Numark busts out iDJ dueling iPod mixer

Alright mixmasters, turns out that Numark dueling iPod DJ mixer we peeped back in April is indeed not vaporware. Numark will be announcing tomorrow the iDJ mixing console for iPod as part of their summer 2005 product lineup — a two-channel mixer that accepts all iPod models with bottom connectors and breaks out their controls into its dedicated interface. Both channels sport a 3-band EQ and gain control, and the unit's got dedicated mic and phono/line inputs for bringing in additional signals. It's also rocking some USB connectivity, enabling it to converse with your portable rig as a music-loading base. What we don't yet know is the price, but y'know, if you've already shelled out for two iPods it's probably not gonna break the bank either way.

[Thanks, Albizu]

Update: we're looking at $399.00 retail/$249.00 street on this thing. Not bad, not bad at all.

[jg @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

can you change the pitch on this? i stil dj using vinyl.

[SideSwipe @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

As a DJ, I can tell you that this thing is ahead of its time and will most likely only be used as a backup system by semi-professionals or by teenage "bedroom DJs".

Biggest problem with the current incarnation of the iPod for DJing with: no pitch control. As soon as they fix that issue, then there's some contention from the Apple corner of the ring.

[alex @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

This is pretty cool, althought it kind of sucks that you need 2 iPods.
I hope it has pitch control..

[Jamie Phelps @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Actually, chances are if you already bought two iPods, the bank is long since broken. Like someone once said in art history: If you had the Mona Lisa, you'd be rich. Well, not exactly. You'd be wealthy indeed but you would be broke after buying it.

[Julian @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I doubt it has pitch control.. i don't think the iPod could support it, unless the mixer grabs the song off the ipod onto internal RAM after which you can control it. Personally I think its a gimmic...

[Martin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Weak . . .It was bad enough with CD turntables, but now this? So I can go to a club and expect to hear crappy bitrate mp3's mixed on a crappy Numark mixer, presumably by a crappy DJ who would have the nerve to put such a craptacular setup together and play on it. Fantastic. I'll take vinyl anyday, thank you.

[pnarse @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Uh, I don't see a pitch slider or pitch bend. You can't even beatmatch!

If you're not beatmatching - you're not DJing, you're just playing 2 tracks at the same time.

What's the point of this? What will it achieve that plugging 2 iPods into any other mixer won't?

[Morwan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Digital turntables are just stupid. If you're going to DJ digitally, just bring a laptop. If you can't scratch, what's the point of having turntables?

[robotplague @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I don't like this one bit. Nothing will compare to vinyl, this is actually embarassing to anyone who tries to bust this out in public at a show.

[jason @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

No one would bust it out while they're DJing. It's much too bourgeois...this is for the white suburban yuppies riding the wave of their psuedoclubbing preteens.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Now it'd really be sweet if you could transfer music from one iPod to the other, you know, as an added bonus.

[matthew jackson @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Or for people with lots of money and bad backs.
I still think that a lappy and final scratch is the way to go but secretly I want one to have in the house (if it can pitch shift).

[mang @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Without any pitch control, I see this device having novelty appeal at best.

Yet another iPod accessory... vaporware.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

This does look pretty weird..
but obviously it must have some sort of beatmatching capabilities..I mean. it's a mixer. I don't really suggest to anyone to buy 2 ipods though..

and Morwan, I have a pair of technic 1200s and a pair of cdj1000s, and I'm sure I could out-scratch you on any of them. Digital turntables will not and should not replace vinyl, but they're useful..

[DanAmpX @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Are you kidding me?

[Morwan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I guess I was too heavy-heanded, but eh. I don't scratch, but I don't like digital turntables. DJ's just seem like glorified jukeboxes to me unless they can scratch.

I'm probably missing a lot of the subtleties, but that's what appeals to me most, and this is just another step in the wrong direction.

[pod @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I'm not seeing beatmatching, nor anything else that would make this a serious DJing tool. I don't see a control to do loops or adjust the crossfade contour.

The price point alone makes me think 'gimmick'. Your average DJ mixer worth buying costs a minimum of $600. If I was a club owner, and a DJ showed up with this, I'd have security slap him around a few times, get my money back, and then book a real DJ, one who can work a real club mixer and real DJing tools like a pair of 1200s, a pair of CDJ-1000s, or a laptop loaded up with Ableton.

