DENON dj mcx8000 vs PIONEER xdj-rx

I have had a similar dilemma for the last few weeks, and have pretty much decided to jump onboard the MCX8000. I’ll explain why, and it may shed some light on your situation.

I have been DJing for over 15 years professionally in clubs/bars. I begun on 1210’s, then moved to CDJ’s (as the promo stuff switched to CD’s) and am now on Serato mainly. You say you want to be prepared for playing in a club, but not all clubs use Rekordbox CDJ’s (a lot I play in still have CDJ 1000 Mk3’s).

When I started, it was nice and simple, as you just turned up with your records/CD’s and you just used whatever was in front of you, however, things have become more tricky over the years due to the multiple systems out there, and with the variety in owners to upgrade their equipment.

I believe a true professional should be able to play on whatever equipment is there, even if what is there is total garbage, and this is why a lot of my friend DJ’s still use CD’s- it doesn’t matter what they have, they work. Personally I always carry an SL2 box and my Mac, which I can hook up to ANY mixer and turntable/CDJ, so maybe you could consider the Denon equivalent of an SL2 with the savings you make if you ever play in bars/clubs.

I have also begin carrying a small cheap Vestax Controller with a selection of connectors/adaptors as a total backup if their equipment is totally shot- preparation and backups are the key to not getting caught short and looking like a fool.

The DJ world doesn’t begin and end with pioneer 🙂

I, too, was thinking about both of these units recently. In the end I went for the XDJ-RX; just got it last week.

It really is just like playing on Pioneer CDJs and a DJM mixer. The build quality is excellent, and there’s a good array of Pioneer beat and color FX. The screen is decent too – and parallel waveforms are quite the added luxury!

I went for the XDJ-RX because I wanted to get more practice using Pioneer gear – I often DJ on CDJs, and I’m perfectly capable, but I really want to feel a lot more comfortable and confident using them, and also really get my head around the DJM beat FX for interesting transitions. I’m always a little wary to mess around too much when playing out because, well, I hate people who overuse FX 🙂
The places I tend to play all have USB Pioneer decks anyway, so I’m already used to running all my music through Rekordbox.

In terms of a simple “standalone 2 decks and mixer” it’s really great. It’s permanently set up in my living room and just being able to walk in to my apartment, stick my USB drive in and immediately play is really, really nice.

If you decide you want a bit more excitement (extra features on the MCX8000, a 4 channel mixer) and you’re not so fussed about becoming a master on Pioneer gear, then I’d say go for that. It really looks like a great unit at a great price.

I’d echo what Grant says though about backups – I also have a tiny but fun controller I can take with me anywhere (Novation Twitch), plus an Akai AMX (also tiny!) and control vinyl/CDs for Serato. In theory, that covers me for playing just about anywhere… the Twitch, AMX, cabling, laptop and headphones all fit in a small (and surprisingly light) backpack!

Let us know what you decide!

Nope Vintage:
The new Engine Software CAN directly import all Settings from the Serato library.
So if you set all your cuepoints, loops, crates, smartcrates and analyse the files in Serato it will seamlessly be available in the new Engine software, same goes for iTunes playlists. (At least this is what the Denon sales rep tells us…)
Which IMHO gives you the best of both worlds.
I can DJ with Serato nicely and if my laptop fails (which it never did) I can simply go on with the USB stick I have ready made with Engine.

Well we never know what will materialize, what I am stating is sales rep talk… so the end product may vary from that hehe

Now that the MCX 8000 is officially out and been out for awhile, what do people think? I’m torn between the two but love the native Serato support on the Denon. I’ve been using CDJs though for most of my life so that’s attractive too. I have been using Traktor with a mouse and keyboard or my twin American Audio Radius 3000s. I have so many CDs though and it seems like a waste to move completely to digital… I just don’t know!

I have the MCX8000 now for about a month. I have to say I really really love the unit. In my humble opinion it is the best build quality I have ever seen in a DJ controller. It outclasses even the MC6000 or any competition brand. As even in the higher end Pioneers the XLRs are not case mounted, in the MCX they are. It feels like a tank and some things that are prone to “work off” like crossfader are user replacable.
There is nothing on this unit that does not feel high class or does not work as advertised.
I am really impressed with flexibility too, for example playing something from a deck, pal brings me USB stick from a promoter I quickly load it in, play his promo from USB and then switch back to Serato. Absolutely flawless no noisy things or anything.
No matter which outputs you use it is crips clear sound quality.
Of course it is big and on the heavier side, but that are the only things I can think off.

It gets two thumbs up from me and I can recommend the unit to anyone.
I primarily however use it with Serato, I only used a USB stick once or twice to test the whole procedure for backup reasons.
I also think the unit is focused on Serato more than standalone work, even though it outclasses the XDJ series by far on standalone features.

I will make a short video this week about the MCX which you can then check out.