Quality of CD Decks - TranceAddict Forums

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Posted by DJ Dingel on Jun-21-2003 01:41:

Quality of CD Decks

Hey everyone,
I'm thinking about getting one CD deck (there's a decent amount of unsigned material, mainly from trance [] control and producers here on TA that I'd play amongst my vinyl, I'm mainly sticking to vinyl because I wanna support the labels). I am a college student, and hence a little poor. If all I want to do is drop in a track, pitch match it, find the first beat and then beat match it, how nice of a CDJ do I need? (I don't need all this looping and effects). Will a $150 deck from Stanton get the job done for me? What's the difference between that and a more expensive CD player?

Thanks!

Posted by sot on Jun-21-2003 05:10:

quality is the difference, that stanton cd deck wont last too long compared to a pioneer cdj 100, if i were u i would save up for either a used cdj 100 for like 200 bux on ebay or a new one for like 250.

Posted by ABSYNTH on Jun-21-2003 12:33:

I would def save up and get the pioneer mate, it's like saying a cheep belt drive deck will do the job, but it aint a 1210 now is it

Posted by Tiger777 on Jun-21-2003 13:27:

I'd do the same if I were you...

Posted by bachatu on Jun-21-2003 13:42:

Honestly...
Get something that is quality. Just as mentioned above. something that i want to add on though, is that if you purchase something from ebay... lets say a pioneer cdj100, for 250. Make sure you buy from an authorized dealer.
Personally, i would dish out extra 50 bucks and get them new. In fact, i bought mine new for 269.00 from www.samash.com. You can call Samash, and you may be able to negotiate prices. I know that they will do it if you go to their store, they usually can give a better price. They may be able to do it through phone orders as well (Considering that you will speak to a sales person on phone).

Of course, you would get a brand new one with full manufactures warranty... very important.
Ive thought of buying second hand cd players a bit shady, unless you get to testing extensively before buying, because they dont tend to last 10+ years like a tech 1200 tt. So, it may be better to get a new one.

Posted by DJ Dingel on Jun-21-2003 14:34:

quote:
Originally posted by sot
quality is the difference, that stanton cd deck wont last too long compared to a pioneer cdj 100, if i were u i would save up for either a used cdj 100 for like 200 bux on ebay or a new one for like 250.

Call me naive, but what part of the CD player is likely to break or wear down?

quote:
it's like saying a cheep belt drive deck will do the job

Well, the difference there is the torque and how well it simply spins the vinyl. The difference in CD players has more to do with effects and looping, right? Is a Stanton S-250 not going to play my CD as well as a more expensive deck?

Posted by bachatu on Jun-21-2003 14:47:

the laser that reads the information on the disc... over time, you may experience skipping, or the cd wont read any discs over time.
also, the buttons to start/stop, somtimes the buttons start sticking or stop working.

Posted by -CosmicFire- on Jun-21-2003 15:28:

where the hell uv saw a CDJ100s in 250$ tell me plz..

Posted by Dj Flesch on Jun-21-2003 17:03:

Honestly, any cd deck will do the job because they are all made from old technology and of decently inexpensive parts to manufacture. But as stated before, there is definitely a quality difference between the cheaper cd player and the CDJ-100. In my opinion, I would also save up for the Pioneer, not because you need loops and effect etc. But because of the quality oversampling rate that Pioneer has. I have used some of the cheaper american dj cd decks and with moderate bass thumping, they start skipping all over the place during house parties. That renders them useless for anything other than quite playing, so why even bother with something that hasn't got the potential to be used under the conditions that it will inevitabally be used under.

As far as DJ Equipment goes, the cheap stuff is cheap for a reason--to pull suckers that don't know what they are buying into spending cash to get a dj system so they can be cool etc etc.

Do you homework on this and look for cd deck reviews on the internet and see what people have to say about your deck. If you don't find any bad stuff after a while of reading, then start to form your desicions. But also be aware if you are reading these comments from a site that sells that product. Forums like this are a bit more unbiased and people give you opinions on items that they have personally used.

I have personally used the CDJ-100 for just over 4 years now and I wouldn't trade it for any other...even "better" more expensive ones. I highly recommend that instead of spending your time researching other equipment, you spend it shopping for the best price and saving up a bit more money.

some quick searching lead me to these links:

http://www.nextag.com/Pioneer_CDJ_1..._100zmainz2-htm

http://www.usavegelt.com/detail.asp?itemid=2528

http://search.ebay.com/search/searc...t&query=cdj-100

So, with shipping, you can probably get it for right around $300. My suggestion is that you either try to work a few more hours a week at your job, if you have one, or ask mom and dad for money towards it if you birthday is coming up. If not, then maybe you'll have to save and/or wait till xmas!