[Question Answerer @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I'd stick with FinalScratch if you want to mix your MP3s. If you really wanted a standalone device without traditional turntables it's complete overkill to require dual iPods since a single iPod would quite happilly serve two files in parallel as a USB mass storage device. Sorry to be such a cynic but I really don't think that this is the best of ideas.

[SHOTT3R @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Laptop + Traktor DJ Studio w/ optional Final Scratch.

End of story for anything non-vinyl

[semi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4110230.stm

[DJ Mac @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

It's worthless without pitch control~! This will end up on the aisle next to karaoke machines, cheap mexican guitars, and DJ-in-a-Box kits.

[bunkka @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Lame. cool idea. I hope it never makes it. It will be a sad day when dj'ing is totally digital. there is just something about vinyl that cd's/iPods can't touch.

[kiddanger @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

i have two ipods, and i am not a 12 year old rich kid. i am a 21 year old poor student. either way i wouldnt buy this item.

[semi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

#23
"i have two ipods.....i am a 21 year old poor student...."

i take it when u say poor student you mean your intelligence

[Butter @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

ok to all the too cool for school non-dj's posting to engadget to prove their vinyl-affiliation..
the prospect of carrying 50 lbs of wax around is a definite night ender for us DJs who play early and would love to have a night that continues somewhere other than home in a cab that our fee barely covers.
sure, pitch shifting and jog controls will be necessary features, but stop hating. I love vinyl as much as the next, but anything that carries the artform to a medium more updated than 20-year-old-still-top-of-the-line hardware is welcome in my book.
plus it's inevitable, so stop being hypocritical ludites that read a "technology" blog.

[hal9000 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

This is completely pointless and probably rubbish even if it has beat match.
your other options are
1. buy a laptop - same price as 2 ipods mix with Traktor
2. buy 2 ipods and get a crappy mixer plug together - thats all this POS seems to actually do and would probably be much cheaper to do it that way.

what utter crap
(and if you go for option 2 buy a couple of decent mp3 player instead)

[Hanno @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I don't see the point of having two otherwise unconnected iPods in this device. Two audio channels playing MP3 tracks from one harddisk, that would be ok. But why should a DJ be required to carry two MP3 music collections. What if he decides to play track B after track A, but both are on the same iPod?

[glad @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

it warms the cockles of my vinyl loving heart to read the comments from fellow vinyl loving dj's etc. Two iPods now that isn't djing in my neck of the woods as you'd be laffed out of town and no it isn't the future. Vinyl Lives

[Gruchy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Uhh just one thing to all those people that are saying
"Digital turntables are just stupid. If you're going to DJ digitally, just bring a laptop. If you can't scratch, what's the point of having turntables?"
Every taken a look at the Numark CDX, it is a CD turntable with a full vinyl platter and real vinyl that controls the CD with no latency as if it was a vinyl record.
Check out Numark.com for it as well as a video of at I think scratchworx.com

[Gizmo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

That would be http://www.skratchworx.com - with a K. This is an entirely different beast to the CDX and not even in the same sphere of DJing. The lack of pitch control means it's more for the mobile DJ rather than the clubs.

[delta9 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I'm a scratch/hip hop/house deejay using vinyl, and without pitch control, it's true, this is pretty dull technology. But I read that's coming in another model. So, good! Why is everyone here such a purist. Digital's fine. What if you just want to spin some tunes at a cafe. I don't want to lug all my equipment and vinyl for that kind of gig. Embrace the technology! I also ripped 200-300 of my own CDs to MP3 at 192kbps, and the sound quality is bangin'. (Full disclosure: I've never mixed CDs, but it can't be all that bad.)

[Rob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I am a long time DJ who loves the turntables. Recently I have been force to also use a MP3 player. Its sucks but it gets the job done. I would love it if they took pioneers CD turntable tech and allowed you to run a MP3 player via the Pio 1000 and use the effects. But I think I will be dead long before this will happen.

[Eliot Phillips @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

This thing is a monument to how restrictive an iPod is. The player designed to hold everything, but you have to have two because you can't manage your music yourself? Idiotic.

