate with the trim. It's really infuriating but you do get used to it!

There is zero chance of Pioneer admitting they fucked up on this. I eventually got bored of hearing terrible excuses for why this is the case on ONLY THE SX2. Some of them were quite amusing though.

Stick with it until one of the competitors releases a comparable unit and we all jump the rickety Pioneer ship!

Hope that helps!

:)

DJ SL1 5:42 PM - 8 July, 2016

man its crazy when you actually look into little things you notice and you realize its not your fault or its a way bigger issue than you imagined.

DJ SL1 2:00 PM - 22 July, 2016

I have a question and i dont know if the problem is in the controller i have or just the speakers. I put everything at the 12 o'clock position and have serato set at 89 auto db so im not in the red. but it seems like the limit light keeps popping up in the speakers. 2 PRX715 and 2 PRX718XLF I have a pioneer ddj sx2. Also how many speakers can i get away with on an outlet?

Dj G cue 8:38 PM - 31 July, 2016

I hate this. never had any of these issues with my DDJ-SX. last night I giggled with my new DDJ-SX2 and man, It felt like the SX2 had no balls. like it was struggling to push sound out. my channel 1 & 2 gains where at 10 o'clock and my master was at 1 or 2 o'clock and i was all in the red. I'm luck I haven't sold my SX and I feel stupid cuz i feel i got jacked by Pioneer. So does any one know how to fix this or are we pretty much Fu**ed at this point?

cheekyme 9:51 PM - 31 July, 2016

Hi

There is an output limiter that is selectable in the settings mode. This sounds like an issue with that. I don't have the manual to hand but it's deffo in there.

Dj G cue 10:24 PM - 31 July, 2016

Quote:

Hi

There is an output limiter that is selectable in the settings mode. This sounds like an issue with that. I don't have the manual to hand but it's deffo in there.

Thank you so much. So it sounds like i just need to lower it and it should be ok?

Dj G cue 7:21 PM - 9 August, 2016

Quote:

Hello to all,
I am in a very strange situation with Pioneer DDj-SX2 and the software Serato Dj.
First of all, I have to say that I made more that 80 gigs with my old DDj-SX, a Macbook early 2009 with 4 Gb of ram, Mac OSX 10.6.8 and Serato Dj 1.5.1.
Everything was really perfect, even if the the macbook was very old, no audio drops, crashes or anything else even with very long sets (more than 4 hours continuously).

2 Weeks ago I sold my DDJ-SX to a friend and I bought a DDJ-SX2, I'm using it always with the same Macbook early 2009 updated to Mac OSX 10.7.
I have to say that I found a very crazy thing about the Trim controls of this new Pioneer unit.
The point is that the trim controls of all the 4 channels are not decreasing and increasing regurarly.
I mean:
I load a song on a channel, I put the trim control at 12 Hour position and the red led of the bar meter led of the channel is flashing, if I decrease the

trim control at 9 Hour position (that is a BIG decrease) the signal remains at the last yellow led with some flashes to the red one.
If I turn down the trim level to 7 hour position(that is only one step before the lower position) the level is only decreasing to the last green led with

some flashes to the first yellow led and if I put the trim control to the last lower position the bar led lights turn suddenly off with no lights on the led

bar meter.
This happens exactly on all the 4 channels so I cannot think that this could be related to a problem on the knobs circuit.
This crazy thing doesn't happen to the master volume Knob that, instead, is increasing and decreasing regurarly.

So I came to my friend's house to compare my new DDJ-SX2 with the old DDJ-SX that I sold him to try to understand which could be the problem.
He's using a DDJ-SX with a PC laptop, Windows 7 and serato Dj 1.5.1.
So i connected his PC to my DDJ-SX 2 but nothing to do, the same problem.
Instead, my macbook connected to his DDJ-SX was perfectly working, with the linear decrease and increase of trim controls.

N.B. The graphic position of the gain control in serato Dj was, for both laptop, at 12 hours for the channels and for the master.

So I don't know if this can be related to pioneer or Serato, but I cannot think that this can be specially done by Pioneer because it doesn't make sense.
I know that I can send back my unit and pretend a new one but before, I'd want to know if the new one will got the same problem.

The DDJ-SX2 is updated to the latest firmware available on the pioneer site.

Anyone with the DDJ-SX2 experienced this problem?

Any help will be very appreciated.

Many thanks.

Tony

I just upgraded from the SX to the SX2 and im having the same problem... I hate it!!! have you been able to fix your problem?

DJ SL1 8:27 PM - 10 August, 2016

I just upgraded from the SX to the SX2 and im having the same problem... I hate it!!! have you been able to fix your problem?

I set my autogain at 89 and man I been having to keep everything at the 12 o'clock position and the channel gains a little less i still go into red a little bit and my speakers limit light still turns on by the end of the night im drunk and the master volume on my board goes to about the 2 o'clock position but subconsciously I'm hoping I don't blow my shit.

soul63 6:06 PM - 11 August, 2016

" misrepresentation of the actual audio levels on the meter rather than "nothing changing" in the volume. Listen, don't look, and you'll notice that there is a change in the output."...thats what pioneer say..i decipher that to mean take no notice of the led's because they wont correspond to changes in hardware gain..no?..seems like a fault to me

DJ SL1 6:57 PM - 11 August, 2016

I notice my volume goes up no issues I'm just scared that if it's red I'm giving bad signal to the speakers.

DJ Joe K 11:07 PM - 2 January, 2018

I have a DDJ-SZ and my track gains have to remain at around 10 o'clock in the GUI for most songs before getting into red. My channel gains on the mixer is about the same as well. But then, my master on the controller has to go to about 3 o'clock to get a decent level sound....but so many times it has to distorts. It really sucks. I still haven't figured that one out.

DJ Joe K 2:53 AM - 3 January, 2018

Never mind. I called JBL, and it was a setting at one of the speaker channels. Instead of being on line, it needed to be set to Consumer.

I hope this can help somebody in the future.

dj dde 2:30 PM - 20 January, 2018

Dj Joe K, where did you change this setting?

DJ Joe K 10:34 PM - 20 January, 2018

It was a setting on the back of the speaker at each channel input. JBL SRX815 speakers have an option of Line, Mic or Consumer. I Have to set it to Consumer to get to sound good.

Skorpyo27 10:34 AM - 21 May, 2018

Hey guys. The issue I'm having with my sb2 is while I'm playing.....the gain finction would just increase in volume(to the point of the audio blaring). I've only had the device for about 6 months and it's happened a couple of times

DJ Joe K 12:05 AM - 13 June, 2018

Are you guys having the same issue with the DDJ-SZ? Or is it just DDJ-SX2? I'm guessing the behavior is the same.

dj dde 12:34 PM - 17 November, 2018