Twin Cd Players

[No. 10 Renegade 0]

Im looking to buy a twin CD player soon as possible. I have DJed a few gigs already, have been in the scene for a while and want to practise with my own equipment now, so am investing in CD decks and a pair of vinyl spinners. I already have a mixer, and have decided on turntables which i will buy last as they are most expensive. After using basic twin CDN22s by Numark, and CDJ800s by Pioneer at a gig in London this week, i know what i want from CD decks. I have researched many, particularly Numark twin decks, and have come to temporary decision. Before i go ahead and make a purchase i wanted to ask other knowledgeables such as you forum users if theres anything i should be aware of or i have missed. By budget is £300 max, which doesnt seem much but i dont want too many features.

My basic requirements are loop function on each deck, pitch upto 16%, CD-R play and a clear display. my temporary choice after research has been the Numark CDN35.

These have all the above, 2 seamless loops and 3 hot stutter starts, and a few features i dont understand fully. hot stutter i understand as a cue points within a song you can jump to as you press the button? and the loops on these decks i understand as manually operated. im not quite sure if seamless means done in according to pitch or not, like it was on the CDJ800. also autocue, i know how cueing works but im not sure if this is different, i just assume the start of the song is used as the cue point as you move through each track?fader start also i am unfmailiar with this. the pitch control has two levels i understand, and i assume there is a button to switch between 0-8% and 9-16%?

 

i know it sounds as if i dont know enough about the CDN35 but i do understand the basic principles and it seems a perfect choice for what i want.

 

if someone has used them before and can explain how to use the features i have mentioned above any help will be gratefully recieved. any suggestions within my budget of other twin players would also be welcomed.

 

thanks all for your time, The Renegade

[Norfolk DJ 0]

 

You are right to say the Numark CDN 35 is good value considering the features it offers. Most of the ratings I have seen are good, and the price is as low as £199 if you shop around.

 

The Numark in question does have a decent anti-shock facility.

 

Citronic also do a decent anti-shock around the £200 mark as well and is reliable.

 

I have tried Gemini, Skytec and Soundlab, American Audio and Denon. But for the money and features the Numark looks an excellent buy, within your price range, and is ample for mobile use at general functions.

 

 

 

 

[DJ Marky Marc 0]

Unless you have a strong roadie for every gig you do and a very large collection on music on 12" vinyl then forget getting decks and put the money towards better CD players.....

 

just my opinion....

[DJmoonie 0]

I totally agree with marky on this one. Its pointless going down both roads. Ditch the vinyl and use the money you saved to buy a pair of s3500's ;), or if you can't stretch that much, go for some second hand s5000's, really good decks (I have one of each as it happens).

 

The pitch ranges, really don't need to be anything higher than +/- 10% if you're into beat matching, and if you're serious about it, you'll be almost constantly in the +/- 4% range as it gives a much tigher resolution.

 

Fader start is where you use the cross fader to kick off the track from the mixer, starting at whatever cue point you have defined, but I think you're mixer and decks have to be compatible to do this. Personally, I've never bothered. Most of the rest of the features you mentioned, are pretty much as you described.

 

Go for direct drive CDJ's over belt driven. Whilst its not as essential as for vinyl (and for vinyl I mean ESSENTIAL), it does give a cleaner response. My s3500 is much quicker to pick up than the s5000 for instance.

 

Also, if your mixer has no effects, you can pick some up on most cdj's these days, but this is only a bit of fluff, and this should be at the bottom of the requirements list.

 

 

[brianmole 0]

I totally agree with marky on this one. Its pointless going down both roads. Ditch the vinyl and use the money you saved to buy a pair of s3500's ;), or if you can't stretch that much, go for some second hand s5000's, really good decks (I have one of each as it happens).

 

The pitch ranges, really don't need to be anything higher than +/- 10% if you're into beat matching, and if you're serious about it, you'll be almost constantly in the +/- 4% range as it gives a much tigher resolution.

 

Fader start is where you use the cross fader to kick off the track from the mixer, starting at whatever cue point you have defined, but I think you're mixer and decks have to be compatible to do this. Personally, I've never bothered. Most of the rest of the features you mentioned, are pretty much as you described.

 

Go for direct drive CDJ's over belt driven. Whilst its not as essential as for vinyl (and for vinyl I mean ESSENTIAL), it does give a cleaner response. My s3500 is much quicker to pick up than the s5000 for instance.

 

Also, if your mixer has no effects, you can pick some up on most cdj's these days, but this is only a bit of fluff, and this should be at the bottom of the requirements list.

Good advice.

[music box 0]

Yup have to agree listern to the advise above

[YourBigEvent 0]

You can't get better advise then from the end user who has no reason to try and sell the product to you, so you have come to the right place to ask the question(s)

 

Hope you stick around to post your advise too.

 

Andy