[Rebecca @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

My goodness I think I just wet myself.......this is sooooooooooooooooooooo unbelieveably cool....what will the Mac people think up next?!!

[yuppicide @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

DJ'ing with anything other than vinyl is stupid to me. A lot of people laugh at you if you have a CD Mixer or one of these iPod things.

I'd be interested to see the Stanton model that allows you to scratch your mp3's on vinyl tho.

[Fudgeboy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I think some of you are missing the point. Let's look at a few of the arguments:

1. No Pitch Adjust.
Yeah. That makes it rubbish. Once they fix that, I'll get one.

2. Vinyl's Great!
Yeah, of course it is. But if you're playing out to a small bar, and noone can see what you're up to, who cares? I'd rather carry 2 iPods and the mixer instead of 100 crates of vinyl. Plus, imagine a 4-channel mixer version so you can connect turntables too. Would you be happy then? We're not all super-hip-hop scratch jockies, so if the thought of no scratching offends you, don't buy one.

3. You need 2 iPods.
Of course you need 2 iPods. Could you stream 2 tracks down the same USB interface at the speed required to keep up with real-time pitch shifting? How else could you mix 2 tracks together? iPod's aren't designed to play 2 tracks at once, just like CD decks aren't. Think of this concept as a replacement for a pair of CD Decks.

4. Laptop + Final Scratch is Better.
Well, I would say it's different. It allows you to scratch, sure. But a laptop in a club environment is iffy, and how much are we talking about now? Laptop, 800 bucks for a decent rig? 500 bucks for Final Scratch?

Anyway, just my 2c. If you had pitch adjust, I think this would be an awesome product.

[Bubi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Two iPods cost $500 - $800.
My TT1200s cost $500 each when I bought them 10 long years ago.

Two iPods is a bargain.

[. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

1 ipod is lame. 2 ipods are super lame. 2 ipods and using them in an attempt to dj is just plain sad. I bet it will be overpriced like the rest of the ipod oriented crap (including the ipod itself.) Some people don't take digital DJs serious now, and with an iDJ, you'll be a good laugh.

[bunkka @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

This is what digital dj'ing is like in my eyes. iPod/CD/Laptop DJ = Lounge singer: no talent ass clown that can only sound like the person he is singing to...he has no originality. Vinyl DJ = Superstars...eh all of those big divas...or Frank Sinatra = talents!

Sure i feel all of those people who hate lugging around all of their vinyl. However...don't call it DJ'ing...If you want to play music at a "cafe" just play a cd, it won't confuse anyone "is he a dj, or just some kid playing w/ his iPods" plus, you would get payed for doing nothing!

[Fudgeboy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

I hear the "vinyl Djs are the best" argument a lot, and I still can't understand it. It's all about how the music is delivered - what's the difference between having 2 spinning pieces of plastic or a bunch of MP3s on a device? I've DJ'd using both methods, and CDs/MP3s are harder to use because:

1. Can't see breakdowns.
2. Can't manipulate the pitch in an analog way.

Why would vinyl DJs be superstars and CD DJs be rubbish? You still have to put together a playlist, beatmatch, mix, regardless of the medium you're using.

Unless we're talking about scratch and hip-hop DJs. In which case we're talking genres and styles - nothing to do with skill levels.

[FedUp @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Butter is right. You people really need to wake up and embrace technology. I've been DJing for 16 years and the minute clubs started putting CDJ-1000's in the booths is the minute I stopped lugging around 50 lbs of overpriced vinyl. In fact, if they made a CDJ with a dock for an iPod I'd be on this in a second. Spinning with vinyl does not make you a purist, it just means you're stuck on some outdated romantic vision of what DJing is. Most "big name" DJs (at least the house/tech ones) spin mostly CDs these days, so don't think it's just for tools.

DJing is NOT about the medium used to play your tracks. It's about track selection, mixing ability, etc. If you're up in a booth, the crowd doesn't care, your back feels better because you didn't lug records on the subway, and you have your entire music library at your fingertips. Where are your priorities?

[coderrich @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

a sexy digital dj mixer without pitch control sucks because it's not a real mixer. regarding whether we can scratch on it or not, who cares? most of club djs doesn't do scratch unless they spin in a ghetto hip-hop club. you don't have to scratch in order to be a dj. just like you don't have to know how to read a music sheet to be a musician. put your have-to-know-scratch ego somewhere else please. and who said the mp3 sounds crappy? 192-bit rip sounds identical to how the real cd sounds like. Maybe you should learn how to use a computer IMO.

digital dj mixer is invevitable. time to embrace the future.

