The SC5000M is a secret weapon for DJ's. We are so used to seeing a
Pioneer set up in a club environment that you could be forgiven for forgetting that there are other brands out there. One of them being
Denon, who has produced the stunning Prime range of controllers and media players that aim to give Pioneer a real run for their money. So lets take a deeper dive into the stand alone media player in the range, the SC5000M.
Control at the Touch of a finger
The SC5000M comes equipped with a full 7" multitouch and multi gesture touch screen. This screen looks super clean and the functionality of using gestures is a really nice touch. You can use the screen to scroll through tracks and even pinch to zoom etc. Now that these gestures are such common place its a very natural way to interact. The screen provides a heap of info too like elapsed time/time remaining, musical key, tempo, quantize on/off, loop and beatjump settings and beatkeeper countdown. This is a great display for a media player and one any DJ would be happy with.
Two decks in one!
The SC5000M is able analyse music on the fly. As soon as you load up a track you can play it, even while the unit is analysing the data. The processing is so good on this unit that you're able to load two decks on the same media player so essentially you could do a full set with just one SC5000M. A great option of portability is an issue for you. By using the dual layer option you can load a second track on top of whats playing and with the included inputs and outputs it mean you can cue in the music as you would on a 2 channel. You also have a great instand double feature which comes especially handy when using one controller however seems a popular tool in many DJ's artillery.
Time Stretch and Pitch Bend to your hearts content
The SC5000M comes with class leading time stretch algorithm which enables you to adjust tempo without it affecting the pitch. This means you can speed up a song and keep it in the same key. In essence this lets you mix various genres with much more ease. You can speed up a hip hop song to fit a faster beat and still be able to discern the vocals. You also have some really nice pitch bend options. As well as using the side of the platter, there are also dedicated pitch bend buttons under the tempo slider. This lets you make tiny adjustments to pitch giving you even more control over this aspect.
The media player comes also comes with a really comprehensive pad section, with hot cue, loop, roll and slice mode. Due to the SC5000M's multicore processer you can jump between hot cues on one layer while playing a track on another layer. The SC5000M can utilize up to 4 media sources at once.
SC5000 VS SC5000M
So what makes the SC5000M different from the SC5000 is the motorized platter. While you lose out on the display on the capacitive jog wheels of the SC5000, you do get is a fully motorised platter. It is controlled by a fully direct drive high torque motor with 2 torque options and adjustable break time. On top of the actual platter you get a regular slipmat. On top of that is a real 7" Vinyl is attached to the spindle. You can actually drill a whole in any vinyl and use it with the SC5000M. It has 2 start up speeds, one traditional, which follows the speed of the platter and the other is instant.
Conclusion
Denon have really thought about the prime range and even the updates are worth getting excited about. They have had recent updates which allow you utilize a tidal account and also has fully Serato DJ intergration. On top of this, its one of the only units that is able to handle both Serato and Rekordbox. Pioneer may still rule the roost in the Pro DJ game but Denon are like the tortoise that never gives up. Pioneer might want to just keep a quick eye on the race because Denon are taking this serious and judging from the SC5000M, they have their eyes on first place.
The Denon SC5000M is available to buy
online or instore now!
