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Denon DNX-1100
by Seven17
@ About, Audio Quality, Ease of Use, Features @
(+) PRICE/BOX CONTENTS: At £450 this mixer sits right in between the high end and mid range mixers from the professional DJ manufacturers like Pioneer and RANE but previously I only had a Denon pair of headphones and I thought they were good quality so I'd give this mixer a ... go. It actually turned out quite good. In the box you get a manual written in a few European languages including English, a power cable (which cannot be disconnected from the rear) and a few channel stoppers which cover the empty holes where you put the RCA Phono inputs into. Very handy for mobile DJ's who knock their mixer around. These also serve as great dust protectors.
(+) CHANNEL ASSIGN: I bought this mixer because it had a very unique feature, which is the 8-channel assignable "matrix" design, which lets you put any channel through each of the ones on the front. So if you want the left deck to appear on the right channel, you can assign it to channel 4. Very handy. You get 8 channels for this mixer but you can add your own separate peripherals like an effects box, and two microphones. One XLR and one ¼ inch jack. Both the microphones have separate EQs for their channel so you can also change the sound of your voice!
(-) CROSSFADER: I have to say I am not happy at all with the cross fader. The clunk from this thing is LOUD. Smacking it against the sides is like bashing a small hammer down on the faceplate, it really makes a loud clunking noise. The other thing I don't like is the fact that it seems to pick up its own sound from the fader. That's how loud it is, it actually registers the sound on the VU meter as one bar lights up green when you click it on and off. At a very loud volume you can hear this clunk in your headphones. The other thing I don't like with the cross fader is the "Flex Fader" design which means you can change the torque of the fader for scratching and beat matching. I have mine quite loose but it's a nightmare to set it back because you have to open up the faceplate, open up the crossfader hatch then change it, and put about 10 different screws back in. It's a real faff; I wish the screw was on the front of the mixer. There has been no bleed from the crossfader so far and general use just beat matching rather than battle mixing the fader will survive quite a long time.
(+) EQ's: EQ's on this mixer are perfect, I cannot fault them. They have a full kill function which is very handy for slowly mixing out of a mix. At full volume this mixer will still cancel every last bit of a bass thud if you have the low turned down to minimum it cancels every bit of noise making it a full kill feature, which can be very handy. The same goes for the microphone EQ's too, so turning them all down to minimum means no sound gets through at all, and there is no bleed or leak even at very high volume. These are probably the best EQ's I have used on any mixer.
(+) SOUND QUALITY: Sound quality overall is quite good. There is very little distortion coming from any of the channels and even on a low quality cable from a turntable the mixer gets a clean and crisp sound through without drowning out bass or the hi hats, so for input sound quality, top marks. Output sound quality is similar but will have distortion at very high volumes no matter what channel or input. The mixer does not have a limiter built into it so be careful not to blow your speakers. I am pleased with the output sound quality because it tends to sharpen up vocals and makes the bass sound sharper. If you get a sudden bass rumble it wont sound like a wobbly or shaky sound you just get an instant thud, and no distortion.
(+) CUE: The cue can be used to listen to any channel whilst you are mixing before the audience hears the music. In my experience the Cue feature has been a great feature and works really well. When you put the cue on you don't get a bleed in or any distortion from the other channels and even at very high volumes you cant hear even the faintest noise coming from the other music inputs. The Cue also has a very clear and crisp sound quality to it, much like the master output so the sound quality wont drop just because you listen through your headphones!
(+) CONTOUR: Contour where the crossfader is concerned is quite good, but could be improved. From the second white line on the crossfader that's where the contour starts to kick in if you have it on the far right setting which is more suited for scratch DJ's and by setting it to the far left setting you get an even balance of music coming in from both channels in the middle of the crossfader. In my experience, these have been relatively accurate but not perfect. Smack bang in the middle of the fader the left channel is ever so slightly louder and approx 2 mm out is where the fader cuts in. The channel faders have their own contour and this is a great feature you will struggle to find on any other mixer in this price range, it means you can make the volume decrease a lot when you drag the fader down slightly, or the volume halves when you get to 5, or dragging the fader down from 10 to 2 does nothing, but below 2 will almost kill the volume. This is great because scratch DJ's who use the channel faders can set the contour all the way to the right and have it as a channel on or off feature but flicking it from volume 1 to volume 2 and sound instantly appears at full volume. In my experience, I have found a number of great tricks you can do with this, and even create your own stuttering music effect. Again no bleed or slight trickle of music coming in from the fader.
@ Build Quality, Cleaning @
(N) CHANGEABLE PARTS & CLEANING: You can always replace your crossfader or channel fader if they break down and they normally last a good few years if you don't use them for scratching. I have replaced faders before and got them out to clean them because dirt and dust tends to build up inside the faders. To get them out you need to undo 5 screws on the fader faceplate, remove it then individually remove the faders one by one. The crossfader is the hardest and you will also need to slot their electronic clips back in place when you put the new ones in. All in all it takes about 5 minutes to change a couple faders. The faders have a felt layer underneath them, which catches dirt and dust, but you will need to open up the faceplate to clean underneath them. More often than not crumbs will build up on the inside of the faceplate and these can be hard to get to.
