Old bloke needs a new mixer.

I’d recommend you follow your heart with a little help of your brain. As you are in a software echo system, you need to make sure your new hardware not only are supported today, but for as long as you intend to use the new mixer, unless you’re open to a change of software. I’m in to the Pio echo system, and I had a hard choice to make when I upgraded last year. My heart said A&H DB4, it’s a beast of a mixer, and I love playing house with long layered transitions. On the other hand, I mostly get payed to play top 40 and classics, so an open format mixer would definitely be the smarter choice.

The players were going to be the NXS2’s and I was coming from an old Pio 800 which served me well, and still do. Because I will continue to play the same stuff out in the clubs and the long transitions house mixing is more of a private pleasure, I decided to go with the 900NXS2. It does have a sound quality matching the best of Rane/A&H, very much improved effect section, and important for immediate performance, a familiar interface. The last detail that made the decision easy(er), was the fact that I may rent it out now and then, so it was also important that anyone could use it on their terms, using USB’s or laptop/(RB DJ, Serato, Traktor). Perhaps I’ll win the lottery and can afford to buy the DB4 too, or I’ll have to wait another 10 years to make that choice 🙂 .

I can’t, and no one else but you can choose the right gear for you, but this was my thought process in making the right choice for me. The ONLY 1 thing I will say is, stick to the big brands. In the long run that will give you reliability and access to service and spare parts should you need it. Still think I made the right choice, still have the silly grin on my face using it, and I think you should choose whatever makes you have the same silly smile for a few months after buying it.

Things to think about…

For most gear I would say think twice about buying legacy gear, but mixers age well. Barring rare issues, you should be able to get many years from a high end club mixer without needing service or parts. That means even an older mixer like the X1700 will do it’s job for a long time. Yes, you may lose the internal sound card due to driver issues, but you’ve got an NI interface already so lack of support for the mixer down the road won’t put you out of business.

I have an X1600 right now and would swap it for a 1700 in a heartbeat. I no longer need the midi-buttons on the 1600 and would love the dual effects banks of the 1700. The PX5 only has the single effects bank – not enough of an upgrade in my eyes. But that’s just me in my situation.

To complicate your search a little more – check out the new Reloop mixer. It is getting rave reviews, is similar in design to the Denon mixers, is brand new and therefore going to be in current support for a number of years still, and best of all, is cheap.