TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- DJ Booth
-- M-Audio Torq Xponent
Pages (2): [1] 2 »
M-Audio Torq Xponent
Ok, I really want to get one. I know there are reviews of it on YouTube and I've seen most of it. Any of you have one? Does it do well while giging? I heard the beta drivers for vista was just released. I'm planning on using my 17" dell, 2.0 ghz 600 intel core 2 dual, 2 gigs of ram and vista.
All I can say is 
at how much they want for it! geez.
Does look pretty sweet though...
What do you mean? Torq is almost twice cheaper than Serato; it's the cheapest solution.
I have one and it's pretty decent. Torq 1.5 update is in the works and apparently it's a pretty big one.
Check out their forums for more feedback.
maudio's site shows the Xponent MSRP of $750 is what I mean... Seems to be selling for about $600. Serato Live can be had for about $500...
torq xponent is a midi-controller based deal, but the serato and torq connetiv are timecode stuff. I can't see paying 600 bucks for a MIDI controller/audio interface... there's too many other mixer-style midi boards for WAY less, even if they dont have the silly USB audio interface.
I think you are thinking of Torq Connetiv, the little joke of a controller bundled with maudio's torq software. That's about $250...
The overall quality of torq just hasn't impressed me since it's launch... it's like serato for cheapskates and you can hear it imo...
Standard operating procedure for M-Audio :P
I mean really.. Rane vs M-Audio.. hmm! lol.
Actually I have Torq and find it to be a lot of fun, and quite stable. It does everything SSL does and more. If I were using something out at a venue every weekend, however, I might go with SSL.
But SSL doesn't even currently support MIDI, nor effects, nor a sampler... seems a bit odd.
The Conectiv is not a controller. It's just the audio interface for using timecode with Torq.
If you buy the Xponent, you get a MIDI controller and audio interface, plus the software. The device looks rather interesting... if I were looking at a solution that was just Laptop+Some device, I'd go for the Xponent.
Why? It's all perfectly integrated with Torq. Provided you like Torq, that's a good thing. Everything just works out of the box. The pitch controls are high-resolution (most MIDI controllers only give you 127 steps, which means you'll have LESS than .1% pitch precision). And the jog wheels look like they work really well (the Vestax also looks nice).
My issues with the xponent:
1. It's all plastic.
2. It has no inputs, so if you decide to get decks and use DVS someday, you have to buy the Conectiv.
3. No Mic input or controllable booth output.
It's really one of the best all in one solutions out there right now.
Looks like it's fun, and that's all I'm really looking for. Some of the reports of crashes just scare me. Now just trying to justify the purchase.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by 2tall Looks like it's fun, and that's all I'm really looking for. Some of the reports of crashes just scare me. Now just trying to justify the purchase. |
$750 and the only master output is via RCA cable? No thank you.
Looks like a fun toy, but a toy nevertheless.
I don't think that Vista-drivers for the Torq software are actually out yet? The beta-drivers are only for the hardware.. Correct me if I'm wrong
I am not a fan at all. The software is just so um . The blank is an actual word to describe how i feel about the effort put into it. I'm not someone who generally likes to use digital mixing, but old school or not Serato is just better to me if i had no choice. (slightly more fun too) I'm not saying this is this is a phenomenon solely attributable to Torq, but everyone I know who uses it tends to mess up the most when they make the switch to having to work with cd/vinyl. For some reason this program has some sort of brain sars icluded in it that makes the switch impossible. (itse pretty easy to guess why and alex and greg can confirm as i don't need to say the name of the dj..suffice to say he mixes like an armless man with an eggbeater in his mouth.) Just lol at Fisher Price making the torq Connetiv.
Needless to say everything comes down to what you are comfortable with using. Use what works best for you, but I have seen Torq make some mmediocre DJ's into horrible ones.
Wow.
Tried this out today... it is clearly a toy. Best of all the people who bought it realize this.
I wouldn't be caught dead at a club with this.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Allied Nations Wow. Tried this out today... it is clearly a toy. Best of all the people who bought it realize this. I wouldn't be caught dead at a club with this. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by 4clubber Just curious...what criteria exactly do you use to judge if something is a toy? Does it at all have to do with functionality or is it purely based on looks and feel? |
So I bought the xponent a couple months ago and I've had a lot of fun with it around the house.
It is more of a high-end "toy", but I can't be all that negative about it.
