Budget controller dilemna

[Sambo]

I need a soundcard with headphones, since my old one kicked the bucket, and my current one is 1/1 Stereo in/out.

So, I was looking at controllers, and I've had my eye on the Behringer BCD3000 for a long time. The problem is my eye is now bleeding because it's that f****** horrendous to look at. I also want jog wheels because I want to stay away from my mouse and the laptop as much as I can whilst DJing.

So I saw this numark mixtrack pro, and I've watched videos, and it looks like a decent piece of kit for the price level. Also, it looks simplistic (Some would call it toy like) which I kind of like, the comically oversized for their purpose platters have a certain charm about them.

But this is the dilemna,
Mixtrack pro = £170
BCD3000 = £89

Thats nearly double in price for something a bit newer and polished. A lot of people are anti-Behringer, but I can honestly say I find their products remarkably reliable and very bread and butter, which is exactly what I'm after. Also, Daft Punk use two BCR2000's in their live set up, so if they're willing to risk their epic stage shows on something, I'd trust it.

When it comes to numark, I remember their products plaguing my childhood with all the "DJs" and "MCs" in high school using their gear, but when I see review they usually always seem to say "<product name> is almost but not quite."

Only jog wheels and knobs are what interests me, as I have a Novation Launchpad and a Microkorg, so I have more buttons and keys than a shirt-making lock shop.

I've compiled a list of pros and cons.

BCD3000
PROS:
- Cheap as fresh air.
- Has every knob and fader that mixtrack has
- From what I read, first hand experience has said it's reliable

CONS:
- Dayumn that bitch is ugly.
- Negative reputation
- Those jog wheels are like... Pathetic. True I only need them for lining up songs, but they just look.. naff.

Mixtrack Pro
PROS:
- Looks a damn sight better.
- Manufacturer has a far better rep
- The jog wheels are meant to be ok for basic scratching

CONS:
- Weird buttons (Stutter? Isn't that an effect? Or is it Cue Play?)
- The layout isn't as ideal for Traktor (My weapon of choice)
- Looks like it might damage pretty easily.

I forgot to mention that I use Traktor, and looking at the BCD3000, I can see how I could use the FX section control a complete FX bank, switching between them with the Launchpad.

I'm leanign heavily towards the Behringer here, with past experience with them being good (In fact my current soundcard is a UCA-202, which has always served me well for my producing, just now I need a dedicated channel for my cans!)

It is definitely one of these two, or if you have another alternative within the price range (Ideally no more than £180) that has a DJ friendly soundcard and jogwheels/a good moust substitute, then feel free to add, but otherwise, I need help.

(To be honest, I doubt the mixtrack has has an £80 feature over the BCD3000!)

[PeteWoods]

I'd have to say go for the BCD and then maybe add an Audio 2 later on for a similar price to the mixtrack! I think Tekki used a BCD for a long time? I say i think so because i know ONE of the mods used one for ages...

[Sambo]

Yeah I read the DJTT birthday post where it listed the pivotal member's set up, and there was one guy who apparently swore by it and still uses it. Thats what reminded me of it's existence.

I don't think I'd need an audio 2 DJ, the BCD has everything into it? I mean, my UCA-202 has 6.1 MS of latency with everything running in the background, so I'm sure the BCD3000 can at least match that. Would there be a particular reason to get an A2DJ?

EDIT: I just bought the BCD3000. £90 for a soundcard and controller in one is staggering. Should be here by next wednesday. I'll throw up a review once I get it (My new iPad 2 should be arriving about the same time for some dirty touchOSC goodness to mix with it. BOOSH!)

[Paka Ono]

I had a Mixtrack and I loved it! I had to sell it to help offset the cost of my S4, but I don't think there's a better controller for the price.

Mixtrack + Audio 2 in my opinion.

[Sambo]

Again with the Audio 2, why? Why not just get the Mixtrack pro, which is cheaper than a Mixtrack and the A2DJ?

[The Pancaker]

Audio 2 is supposedly much much better than whatever internal soundcard the Mixtrack has. I have a Numark Mixtrack and the cheap DjIO soundcard which works fine, but it doesn't handle low latencies too well... I'd suppose the Mixtrack's Pro internal soundcard isn't much better.

IMO, buying a soundcard separate from the controller lets you upgrade if you ever need to. I got both the DjIO plus the Numark Mixtrack for 200 bucks which was a killer deal for me. But I'm seriously planning on upgrading my soundcard if I ever find a used NI Audio 4... will probably just get an audio 2 though...

[Sambo]

Yeah I imagined it was just latency, but I can't imagine it trimming off anymore than my Behringer soundcard already has (Like I said earlier, 6 ms, not bad for a £20 soundcard!). Before that I was using the DJiO and was geting 7-8 ms, and then it broke because I tried to, ya know. Use it.

Haha not really, it worked fine, but I put it in my bag, took it to my friends party, and puleld it out in pieces. I have no idea how, but it looks like Thor took a **** on it.

At least he wiped I guess.

Either way, the BCD is purchased, it'll be here on wednesday, if it gives me latency within the 4-7 ms range, I'll cum buckets, any higher, I'll get the audio 2 DJ, since I've not heard a bad word about it. But I can't see even the highest end gear getting me under 4 ms!

[Nales]

I have a BCD3000 ... it took me several weeks to get it running on my PC ... ended up having to call support ... the issue was that the Traktor LE didn't recognize the serial code I had ... but after a patch update, it was able to recognize it.... I also had a lot of wacky stuff happen with my controller but it finally straightened itself out.

If you continue DJing, definitely pick up an Audio 2.... After I had my BCD3000 for about 6 months, I bought myself an Audio 2 DJ and a Kontrol X1. Although I still use my BCD3000 for gigs, I now feel comfortable upgrading to either a better controller or an external mixer now that I got the Audio 2 and X1

[VirtualLogic]

i was looking at the behringer but then i went with the cheap dj tech stuff whick was alright

[fullenglishpint]

The behringer in built soundcard is pretty piss-poor. Quite a lot of noise. The controller itself is ok, but I would have gone for one of the mixtracks because I used to have a BCD2000 and had nothing but problems with it (and it felt just as cheap as it was).

And just to set the record straight, Tekki used a BCR2000 which is one of these:

not a BCD.