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DJ Starter 'kits'

I'm looking at el cheapo bedroom DJ setups with plain CD turntables and a mixer together in a case. It's really just to fuck around with, and since I'll be travelling a fair bit on planes and size and weight is important.

The ones that seem to be widely available second hand are the Pioneer setups with the CDJ100s's and DJM 300 Mixer and the Stantons with the S.250's and the SMX.211 mixer. Numark setups come up occasionally but look like someone dropped a bag of jelly beans on them and they cost a lot. Are there any others worth a look?

Another consideration is what setup most resembles the most common club setups? Are the ones I've mentioned such complete and utter crap that there's no point in buying them?

The main question is what are your intentions with the gear. If youre just doing it for yourself, to fuck around and not anything more... buy whatever you want, it really doesnt matter since youre not planning to do anything major.


As for setups that most resemble clubs...

3 Technics SL-1210mk5's
2 Pioneer CDJ-1000mk2's
1 Pioneer DVJ

Mixers (can be either or):
Allen & Heath Xone:646, Xone:92, Xone:62 or v6
Pioneer DJM-500 or DJM-600
Rane MP-2016a w/ Expansion
Urei 1620
Ecler Nuo5 or Nuo4

i'd say go for the pioneer cd set, that one sounds pretty good. how much, may i ask?

stanton's i hear are not that good.

and if you're going for TT's, DON'T let everyone on the board try and coax you into getting Tech's. Techs are WAAAAAY to expensive for the average starting dj on a budget (especially if you're just fucking around)

pretty much any direct drive turntable will do you just fine.


and say "no" to gemini

If you want turntables, I suggest these...

Stanton T-60
Direct Drive Motor
Pitch Range: +/-10%
Motor Torque (kgf/cm): >1.0
Wow & Flutter: 0.015%
Tone Arm: Straight
Speeds (rpm): 33 & 45

They are inexpensive, and will treat you fine while youre trying to figure stuff out.

PS: First use of my spec's.

quote:

Originally posted by Omega_Blue i'd say go for the pioneer cd set, that one sounds pretty good. how much, may i ask? stanton's i hear are not that good. and if you're going for TT's, DON'T let everyone on the board try and coax you into getting Tech's. Techs are WAAAAAY to expensive for the average starting dj on a budget (especially if you're just fucking around) pretty much any direct drive turntable will do you just fine. and say "no" to gemini

fuck you.


save up for the techs or cdj200,800,1000 depending on your taste.

quote:

Originally posted by PersianMafia fuck you. save up for the techs or cdj200,800,1000 depending on your taste.

He has no taste, he has no idea what hes doing, hence the help thread. Some of you people need to get this 'supreme being' stick out of your asses and understand that not everyone knows everything about equipment, which is why this section exists.

Also, some people are young, some live off their allowance, get really shitty pay and/or dont work which means they cant afford to buy Techs for $300-400 ea. or CDJs which can range from $400 to $1000 ea., and thats not including a mixer.

quote:

Originally posted by Vlad If you want turntables, I suggest these... Stanton T-60 Direct Drive Motor Pitch Range: +/-10% Motor Torque (kgf/cm): >1.0 Wow & Flutter: 0.015% Tone Arm: Straight Speeds (rpm): 33 & 45 They are inexpensive, and will treat you fine while youre trying to figure stuff out. PS: First use of my spec's.

lol!

i'd also suggest numark tt200's, they're cheap and get the job done.

quote:

He has no taste, he has no idea what hes doing, hence the help thread.

Let's not be cruel Regarding my taste, I've always considered Techs to be crap, and while I'm aware that direct drive is the duck's nuts for djing, for home hifi purposes it's laughable. Technics make low end consumer mid-fi. The only consumer brand TT I ever liked was an old Kenwood with a solid marble body. It was still crap, but it was a lot better than most.

My last TT was a Linn with an Alphason extruded titanium tone-arm and a dynavector moving-coil cartridge that had the stylus and shaft machined from a single diamond (D2MR?). It went well with my dual mono valve pre-pre-amp, dual mono valve pre-amp, dual stereo valve power amps and bi-amped ProAc speakers. I had seven power switches to turn on, and if I did it in the wrong order the bass drivers would try to jump out of their cabinets. The only other controls were two volume pots on the pre-amp. Any single component cost far more that the top of the line Techs of the day. Hell, even the solid silver cabling cost more than a Tech.