I think it's one of those great solutions that works straight out of the box. All the buttons are pre-assigned to work with torq. You just install torq, the driver, plug-in headphones, RCA outputs, AC power, and USB to your computer. Unless you've already invested a few hundred dollars into mixers and other equipment, I think the money is well worth it as a "starter kit." Otherwise, the other kits would still require things like an external audio card.
I've never personally owned a real pro setup, but I've always had access to all sorts of friends' pro equipment including the most current setups with serato. This just has never been big enough of a hobby for me to invest too much money into equipment. I would be using the pro setups if out in public.
So I think the xponent could be cool for friends' house parties and good to learn a few of the fundamentals, but not much more beyond that. Actually, you can probably easily outperform some crap djs who invest thousands of dollars and still suck. Unfortunately, I don't think the xponent could be taken seriously out in public... first and foremost due to the image/elitist perception thing. Although, if you use the excuse that you are using the xponent for portability reasons, then it could be more "acceptable"... like if you take it on spring break to some rented villa in mexico to play for your friends. Though I still think that if you were up in the dj booth and no one saw what you were using, you can easily play your local bar on a weekday (but that's me talking from San Francisco, where any random bar has a dj 7 days a week).
I also agree with a previous point that you shouldn't be fooled into thinking that you can transition to a more professional setup overnight.
Build quality is pretty good for being plastic, buttons are a good heavy rubber, and button clicks feel solid. I would just worry about transporting this without some sort of a case... there are just too many knobs and faders to get caught on something.
I've run it on both a macbook and a PC, and surprisingly the PC ran torq more smoothly after extended periods of time. After a constant extended session of maybe a couple hours, the sound on the mac did a bit of that too-small-of-an-audio-buffer-size miniscule "skipping". But I think I just need to "optimize" and clean up my mac a bit.
Software could be better. Just doesn't seem as pro or elegant as something like serato or even traktor. But has never crashed on me either. In context of everything else I've written above, sound quality isn't that bad. Built-in effects could be used in some fun creative ways.
I'm happy with my purchase, but I also don't really have any intentions of doing anything more than a house party and that's if I wasn't able to borrow some equipment.
If you are starting from scratch, and are not sure if you plan to pursue the hobby any further, then it's a good buy. But if you want to slowly build up to a nice set up, then there might be other ways to do it like traktor + external audio card + nice mixer (your big first investment).
Well, DJing is changing. I picked up an Xponent a couple of months ago and it's been great since day one. I frankly don't think that the equipment you have matters all that much, as long as you're able to provide a good set for the audience.
It's a shame that people frown down upon these new products. I've never been able to understand what people are so unhappy about. Yes, you can't compare a Pioneer CDJ-1000MK3 to a M-Audio Xponent because they are on two different levels, but I find it amazing how portable DJing has taken off. They have the Pacemaker along with a bunch of MIDI controllers out, that allow people to do more with their music. I personally couldn't care less if a DJ was using two belt drives and a mixer costing a total of $250 altogether, as long as he provides quality music.
The Xponent is considered a toy by some of you users, but why? Is the $600 price too low? Is it the fact that you get a controller and software, essentially a complete set-up, for half the price of a Pioneer CDJ-1000? At $600, you can't expect much, but I wouldn't consider it a toy; I'd consider it a semi-professional product and I think it's suitable for club use. I've seen some videos of it being used in clubs and there doesn't seem to be any downside to using it in a club, the average clubber isn't going to care about what equipment the DJ is using, as long as the music is great.
Lastly, 2tall mentioned that anyone with the Xponent could potentially outperform a DJ who has invested thousands of dollars into gear. Yes, there are features of the Xponent that could be considered as "cheats" or features that take the skill out of DJing such as the auto-sync function (I've never touched that to be quite honest), as well as the visual representation of music on Torq. But honestly, who cares as long as the music is great?
