Minggu, 28 Desember 2008

Product Reviews 2003

DENON DN-5000

At first glance it was too good to be true, they finally did what we had imagined years ago (A CD Player that works just like a turntable by taking digital information not from the platter but from an actual moving record on top of a moving platter !!) It may have seen obvious from a Vinyl Jock wanting to turn to CD's, but the technology or resources for mass production was not available at the time.

DENON who have lead the CDJ Market since the birth of the CD has finally realised that they have to cater to the vinyl addicts as well as the CDJ's as turntablism grows stronger and stronger. We only had a day to play with the unit so here's a brief review.

First of all it has all the same amazing features as the DND 9000, including the removable hard drive and the revolutionary Alpha Track that allows you to mix 2 tracks off the one CD (Please read the review of the 9000 below first). What we were really interested in was the accuracy in the mechanism of the moving platter and the plate on top (with a slip matt), compared to the industry standard SL 1200. The motor is belt driven, so obviously the torque of the platter does not compare to that of the SL 1200 so it will take a little getting used to when applying beatmixing techniques. The motor is weaker so if you've been attached to the 1200's you'll have to apply less pressure whilst speeding up and slowing down the track. When it comes to cueing and scratching however, it's exactly the same as the 1200's. It even comes with a slipmatt and a plastic under the plate (simulating a record). The data information from the plate that acts like a record which relays information to the audio data on the CD is so precise that all motion moved forward/ back and scratched right down to the scribbles is heard in real time without a split second of delay or drags in the audio output. You can hold the record, perform slow drags, fast motion forward/ back cueings and the visible marker at the centre of the plate will stay on point (ie. at the precise angle at which it started). This was not possible with the previous models like the 2600. It's like a 7" record on a turntable without the tone-arm or a cartridge. This is the amazing advantage that it has over a conventional turntable as it will never skip a groove (Even if you decide to beat juggle or scratch with the unit upside down, new trick for you ladies !) This is also the main advantage that it has over other companies like the final scratch (Reviewed below) which uses conventional turntables on top of complex computer setups to get the same digital to analogue effect. I personally think that Denon have come up with 'the winning formula' and have laid the foundation for the development of future CD Players for DJ's. It is user friendly, it performs exactly like turntables as well as the most advanced CD Players, it's compact and works of the conventional methods that the average DJ is familiar with. With breakthroughs like this and the Final Scratch, a decade old question has now come up again : Will records ever fade away ?

The DENON DN 5000 is due to be released in Australia early March with a price tag of $ 1,995.00 R.R.P

Watch this space for a streaming video demonstration of the product !


The Vestax Fader Board

Vestax announce a revolutionary new product for DJ's, turntablists and musicians alike - aptly called the Fader Board " A visionary combination of melodic synths and percussive instrument sounds within an advanced interface. Featuring sampling, smart media technology, built in digital FX, master output fader, key assign bank and master EQ" Like a keyboard, the 10 key faders control the different keys of the Fader Board's audio output. The faders have a 3 position switch for the curve control of the 10 faders. The octave of the 10 fader keys can also be switched up or down one octave, or remain neutral. The entire key fader register of the Fader Board can be set to the key of C, D, F, G, A or B. Alternatively you can raise each key by using the sharp (#) button. Five different scales are provided - Major, Minor, Arabic, Gypsy and Blue Note. Onboard synth and percussive sounds are easily dialled up with the parameter slider. With a 30 second onboard memory, and a Smart Media slot, there are no limits to the different sounds that can be uploaded to the User memory of the Fader Board. Start and end points for the samples can be quickly edited with two short faders. The output of the Fader Board is controlled by a master crossfader, like how a crossfader controls sound on a traditional DJ mixer. This fader is reversible, and has three different curve settings.

The digital FX have 12 different presets, with two seperate editing parameters through the A and B dials. The high quality DSP effects are in the following categories: filter, modulated delay, wow, reverb, flanger, phaser, ring modulation, pitch shift, compression, distortion, decimator & resonator. It's more than just a keyboard for DJ's - the Vestax Fader Board signals a fresh new approach to music performance and production.