That system played my first EDM vinyl in 1987 - Kraftwerk's Trans Europe Express and Art of Noise's Max Headroom EP, and did justice to my collection of Sheffield Lab vinyl - including Lab 1. Once I was playing Hendrix's version of 'hear my train a comin' and the pizza delivery guy refused to believe that there wasn't a band jamming in the house until he came inside and saw for himself. A friend once refused to believe that the chopper sound on Dark Side of the Moon wasn't real, and even after I turned the volume down he had to go outside for a look.

I've since grown out of vinyl. Vinyl sounds far better than CD's or mp3's, even on crappy Techs with their shitty tonearms and rustic cartridges, but I find mp3's and CD's far more convenient, and I won't be going back.

The bottom-end Pioneer and Stanton 'kits' can be picked up here (Australia) second hand for around $500USD odd.

I can pick up a second hand Vestax PCV 002 for $100 Australian pesos ($75USD)- would that be the way to go? I can always pick up a pair of CDTT's later. Does anyone know if the eq goes through the headphones on that model?

I do know a little about audio gear. I just don't know much about DJ gear. Try to be nice

quote:

Originally posted by Omega_Blue and say "no" to gemini

Why exactly?

I've got a pair of PT2400s and I am very happy with them. Plus my PS626i mixer proved good value for money.. OK, it has some drawbacks (EQ does not really kill enough and its EQ curve is somewhat strange), but apart from that, it still works pretty fine here after almost three years..

stanton cd players arent all that bad(as long as its one of the new ones) the top of hte line Stanton CD player has more functions than the pionner 1000. i think it plays mp3s too. The best part is its only a fraction of the price. When looking for a cd player the most important feature i would say is the pitch make sure it reads to the hundreds place (digital pitch) and that is has vinyl mode. Vinyl Mode lets you scratch and pretty much use a cd like a record. If you really want a pioneer one becasue all the clubs have them look into Denon too beacsue those are equally as good and will also cost you an arm. Pioneer cd players are good but i think the 1000 and 1000mk2 are the most over priced thing out there. Get an 800 becasue its like half the price and will do 95% of the things the 1000 does.

If you go with Pioneer get the CDJ 800 and DJM 300 small and the best bang for hte money.

If you go with turntables go with the Technics. They are so so so much better than everything else. The resale on them is like close to 100%. If you get anything else besides a tech you will have a hard time trying to resale it. If you are on a budget go on ebay look for a tech that is missing a few things but it fix it up and you will save lots!

quote:

Originally posted by Vlad He has no taste, he has no idea what hes doing, hence the help thread. Some of you people need to get this 'supreme being' stick out of your asses and understand that not everyone knows everything about equipment, which is why this section exists. Also, some people are young, some live off their allowance, get really shitty pay and/or dont work which means they cant afford to buy Techs for $300-400 ea. or CDJs which can range from $400 to $1000 ea., and thats not including a mixer.

BEST FUCKIN REPLY EVER!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Aramis Let's not be cruel

I know it was a bit harsh, sorry, I said that for lack of better phrasing.

If you could tell us your budget, we could help you choose a setup.

i'm a big advocate of starting off with quality gear. if you want to get TT's, go with used techs. you can always sell them for what you bought them for, and you'll never have to upgrade. as for a starting mixer, a used pio 707 is a great bet. stay away from cheap numark/gemini/behringer mixers.

quote:

Originally posted by punjabi i'm a big advocate of starting off with quality gear. if you want to get TT's, go with used techs. you can always sell them for what you bought them for, and you'll never have to upgrade. as for a starting mixer, a used pio 707 is a great bet. stay away from cheap numark/gemini/behringer mixers.

I reccomend it also, but in reality, some people just dont have the finances for that kind of investment.

It took me about a year to get 2 Technics and a Xone:62 (May 2003 thru Jan. 2004). This fall Im getting CDJ-1000's and Event Monitors, in the Spring Im thinking about getting an Apple laptop w/ Ableton. But thats me, not everyone can do it.

