Hi there ppl, I have a few questions relating to dj set ups any advice would be amazing with a breakdown for an old vinyl warrior!
I recently dusted off my 1200s and vestax mixer, sadly the mixer has had it! Has been over 15yrs since i dj’d Thats what brings me here. I was bamboozled by all the newer types of gear out there and its kinda put me off as well as all i wanted to do was play my old vinyl n battle tools ect on my technics and a traditional mixer, im not into hooking up laptops or producing ect and the newer type mixers such as the pioneer djm or rane’s ect dont tell me if its an easy leap from my vestax days? I have done some reading and i do like the newer mixers but then comes a new problem..
..old style mixer old style speakers i was reading about yamaha speakers and subwoofers with built in amps, its not out of my price range to buy the new equipment ect i just need to know what set up i can go with and use my technics again…did look at DVS set up but again im not that savvy on tech and it looks like a lot of messing? Just want a nice modern mixer such as the pioneer djm or rane with some yamahas. Can it be that simple? Help! Any info on active speakers to mixers n technics would be great please folks! Hoping im not lost to the digital age…gutted if i cant use my 1200s!
You don’t need new style speakers, mate. You’re old speakers and amp will work fine. Good Hi-fi speakers and an amp sound great.
Get a DVS system. It’s not a lot of messing. It used to be, when mixers and audio interfaces were separate, but now they’re integrated and it’s one usb cable from your mixer to the laptop. You can even use your old vinyl with a DVS system, mixing real vinyl records, with the output from the DVS system.
I’m old school too. You’re gonna LOVE what you can do with a DVS system.
Cheers for the replies, if i bought a djm series mixer and active speakers connected to my 1200s would that remove the need for an amp? And would i just be able to spin my old vinyl?
If you are going to use your old speakers with an amp, try to use a stand alone amp and not like a home theater receiver as most home theater receivers add too much delay through the processing making mixing intolerable.
You don’t need to spend anything like that amount. DVS software, timecode vinyl and a mixer that’s compatible with whatever software you go for. Decks plug into mixer, mixer goes usb into laptop, fun and games commence. And as Patch pointed out, you can flip between the laptop and real vinyl while you’re playing.
The only other thing you might need is a little controller for browsing your collection and loading tracks from the laptop and using the DVS software effects.
Why’s everyone telling him to get DVS? Sure, if you want it, it will be lots of fun, but there’s no reason you can’t play your old vinyl on your 1200s as is; you just need a mixer and speakers. And yes if you get active speakers you don’t need an amp since it’s built into them. You can get a decent pair of those for $300 USD or less (JBL 305 series, Presonus, Mackie, KRK all make competent active monitors); no reason to spend 4000 unless you’re really into the audiophile stuff (and even then you can do great for 1000 or so - look into powered monitors by Neumann, Focal, Adam, Genelec, and Dynaudio).
As for mixer the DJM900 that was recommended is a solid mixer, but it’s nearly $2000 and it’s digital, so it may not suit you, especially if you have no interest in playing digital files. In your situation I’d go for an Allen & Heath Xone 23 ($350) or a used Rane TTM-56 if you find one in good shape. Or if you want to spend a bit more and want something bigger and beefier, the Xone 92 and 96 are worth looking at, or the Formula Sound FF4.2 (personally that would be my choice at the moment if I was looking to spend $1500 on a mixer). If you want digital, there’s the Allen & Heath DB2 for about $1000, or you can look at the Pioneer as well. If you do think you want DVS some time, be sure the mixer has a sound card or you’ll wind up spending another 300 or so on one of those.
i was reading about yamaha speakers and subwoofers with built in amps, its not out of my price range to buy the new equipment ect i just need to know what set up i can go with and use my technics again…did look at DVS set up but again im not that savvy on tech and it looks like a lot of messing? Just want a nice modern mixer such as the pioneer djm or rane with some yamahas. Can it be that simple? Help! Any info on active speakers to mixers n technics would be great please folks! Hoping im not lost to the digital age…gutted if i cant use my 1200s!