[coderrich @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

a sexy digital dj mixer without pitch control sucks because it's not a real mixer. regarding whether we can scratch on it or not, who cares? most of club djs doesn't do scratch unless they spin in a ghetto hip-hop club. you don't have to scratch in order to be a dj. just like you don't have to know how to read a music sheet to be a musician. put your have-to-know-scratch ego somewhere else please. and who said the mp3 sounds crappy? 192-bit rip sounds identical to how the real cd sounds like. Maybe you should learn how to use a computer IMO.

digital dj mixer is invevitable. time to embrace the future.

[DJ Tom @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

What is a DJ if he can't scratch!

For all of you haters who don't know your history the answer is ALAN FREED. If you don't know, now you know! Rent American Hot Wax becuase without Alan Freed, one of most influential DJs of all time, you would not be who you are today!

For those of you lappy haters go see The History Of Scratch World Tour and then tell me you can even come close to the skills of DJ Jazzy Jeff. Final Scratch baby, it rocks the house!

Like vinyl, and CDs, MP3s have their place. Even if you don't own an iPod, or even a CD player for that matter you might want to thank Apple for helping to keep this industry some what profitable. In the last few years music sales have fallen off dramatically. iTunes just celebrated its half billionth legal download.

*Vinyl is a niche market supported by purists

*Studio time costs exceed vinyl profits

*CDs nearly put vinyl in an early grave

That said, I still cherish my vinyl. If you love yours as much as you claim you might want to tell all your non DJ friends to stop using P2P and start using iTunes. Better yet, buy them an iPod and a gift certificate for a dozen songs.

DJ culture has come into the mainstream. It's time more DJs moved past adolescent rants about other DJs and started respecting each other the way learned professionals do. There are many specialties in the medical field and the legal field. DJs have their specialties as well.

DJs come in all flavors and each of us makes our contribution to this fast growing field. However, if we want to earn the respect we deserve we better start giving it.

Props to Butter and Fudgeboy for thier contributions to this forum.

To the haters who may flame me, consider the following.

*I did my time in major clubs using vinyl

*I get paid very well to do what I do now

*It's unlikely that I will ever read your comments!

[glyn @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

A better idea: CD decks that take high-capacity flash cards.

If those things become as standard as say CDJ1000s you could be assured a decent UI and could carry your entire music library around in your pocket, without the need for dropping $ on an iPod.

Fuck the stupid 'vinyl si teh rule' argument, I've worn out and beaten up enough records and busted my back lugging crates around enough to see the advantages of easily-portable, high-density music storage.

[Stochastic @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

This could have pitch control if you did some work.

You could create your own pitch adjust on the iPods by loading Linux (http://www.ipodlinux.org) instead of the regular apple OS and then run a linux sound app such as snd that has the pitch adjust built in. But then you'd just be running two small computers instead of turntables. As for cost though, this system would be cheaper in the long run than turntables as mp3s are much cheaper than vinyl.

[Willie @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Check out the video of the iDJ here:

http://namm.harmony-central.com/SNAMM05/Index/videos.html

[Majestic 13 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

thank Buddha for you guys, if it wasn't for your small minded intolerant DJ dogma, the more hyper-visionary creative right-brained types, would never be ahead in the game.

LOL! you are all like immature football supporters!

thanks guys!
thumbs up! :-)


hint for today: use more of your brain. Not less of it! :-))))))

[broodwich @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

Nobody has mentioned this yet as far as I can tell. In addition to no pitch control as far as I know there is no frame accurate start on an iPod either. Numark has been working on the HDCD1 for a couple of years now. It's basiclly one of their Dual CD units with a built in Hard Drive to store your MP3 files. You can still use the dual CD decks just like any other DJ player out there or you can playback from the HD. I don't know why Numark just didn't focus there efforts on getting that to market sooner. You woudn't have to worry about the problem of your collection being split or duplicated on two iPods either.

[jim-e @ Dec 19th 2005 1:24AM]

amen to martin's comment near the beginning....