If you read my blog on the SC5000M Prime media players, you would know that Denon are not messing around when it comes to their DJ gear. Pioneer may hold the mantle but
Denon are not resting on their laurels. The X1800 Prime mixer is a "prime" example of how Denon are aiming to take on the club DJ market. Lets take a deeper look at this familiar looking mixer.
Have i seen you before?
At first glance the X1800 looks and feels very familiar if you are familiar with club mixers such as the Pioneer DJM900NXS2 and this is intentional. Denon wanted DJ's to feel like they can jump onto this mixer without a steep learning curve. The size and all metal build feel not out of place with any club level mixer. On the X1800 you will find four channels, with mic settngs down the left, effects down the right, all things you would be used to. However take a closer look and you will spot a few nice tricks that makes the x1800 stand out. Denon include a touch strip down one side letting you manipulate effects parameters. They also include knobs to adjust the fader and cross fader curves.
Connect to all your music
The X1800 comes with all the connections you would expect of a club level mixer. On the back of the unit you get 4 switchable phono/line connections meaning you can plug in traditonal turntables, CDJ's or Media players such as the SC5000's. You get sends and returns plus 4 digital inputs, USB input, DVS capability plus two microphone inputs. You get a balanced and unbalanced master out and booth out aswell as a digital out. All of this in additional to the brilliant 24bit dac the X1800 comes with makes it a beast of a mixer.
How to make the most of the X1800
Where the X1800 comes into its own is when you combine it with Denon SC5000 media players. The X1800 has Network connections on the back of the mixer which enable you to hook up to four SC5000 media players using Denons "Engine Connect". This enables all the media players to share metadata info between players to ensure beat syncing, and line up effects tempo's etc
Effects for days.
The X1800 mixer comes packed with 14 Denon effects which sound great due to the high quality 24 bit audio quality. denon also give you dedicated Sweep FX and BPM FX knobs above each channel. There are 4 paired effects which can be adjusted using these knobs (Dub Echo, Noise, Wash Out and Gate) The effects sound warm and even though purely digital effects, Denon has made the effort to make sure they sound great. When you include the touch strip, you have so many creative ways to include effects into your mixes.
Conclusion
Denon has really designed this mixer well and with the metalic finish, it's a great addition to any DJ's arsenal. The familiar layout means any DJ can jump on and be able to get up and going instantly. Denon, however, was not content with just following the leader. They included a heap of great features that Pioneer don't offer and spent time making sure that they work seamlessly with the SC5000 Prime Media Players. This is where the X1800 comes into its own. The Engine Connect feature works like a treat and ensures that everything is communicating to each other.
The SC5000's have a few tricks too, like dual layer decks on one media player. Meaning you can use all for channels and mix by using just two media players. As i said in my previous post, Pioneer may be on top right now but Denon are really producing some great products that are worth considering.
The Denon X1800 is available to
order online or in store now!
