Showing posts with label idj2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label idj2. Show all posts

Odyssey FZIDJ2 Flight Zone Case With Pullout Tray And Usb Led Lighted Keyboard For A Numark Idj2 Review

Odyssey FZIDJ2 Flight Zone Case With Pullout Tray And Usb Led Lighted Keyboard For A Numark Idj2
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
This flight case is well built, but very heavy, could have been a little lighter, this is minor because this baby houses a blue lit keyboard great for file searching in the dark!

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Numark HDCD1 Dual CD With 40GB Hard Drive Review

Numark HDCD1 Dual CD With 40GB Hard Drive
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
My unit actually comes with an 80GB hard drive, I am not sure why it is sometimes advertised as 40GB. If you dont want to read a lengthy review, scroll to the bottom for a summary.
Features:
The built in gracenote database is great in theory, however at least in my unit only the first disk placed in the machine will be recognised. After the first disk I need to reboot it in order for it to successfully identify the disk. This is supplemented by using the management software to update the track information (just make sure you don't compress before updating, or the CDDB database will fail to identify the tracks). This is of course less than ideal when using the machine live, since you have to take the unit out of commission in order to update the tracks, and you will need Internet access. Yet another issue with the gracenote feature, newer track information uses a numerical genre format, which the HDCD1 does not recognise. So updated tracks cannot be sorted by genre. A firmware update which recognises the new genre format would be very welcome. The built in mp3 compression feature is a plus, however it is extremely slow. To compress to 320kbps mp3, 25 albums, it took over 24 hours. This was assuming the unit did not freeze after about 65% of the compression was complete. I contacted support about this, and the guy provided me with a firmware update (which for some reason is not publicly available). Ever since the update, I have not had a freezing problem. The transfering of files to and from my computer is pretty slow even more USB 1.0. The HDCD1's multitasking abilities leave something to be desired. While compressing, you cannot play stored content, or copy cd's. You also may not copy two cd's at the same time, despite having two CD drives. The software isnt very intuitive but it works for the most part, that is when its not crashing my computer. Every once in awhile, my perfectly functional windows xp machine will blue screen because of some USB related issue (this usually occurs when updating songs, or deleting tracks). The only reason I give the unit 4 points in this category is because it is able to perform the most necessary of DJ tasks. And some of the other issues can most likely be solved by software, dsp, cddb, and firmware updates.
Quality:
Within a week the first CD drive on my unit started failing. I can no longer use it without constant skipping. This is unacceptable for a unit of its calibre, for this I remove 2 points. The software and firmware is pretty buggy, however I assume eventually numark will release updates which will address these issues. For this reason, I deduct only 1 more point.
Value:
For the money, I think the unit should be faster, and devoid of serious bugs. It takes a considerable amount of time for the unit to boot up and perform compression. Connecting it via USB takes it out of commission, as does performing compression. I give it five points because the dials and displays are good quality.
Desirability:
Forgetting everything I know about this unit, it looks really cool, and the expressed features are very desirable. For this reason I rate it highly in this category.
Sound:
I am rating the sound a 10 because I assume the DSP is of excellent quality, and I can hear no defects using my JBL LSR4300 monitors.
Ease of Use:
This unit is pretty easy to use, however I take a few points from this category because the limitation and bugs in the device reduce its ease of use. The unit has the potential to be so much better, if the firmware and software where up to par and the bugs where worked out.
Support:
There seems to be only email support. It took them about a week to respond, and they did not answer all of my concerns. I sent a few other emails in reference to more severe issues, and I have not gotten a response to those. I am still trying to track down some kind of phone number to call, but so far it seems to only be email based. For such an expensive line of professional products, this is unacceptable.
Overall:
Im summary, it looks cool, it sounds good, but it crashes my computer, doesnt recognise its own genre tag information, freezes unless you have updated firmware which is not published on the numark website, gracenote data wont recognise more than one disk without rebooting the unit, compression takes days, transfering files takes hours, and its only multi-tasking ability is playing two cds at the same time (assuming your CD drive doesnt fail like mine did). Oh ya, and support is lax.

