Xone:DX or Traktor Kontrol S4 ????

[DJFonzo]

Hello,

I've been saving up money for quite a while now to get myself my first DJ gear. Indeed, I was principally looking into the S4, but recently they brought down the price of the DX to 979$ - a price that matches the S4s. Hence, I'm debating on which controller I should get.

Currently, I'm using Traktor Pro and I really like it. I've never tried Serato. What people told me is that the A&H XoneX has a better soundcard/sound quality overall and that it's more oriented towards the house DJs who want to do long mixes and stuff while the Traktor Kontrol S4 is more directed towards the controllerists and stuff. I'm not looking to scratch and stuff, I just want a tight controller. Also, I saw mappings for the DX for the Traktor software to suit me if I ever want to keep using Traktor.

Now, I'd like to you guys to share your opinions regarding this.

Thank you in advance,

Paul.

[loop]

Go and touch the S4 in some retail shop ... it looks and feels so nice ...

[haze324]

I'm a huge fan of Itch. I have a VCI-300, and an NS7....i was about to get a DX and glad I didn't.

The only reason why it is said that the DX is for the “house” DJ, it’s because it’s the only controller for itch without touch sensitive jog wheels and 4 decks, so it is pitched that way. However the effects Itch are rather crappy and the few good ones are very basic. The ONLY benefit that Itch has over Traktor Pro or S4 is the colored waveforms and the warpable beatgrids. It ends there.

If you are an EDM DJ, there is nothing on the market “right now” that tops the S4. Traktor is not just for the “controllerist” DJ. (not sure where you heard this). It’s a professional DJ application used by a variety of DJ’s – hip hop: Craze and Shiftee both DMC Champions, and for House music the list is huge. Funny I just sent a friend of guys at Space Miami playing on Traktor on the Terrace.

I would not choose a DX over an S4 any day of the week. However, Itch is supposed to reveal a new product and release Itch 2.0 in January to rival the S4. So if you are inclined towards Itch I would wait and see.

I have an S4 now and it’s a mean machine for any genre of music. The thing is just bad ass!!!!

[loop]

hey haze, when are you going to update this signature of yours? It's so outdated

[Yul]

I do have both.
It really depends if you're going to use Traktor or Itch in the end.
Traktor=S4; Itch=DX
Some like the potential offered by Traktor (and many get lost and frustrated) other like the fact that Itch is more 'to the point'. If you plan to use both, may be the DX can't be dismissed like that.

Nothing to do with being a House dj or whatever but if you're into scratching that's a no-brainer as the DX has no jogwheels (and in this case the vci300 might be a better option than the DX).

Overall the S4 is a more 'advanced' piece of gear but the build quality of the DX is superior and would 'probably' pass the test of time better than the S4. Soundcard wise, and I haven't seen data to back it up really like most of the people who would answer you (usually it's because they're biased in their so called judgement by A&H's reputation on the sound quality) , I'm not sure you'll hardly notice any kind of sensible difference unless you're using both as the main audio source with real PA.


My two cents

[bigbeatzz]

I'd say go yo your local guitar center and take a look at both units. As Haze said itch is a really great application that only has two things over traktor. The colored waveforms are very useful and the warping is awesome. That said the Traktor beats the pants off of itch in almost every other area. While I loved my VCI300, only 15 minutes testing the S4 is all it took for my VCI300 to go on ebay. The S4 feels like cdjs and a djm 800 mixer... For me its a winning combo! I saw the dx in person only a few feet from the S4. The DX seems to be built a bit more on the solid side but the S4 is fairly solid and tons more fun. It's like a car, go give it a test drive and feel the difference. Sure you can get a solid built family volvo (dx), but a sporty bmw (S4) may be waaaaaay more fun.