VMC180 vs S.304 - 3 channel mixer inquiry

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Posted by DamienR8 on Jun-05-2006 16:54:

VMC180 vs S.304 - 3 channel mixer inquiry

Hi All,
I am in the market for a 3 channel mixer and I have narrowed down my choices to 2 new mixers from Vestax and Stanton.

I went down to Guitar Center in Orange, CT yesterday and tried both of them out. Here are my findings.

S.304
- I have to say, even though I have never heard anyone rant and rave about Stanton's amazing sound quality, this mixer has impressed me in this department. NO BLEEDING, NO DISTORTION when the EQ's are turned up....Excellent job by stanton, excellent. Seems that Stanton's Superior Sound technology has produced a great sounding mixer! Also there was a cutout of the internal circuitry in the s.304, looks cleaner than anything else out there.
- Absolutely fell in LOVE with the channel faders on this mixer. They are perfect in my opinion, you HAVE to actually try them before you can appreciate it. The Penny and Giles xfader is awesome as well, but I have to get used to it compared to the garbage xfader on my previous mixer.
- The look and feel of the mixer is astonishing, great quality, the knobs are very nice and the layout is quite nice. It looks and feels expensive. Only gripe is that I wish there were individual FX send/recieve knobs for each individual channel.
- Although I am not purchasing this directly from Guitar Center, I have been quoted a price of $265.00 including tax and S&H.

VMC180

- Sound quality is awesome on this mixer. No Bleeding whatsoever and very little distortion when the EQ's are turned up. This is nothing new to Vextax because their circuitry has been awesome in the past and is still awesome now.
- Loved the Vestax faders. Even though i feel that they are a bit "heavier" for my taste, they feel almost as fantastic as the Stanton's in my opinion. The PCV xfader is great with house and electro. I had the impression the PCV faders were made specifically with scratching in mind, but actually using it proved me wrong.
- Excellent layout. Both mixers excel in this department. Overall its hard to criticize the two regarding build quality. Both are made from High grade aluminum, etc. etc. In all its a matter of personal preference. The Aluminum casing of the VMC is very attractive and looks expensive. I also love the fact that the 180 has individual channel fx send/receive knobs.
- Although I am not purchasing this directly from Guitar Center, I have been quoted a price of $350.00 including tax and S&H.

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The decision has to be made before the end of the month. I would like some feedback on these mixers if you have used them. At the present time, its a hard decision.

Posted by DamienR8 on Jun-05-2006 18:39:

Anyone?

Even if you have not even used these two mixers, I would like your thoughts on them perhaps...

Thanks,
- Damien

Posted by skip on Jun-06-2006 13:19:

seems to me that you love the stanton more. i don't see any reason not to get it. never used any stanton gear though. i have a vestax pcv-175 and i much prefer that one to the pioneer djm-300s i had before. can't be of any more help.

Posted by sr126 on Jun-08-2006 05:55:

i used to have a vmc004. i like that little thing a lot. it was also nice and heavy. i didn't feel cheap at all. i've always been afraid to buy stanton (along w/numark and other low end brands)

i haven't used this stanton mixer either. but i still feel confident enough to say that you will get more out of the vestax in terms of build quality and reliability.