(+) BUILD QUALITY: Build quality is superb apart from the crossfader. All the knobs have stayed on, faders are perfect and despite being taken to pubs and small venues now and then it has survived well, still works and does not need a new fader. The problem with the fader is the noise it makes; the crossfader clunk is very loud and quickly becomes annoying. The unit itself has withstood dings, dents, scrapes and food being dropped on it and to this day it is still working. Connectors at the back can be ripped in and out without damaging them so no problem if you're the heavy handed sort of person.
@ Overall @
This is a great mixer and would earn a full five stars if it weren't for the crossfader. The way it works is simple, everything is laid out well so its easy to use and the sound quality is very good too - it's a high end professional mixer but at a reasonable price with many unique features to this mixer: Channel contour, assignable channels etc.
Overall highly recommended!
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Gemini CDM 3600 Mixer
by Seven17
@ About, Using the unit @
I bought this little thing 2 years ago because i started doing small gigs at my local pub and sometimes for friends. I don't claim to be a pro DJ with all the beatmatching skills and amazing stunts. This is perfect for mobile and beginner DJs because its an all in one so its easy to carry, and there ... are relatively few controls so you can get used to it easy. Its very easy to use because the layout is simple and what you'd expect from the separate CD deck players on the market, with all the bits added from the more upmarket mixers like A-B repeat. These work well and you can create any sort of effect you like with them, no real glitches where the CD pauses briefly before going back to point A - you just get a smooth transition back to point A.
Jog wheel accuracy and latency was a key issue when i bought this thing and i have to say credit where credit is due gemini have pulled out all the stops on this one. As a budget mixer i expected it to have some but there is actually very little. Spinning the jog wheel back sharply to get to the start of the track will cancel noise in the headphones briefly but it will quickly come back - the point is the timers don't pause briefly while it lags and thinks about it. Very accurate too because right down to the hundredth millisecond but not too sensitive.
The CDs load instantly and take just a few seconds to register on the screen. Setting cue points is very easy and can be done using just the cue button alone. At the back you've got extra channels to add your turntable and you can flick between the phono and CD deck at the top of the mixer face. EQs are something this mixer does not really perform well on because it can not fully kill each EQ so sometimes you are left with a leak of frequencies or occasionally lower bass thuds get though even when the EQ is fully to the left.
@ Build Quality @
The screen covering the displays is very weak and dropping the mixer or slamming it on tables can cause it to break off since its only glued in place. I broke my left screen so be very careful with these. The casing and buttons are all solid and have been perfect for me. Mine has been gigged and had stuff dropped all over it, liquid and crumbs of dioritos yet it still works so top marks for build quality, just watch out for the screen.
@ Overall @
This is a top quality mixer and decks in one unit and its highly recommended. Its built well and performs well - for a budget beginner mixer you get some of the features from the higher budget ones. The jog wheels alone are a great example of this, even if you cant scratch on them.
Recommended!
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Pioneer EFX-500
by Seven17
@ About, Effects, Ease of use @
I bought this little box of tricks as an add on to my Gemini set and it can help anyone who wants to add a special something to their music. It can be used by Keyboard Players, DJ's, Bands and music makers who want to add effects to their music.
This pioneer effects machine allows ... you to completely remix and edit your mixes on the fly and the effects can be fully customised right down to the very last millisecond. The effects are very accurate but there is a little distortion on the higher frequencies when using the ring effect. Ring creates a buzzing like ping sound that gives vocals a very nice warm depth of sound but on the high hats it does not sound too good and becomes distorted.
The sheer number of tricks you can do with this thing are almost endless. Say you have a song about to end, you can repeat the last 4 bars over and over if you don't beatmatch them in time so basically, no CDs in your decks, and this box alone can play out the last 4 bars constantly over and over on repeat. So its almost like a third deck because it remembers what it was playing, then allows you to edit that memorised music.
It is very easy to use because you can just plug and play - simply insert a couple phono cables into the back and away you go. The EQs at the top are more designed for bands rather than DJs because these are normally found on the mixer. In my experience with the EQs their full kill function is top quality and there is no sound leak at all on any level or pitch. Sending a thumping bass tone down through the EQs when the bass is on minimum wont be heard, it fully kills each level.
@ Build Quality, Sound Quality @
The plastic casing is very thick and shiny. The switches have no play and do not feel wobbly or out of place. You can wiggle them around, throw them about and flick them around all day no problem. They do have a very loud click though, and this can be heard down a microphone a few feet away. The effects buttons do have some wobble and give but they have never come our of their sockets. Overall build quality is very good, i have had mine for over a year now and through regular use nothing has gone wrong.
Sound quality is also what id expect from pioneer, no distortion on effects apart from ring on the high hats which even then is only very slightly. Sound comes through crystal clear and the effects are very accurate no matter how complicated they can be. For example, setting the flanger on 10ms still has an effect but its so precise and still manages to get the sound right on cue.
@ Overall @
This box of tricks is full of great effects and its easy to use. You need to learn how to properly use them over music but by ease of use i mean everything is marked, labelled and the displays are very simple. This is highly recommended if you are serious about getting effects on your music.
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