Well I wouldn't say everyone TRASHES the 600... Its DJ friendly layout was the basis for all the current top of the line DJ mixers. I think the issues with it is that it's taken Pioneer so long to introduce a new mixer, and the 600 has been surpassed in every way in the last couple of years. And Pioneer still charges a fortune for it...

Plus the build quality of the 600 leaves something to be desired compared with an A+H, Rane, etc.

To answer your questions:

1. Yes, the 800 functions as a midi controller for any MIDI application or device. I'd say it'll function much better than an average MIDI controller. Using a 3rd party MIDI controller with ableton for DJ'ing leaves a lot to be desired: Weird layouts, no "detented" (middle click) knobs (in most cases), cheap build quality (they all feel like crap, IMO), etc. With the 800 you'll be DJ'ing with a DJ mixer, can't beat that!

2. The sound is completely digital. If an input is analog (a vinyl table, for example), it immediately gets digitized as soon as it enters the mixer. All sound processing done inside the mixer is done using DSP's, such that there is no degredation in the signal as it passes through the mixer. The mixer is also 24/96Khz, which is a very high quality of digital audio (much better than CD quality). You can debate the analog mixer/digital mixer separately, but for digital mixers the 800/400/1000 are as good as it gets.

3. I haven't heard them myself, but I'm assuming that since the mixer is 24/96 digital, and they've put a lot of work into getting the EFX-1000 to sound great, that a lot of that technology has been used in the 800.

quote:

Originally posted by Scolomon Everybody TRASHES the 600 but people seem to hold the 800 in high esteem some questions about the 800 1)If i have the 800, i can use that as a midi controller with ableton, right? does it function just as well as an average quality midi controller? 2)Is the sound THAT much better on a 800? What exactly is better about the sound? 3)I always hear complaints about the 600's effects. Are the 800's effects improved?

thanks a lot

i have been debating what to buy for awhile now, i think the midi functions put the 800 over the top and although it is more than i would like to spend, i cant rationalize getting anything else

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Yeah it is a big chunk of change, but you won't need another mixer for a long time. I definately have no regrets about buying my Xone 92!

I'd like to try out an 800 with the rotary option!

quote:

Originally posted by Scolomon thanks a lot i have been debating what to buy for awhile now, i think the midi functions put the 800 over the top and although it is more than i would like to spend, i cant rationalize getting anything else

There are some serious issue's with the 800 that I have seen first hand. When with Eddie Halliwell the other night, they had to constantly monitor the levels because the mixer was feeding back so much sound into the club amplifiers that it was redlining all night, even though the mixer was never on red.

A second issue that has been noticed was Oakenfold blew out a mixer of pure regular usage at Ultra at WMC this year, straight out of the box.

I wouldn't buy one right away, I would wait a while to see if any of the kinks have been worked out. But it is definitely one slick mixer when you get to play around with it.

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Stinky...
You could always get the 92... it's proven itself for a good long time now!

quote:

Originally posted by [NFC]Wave There are some serious issue's with the 800 that I have seen first hand. When with Eddie Halliwell the other night, they had to constantly monitor the levels because the mixer was feeding back so much sound into the club amplifiers that it was redlining all night, even though the mixer was never on red. A second issue that has been noticed was Oakenfold blew out a mixer of pure regular usage at Ultra at WMC this year, straight out of the box. I wouldn't buy one right away, I would wait a while to see if any of the kinks have been worked out. But it is definitely one slick mixer when you get to play around with it.

quote:

Originally posted by [NFC]Wave There are some serious issue's with the 800 that I have seen first hand. When with Eddie Halliwell the other night, they had to constantly monitor the levels because the mixer was feeding back so much sound into the club amplifiers that it was redlining all night, even though the mixer was never on red.

The problem you described has nothing to do with the mixer at all. The problem of the amps redlining when the mixer is in the green is related to the over all gain structure of the system. The mixer is part of the gain structure, but the input and out gains of each component need to be adjusted on each piece of equipment. You coud easly set the ouput gains to high on the system crossover and get the system to redline with very little signal at all. Now if you are refering to bass fedback that has to do with improper turntable isolation. There is alot of info on the internet about system gain structure if you want to look into it more.

allen

quote:

Originally posted by Allen Mueller The problem you described has nothing to do with the mixer at all. The problem of the amps redlining when the mixer is in the green is related to the over all gain structure of the system. The mixer is part of the gain structure, but the input and out gains of each component need to be adjusted on each piece of equipment. You coud easly set the ouput gains to high on the system crossover and get the system to redline with very little signal at all. Now if you are refering to bass fedback that has to do with improper turntable isolation. There is alot of info on the internet about system gain structure if you want to look into it more. allen

#1 it was only connected to CDJ's + EFX 1000's.

When they switched in a Xone92 and a DJM600 it was perfectly fine. The problem only began to arise with the DJM800. Then again, could have been a faulty unit

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quote:

Originally posted by [NFC]Wave #1 it was only connected to CDJ's + EFX 1000's. When they switched in a Xone92 and a DJM600 it was perfectly fine. The problem only began to arise with the DJM800. Then again, could have been a faulty unit

Ok start by forgetting everything going into the mixer. The levels for that are changed with the input trims and faders for each channel. I am referring to the gain structure of all the gear in the sound system after the mixer. There are pieces of gear after the mixer that can overdrive the system just as easily as the mixer if set improperly. It is not as simple as swapping mixers and watching the meters. Each mixer can have different output levels with regards to the meters on the mixer. The level of output when a mixer is in the red for one mixer is not necessarily the same output level when another mixer is in the red. That is why when you swap a mixer in a sound system all the gear down stream must be adjusted to ensure optimum performance.

Read this link and I think it will make things more clear.



http://www.rane.com/note135.html