S4 Durability

[groovemixer]

Having played with an S4 on display I really feel it is well constructed.

I'm debating whether to get an S4 or Denon MC6000. Owning Denon's over the last 5 or so years they have been well built and I've never had hardware problems with them.

For all you S4 owners how are your units regarding durability/reliability? Have you had hardware issues with them?

I'm reading the FX buttons are giving problems sticking/not responding and some other issues with lights and fader's.

From a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being very bad and 5 being excellent, what would you rate the S4 regarding durability/reliability?

[IrishBlaggard]

my left shift key is stuck stiff, it still works fine, just very stiff, it dont click like the other buttons do. other than that, mines great

[Blair]

The headphone jack has crappy connections. The plug needs to be in a sweet spot to play cleanly in stereo. It's a big sweet spot though.

I also find the browse and deck buttons to be touchy. Sometimes it's like they don't fully click on if you press and release too fast causing for example deck "a" to switch to "c" then back to "a" immediately. Also not a big deal but used to screw me up a little more.

Other than that I haven't had much issue with my s4. So far no problems with FX buttons or faders on mine.

[groovemixer]

Great thx for all your responses, keep them coming.

[Yep.]

The headphone jack has crappy connections. The plug needs to be in a sweet spot to play cleanly in stereo. It's a big sweet spot though.

I also find the browse and deck buttons to be touchy. Sometimes it's like they don't fully click on if you press and release too fast causing for example deck "a" to switch to "c" then back to "a" immediately. Also not a big deal but used to screw me up a little more.

Other than that I haven't had much issue with my s4. So far no problems with FX buttons or faders on mine.

That might be an issue with your headphones. I had an old pair of mdr700s that just won't work in my S4 unless I jiggle the plug for literally 30 seconds and if I nudge the connection at all they go dark.

On the topic of the FX buttons being a little iffy, they are. I've had mine for shy of 4 months and it's worked fine up until about 2 weeks ago when the button I normally map the beatmasher to decided that it wouldn't always respond or would occasionally deactivate itself while I was drumming with the beatmasher. All other buttons work fine, but that second button to the left is just a bit off every now and again. It's fine, now I map the transpose stretch there because I really never use that on the fly.

The build of the unit is phenomenal, really couldn't ask for a better build controller shy of the NS7. The weight is a bit of an issue, but that's probably only because I carry it around in my super heavy Odyssey flight case.

[Blair]

That might be an issue with your headphones. I had an old pair of mdr700s that just won't work in my S4 unless I jiggle the plug for literally 30 seconds and if I nudge the connection at all they go dark.

Headphones are definitely the first thing to check in a situation like that. It is more of an issue with my Ultrasones than it is with my Shures since the jack is a slightly different shape between the two. Kind of dumb that the port on the S4 isn't more adaptable to deal with small differences like that though.

[groovemixer]

The weight is a bit of an issue, but that's probably only because I carry it around in my super heavy Odyssey flight case.

Actually, I own an Ecler EVO 5. That's a beast! So the S4 to me is not that big and heavy at all.

I saw the Pioneer controller last weekend also and man is that big! I don't see it as a portable controller at all.

[loop]

I have the S4 and am happy with it. Though it's light and plastic and the durability expectation is not very high. There are reports of X1s wearing down after an year of heavy use. Not that they stop, but the feel of the plastic pots is changing. S4 is using the same components.

Still better than average is my vote.

I've also played with an MC6000 and think that it'll last longer. It feels solid and great for sure. Still the Denon won't be my choice, due to the layout being more busy and tight for me. Also, I don't actually need it's mixer features (which are great, btw).

the NS6 looks great

[Yul]

Hmm, I may like the S4 however I must admit that between the plastic built, the soft buttons that may get stuck on occasions (how's that's supposed to be performance orientated??? very practical....) and the buttons that may or may not respond (that started only a few weeks after I got the unit), I'm not that quite happy about the built quality.
So I put average, not even above average. I had in the old old past Gemini and Behringer products that were better built than that...

I'm serious about my gear and I would have happily paid a higher price for a higher built quality.

[groovemixer]

I'm serious about my gear and I would have happily paid a higher price for a higher built quality.

Yul, have you tried the Denon MC6000?

I've never had a problem with Denon hardware the only thing is the S4 has more buttons and encoders to play and customize Traktor with. I also don't like how the MC is set up but reading these forums and Denon's I'm getting a feeling the S4 is not as well built which is a shame.

I've had a Korg Zero 4 and I read all the reviews and like an idiot I bought one cuz nothing at the time matched it's features except Ecler. Wasn't happy with it so I sold it and got my Ecler EVO5.

You do pay what you get for.