Xone dx or 4trak for mixing?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

Xone dx or 4trak for mixing?

Hi guys, I just wanted to ask you for advice about which controller to buy.

I’m kind of new to digital DJing, so I’m not really sure about which controller to buy. I really like mixing rather than scratching and I’m used to high quality equipment, so I don’t really want to buy “a toy” instead of a rugged controller.

I was considering the xd and the 4trax because they seem to be built to last forever - they’ve got almost no plastic in their construction and DO have high quality components. I personally don’t like the mc-6000 not only for being plastic but also for not having a good soundcard. As far as I’ve read the pionners have also quality issues, which I really don’t like.

Another option could be the S4, I’ve heard good comments about it, but I don’t really know if it REALLY suits me.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

2

There’s a $500 difference in the price …

The DX is a really REALLY nice piece of kit, with build quality on Par with a Xone42, and if your budget was $700 i’d say not much better out there, but given your budgeting $1000 - 1200 you could try to pick up a 4D which seems to be hitting the same price point these days (according to other members) as the 4trak.

Benefit wise its got a Traktor certified sound card as well a gorgeous fully analogue mixer and lots more knobs / faders etc for control in a smaller package than the 4Trak

3

How important are the platters to you? What about portability?

4

The Xone 4D does?

I just asked this in another thread… it virtually a Xone 92 with two 1D’s on either side, right?

5

I don’t care about portability since I’m not a mobile DJ.

Platters are not THAT important to me -meaning that scratching is not my main tool for DJing, but I really like to put some decent scratches into my set.

My budget? Hmm… Well I can afford a $1200 controller, but I cannot pay more than that for one of those.

6

Sorry for the double post, but where can you get a 4d for $1200? The most inexpensive price I’ve seen for it is $2200, which is definitely out of my budget.

7

craigslist? man check second hand, definitely a good idea for your budget, just remember to check it out first!

8

I see…

I thought you guys were talking about a brand new one!

What about if I want to buy a NEW controller?

9

Note, first of all, that the Xone DX is a midi controller with a soundcard, not a mixer, so you’re mixing internally with that.

If you buy used, assuming you check it out to make sure it works, you will get a much nicer mixer. I mean hell, we’re talking about an Allen & Heath Xone vs. a NUMARK MIXER. Let’s be serious here.

The 4d is similar to a Xone:92 but has 3 bands eq instead of 4. Still has the great filters and sound quality, and is Traktor Scratch Certified, which is quite handy. Nevermind the fact that it’s actually been around for a few years so most of the bugs have been worked out. The only real advantage I see in the Numark is the jog wheels. Having had an S4, I’ll say that it’s definitely nice to have high resolution jogwheels, but it really depends on your workflow as to how valuable that is to you. Plus, I’d much rather use DVS than midi jogs anyway, which makes the 4d a better option in my eyes.

Another thing to consider, though it will leave you without transport control (no jogwheels, though you could easily use DVS) is a DJM 900. I’m not sure how much they regularly go for, but I saw one on craigslist locally for about $1350 (posted price) recently. It may not tickle your fancy but it is a solid option in that price range, ableit without transport controls (though you can midi map the entire mixer, just about). Currently I’m running a DJM900, an x1, a midi fighter, and two Technics 1200s and it’s my favorite setup thus far easily. I previously had an s4, as I mentioned earlier, and while that was a good controller, I found internal mixing mode to just sound thin and lack clarity. Now, a DJM900 and two TTs will cost you around 2 grand, even used… so this may not be realistic. But, it’s something to consider, especially if you find good deals on the equipment and have the patience to do so.

I’ve also seen used DJM 800s go for about a grand. If you don’t have a soundcard then it’ll probably come out pretty close to the 900 in price with the card though.

Alternatively, just as another option, I do have a used Mackie d.4 Pro which I’m looking to sell for around $600 shipped w/in the lower 48. Traktor Scratch Certified firewire soundcard which is actually a more useful card than the DJM900 card, 2 analogue filters, and a send-return bus. With the money you have left over you could buy a used pair of Techs or possibly CDJ 800s. I know it’s cheesy to advertise in a thread like this, but it seems like it could be a good possibility for you given your budget. PM me if you’re interested.

10

I thought the 4trak was a controller that could act as a standalone mixer too…

11

Yes it is, at least according to the promo video, an analogue mixer. The Xone: DX and the S4 I was talking about aren’t; they’re just midi controllers which use Traktor’s internal mixer and have soundcards. Sorry if that was unclear.

12

I get you. But if I wanted to buy a brand new controller for less than $1200, which one would you reccomend me?

