LOL, if being able to afford a fitting case for an upgraded mixer is the deciding factor in buying one or not, you might have to wait a bit longer and save up some more 😀
You know, I am an audio/sound engineer too. And when the first digital mixers came out with those little screens and everything, it was wonderful … or so we thought.
Many knobs were sacrificed, but not to worry, for each knob gone we got a lot of nice new digital features back and we could all set those on a the little screens with menu’s and buttons and shortcuts and …
You needed a PhD in Computer Science to operate some of those boxes, getting somewhere quick required endless hours of experience and you were always in the wrong layer when you needed to kill a feedback mic.
The point of my story is that while all those screens look pretty, they are not always the best solutions. It took the digital mixer industry a while to develop a digital channel strip, essentially all the knobs/buttons you had on EACH channel on an analogue table, and you only had to select a channel and suddenly you had direct access to everything again. The screen became used more for those set-up things and all the things that you can set at your leisure. And the screens became bigger and more colorful.
Now I have an iPad only mixer (Mackie DL1608) which is the first effort, imho, that allows for true touchscreen mixing. Having said that, if I need to do a serious gig I want a table with motorized faders and lots of direct access buttons and knobs.
Why am I telling you this? Because it took the industry some time to come up with a different way of integrating something new like digital capabilities and screens. While the NV is trailblazing, I do think that the true concept of DJ=ing with built-in screens will go through a few more fases before coming of age. And I am not sure this is something you want to be one of the early-adapters for. Unless you truly are gear-head and will upgrade again in a year or two and always wanted the newest and don’t mind having to be part of helping the kinks out of a new development and/or accept odd things that will be fixed in the mk2 model.
If you are looking to “upgrade”, don’t pick one controller (because of looks or appeal or whatever) and go “mmm should I upgrade to this one or not”. I’d ask myself what is my workflow now, what are things I feel are lacking or not optimally implemented on my current gear. Have I reached the limits of my current gear. Then make a shortlist of the features you need and set the maximum amount of money you are willing to spend. Then do your desk research and determine which are the 2 or 3 most suited controllers according to your wishlist. You may be surprised to find that a Pioneer or a Reloop or Denon controller is the best next fit. And even if it is the NV that comes closest, you won’t have to ask if it’s really an upgrade and worth spending the money, you’ll already know.
Just my two pennies as usual.
.
