Numark Idj2

[tazio 0]

Just by way of warning chaps - so no-one makes the same mistake as me.

 

I bought an IDJ2 - not as my primary music source, but as a bit of backup and so I had something to plug my mike into. I basically run everything with my laptop and Traktor. Which has been great and bulletproof, but you know how it is, you want a bit of redundancy in case of the "blue screen of death". I used to carry a little mixer and a CD player but wanted to save weight.

 

Anyway I thought that the IDJ2 was the perfect solution. Plug the laptop in, have a mic input, and the ipod is there to take over in case of any nasties on the laptop. Also can mirror my playlists so that ipod and Traktor have identical playlists and tracks.

 

But having been on the Numark forum now and checking with other buyers, the IDJ2 has very noisy outputs. I just basically assumed that balanced outputs were always going to be quiet. What a let down. The rest of this is my post on the Numark forum:

 

How did Numark manage to get it so wrong on the S/N ratio on the master output stage. Otherwise it's a great unit, but now I'm finding that it's embarrassing on larger gigs where I'm plugging into large systems.

 

And yes I have the microphone turned off!

 

Last night I performed in Sydney at the Hordern Pavilion (for any locals down under). It holds about 2,000 - 3,000 people so the PA was for that size room. Serious wattage.

 

It was actually better to just come out of my on-board sound card with the mini jack plug on laptop than the IDJ2. Very embarrassing in front of the pro crews that I work with, who already have a jaundiced view of DJs.

 

And the worst thing is that you don't know about this problem until you actually buy the unit and plug it in - because you actually assume balanced outputs will be whisper quiet!

 

I know I'm having a spray again but how can Behringer get balanced outputs right and not Numark! It just doesn't make sense!