What are /r/Serato's favorite Products & Services?

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I've purchased a few from Amazon, two being garbage. I've had good luck with this one though

Anker mac hub

Assuming you are using something like the HS8, you have TS and XLR Balanced inputs on those. Similar to my JBL LSR305's.

You'll need a cable like this: https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CPR-202-Stereo-Interconnect-Meters/dp/B000068O17/ref=sr_1_3?crid=10YEMN3LZVCNF&keywords=RCA+to+TS&qid=1658838911&sprefix=rca+to+ts%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-3

RCA on the end that connects to the controller. 1/4 inch TS connects to the speakers.

Huh. In terms of uncompressed formats, I use AIFF instead of WAV because it offers a lot more in terms of metadata. So for losslessly compressed, I'd use ALAC. It really depends on what you're using them all for I guess.

For batch processing, you can in theory use Audacity but I don't love that and it doesn't work on Catalina, the current macOS version. I own Compressor from Apple, which does a great job but I think costs a one-time $50.

If you're comfortable with command-line tools, something like SoX could work well for you, it seems super powerful for batch processing but is predictably obscure. It even supports m3u playlists. Note, however, that it doesn't support ALAC!

http://sox.sourceforge.net

It's purely because the audio is the highest quality - in theory you get exactly what the studio / producer intended.

Serato allows you to modify the tempo and/or pitch of tracks. To achieve this, it must analyse the frequencies which contribute to the music, and what you hear is actually a sort of "re-synthesised" version of the original track. If you start with a poor quality file, those quality issues will be magnified by Serato, and the output will be poor.

Also, when playing on a large sound system (e.g. a club), I'm led to believe that any quality issues are more noticeable compared to a home system.

.wav is an ancient standard, so it's supported by pretty much any software.

I would much prefer Beatport to sell .flac , which gives you the same quality, but with the benefits of metadata and compression i.e. smaller files, but other people have their own preferences; basically no-one can agree on what the standard lossless format should be, and no single format seems to be supported across all hardware and software. I consider this entirely Apple's fault - FLAC is an open format, but they introduced ALAC to create an artificial lock-in with iTunes / iPod.

I would imagine that Beatport just went for the lowest common denominator (wave files), and they leave it up to you to do your own conversion and tagging.

So, pick a lossless format, and convert your files. But, don't rush your decision - you'll want support from all your software (iTunes? Serato...), and hardware e.g. portable devices, phone, CDJs or other DJ hardware, etc.

On a Mac, I use this software for my conversion needs:

https://www.mediahuman.com/audio-converter/

I’ve used this site and porting over my Spotify playlists to either SoundCloud or Tidal worked well: Soundiiz. I personally went the SoundCloud option, as I’m a SoundCloud Pro Unlimited user so their unlimited streaming platform (Go+) was half off if you bundle. Totally get going with Tidal though, standard for $10 is the same as just standalone SoundCloud Go+ or $20 a month for lossless audio. I DJ as a hobby, but it’s a handy site no matter what you choose. I still would prefer a Spotify integration, but hope that helps! Oh, and Jay-Z want you to use it too lol: Jay Z wants you to move your Spotify playlists to Tidal using this website

You got one of these?

https://www.amazon.com/Hercules-DJ-DJCONTROL-STARLIGHT-DJControl-Starlight/dp/B07F8FQ8ST

That comes with "Serato Lite" (which is free anyway...). It's limited (only 4 cue points, no built in key analysis, but I find the serato key analysis pales in comparison to Mixed in Key anyway), so he might not be playing weddings tomorrow with it... but it's a great place to start with minimal investment... if he starts complaining about limitations ("boy I wish I could do all 8 cue points") then it's time to upgrade!

You can also get the pro version for a subscription... try it out for a month or two before pulling the trigger.

If you have one use a usb cable with a ferrite choke on it. The cylindrical block near the controller end of the cable. Also what may help is unplugging the psu from your laptop. See if that makes a difference.

Did you go through the jog calibrations? On mine I had to set them at almost the full sensitivity.

You can also affect grounding issues by changing to a different power outlet, your power environment can affect it. Try setting up somewhere different and see, maybe even someone else's house. Some people said they had success by adding a grounding adapter to their laptop. Something like this - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MTPDNMV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_EPQrDb86S9FB8?fbclid=IwAR0X1CTUIoZSMEsBOM_sf2BjQkxcovYpxGVhqtQ8NSC3-z6YpjyOtQwqCdo

See if any of that works.