Opinion S4 vs Z2 vs T1
Hey guys
Before I hit the buy it now button and spend more money I would like your opinion. When I bought my S4 that was the cheapest way to rin dvs with the scratch upgrade.
Now the T1 and Z2 is out I would really like to switch but I was wondering if it’s a waste of money or I would really be a upgrade
Thanks for your opinions
If you already have the S4 there isn’t much benefit in switching.
+1
The only way it’d be an “upgrade” is if space is at a premium at the moment and you just want something more compact. Bear in mind, however, you’d be sacrificing a HELL of a lot of lovely mappable MIDI controls in the process. If you primarily use your TTs for transport functionality, have a tinker with your mapping and remap the jogwheels to something else… super FX, maybe. Same goes for the pitchfaders and any other unused transport controls.
Main benefit would be that you get to mix externally. If that floats your boat. It’s a pretty decent reason to swap in my opinion. Plus with those 2 mixers you still get a decent number of mappable controls.
The Z2 does not let you mix externally while using Traktor from what I’ve heard.
I was in a similar boat until last week actually. I thought that id sell the S4 and get a mixer, but a mate of mine who doesn’t DJ was impressed by how much the S4 could do and said ‘‘it’s like you dont need anything else’’ My view was clouded by RGAS, and actually for where im at and where i mix (Bedroom and houseparties etc) im not really in need of anything else.
No saying that if i had a few thousand lying about and absolutely nothing to spend it on id blow it on a full club setup. But i can dream!
From a Traktore fanboy, the S4 is still hands down the best controller NI have released. The Z2 is just a mixer, and the Pioneer T1 is discontinued. I tested it a lot, lovely unit, and I was about to take the plunge on that, after looking at the +£250 S4 and thinking “What a rip off”. Then for some reason I thought “No I’ll give it a quick test, see how it is” and I’ve never looked back.
+1 on the Z2, tried it at a mates. Awesome mixer and looks great
Z2 still mixes internally if using with traktor, so its pretty much an s4 without jogs.
The Z2 is just a controller that happens to have mixer capabilities when disconnected from Traktor, like a VCI 400 or DDJ SX for example.
The Z2 is just a straight-up bad idea if you perform in any capacity that matters. The mixer component of your home setup should not have any advanced features, because at gigs you should be using the provided mixer. You shouldn’t get used to a system at home that you won’t have available to you live, and you should never think it’s an option to show up at a real event with your own mixer. For home use just buy a standard mixer and a sound card so that you’re used to being versatile, so that you can just bring your sound card to gigs, and play on whatever mixer they have set up. If you’re willing to shell out a bit more cash, just buy a Pioneer DJM 900. 90% of the gigs you want to be playing will have this mixer set up, and it has a Traktor SS soundcard built-in.
Special-case mixers like the Z2 or Rane’s midi mixer line are either for bedroom DJs who either don’t care or don’t understand how real gigs work, or headliners who are getting paid to have them on their riders.
This comes up so incredibly often, and I can’t stress this enough. If there’s a single piece of advice for new DJs who want to learn and start playing bigger and bigger gigs, it’s this: you should absolutely be using the provided mixer at your gigs.
You have posted this before. It is true that you should be able to play on the gear in clubs if that is your aim. However, there is nothing wrong with having the setup at home that you enjoy using and want to play with using whatever medium you like.
Each to their own as they say. Money is also a big factor in these decisions and pioneer 900 is not pocket friendly.
If the aim is to practice for gigs elsewhere, you’ll still need a sound card and a modular controller like an X1. So any simple 2 channel mixer will do the job.
DJM 250 or Xone 22 are good budget options depending on what is at the gig.
The Z2 is NOT “like a controller” at ALL!!! Sure it can be midi mapped etc, but it is and feels like a REAL mixer. This is hands down one of the main reasons people switch from controllers like the S4 to modular setups (or singular bc the Z2 can actually be your only “controller” too hehe) with actual mixers.
Controllers like the S4/S2/Dn-mcXXXX/VCI-XXX just do not give off the feeling of a real mixer and that matters to some people. Obviously this is subjective as you just need control of EQ’s and a cross-fader. There is something to be “felt” in a big box mixer 
And after all that, I’m actually planning to switch from my Z2 to an all-in-one controller haha 
Still love the Z2!
Plastic pots, glossy plastic faceplate, and the same tacky little buttons from the S4 say otherwise.
Can I just make an educated guess?
Do you play trap music?
^This. The Z2 is a joke. Have you guys ever felt one? It’s the same build quality of the S4… And they’re trying to pass it off as a professional mixer. They knew it wasn’t going to sell to anyone except newbie kids.
Honestly… You don’t hire fucking DJ Shiftee to be your poster child if you want to appeal to people who know what they’re doing.
DJ gear is starting to work like extreme sports gear.
Burton pays it’s snowboarders to wear their gear so that newbie kids will see their heroes wearing it and buy it.
Just like NI pays Craze and Shiftee to use their joke gear.
Funny to see how quickly people judge on this forum. To each his own!
I wouldn’t call anything by NI “joke gear”, even if the build quality isn’t up to the likes of Vestax and Reloop. Functionality-wise, you can’t fault it… and unless you’re using it as a trampoline when you’re at home, it’s not going to fall to pieces.
Just have some respect for your gear, whatever brand it is.
I had my S4 for two months before the faders started breaking… and I babied that thing.
NI’s controllers have some of the worst build-quality in the industry. Thee jogwheels on the S2 and S4 are below the quality of a mixtrack
Just out of interest (not doubting you at all, these things DO happen; with any gear tbh) what do you mean by breaking? Poor/uneven response, or actually snapped off?