Pioneer djm 900 v.s Traktor Z2

[DJblackjack]

Pioneer djm 900 v.s Traktor Z2

hi
i want to know which one of theese is better, the Pioneer DJM 900 or Traktor Z2 can anyone that has used both tell me which one is better and why.
thanks

[trilla_shocka]

@DJblackjack

hi
i want to know which one of theese is better, the Pioneer DJM 900 or Traktor Z2 can anyone that has used both tell me which one is better and why.
thanks

Depends on what you are trying to do. Are you a scratch DJ? If so the 900 may not be what you’re looking for. I’ve owned the DJM-850, Traktor Z2, and now am a happy owner of a DJM-900.

The Z2 is cool don’t get wrong. The faders feel good, but the knobs and certain functions on the mixer itself feel ‘cheap’.

[SlvrDragon50]

Not only that.. it’s not really fair to compared a 1k+ mixer to a 500 dollar mixer.

[Kd1011]

@SlvrDragon50

Not only that.. it’s not really fair to compared a 1k+ mixer to a 500 dollar mixer.

Exactly this.

The 900 is undoubtedly superior to the Z2, but that doesn’t mean the Z2 is a bad mixer, it’s in a completely different price range…

[botstein]

@Kd1011

Exactly this.

The 900 is undoubtedly superior to the Z2, but that doesn’t mean the Z2 is a bad mixer, it’s in a completely different price range…

I think that’s fair, but the Z2 comes with Traktor Scratch Pro 2 and control vinyl of course, which is a not-so-small added value.

[Big_Panda]

Value for money I think the Z2 wins out, but you need to see if you need 4 real channels, and also if you did save the money, what would you want to spend it on?

All opportunity cost. Are the benefits of the 900 worth the extra cash?

[Owau]

Definitely depends on what you plan on doing it with it. But if you ever plan on playing at a club, get the djm 900. It will benefit you more in the long run.

Z2 gets the job done at a much better price, but djms are industry standard. If you own one and you walk into a place that uses a djm, then you will feel more comfortable/confident.

Plus the 900 will hold a very strong resale price

[makar1]

@botstein

I think that’s fair, but the Z2 comes with Traktor Scratch Pro 2 and control vinyl of course, which is a not-so-small added value.

You can add these to the DJM for $119 rather than buying a full price package.

[KRU2000]

the Z2 has a plastic feeling that to me, at least, is unacceptable. The glossy plate tends to get scratched and look like shit with little effort. Anyways, as people have said, it depends on your budget, if you need a 4channel mixer and how you dj. The Z2 is a great product for traktor users but in that sense, the DJM900 might be more versatile. Both are very good products though, there is no comparison by your terms.

[Kd1011]

Before people start insisting that the DJM900 is also made of plastic, it isn’t.

The faceplate is painted metal with some sort of metallic flake, and the entire chassis is metal, with plastic cover panels on the sides and front. (That’s where I think people get the idea it’s made of plastic like a controller)

I’d say both are of high quality, but NI tends to use plastic pots underneath knobs, and there is the common issue of markings rubbing off on the Z2. (I think NI is working on it)

A fair comparison would be with a “Z4” if NI ever make one…

[DJElvisCANADA]

trilla_shocka,

Why get rid of the DJM-850? Considering getting one as a upgrade to my old Rane TTM-57SL battle mixer.

I’m curious why you upgraded. I use Technic’s 1200’s, so the CDJ integration doesn’t matter to me.

[trilla_shocka]

I got rid of the DJM-850 because the soundcard in it (while using Traktor) was not as stable as the 900 Nexus.

It didn’t start out as a regular thing… After say 3-4 weeks of owning the DJM-850, I would randomly get dropouts. Sometimes little, sometimes big, as in lasting for a minute or so.

At first I thought it was a latency issue, which was weird to me… I had never had problems with my laptop. I played around with the latency but it didn’t seem to help.

It wound up dropping out/cutting out on me one night during a gig, thank god it was just a Top-40 gig, one I was doing at the time to pay the bills if you know what I mean… (yes Bieber requests galore… the agony)

Thankfully I bought pro coverage from Guitar Center, so I got full credit upon my return. I wound up paying the difference and getting the 900. I had played out on several occasions in clubs here in Charlotte, using the club’s 900 as my soundcard (using the mixer to mix as well) with my X1 setup. I had done this for months with ZERO issues.

A buddy of mine also had a 900 and yup you guessed it, zero issues there. It very well could have been a firmware issue (I couldn’t find any updates at the time for the 850) or something going on with my version of Traktor (2.6.2) causing it to glitch with the 850. Who knows.

I’ve had the 900 since July and have had zero issues. Gigged and played out with it regularly. The thing is a workhorse.

Hope this helps. Anyone else have an issue with the DJM-850?

[Darken]

@trilla_shocka

I got rid of the DJM-850 because the soundcard in it (while using Traktor) was not as stable as the 900 Nexus.

It didn’t start out as a regular thing… After say 3-4 weeks of owning the DJM-850, I would randomly get dropouts. Sometimes little, sometimes big, as in lasting for a minute or so.

At first I thought it was a latency issue, which was weird to me… I had never had problems with my laptop. I played around with the latency but it didn’t seem to help.

It wound up dropping out/cutting out on me one night during a gig, thank god it was just a Top-40 gig, one I was doing at the time to pay the bills if you know what I mean… (yes Bieber requests galore… the agony)

Thankfully I bought pro coverage from Guitar Center, so I got full credit upon my return. I wound up paying the difference and getting the 900. I had played out on several occasions in clubs here in Charlotte, using the club’s 900 as my soundcard (using the mixer to mix as well) with my X1 setup. I had done this for months with ZERO issues.

A buddy of mine also had a 900 and yup you guessed it, zero issues there. It very well could have been a firmware issue (I couldn’t find any updates at the time for the 850) or something going on with my version of Traktor (2.6.2) causing it to glitch with the 850. Who knows.

I’ve had the 900 since July and have had zero issues. Gigged and played out with it regularly. The thing is a workhorse.

Hope this helps. Anyone else have an issue with the DJM-850?

I’m actually having problems with the 900nxs. I have the RD MacBook Pro with no Ethernet port. When I connect the mixer to the MacBook Pro the utility’s setting displays 1.30*in the ‘about’ tab, while the mixer’s bpm window shows that I’m currently up to date on 1.31. I’m able to select the soundcard in traktor as djm900nexus but I do not see djm900nexus for my audio ins and outs. The mixer works, but no faders are shown, no on screen knob movements corresponding to mixer knob movements. Am I doing something wrong, I don’t see how this is considered ‘traktor certified’

[trilla_shocka]

@Darken

I’m actually having problems with the 900nxs. I have the RD MacBook Pro with no Ethernet port. When I connect the mixer to the MacBook Pro the utility’s setting displays 1.30*in the ‘about’ tab, while the mixer’s bpm window shows that I’m currently up to date on 1.31. I’m able to select the soundcard in traktor as djm900nexus but I do not see djm900nexus for my audio ins and outs. The mixer works, but no faders are shown, no on screen knob movements corresponding to mixer knob movements. Am I doing something wrong, I don’t see how this is considered ‘traktor certified’

If running in External mode (which you want) the on screen EQ’s, Faders, etc in Traktor do not show up. As these usually are only used in Internal mode.

EDIT - READ THIS Pioneer DJM-900nexus Mixer: Better Integration with Traktor | Dubspot