The Minefield of Mixers

DJ Gear & Hardware Hardware: Controllers, Mods and Gear
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The Minefield of Mixers

My Mixtrack Pro 2 has served me well but i feel it’s the end of the road for us now. Decided i would gradually start to go modular and started it off with an F1. Absolutely love it. Got a good bunch of samples now that i drop into my sets and am really liking where it’s going but really would be nice to EQ that third channel and get a bit more fx control so bought an X1 and with a bit of Mixtrack re-mapping it does the trick but it’s messy and was only really a short term solution until i got the cash together for a nice 4 channel mixer. Finally that day is now here.

I’ve been looking into mixers for the past few weeks and what an absolute minefield it is (I mix tech house and techno mainly). There seems to be a lot of competition for a lot of very similar products at similar prices!

Initially i liked the look of the Allen and Heath Xone DB2 - looks a nice mixer with a lot of good reviews and looks to be more than i would ever need. However i then noticed the Xone 43C which looks to be much the same mixer but without the 2 FX engines which, thinking about it, i don’t really need. I’m perfectly content with the Traktor effects i’ve been using and the X1 makes it so easy to switch between them etc I am wondering if the extra £200 for a DB2 is overkill?

Had a look at the Denon DNX1600 which also looks a really nice mixer for a similar price to the 43C but again looks to be a very ‘busy’ looking mixer with a lot of stuff on it i probably don’t need.

Can anyone offer me any information or experiences on these products or anything else in the same sort of price bracket that may influence my decision???

Cheers

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I have a Denon DNX1700 which is the bigger brother of the 1600 with an extra FX engine and minus the dedicated midi controls. As far as mixers go you can’t go wrong for the price. They are very well made, sound quality is awesome and once you use the upfaders, crossfader and eq’s you will love it. They are also Traktor Scratch certified (if you ever wanted to go down that route). It may look ‘busy’ but everything is spaced out beautifully and is there for a reason. Alot of mixer for the money. A&H are lovely mixers but the faders (which you use alot) let the DB series down in my opinion, the feel and action of the DNXs make them a pleasure to use.

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Hey, I just bought the DN-1600 last week (unused second hand $500) and i absolutely love it(I too switched to modulair, from an S4 in this case though)! I did not have this feeling of it looking to busy but I can imagine what you mean, the entire left section (mic’s) are not useful to me and the effects are quite, eh minimalistic which makes them fun and easy to use but to be honest the FX inside traktor are just so much better (I expected this but the routing option that comes with this is why i stil like the FX section). My first choice would have been an XONE:92 but since this is waaaay to expensive I settled for this and I must say I think I am going to love and cherish this mixer for a long time, it’s awesome. Oh and love the full EQ kill btw.

Strongly agree with this review btw: (more here)

[QUOTE]I have the DN-X1600 now over two months. i work in the lest 3 years with : DJM-800, DJM-900, TTM57, XONE 92. and i have one thing to say - the X1600/1700 is the best mixer in the market right now except the XONE-DB4.

This mixer is amazing, denon its underrated company. I give a brief review about this mixer:

Sound - great warm sound. very similar to the excellent A&H XONE series. 9/10.

Upfaders - long, smooth but not loose. great upfaders. 9/10.

Crossfader - Vestax class. i very surprised about the cross. the 4ch mixers (djm,xone)
provide a nice cross but not one to impress scratch djs. the X-1600 do this. 8.5/10.

FX - the weak spot of the X1600. the DJM800/900 only plus over this mixer. i have many things to say about the fx section but really its to much to write. 5.5/10.

MIDI - the best midi-mixer in the market right now. better than X1700(no separate midi section. and better than DB4.
95 percent on the mixer is midi capable. even the crossfader, the line section midi mode is the most brilliant mixers tech i see lest two years. 9.5/10. it could be 10 if the mixer was percent midi.

MIC - 2 great preamp. the ducking is brilliant, its more than just talkover. the eq mic section its combined for the two mics - its a little bummer. 7/10.

Matrix Input - in one word? WOW! in two Words? Fucking WOW. i do nasty things with the denon input matrix system. the XONE DB4 emulate this function from denon and they know what they doing. 10/10.

Built Quality - the one thing is worried me before i purchase denon mixer. but i mistake in big time. its a Israel army tank. 9/10.

