denon sc2900
Does anyone here own a pair?
i have read many reviews stating how they are as good (if not better) than the cdj900. but i have yet to talk to anyone in a forum that owns one.
I own a x1700 and i know that Denon has phenomenal build quality, but does anyone here own one?
I currently have a pair of Reloop RMP-3a (pretty good players, but one will only do usb, link, midi right now)
i want to upgrade to sc2900’s.
CDJ 900s have a clear advantage if you use laptop DJ software as they support HID control in all the major apps, whereas Denon players are stuck with MIDI and timecode.
i am currently running Timecode right now, and i enjoy it very much.
( one of my players crapped out)
Anyone know how the loading-time for tracks compare on the sc900s and the cdj 900s when using USBs/external hard drive?
I have a pair of the SC2900’s, and I love them. They work fine in Traktor with midi control, but I’ve just started using them with MixVibes in hybrid mode, and they are brilliant. They also work fine with Denon’s engine software, which I used for a good while.
If you don’t want to use a laptop, sticking a couple of USB drives in them and link 'em together. If you have an iPad then use the engine app, it’s brilliant.
You could always download the timecode signal onto USB if your cd players broken
how would you coompare them to cdj’s?
i am currently doing that, and my signal occasionally “skips”
Couldn’t tell you, have never touched a pair of Pioneer CDJ’s in my life!! Sorry!
How is the track loading time when using USBs or External HDs?
I own a pair of 2900s and traded in a pair of CDJ900s to get them.
For me the 2900s are superior in pretty much every area except the display- the CDJ is better in this area simply because it displays an extra line of text (making track browsing easier) but otherwise the screens are much of a muchness.
The key improvements on the 2900 over the CDJ is the jog-wheel (much smoother, quieter, and resistance adjustable), and hot-cues (none on the CDJ). There are also things like the pitchbend buttons & master deck feature but I’ve never met anyone myself that have been big users of these things.
The switch to hard plastic for the play/cue buttons means that the main gripe with Denon players has been resolved.
I use mine linked to Engine software running on a small netbook- essentially to use purely as a big music crate screen. This is all controlled using the 2900s transport controls meaning I don’t need to touch the netbook.
I don’t have any experience using them as controllers, but I have also regularly used them as stand alone players playing from usb drives (with a link cable) and aside from the single text line on the screen they are fine for this providing your music drives/folders are well organised.
Overall I would say they are the best value for money media player out there at the moment. In my opinion it surpasses the CDJ900 (itself an excellent piece of kit) in every area except the extra text line on the screen of the Pioneer. In terms of build they feel every bit as professional as the CDJs and are in fact noticably heavier- still nowhere near the feel of the old CDJ-1000 but no modern media players are.
I’d also mention that for what it’s worth I also vastly prefer the Engine software to Rekordbox- I know this is likely personal preference but it just has a much more user-friendly layout and the browsing functionality when linked to the players is better.
If money was no object I would still take the CDJ 2000nexus / CDJ 2000mk1 ahead of them but nothing else. (Also worth remembering that even the 2000mk1 doesn’t have the excellent slip-mode but the lcd display makes up for this).
As somebody who has owned both, even if they were the same price I would take the 2900 over the CDJ900- but at £350 less per deck (here in the UK) it’s a no brainer and really highlights the Pioneer tax. And thats not a slight on the CDJs- they are extremely good, the 2900s really are just that good.
If there is anything else specific you’d like to know regarding either the 2900 or CDJ900 I’d be glad to help if I can! I’ve used a variety of other CD/media players (I use the Reloop RMP-3s regularly) but these are the ones I own / have owned.
Not sure if you got my reply to your PM Ryan, but regarding loading times both my CDJ900s & SC2900s load near enough instantly- I’m not aware of any difference between them but there is it must be a case of milliseconds.
For the night I was playing on Saturday I was running the 2900s with a combination of 4Gb memory sticks and a 320Gb powered hard drive (I hadn’t had enough time to properly prep for this one so I had different tracks across 3 devices and most were new tracks that hadn’t been Engine analysed yet). The players took about a second to read the drive contents but once you clicked select on a track it loaded to the player instantly- this was true for all 3 devices with no difference between the small memeory pens and the large external HD.
Bottom line I wouldn’t let track loading times worry you with any of the players at this level, in fact even my mate’s Reloop RMP-3s load tracks from a cluttered 320Gb external HD in an instant. I would have thought that any delays that people have experienced in this area must be down to issues with the devices themselves? For what it’s worth my memory sticks were only £5 from amazon and my external HD is a second hand 5-6 year old Seagate job so they are certainly nothing special!