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Numark iDJ2 iPod Mixer with Scratch Control Review

Numark iDJ2 iPod Mixer with Scratch Control
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
The Numark iDJ2. The setup everyone has been waiting for. What do I think? It's a mixed bag really but let's start at the good stuff.
The unit is very clearly laid out and easy to use, especially for the beginner. The screen is absolutely amazing and Numark's "Crate" idea is absolutely brilliant. Profile views of the songs are also really cool if you choose to be that hi-tech with it. All the info you need is right on the screen such as BPM, pitch, and time. The unit itself looks great, especially in the dark with all the lights. XLR outputs are great too.
Now for the bad. The interface is slow, especially with both songs playing. The countdown timer is even very rough. Pitch adjusts are delayed a little bit as well, since in essence, the unit is nothing more than a computer and the unit itself is just a midi controller for that computer inside the unit. The BPM was often wrong and although you can override it with TAP, the BPM still seems to drift everywhere. The unit feels cheap since most of it is plastic and it's very light. Numark's Librarian takes a while to sort your songs too but once you're done with the initial scan, it gets easy.
As far as digital setups go, this is the most impressive but it comes with it's quirks so be prepared. In the end, I got rid of mine because I felt like I was using a toy, the exact opposite of what Numark was trying to do.
I would recommend this unit to beginners but advanced DJs should look elsewhere.

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iDJ2 is the first mixing station that enables you to play two tracks simultaneously from the same iPod. iDJ2 is a powerful DJ performance device with a dual-deck layout, a professional Numark DJ mixer, Numark's exclusive Crate music-management system on a color LCD and a dock for iPod. You can perform with nothing more than iDJ2 and an iPod!

Performance Controls You can scratch and locate specific points within the track using iDJ2's large wheels. Create and integrate seamless loops in seconds. iDJ2 has Fader Start, which enables iDJ2 to automatically start playback when you move the crossfader. Numark's advanced Keylock feature enables you to shift the track's tempo while maintaining pitch. And exclusive Beatkeeper technology empowers you to beat-match visually, by simply lining up the lights so you spend less time working in headphones.
Complete DJ Mixer With USB Connections iDJ2 has a performance-ready, two-channel mixer. Each channel has three-band EQs, gain control, pitch and line faders, level metering, loop controls, a tap tempo button, and standard transport and cue controls. A rugged, smooth crossfader with adjustable slope completes iDJ2's mixer so you can mix between sources.
In addition to its iPod dock, iDJ2 has two sets of analog phono/line-switchable inputs with grounds so you can connect CD players, turntables, drum machines, and other analog music sources. It also has two USB ports for connecting digital devices and mixing them in.
iDJ2 has a complete cueing section with both 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch stereo jacks, independent cue level, tone, and cue-assign controls. iDJ2 also has a full-featured output section with balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA Master outputs and RCA Record outputs for recording your performance.
Crate System Numark's Crate system is an electronic approach to managing setlists and the music library designed around the way you work with your vinyl or CDs. You can prepare setlists ahead of time, build them as your performance unfolds, or combine the two approaches. You just select a track in your library and load it into the virtual crate for either Deck A or Deck B. Quickly text-search with iDJ2's click knob using artist, track or album name. For even faster track access, you can plug in an optional USB keyboard.
The Crate system is easy to view in any lighting conditions thanks to its color LCD screen. The screen also enables you to use Track Profile view for easy visual detection of energy changes in tracks. You'll be able to locate cue points without headphones!
Media and Device Capability You can perform with digital music files stored on iPods, USB hard drives and thumb drives thanks to iDJ2's dock and two USB inputs. You can even play two tracks from the same iPod at the same time.
You can work with a wide range of file types including stereo and mono MP3s, WAVs, AACs, and more. You can mix in AAC podcasts and even connect and play from discs in external USB CD and DVD drives. iDJ2 even supports music on data DVDs and multi-session CDs. You can rip audio-CD tracks to a writable wav library, edit the text tags on tracks and albums ripped from CD and copy tracks from one drive to another. The possibilities are virtually limitless!
iDJ2 is the powerful, professional solution for performing with the music on your iPod.
Key iDJ2 Features
Complete performance system for iPod
Two-channel DJ mixer with analog and USB I/O
Exclusive Crate music-management system
Color LCD for brilliant views of Crate and Profile View
Integrated dock for iPod
Scratch and locate using large wheels
Create and integrate seamless loops on each deck
Fader Start enables iDJ2 to automatically start playback when you move the crossfader
Keylock enables you to shift tempo while maintaining pitch
Beatkeeper technology empowers you to beat-match visually
Connect CD players, turntables, drum machines, iPods, USB hard drives, and thumb drives
Mix and scratch stereo and mono MP3s, WAVs, AACs, and more
Balanced XLR Master, unbalanced RCA Master, and RCA Record outputs
Cueing section with 1/8-inch and 1/4-inch stereo jacks, cue level, tone, and cue-assign controls