13

If you’re absolutely set on brand new, I’d say either the 4trak or the S4. The S4 is potentially cheaper (I had purchased mine at Guitar Center for $765 or so with a 15% off coupon), is proven reliable, has high resolution pitch faders and knobs in addition to the wheels (unclear if the 4trak does or not), has the potential for DVS, much better buttons (4trak look very plastic) and individual channel LEDs. I didn’t like how short the pitch faders were on the S4, the jogs could have been bigger, and being stuck mixing internally kind of sucked (though I am a bit of an audio quality snob at times). Feature and layout wise, I’d probably go with the 4trak, to be honest. However, quality/feel wise I’d probably go with the S4. Plus if you go with the S4 you can throw in a midi fighter classic, x1, or scratch upgrade for about the same price as the 4trak. The 4trak is also ugly and even bigger from the S4 from the looks of it, so it might be hard to fit into a DJ booth if you plan on gigging with it.

At the end of the day, I had the S4 and I liked it. My gripes about it probably won’t concern most digital DJs, and were it not for my desire to mix externally for sound quality (warmth and detail) I probably wouldn’t have switched to the DJM900. The S4 is a great and compact piece of kit and you can’t go wrong with it. The 4trak looks promising, but it is a Numark product and it’s completely untested. I’d wait a month or two if I were going to buy it so that I could see the reviews first.

Also, with the deal I got on my S4 I’m looking at losing somewhere around 65 bucks when I sell it off. If the 4trak isn’t the second coming of the S4, you’re probably going to lose a lot more than that if/when you move on to other gear.

Bottom line? I’d say buy the 4trak from somewhere with a decent (easy and no restocking fees) return policy, try it out for a week or two (without registering the copy of Traktor that comes with it if you can) and see how you like it. If you don’t like it, return it and get the S4 instead.

14

Thanks for the reply! But again, 2 things. First of all, are you sure the 4trak’s got a plastic construction? I’m pretty sure it’s alluminium. Secondly, do you think the DX is in a way overpowered by the S4? If so, why?

15

With that budget like that burning a hole in my pocket i’d probably go for a DX + dual SC2000’s for the best of all worlds and you save $250-300.

LOTS of control and not “too” big. A pretty traditional setup and easy enough to upgrade individual bits and bobs if you wanted to… only issues is you’ll need to map a lot of things yourself (if you are comfortable with that no prob).

Of course if you don’t “need” or want jogwheels you could just use a DX for now with itch 2.1 (quite nice) or Traktor (which works well but you’ll need to budget for a license)

I just love the “built to last forever” feel of the DX’s mixer section, and the sound card is the bomb.

Although the S4 has traktor pro2 included in the sale price making it attractive, I doubt the Numark will come with much more than a slightly better version of Traktor Lite.

The Numark also uses plain 'ol pots rather than encoders by the looks of it for the FX section which means using soft-takeover on those decks (ugh!)

I think you are thinking of the N4

and there’s defiantly some DJ shop selling the Xone 4d which is GORGEOUS! for 1200 in canada I believe, one of the users posted the contact details / address up before but I can’t find the darn thread (only a few days ago as well!)

16

I was referring to the buttons which definitely look plastic. The chassis does look to be aluminum or something similar. As for the DX, it’s not going to be nearly as good with Traktor as the other two since it’s intended for itch, and you’re not going to have an easy time finding a midi map template for it for the same reason. Also, the jogs are small, the buttons aren’t great (small, bad action), and there aren’t any pitch faders on it. Nevermind that the jogs aren’t high res midi or NHL. Plus you have to toss in the cost of traktor on top of it to make it a fair comparison and the S4 has DVS capability to boot.

17

I don’t know many people who are actually happy with the SC2000s to be honest. They seem like a good idea but in practice I’m not so sure.

Good point about the software - I didn’t even notice the “4trak edition”. So, add another what, $140 onto the 4trak’s price for equal comparison? Now the S4 looks better.

Don’t the knobs control FX 1 and 2? So it doesn’t matter if you switch decks? Or do they switch to 3/4 when you switch layers? If so, that’s a good point but it’s not something you’re going to remedy with just about any other controller in this form factor. Plus, I’d rather use knobs with soft takeover than detented encoders, which are usually the alternative.

18

Do you know of any other good midi controller (better than the sc2000)?

19

Please tell me about it as soon as you can!

20

Solotech Inc.
5200 Hochelaga
Montréal (Québec)
H1V 1G3

Tel: 514.526.3094 Fax: 514.526.2447
Sans frais: 1.877.514.SOLO (7656)
ask for Kevin Rhoades.
if you want his e-mail let me know in private