DDJ-SZ or DDJSX2 or XDJ1000 X 2 + Mixer

[ADIKJ32]

Hi All,

First time poster and a newbie to dj'ing but have been listening to EDM/Hard House/Trance for the last 25 years, something I have loved since I first started going out. Now that my 40th birthday is coming around I am going to tick off a bucket list item and my wife is going to buy me my first ever set up and I am stuck between the following:

DDJ-SZ
DDJ-SX2
XDJ1000 + DJM750

The gear will always stay at home so portability is not a issue and money is not a huge issue but I am just not sure which one will be the best to learn on and progress with and not have to spend more money down the track on. I am ok with using a laptop as have that sorted if I go down the serato route as well.

Any help in helping me make my mind up would be very appreciated.

Cheers Adrian

[ragverp]

Hi All,

First time poster and a newbie to dj'ing but have been listening to EDM/Hard House/Trance for the last 25 years, something I have loved since I first started going out. Now that my 40th birthday is coming around I am going to tick off a bucket list item and my wife is going to buy me my first ever set up and I am stuck between the following:

DDJ-SZ
DDJ-SX2
XDJ1000 + DJM750

The gear will always stay at home so portability is not a issue and money is not a huge issue but I am just not sure which one will be the best to learn on and progress with and not have to spend more money down the track on. I am ok with using a laptop as have that sorted if I go down the serato route as well.

Any help in helping me make my mind up would be very appreciated.

Cheers Adrian

Did you considered the Pioneer XDJ-RX ?
Both the xdj-1000 and the Pioneer XDJ-RX are close to a commonly used system in the clubs, so eventually the transfer from home to playing gigs is supposed to be easier, on the other hand i see a lot of traktor based controllers at the party's i go to(mostly techno) i am currently playing on the traktor S8 and if i had to make a choice again i would go for 2 D2's in combination with an Allen & Heath Xone DB4...

[bmasters]

Have you ever DJ'd before?

If not, the SX2 might be the best option for you. It would be plenty for you to learn and progress on without having to shell out much more for the other 2 options. The SZ and XDJ setup are both great, but may be overkill for you at this point. If you're set on not using a laptop to play, then maybe the XDJ option is best for you. It really boils down to how much you want to spend and personal preference. All the options you listed are great pieces of gear.

[Bassline Brine]

Honestly my preferred choice if I were purchasing brand new at the moment and having it strictly at home would be the XDJ-RX.

As my personal situation is a little different (I throw events and shows) I have chosen not to invest something purely for my own use and go with the modular outlook. But if I were doing it just for myself - XDJ-RX 100% would be my choice. I've also had issues with laptops in the past and wouldn't recommend anyone using one on the regular - but that's just from personal experience as someone who gigs fairly regular and has had a couple hard-drives crash. It probably wouldn't be an issue at home in the studio.

No laptop needed is SO huge. There's also something I find a lot more pure without having a laptop screen in front of you. If you do have a computer you can still use it to dedicate to recording or online broadcasting.

It has everything you would need out of the box except for a couple of USB drives. It also makes it really easy for you if any friends have Pioneer USB compatible CDJs (or XDJs) to bring a couple flash drives over and play - or if you get a gig out a club that has industry standard equipment.

Also with Rekordbox 4.0 coming out - there's now no reason to look outside of that program for your controller choice. I'd update your search to the DDJ-RZ or DDJ-RX which are the rekordbox versions of your above listed controllers.

Out of the equipment you listed - I think the XDJ1000 + DJM-750 is overkill. You don't really need the modular setup unless you plan on adding things onto it later on (like turntables or additional XDJ units). Or if you have buddies come by with a controller the extra channels could be handy I guess.

The RZ is awesome - it's also the most expensive of all the options. I believe the DDJ-SX2 has really been replaced by the DDJ-RX in the line-up, and that's a viable option too.

It really comes down to personal choice.

If you want to factor in cost of laptop into that choice, the XDJ-RX beats the crap out of everything out there.

[William Gibson]

This is very much a personal choice like Bass said. It depends on a lot of smaller preferences like laptop or no laptop, etc. If I had unlimited funds I would have went with (2) 2000 Nexuses and a A&H DB4 mixer. Having a wife and kid means dropping $6k was just not possible. I just went with the RZ and love it. I feel like it is the closest thing to having CDJ without dropping $4k on them. I had no experience with Serato and it has been a breeze to pick up.

I can go out with the list of my reasons why I personally went the route I did but everyone has different goals, needs and wants. Good luck with the decision.