Solved S4 MK2 Audio Input - No sound

Hi all,

I am having issues with my Traktor S4 MK2. I cannot seem to read-in any external audio into Traktor Pro.

I've tried all the obvious suspects:
1) Different AUX cables
2) Different Input Channels on the back of S4 (A/B) as well as different modes (LINE / PHONO)
3) All sorts of combinations of Input Deck Routing config (under Preferences -> Input Routing)
4) Also tried using "Live Input" deck modes
5) I did try to upgrade my MacOS drivers using NI DeviceUpdater as well. Ironically it told me that the latest version is v69 and I have v70.

I'm trying to play the audio out of an old iPhone. I confirmed audio is coming out of the iPhone jack by connecting a pair of headphones.

What's interesting, with Audio In channels physically wired-in, I never even see any audio bars moving under Preferences -> Input Routing. See image attached. I even tried to gently tap on the "Mic" input with it having been selected, expecting some noise to be picked up by these graphs but even then there was absolutely no movement.

At this point I suspects it's either:
A) Internal hardware failure of the S4 MK2. I've had it for a few years but this is the first time I'm trying to use Audio Input, so it is possible.
B) Issues with my OS. I may have to try it on a Windows VM to rule it out.

Any suggestions or ideas would be massively appreciated. Perhaps I'm missing something obvious?

 

Interesting finding worth to add. A mate of mine also has an S4 MK2. I've asked him to try the same setup as described, and he's facing the exact same problems.

This leads me to believe my unit is not faulty and this is instead a bigger problem with the Traktor device setup/drivers.

We're both on MacOS and using S4 MK2 devices. Next step will be to try the same on a Windows OS.

 

From what I can remember only decks C & D can be use as live inputs. Click on the letter C on the deck and select live input.

 

Hi Wyley. Thank you for your response. Unfortunately decks C & D do not work either. I've in fact tried all A, B, C and D in my vain attempt to get this working.

What's interesting on MK1 the Audio Ins were labelled C & D, whereas on the MK2 they are labelled A & B.

I know this from the following video which I tried as part of my troubleshooting (the guy there has MK1):

All in all, I'm still facing the problem and so is my mate with his MK2. Would be nice if someone from NI could come back to us as this seems like a systematic failure on their part.

 

Does the MK2 have "EXT" buttons up near the gain for each channel? The MK3 does, and "external" audio will only come through the board if EXT is lit up (on). Otherwise it assumes you're trying to use the channel via USB. I assume you've tried this, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

 

Hi kanno1ae, many thanks for your response.

It doesn't seem like there's an "EXT" button anywhere on the device. Attaching pictures of back and front of my S4 MK2, let me know if I'm missing something obvious though.

 

OK, it looks like the MK2 has the line/mic switch on the back. The MK3 removes this switch and instead has a button next to the gain for each channel. Pressing the button activates the "Line" external source and disables the Traktor midi control functions for that channel. Shift and the "EXT" button activates the Mic (or Phono) external source.

Nevertheless, is there some other button that tells the controller to disengage the channel with Traktor and activate the line input? In other words, can you hear the source you're trying to play out of the main outputs? I assume the answer is yes, but you didn't mention if you're able to hear the source playing through the channel and main outputs.

 

Thanks for the detailed response. Not 100% sure if I understood the question fully, but here's some facts that hopefully will help to answer it:

1) I hear the audio source playing when connected directly to an audio out. I.e. my audio is playing from an older iPhone 5 device (that has a direct 3.5mm jack input) and when I connect a pair of headphones to it the audio does play. It's only when I connect it to an "Audio Input Channel" on the S4 MK2 that there's no signal coming in. Therefore I'm confident in my audio source not being the problem.
2) Regular MP3 tracks loaded into Traktor Pro 3 play just file out of the main outputs. Therefore I'm confident in my S4 MK2 being able to output audio in general.
3) However, none of the Input Channels (with audio coming into them and respective decks set to "Live Input" mode) are not registering any sound. During this time I can still hear audio from MP3 tracks loaded-in as per usual (see point 2).

Let me know if I can clarify anything else and thanks once again for trying to resolve this for us.

I wonder if there's anyone else on the forums who has their S4 MK2 working with Audio In to confirm? So far there are two distinct and unrelated cases (my and my mate who confirmed the same issue) of Audio In not working in exactly the same way with this hardware.

 

UPDATE

An interesting finding - I tried the same setup on a Windows VM (my host is MacOS) and the Audio In seems to work.

This confirms that that problem is only present on a MacOS version of Traktor Pro 3.

 

It sounds like you've found the issue. It's interesting that the MK2 doesn't function like a regular audio mixer. My understanding is that the MK3 can be used like a mixer even without a laptop connected (although I just got mine and haven't tried this yet). The MK2, by contrast, has to run the "live input" through Traktor? It seems strange that you can't select the external input on the board itself using a button/knob and/or run the MK2 without a laptop connected. I guess it is truly a controller only in that regard.

 

On Mac OS check the audio/midi utility. In the audio window check to see what is active or not for your controller.

Like this





Or read this https://www.native-instruments.com/...ne-input-settings-s4-mk3.423249/#post-1985431

 

Your continued help here is massively appreciated.

Below are snapshots of my settings pane with Traktor Kontrol S4 MK2 tab active (one pic for Input and one for the Output view). The controls below are greyed out, even for output, however music is playing through MK2's Audio Out into external speakers just fine.


Input:


Output:

 

It has to do with the mic settings on your computer OS. Check the link below the pic I posted.

 

Yes it worked! I would like to thank both of you Wyley and kanno1ae for your amazing support throughout this journey. Also I retract my words about it being a NI-related problem, it was 100% an operating system related setting and nothing to do with the device itself.

For those having the same problem on a Mac, simply ensure you have in fact allowed Traktor to use Microphone under your Privacy settings as shown below. It's a little counter intuitive, but behind the scenes any Audio Input most likely is interpreted/presented as a mic.