My conclusion about the DN-X1600? - the best mixer in the market except the XONE DB4.
the pioneer djm series over priced and certainly good like the xone and denon latest mixers.
everything on this mixer its simply great - except the FX.

The DENON company earned my as a buyer.[/QUOTE]

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are you set on having an external mixer?

another option is to get a badass dedicated sound card, such as an apollo, and pair that with another midi device as a mixer. that way you can mix internally. now you have access to all of your 4 decks. i’ve been using a similar set up for the live set i’ve been working on.

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What is your budget mate? Some great suggestions so far.

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I’ll look into the apollo mate but i do like the idea of having an external mixer as it stands.

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I don’t really want to part with more than £900 mate. If i can get away with a lot less than that it’d be ideal though :slight_smile:

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I have an X1600 that I picked up as an X-Mas gift to myself last year. It is really nice to have/use. DJ with three decks plus one remix deck. For me, if there was one more output channel dedicated to the headphones (for previewing outside of a deck) it would be perfect for my workflow. Overall, that is a small concession

The X1600 is built like a tank, and about as portable. I have been looking at the A&H Xone K2 as a possible “portable solution.” That keeps some external mixer controls available - but is an internal mixing solution. That may be a non starter for you, depending on your workflow.

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You can get a DNX-1600 for less than that, my DNX-1700 was under that second hand and is as new. Search the auction sites there is loads of stuff on there for decent money.

Where abouts are you based

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I’ve been keeping an eye on ebay for a few but i’d rather buy new. I’ve got a 10% discount code for decks.co.uk valid until mid-August so i’m planning to use that.

I’m in Aberdeen mate.

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I can’t allow this discussion to go on without mention of my beloved Pio DJM-850! :thumbsup:

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If only budget and my good lady wife would allow!!

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I know you said you prefer new but just be aware that you can get a DJM 900 NXS for under £900. I got mine for about £800 in good condition but that was in the US. Not sure how the UK market is but it really is a great mixer if you find a good deal on a used one.

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I have absolutely NO problem buying used. and I hesitate to give this little gem of advise (for fear of opening the used gear market up to other buyers), but:

A LARGE NUMBER of people buy very nice, expensive shiny gear on a whim. These people usually have more money than sense. They set it up, and play with it for a couple of days/weeks, then leave it gathering dust (but not too much, I hope!). These are the people you want to buy from! There are bargains to be had. It just means being a little patient, and keeping an eye on eBay for a month or 2 before finding one…

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Point taken mate. I do keep an eye out on ebay but there isn’t an overwhelming amount of second hand mixers up there to be honest. Quite surprising really…

Anyone any experience of the Pioneer DJM-750?

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My current mixer is a Pioneer DJM-850SRT which is pretty similar to the DJM-750; the main difference being that it comes with a few additional FX features and in-built Serato connection. Fundamentally, through they are the same mixer. what would you like to know?

I also have a Rane-62 sitting in a storage unit back in the UK. When I moved out to Jordan at the start of this year [willl be here for a 2/3 years], I was limited to how much I could stuff I could ship. Even I struggled to justify to the wife [as it was her company that was paying for the shipping] why I needed to ship two mixers for home use!!! :thinking: :expressionless:

One the biggest advantages of owning the Pioneer mixer is that it is the most common one that you will come across when you are playing out. Time and again you will walk into a DJ booth and find yourself looking at a Pioneer 4-channel mixer.

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And one of the biggest misconceptions about Pio mixers. For me and other people I know: it takes just a look at a online manual and a few minutes of actual use to effectively use it at a gig (coming from any other mixer).

The truth is, mixers are one part of DJ gear that has changed very little in the last 15-20 year. It hardly worth paying a +50% price premium just for that, even for a insecure beginner.

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Thanks for all the input and thoughts on this. I ended up with an Allen & Heath DB2 as i seen one brand new for £740 from Absolute Music here in the UK which just seemed too good a deal to turn down. Only had it 3 or 4 days but i’m delighted with it. What an impressive piece of hardware it truly is. Just recorded my first mix on it this morning and i’m extremely impressed with it.

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:thumbsup:

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Eggcellente … Thats still $2K at least for us kiwis