Its not just about the sound quality its about how enjoyable it is to use.

I do genuinely think that the sound quality on my xone 32 is much better than on my old mixers (gemini 676, numark 1001), I listen to recordings done through old and new and it is clear that the cheaper mixers have a much dirtier signal path. Its not just signal quality for me though, the build quality is far superior - the faders feel incredible in comparison. I had my numark 6 weeks before forking out £40 on a new fader. Ive had my xone 4 years and never once even heard a crackle. A mixer isnt just a mixer, you really do get what you pay for. On top of that you have the filters, which piss on any other mixer you'll hear. I think I paid nearly £600 for my mixer, whereas I spent about £400 on cheap mixers in the past.

In many cases it's just another ego thing. Some people need to feel like their setup is better than others. There will always be people like that in every walk of life...

quote:

Originally posted by richg101 why buy a professional mixer like a A+h/urei/etc for like £1000 when its use is for bedroom djing? i just dont get the point? sure, if you need a ultra high quality low noise mixer for large events where noise matters then buy one. but is there really a point in getting a touring grade dj mixer for use in the bedroom? im just curious because in my 8 years as a dj i have never once dreamed of blowing a grand on a mixer. i will be purchasing a mixer of this high quality once my pa hire company fully takes off. but for use as a piece of hire equipment. people will say - 'you can tell the difference on your recordings!' - i dissagree. i await to hear your views

the same logic goes for super cars

half the people that buy them will never use them to their fullest ability, yet they want them and buy them anyway.

i can see your point! but also i want to add that people like to learn how a mixer feels they all are different in many respects!
from my experience i 3 weeks ago dj at a party and the guys had cdj's and a pioneer djm-600. so i bought 2 crates of vinyl around and i had never used this mixer. i was fine but sometimes you feel limited because you dont have as much confidence to use it to your potential. nothing much but mixed pretty well with it.

cdj OMFG! im saving for the MKII Pioneer 1000's, i had a go with their 800's and boy i found my way around them straight away no help needed which is ironic. love the feel to if not better than mixing vinyl lol.

but still i think you could say its a matter of what people want out of djing like if your pretty much into it alot them i would blow money on as good mid range mixer.

by the way i have a Vestax PCV-175 didn't have enough for 275 because the guys forced me to buy the mk5g's as they only had 1 mk5 in stock so i had to buy the expensive ones. but now i like them more than the mk5's

For me it's not only about that undeniable increase in sound quality but other features as well. For example, the main reason my next mixer will be an A&H is for those delicious filters.

I have two mixers. I have one with all the bells and whistles and one without.
I practice on both to give myself as many variations as possible so that I am better prepared for what I get in a club situation.

Over the years I have played on some of the best (and sometimes rarest) mixers in the world but a whole plethera of shiite mixers.

Will the sound quality make that much of a difference, the answer is yes but it depends on what you are comparing. If you compare a Xone 92 with a Numark Blue dog, then sure the difference will be noticable without question. Not to mention the difference in life expectancy in the two.
Once you start moving up the scale and compare like for like then what I think you get is more a question of the 'personality' of a mixer rather than a difference in sound quality. Some mixers can sound a little warmer than others and so on but not necessarilly worse.
In a club scenario this shouldn't make any difference as the theory is that the clubs EQ should be set according to the clubs accoustics and so on.

For home use one could argue in terms of actual need to have it but on the other hand, if you can afford it why not?

In a lot of cases, the life expectancy is one of the things you pay for and the more expensive club mixers do in theory at least last longer than the cheap stuff (with exceptions both ways of course).

Club mixers (Pioneers excluded) are generally easier to repair should you need to. Once one of the cheaper ones goes it's more often than not a case of it coming to the end of it's life.

More expensive mixers also allow for user maintainance such as the replacment of faders and so on. Some even allow for customisation.

The effect quality if that's what you are looking for is going to be different in tht mixers depending on their price class and this is the area where you get what you pay for.
This is also true for EQ response in most cases.

In my case, I make mixes for radio and promotional CDs that are handed out at club nights so I like to have the tools to do the job in the best way I feel possible.
I think that feeling might be true for a lot of the guys here, and they just want to do the best that they possibly can. Even if the difference is psychological, if it helps them get to where they want to be then who are we to argue.
There is a definate plus to the feel of a smooth well put together mixer at your finger tips but I agree that you should be able to get the job done on lesser quality gear.

There are many reasons why you may want to pay extra for a seemingly unjustified piece of kit, but I think the reasons go much deeper than sound quality alone.

Edit - The sound quality is only as good as the weakest piece of kit that you have, but you have to start improving somewhere.

Cheers
Nem

___________________
https://www.mixcloud.com/Calvin_Karass/

Last edited by Nemesis44 on Apr-13-2006 at 14:42

'bluedog' he he! do they still make that tiny little thing?

___________________
*** Sig edited -> no banner ads in sig
----------------------------------------
http://img404.**************/img404/2794/deresionbanneryx4.jpg
www.deresion.com

i think the djm600 is good for bedroom and for doing clubs. ive used the a and h mixer and although its sound is better quality i feel the djm is still no.1.

___________________
Official Site - www.sterilis.co.uk

can someone please explain in detail what the filters on the a&h's do???

like FX etc...