Apparently the original founder of Vestax is re-launching the brand as StpVestax and specifically targeting the extreme high-end market.
There’s also a line-fader version.
It’s also 800,000 JPY, which translates to a little over 7-grand US. So, I’m not in the market. But, I’m interested to see if it’s actually good. Vestax (when they were making their own stuff instead of having stanton or whoever make it for them) was good kit for which I have a very soft spot. And there are some pretty cool little features…lots of line inputs, direct-outs for TTs (making adding a DVS integration possible without un-plugging anything), lots of metering.
It’s not going to appeal to a lot of people. But, if price were no issue, I’d probably order one.
Cool. I just heard about it, which makes sense. I wasn’t reading DJ press when it came out.
I doubt I’ll ever even see one in person. If I won the lottery, I’d order one in a heartbeat just to try it out. I dig the retro styling and the claims about sound quality. In real life…it’s twice the price of a Funktion One/Formula Sound mixer and roughly 3x the price of any of the boutique rotaries (except the ARS 9000…it’s only about twice the price of it). So…yeah…it better be good for what they’re asking.
Yeah the price is delusional, imho. I’ve been watching this one and feel the same way - if cost was no object I’d buy one. It ticks most of the boxes I want that are not ticked by my current setup. But, yeah, if I had $8k to spend on a mixer I’d have a lot of other things I wanted first.
I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with Shiino-san (Vestax founder) last year. I was even taken to the warehouse where they keep all the old Vestax gear.
He is a really passionate guy, but he is also getting on in age and seems more interested in leaving a legacy than making affordable, generic products.
I’m sure the mixer is great. It’s a shame so few people will ever get to use one.
“I realised when I was building these discrete transistor pre amps and class A tube limiters, that the circuits were simple and this resulted in “colouring” the audio in a pleasing way. I was inspired by the way that these audio circuits retained the depth, warmth and dynamic range of the audio.”
The mixer has four channels – each of which can be phono or line – and has two balanced and unbalanced stereo outputs. There’s also record outputs and an effects loop option. As is the case with many of these mixers, many of the components are designed for audiophiles, and are heavily touted as being key to the mixer’s sound and build quality. Here’s a sampling:
Fully discrete single ended Class A circuitry
Precision 1% metal film resistors
Strategically placed carbon film resistors
Wima FKP film capacitors
Custom Cinemag output Transformers
Military-grade headphone output jack
Carling heavy-duty toggle switches
Fully shielded steel enclosure
No. It was rhetorical and meant to imply that I put zero stock in those claims having anything to do with positive qualities of DJ mixers.
Someone’s prediliction for a specific type of amplification, renouned for it’s iconic distortion in certain guitar tube amps and more-or-less abandoned for modern hi-fi/PA amplification due to it’s inefficiency (not cost), does not mean that it has anything to do with DJ mixers.
Class A tube circuits give a great sound in low-powered guitar amps. I’ve owned a few. Ironically, I was really happy that I got GC pro coverage on them, because every single one of them died rather quickly from being made too cheap.
But, the product pages even for the condesa mixers don’t mention tubes or amplification at all. It also doesn’t mention “class a” or “single ended”. And the fact that they have balanced outputs means they’re not entirely single-ended.
That little blurb is a bunch of terms people think imply quality when they actually just refer to specific ways of doing things that don’t mean anything for DJ mixers.
As for the model zero…frankly, I’m not impressed by their claims either. And while a lot of boutique rotaries have gotten quite a good reputation, that’s not one that people generally mention.