Allen & Heath Xone K2 vs NI Kontrol S2...or just use what I have

DJ Gear & Hardware Hardware: Controllers, Mods and Gear
1

Allen & Heath Xone K2 vs NI Kontrol S2…or just use what I have

I want to get into digital djing. I will not be playing out anytime soon (that I can figure). My current setup is an Allen & Heath Xone 22 mixer, and a pair of Pioneer CDJ-400s. I do not have a laptop nor do I have the money for one. I do, however, have a Mac Mini, which is my main computer, with a Presonus Firestudio Mobile audio interface. I have very limited desk space, and my djing setup is across the room. I am working on making more room on my desk (selling things, getting smaller things that serve the same function, etc.).

I was looking at my options, and have decided to use Traktor for digital djing. Looking at prices, reviews, and my own experience, I have narrowed my choices down to the Allen & Heath Xone K2, and the NI Kontrol S2. Both will cost the same (K2 + Traktor Pro and S2 are $399). Both have their pros and cons.

Conceivably, after I do some things to clear up desk space, I could fit my already existing setup on my desk, but I have no idea how hard the setup of getting Traktor to work will take.

So which should I go with?

2

Why not buy a interface with 2+ stereo outputs and use it with traktor, xone 22 and CDJ’s in HID mode?

3

That’s an excellent idea, but if I have the Firestudio, do I need to buy another interface to be able to do that, or would it not work?

4

Yes, because Firestudio only has one stereo output, you need to.
You can also aggregate your CDJ’s interfaces into one “virtual” with 2 stereo outputs (there are several youtube videos on how to do that) so you don’t need to buy another interface.

5

So I decided to go with Mixxx instead because its free. I’m waiting on some USB cables so I can direct hook up my CDJs to my Mac…then what do I do? I don’t quite understand the instructions that I’m provided with.

6

Have you checked if there is midi/hid support for your players in Mixxx? For instructions get over on the http://www.mixxx.org/

7

It doesn’t look like its officially supported, but it seems that some people have had luck using the 400s. I think I might just make an account there and ask, since the thread I found about it is years old.

8

ive got some experience with using mixxx and mapping etc. with the cdj400’s you should be able to either use timecode with mixxx or use the builtin midi mapping wizard. it’s also possible to add hid support but might take quite a bit of scripting like my mapping here: http://djism.com/mixxx/Hercules-DJ-Console-Mk2-hid-scripts.js

i haven’t used mixxx in a while but was planning on experimenting with it again soon, so ill help out if i can.

9

Just go with Traktor, tried tested and it does a multitude more than Mixxx.

Much as I like the idea of open source its no-where NEAR as stable as traktor, and has a ton of interface bugs at various screen resolutions

Traktor already has built in Mapping for the CDJ 400’s and you don’t need a separate sound card, the ones built into the CDJ’s are designed to be aggregated for just that.

10

im actually using traktor these days but mixxx isnt a bad option. apart from being free you can use pretty much any timecode with it. ive had a lot of fun using mixxx.

ive gone a bit “NI” with my d2/d2/z1/x1/maschine so pretty much just using traktor atm because of that

another advantage of mixxx is that since you can use multiple audio interfaces you dont even need to worry about aggregating them together. tho since he has a mac aggregating any sound interfaces is a builtin feature anyway.

being able to use hid with traktor would be cool - could be mixxx will support the cdj400’s hid mode too tho sometime if not already

11

Well, half the battle is won, I got Mixxx to recognizr my CDJs as controllers. Now to figure out how to out things with my Firestudio so that I can use my external mixer…