What's in the Box iDJ2 main unit, Power supply, Software CD, Quick start guide

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Numark DDS 80 Professional DJ CD Player Review

Numark DDS 80 Professional DJ CD Player
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
The previous poster does have a point with the tedious amount time and work required to prep an iPod for use with this console. I didn't have to convert my iPod into the FAT32 mode like the OP is saying. I use my iPod like a regular iPod. The most time consuming process I encountered was going through my 30 GB of mp3s and renaming and classifying them through iTunes so that I could use them with the Numark device and the Librarian software properly.
I actually have an iDJ2 console which basically adds source inputs (ability to plug in and actively mix cd players or turntables or etc to the Numark device) just like a DJ mixer does. The programming guts and other special features of the two systems are practially interchangable. They both use "Librarian" software and have the same firmware upgrades. In essence the iDJ2 is a non-rackmount version of the Numark DDS.
With both of these devices you notice really quick if you have to modify your mp3 naming system. You find yourself searching for a track and can't find it because the tags are jumbled. It took me two weeks of previewing and renaming all of the 6,000+ tracks I have at my disposal. You also figure out pretty quick if your mp3s are substandard quality too. I have had to re-download a few of my mp3s that have volume level issues or sound quality problems. Some of the mp3s just suck, you have to adjust all of your volume settings so you can match volumes between tracks and by the next track you will have to reduce the volumes because they will be too loud. This is not the fault of the Numark device, it's just the nature of using mp3s.

So after renaming the tracks I learned it was a good idea to add a genre tag in the most useful DJing tracks. Tracks like the "Hokey Pokey", "YMCA", "Calle Ocho", etc. It's just easier to find them if you tag the genre with "DJ Music" or "Top 200" then they all pop up when you search for songs in that genre.
Once you're happy with the titles and tags on your mp3s then you have to run your mass storage device through the "Librarian software" on a PC. Doing so builds all the search criteria tags within the mass storage device so it will work when you utilize the search function of the Numark device. This only took my system about 2 hours for 6,000+ tracks.
When it's completed using the "Librarian" software, the next step is the more difficult step to swallow. You connect your iPod or flashdrive or external HHD to the Numark device and it tells you that you can either use your existing library or download a new one. If you have used your mass storage device prior, the old library still exists in the memory and any tracks added to your mass storage device since the old library was created will not be able to be located by the search engine. If you have added new tracks you must download the new library which can take hours and hours. I'm talking about watching paint dry on the wall boring. It takes my 30 GB iPod classic with 6,000+ tracks about 4 1/2 hours to build a new library everytime I added new tracks to the mass storage device/iPod. It seems to rebuild the library all the way from track one to track 6,000+ instead of just revising the existing file and only adding the tracks that are new to the library. I suppose this is a sort of a "checks and balances" to the library system to keep everything current incase there are deletions or additions to the mass storage device.
When the hard part is completed you can literally just plug your mass storage device into the Numark system and acknowledge that you want to use the existing library and in seconds you're using your Numark system like a pro DJ and it is fun to use for DJing. I don't completely trust the system to roll without my CD players and CD library as such just in case the mass storage device or the Numark system crashes leaving you with nothing, but with that said I DJed several gigs last summer and didn't use the actual CDs for more than four tracks during most of the gigs.

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Professional DJ CD Player

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