Helping father upgrade his DJ equipment - Looking for advice
Hey guys im trying to help my father upgrade his DJ equipment. He currently uses a Denon DN4500/MX500 to Mackie speakers. He wants upgrade to a rotary mixer similar to urei 1620, isolator similar to real dope 3300, and Pioneer CDJ-2000’s. The problem is that we dont have $6000+k. More like $3000-4500. We live in the US so finding some of these brands is also difficult. That said he also considered the Rane MP/XP2016S. Can someone make more budget oriented recommendations/alternatives or tips for this upgrade?
Or, get a pair of Denon SC2900 instead of the CDJ-2000. You’ll pay maybe 1100-1300 for a pair new, and they have just as much functionality as the CDJ2000 NXS.
If he wants to stick with Pioneer, get CDJ900s or an XDJ-1000. That’s 2k for a pair, and 1500 should be enough to get a rotary.
Thanks Slvr - The reasoning for the CDJ-2000 is based on rave reviews and personal feedback. I don’t know if there is a particular feature that makes him lean towards the CDJ-2000 but will checkout the SC2900. Based on my own research the biggest pro for the CDJ-2000 is the screen and browsing songs on it. Whereas the SC2900 is not as good. In this use case, I dont think he will be using the screen much since its 7" and difficult to read/see from a distance. He doesnt have the best vision in the world . Do you have any thoughts on the Rotary+Isolator?
I don’t use a rotary mixer, but I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of them.
Go for the XDJ1000 then! I think that’s your best option unless he wants physical buttons, then the CDJ900NXS. Both have the same screen as the CDJ2000.
I’d have him go with the XDJ rather than the CDJ to be honest unless he has a real preference for using physical CD’s I don’t see the point in the 2000’s
On the mixer front, brand new on a budget maybe the Xone S2R - its about 1k, 19’ and eq channels feature a full cut isolator and stellar sound. While he’s busy with that get hunting on ebay for a Bozak, Dope Real, even the Vestax DCR-1500 to add-on later.
Now there is another less “standard” isolator, which by all accounts is actually a dark horse and works surprisingly well and sounds good … don’t disregard it, read the reviews…and bear in mind its almost 1/5 the price of other isolators.
After so many lemons they were due to have one winner on their hands,
You could try to get a quote from these guys also E&S .. they do a very tasty 2 ch isolator which sits between the Audio input and mixer.
Theres a Bozak Isolator on Ebay at the moment … from china, but looking though the guys past sales (over years) looks legit.
Also theres this rack of goodies from Korea which includes a Dope Real and Bozak 1620 - its misspelling on the title so you might get a bargain
Off the shelf, you cant really go wrong with a Rane 2016
And don’t disregard stuff just becuase you are in the USA, you can always bring stuff into the country, you just “might” have to pay a little more on import / shipping. I have to import most of my gear
Deevey & SlvrDragon50 - It looks like we will go with the XDJ-1000. Back ordered at most places but im sure we will find it. Now for a mixer – We’re considering the Allen & Heath Xone S2R, Rane 2016. Is there anything I should know immediately about either? Which is better suited for house music? Budget OMNITRONIC ISO-23 DJ isolator until we can get something better. That puts it around $3500 for everything!
Thanks for all of the help so far. I purchased the Isolator from a 3rd party on Amazon who ships to the US. One down! The next up, we will go for the Rane 2016 combo for roughly $2k. Then most likely work our way into the XDJ-1000. This should be a sweet setup coming from the Denon SN 4500/500 combo.
Glad to hear about the XDJ! Let us know how it is as lots of us are waiting for users to review them! I’m personally looking to replace my CDJ2000 with one.
I can’t really help you with rotaries as I don’t use them, but mrdorianjaames’ suggestion is another great option as well.
Xone 92 is a very popular mixer, and you can throw a rotary kit onto that. Same with the DJM900. Although, I imagine if your father wanted a rotary mixer specifically, he is looking for one of the other kinds of mixers.
From what I’ve seen, the Rane 2016 is pretty suitable for everything.
My suggestion: do what mrdorianjames suggested. Has he considered going the standard DJM900 or Xone92? Or does he specifically want the isolators.
SlvrDragon, will do! Re: Xone 92 , it looks like a narrower mixer, so he would need a new case if going so. He looked into the S2R" http://www.guitarcenter.com/Allen---Heath-Xone-S2R-Installation-DJ-Mixer--Rotary-Faders--106064173-i1506963.gc He liked how modern it seemed, but found some reviews that questioned the audio quality. Remember, its all relative so we dont know what to believe. He currently has a Denon 4500 (that hes happy with) and I have no idea how that fares in the sound quality category. Are there any compelling reasons for considering the S2R over the Rane 2016? The Rane 2016 combo is on Ebay for $2000 right now.
The Rane is probably the closest thing you can get to a Urei without going crazy. They are extremely quiet and have great sound quality.
Mostapha would be the guy to ask about it on the forums since I know he just added one to his set up.
If you have the money to splash, yes the Rane is Gorgeous.
Of course you are going to need a completely killer speaker / amp setup to notice the subtle differences in each - something dare I say it, a bit better than the Mackies or its just spending money for the sake of it.
The mx500 you mention … is it a “Sound Barrier” brand or the x500 Denon ? In either case the A&H or Rane will be a massive upgrade.
[quote]
Of course you are going to need a completely killer speaker / amp setup to notice the subtle differences in each - something dare I say it, a bit better than the Mackies or its just spending money for the sake of it. [/quote]
I told him that the quality of the output is going to be dependant on a variety of variables, and that his room, equipment, speakers, etc. I know this from the home theater world haha… but for his sake… the S2R or Rane would probably be a upgrade.
[quote]The Rane is probably the closest thing you can get to a Urei without going crazy. They are extremely quiet and have great sound quality.
Mostapha would be the guy to ask about it on the forums since I know he just added one to his set up. [/quote]
[quote]The mx500 you mention … is it a “Sound Barrier” brand or the x500 Denon ? In either case the A&H or Rane will be a massive upgrade.[/QUOTE] No the x500 Denon.
[quote]The Rane is probably the closest thing you can get to a Urei without going crazy. They are extremely quiet and have great sound quality.
Mostapha would be the guy to ask about it on the forums since I know he just added one to his set up. [/quote]
Update! After further discussion, it turns out that if we go with the Rane 2016S/XP2016S, it’ll take up his whole rack, and the DN4500 will need to go. Meaning, if he goes with Rane he also needs to buy the XDJ’s at the same time. Quite possibly too much $ and learning curve at the same time. So it may very well be Allen/Heath S2R + Denon HC4500 as a interim solution until he can buy the XDJ’s. He considered keeping the DenonHC4500s as a spare in case he ever has trouble with a CDJ…
. Do you have any thoughts on the Rotary+Isolator?
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