The Vestax Handy Trax

Vestax announce the release of the Handy Trax portable turntable

The product DJ's and record collectors have waited decades for!
Years ago, when vinyl was by far the most popular commercial format, a portable turntable was the life of any party. Battery powered, amplified, and with it's own built in speaker, 7", 10" and 12" records could be played anywhere - 33's, 45's and 78's. Those few units that survived the advent of the portable tape players & hi-fi shelf systems, post-storage battery leakage and even the rubbish tip have been snapped up by the new generation of vinyl pursits. These days, they are a very rare find at any Sunday market.
DJ's love collecting vinyl. Artists like DJ Shadow and The Avalanches, whose inclusion of samples of older tracks in their acclaimed releases have made the search for older vinyl even more popular. But there's no way to listen to tracks down at the local op shop....
Until now. The Vestax Handy Trax has features for DJ's included on a turntable styled on the classics. Pitch control, headphone output, replaceable stylus, built in speaker with volume control - and even a line input for mixing in external sources. And it's portable.
Now you can play records when and where you want. Connect two together and you can start mixing anywhere.

The Vestax Handy Trax is due in December 2002 at the RRP price of only $399 inc GST.


THE DENON DN-D9000

DENON - The name itself says it all (Originality, Creativity, Durability and innovation)

The DN 2000F Dual CD player was the industry standard for all CDJ's for over a decade. It was found in every Night Club and all Mobile DJ Coffins across the globe. It was known to be the CD equivalent to the industry standard SL 1200. Now enter a new era of the CDJ (The DN-D9000). It has taken the Dual CD unit to the extreme limits. Firstly it's innovation of the Alpha track blew me away. It can actually mix two tracks from the ONE CD. This I've been told is achieved by dumping the CD information onto the hard drive instantly as the CD gates shut, and therefore allowing the need for only one laser. The laser plays one track and you can mix the track that is dumped on the hard drive. This can be very useful for DJ's that play compilation CD's as it allows them to mix and blend all track from one CD !! Also the other advantage is that because it is a dual unit, you have a virtual 4 channel CD Player.

Ever had a problem with your laser in your CD player and had to wait months to have it fixed while hiring and wasting money to keep your job ? DENON have come up with another innovative idea to fix this problem. A removable drive on each side, so if anything went wrong with the laser or the drive whilst playing your set, you can simply screw out the faulty drive and replace it with a back up drive (Handy to have at Night Clubs and Mobile Jobs where your performance behind the decks is your livelihood).

The main feature improvement from the DN-2600 would have to be the Effects being able to be changed whilst the track is playing (without the loss of volume) and also the added effect XFM, a Transform simulation feature that can make everyone sound like Jazzy Jeff. And on the topic of scratching, the Scratch jog wheel has dramatically improved, with a precise platter feel which responds to every slight motion of the fingers to give the exact turntable feel and sound. The only drawback from having the complete analogue simulation is that when you release the platter, you have to press the play button for the track or sample to go back to play mode. A bit irritating for the turntablist, but for the CDJ, it would be very easy to get used to.

The absolute incredible feature they left out from the 2600 is the Key Adjust (With the jog wheel). This feature allowed any track to mix with any other track perfectly "in key" as you had a jog wheel to adjust the key after you have matched the pitch controls ready for the mix.

Other improvements include a new auto and manual BPM counter on board which is obviously handy when you're in a rush to mix the next track and other new features such as 4 hot starts on each drive, splicing unwanted sections of a track seamlessly (eg. long breakdowns and unwanted vocals), perfect loops with the use of the jog wheel for adjusting loop points, and last but not least the Improved Digital Output which when used with the DNX-800 Mixer, you can record digitally without the loss of any generation in sound (Ideal for Studio enthusiasts and demo CD's).

Software upgrades have been made since we reviewed the product, so watch this site for updates !

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