| quote: |
| Originally posted by chef.roo Well, DJing is changing. I picked up an Xponent a couple of months ago and it's been great since day one. I frankly don't think that the equipment you have matters all that much, as long as you're able to provide a good set for the audience. It's a shame that people frown down upon these new products. I've never been able to understand what people are so unhappy about. Yes, you can't compare a Pioneer CDJ-1000MK3 to a M-Audio Xponent because they are on two different levels, but I find it amazing how portable DJing has taken off. They have the Pacemaker along with a bunch of MIDI controllers out, that allow people to do more with their music. I personally couldn't care less if a DJ was using two belt drives and a mixer costing a total of $250 altogether, as long as he provides quality music. The Xponent is considered a toy by some of you users, but why? Is the $600 price too low? Is it the fact that you get a controller and software, essentially a complete set-up, for half the price of a Pioneer CDJ-1000? At $600, you can't expect much, but I wouldn't consider it a toy; I'd consider it a semi-professional product and I think it's suitable for club use. I've seen some videos of it being used in clubs and there doesn't seem to be any downside to using it in a club, the average clubber isn't going to care about what equipment the DJ is using, as long as the music is great. Lastly, 2tall mentioned that anyone with the Xponent could potentially outperform a DJ who has invested thousands of dollars into gear. Yes, there are features of the Xponent that could be considered as "cheats" or features that take the skill out of DJing such as the auto-sync function (I've never touched that to be quite honest), as well as the visual representation of music on Torq. But honestly, who cares as long as the music is great? |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by chef.roo Well, DJing is changing. I picked up an Xponent a couple of months ago and it's been great since day one. I frankly don't think that the equipment you have matters all that much, as long as you're able to provide a good set for the audience. It's a shame that people frown down upon these new products. I've never been able to understand what people are so unhappy about. Yes, you can't compare a Pioneer CDJ-1000MK3 to a M-Audio Xponent because they are on two different levels, but I find it amazing how portable DJing has taken off. They have the Pacemaker along with a bunch of MIDI controllers out, that allow people to do more with their music. I personally couldn't care less if a DJ was using two belt drives and a mixer costing a total of $250 altogether, as long as he provides quality music. The Xponent is considered a toy by some of you users, but why? Is the $600 price too low? Is it the fact that you get a controller and software, essentially a complete set-up, for half the price of a Pioneer CDJ-1000? At $600, you can't expect much, but I wouldn't consider it a toy; I'd consider it a semi-professional product and I think it's suitable for club use. I've seen some videos of it being used in clubs and there doesn't seem to be any downside to using it in a club, the average clubber isn't going to care about what equipment the DJ is using, as long as the music is great. Lastly, 2tall mentioned that anyone with the Xponent could potentially outperform a DJ who has invested thousands of dollars into gear. Yes, there are features of the Xponent that could be considered as "cheats" or features that take the skill out of DJing such as the auto-sync function (I've never touched that to be quite honest), as well as the visual representation of music on Torq. But honestly, who cares as long as the music is great? |
Didn't want to create a new thread, so I'll bump instead. Anyone else given this thing a go since thread creation? I'm considering some sort of digital/laptop solution, but I hate to invest in a "gimmick".
It's not a gimmick. It, like every other DVS, has it's pros and cons. As far as features beyond simple dvs go, it can't be beat imo.
BTW, something that we've discovered on the Torq boards is if you're running in external mode, make sure you lower the on screen gui volume faders to around 7.5 or 8. Adjust your physical mixer gains accordingly. For whatever reason, the default setting runs to "hot" and can distort the sound.
I'm just looking for some way in the future to simplify my mixing setup a bit, perhaps. I bedroom DJ only because I enjoy it. I'll never play out (professionally). Ever. I just do it because it's fucking fun.
My current setup is vinyl, but due to not making a shit pile of money, I've not ordered any vinyl in so long I can't remember the last record I bought. Now, if I could use something I already have (laptop or PC plus my digital tracks from Beatport), it would go a long way in simplifying my mixing. I would just need the proper controller, but I'm not sure how this bit of kit ranks compared to something like the Vestax VCI-100 or 300, for example.
Torq + Conectiv = DVS
Torq + XPonent != DVS
To the poster above, if you already have vinyl decks, why not get Torq Conectiv/Serato/Traktor Scratch?
But if you want to downsize, the Vestax units are much, MUCH better built.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by miamitranceman It's not a gimmick. It, like every other DVS, has it's pros and cons. As far as features beyond simple dvs go, it can't be beat imo. BTW, something that we've discovered on the Torq boards is if you're running in external mode, make sure you lower the on screen gui volume faders to around 7.5 or 8. Adjust your physical mixer gains accordingly. For whatever reason, the default setting runs to "hot" and can distort the sound. |
I looked at SSL, and it looks like a very solid product and a great option. I just thought that the portability of something like the Xponent or the VCI-100 would be handy if a man wanted to throw down some tunes at a buddy's house whilst consuming a few beers. Of course I have no idea how easy it would be to transition from vinyl to the platters on such a device.
Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.