Which DJ Software Stems Sound Best? [2024 Edition]

Real-time stems control – the ability to separate vocals from instrumentals instantly when DJing – is currently the cutting-edge battleground for DJ software manufacturers. It’s a fast-moving area, and many software makers are already onto their second or third iteration of stems in their software.

So just like last year, we have conducted a thorough test of the four main contenders – Serato, Rekordbox, VirtualDJ and djay Pro 5 (for Mac) – so you can hear for yourself which sounds the best.

⚡ TIMESTAMPS ⚡
0:00 Intro
0:54 DJ software included
1:14 The demo process
2:29 Serato test
3:34 Rekordbox test
4:22 VirtualDJ test
5:26 djay Pro (Mac) test
6:32 The verdict..
8:16 Other considerations

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[bboymac]

VDJ has the option to export stems! That’s clutch!!

[klausmogensen]

To my ears Virtual DJ sounds the best
However, like you say, djay pro, Serato and Virtual DJ now all sound very good, to the point where the differences don't really matter anymore. So except for on Rekordbox, I really consider real time stems separation a solved problem in the DJ software that have those features - just like master tempo/time stretching, where I rarely hear discussions anymore on which one is better. They all just work

[DJDRFUNKJUICE]

Between VDJ and Serato test and DJay Pro 3 of them. But for me Virtual DJ that's just me :D. Keep up the great work.

[kudamah]

I'm still puzzled how vdj is not respected in the industry but rekordbox is with them $#itty@$$ stems. Totally embarssing for a pioneer product.

S/O to the team at VDJ for delivering on a consistent basis.

[rocksteady-radio]

VDJ has been Sublime for 2 years or more. I have a whole eco system of remix songs, it's been that good since the introduction of Stems 2.0. Combined with all the other things you can do with VDJ, I will never look back.

[OneBadAssDJ]

Virtual DJ's stems CDJ Export function is hands down the best option in any software. Also Virtual DJ has 5 stems instead of the others that have 4 or 3. I use Serato DJ as my daily driver, but stems on Virtual DJ is unmatched.

[FFmybest]

I can't believe VDJ is the only one that offers kick-only separation. The problem for me is that many times when I'm mixing in key, I would like to keep the bassline and the percussion going, but I wanna turn up the upcoming song. I kinda sorted it out on the FLX10 by applying a HPF for the drums only, but that already takes away the whole color fx section because you cannot use anything else but filtering, and beat fx is also limited because you can only use it for drums, as long as it is selected. With VDJ it's just a push of a button.

[carlgoldsmith]

Virtual Dj, but i can hear leakage from other channels/instruments, underneath. Others were just too compressed for those used to studio quality audio. They'll get there. From NZ.

[JoolsyB]

Wow, Serato clears Rekordbox, but VDJ accapella was so much better than the others it's not even close.

[djsubculture]

I guess I'll be patiently waiting for Rekordbox to improve on their stems.

[victorymusicgroupllc]

Long time Serato user: couple things…
1. As long as the drums won’t clash with what’s being blended, leaving the drums in with the acapella really helps the warbly sound. Otherwise it takes alot of eq’ing and reverb etc to try and get a clean vocal.

2. I haven’t been able to use anything higher than ver 3.0.2 on my 2020 MacBook Air (16gb ram/1tb SSD) because of the increased demand of gpu on video processing…Something that’s not widely discussed and I had to do some experimentation and reading between the lines on the recommended optimization found on Serato’s website. To run anything higher than 3.0.2 efficiently without lag or freezes, you need at least a 14 core gpu (which my 2020 only has 8 cores). Bit of a bummer when the 3.1 stems algorithm sounds cleaner but oh well… 🤷‍♂️

[klausmogensen]

Like Serato Virtual DJ can also pre-process the stems, so you don't need quite as powerfull a laptop

[bigdaz]

DJ Pro for sure because of how resource light it is and sounds just as good.

[_crive_]

I can hear SO MANY James Hype opportunities being created and taken advantage of with this STEMS feature. It's the best thing the DJ industry has ever developed. Upwards and onwards from here on... 🙌🏻 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[djciiisco]

While mixing with STEMS, is there a FX you can apply to the acapella to make it sound even better?
I sometimes use the echo, reverb and the recycler on 1/4 or 1/2, but anything else?

[djbrentcarson]

I’ve found that stems on Serato sound better when an original track is played, opposed to a Dj edit. especially the vocals and drums. Same with Serato Studio

[hvxcolors]

I would be more than happy if InMusic decides to deploy the stems technology from their Akai line of products. It is offline (before playing any track) but on the machine itself and apparently with decent quality. So basically it stores the 4 stems as separate files. Memory is so cheap now that this is could be a viable option for self contained controllers like the prime 4 and sc4 (they use the same chipset as the akai products anyhow).

[gonefishing]

I've been unimpressed with the Rekordbox stems as i find i can easily detect audible artifacts which is frustrating.

[FOREIGN-DJ]

Virtual DJ is great.. just the vocals are mixing with the other instruments which isnt too good but the drums and bass sound amazing

[jazzyjase]

Djay pro 5 for me. Overall just sounds better. Plus on iOS the separation is instant.