Re: DJ Starter 'kits'

quote:

Originally posted by Aramis I'm looking at el cheapo bedroom DJ setups with plain CD turntables and a mixer together in a case. It's really just to fuck around with, and since I'll be travelling a fair bit on planes and size and weight is important. The ones that seem to be widely available second hand are the Pioneer setups with the CDJ100s's and DJM 300 Mixer and the Stantons with the S.250's and the SMX.211 mixer. Numark setups come up occasionally but look like someone dropped a bag of jelly beans on them and they cost a lot. Are there any others worth a look? Another consideration is what setup most resembles the most common club setups? Are the ones I've mentioned such complete and utter crap that there's no point in buying them?

Hi here ,
Since you are on a budget I would recomend something like the a pair of cdj 200s
and a cheap numark mixer.
The 200 replaces the cdj 100 and it it as the same price range.
You wont have to upgrade too and it is much better to mix on that because of the pitch resolution (0,02), And it supports mp3 too...
It functions exacly like a cdj 1000 would in cdj mode
Dont listen to everybody about bying technics ect...
Considering the fact that you are on a budget how much money will you be able
to spend on vinyl when each plate costs 10$
I promice you you will get sick of the same songs over and over again

and you will lose interest because you wont be able to support it...
unless you buy somethin like serato or fs2 but then your setup would cost well over 1000.
Playing the same shit ,over and over, knowing that the net is full of
music you are sacrifising for the sakes of looking good.

If you cant afford the 200 get something like pc dj with a controller
and get started mixing .
The resolution of the pitch isnt that good but you can get the basics down.
But you ll want to upgrade.

Re: Re: DJ Starter 'kits'

quote:

Originally posted by harriz Hi here , Since you are on a budget I would recomend something like the a pair of cdj 200s and a cheap numark mixer. The 200 replaces the cdj 100 and it it as the same price range. You wont have to upgrade too and it is much better to mix on that because of the pitch resolution (0,02), And it supports mp3 too... It functions exacly like a cdj 1000 would in cdj mode Dont listen to everybody about bying technics ect... Considering the fact that you are on a budget how much money will you be able to spend on vinyl when each plate costs 10$ I promice you you will get sick of the same songs over and over again and you will lose interest because you wont be able to support it... unless you buy somethin like serato or fs2 but then your setup would cost well over 1000. Playing the same shit ,over and over, knowing that the net is full of music you are sacrifising for the sakes of looking good. If you cant afford the 200 get something like pc dj with a controller and get started mixing . The resolution of the pitch isnt that good but you can get the basics down. But you ll want to upgrade.

Nobody is telling him to get Techs, he doesnt want to spin vinyl at all.

But I agree with getting the CDJ-200, but they are $100 (USD) more than the CDJ-100, but I think its worth it because the 100's pitch increment is 0.1% and the 200 is 0.02%, which gives you a much more accurate beatmatching.

As far as cheap mixers, my suggestion is the Vestax PCV-175.

New, 2 CDJ-200's and a Vestax PCV-175 would run you around $1300 AUD
If you could find them second hand... maybe $1000 AUD
*Just a rough estimate, guess*

Re: Re: Re: DJ Starter 'kits'

quote:

Originally posted by Vlad Nobody is telling him to get Techs, he doesnt want to spin vinyl at all. But I agree with getting the CDJ-200, but they are $100 (USD) more than the CDJ-100, but I think its worth it because the 100's pitch increment is 0.1% and the 200 is 0.02%, which gives you a much more accurate beatmatching. As far as cheap mixers, my suggestion is the Vestax PCV-175. New, 2 CDJ-200's and a Vestax PCV-175 would run you around $1300 AUD If you could find them second hand... maybe $1000 AUD *Just a rough estimate, guess*

While the resolution might not mater now IT WILL once he gets good at mixing.
1300 I am guessing is probably more then he has to spent on everything.
Just get a numark digital mixer there are low noise mixers for 100$ on ebay.
which means he will pay 700$ for the decks and 100 for the mixer he can save
400 for a down payment and do the rest with monthly payments

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