Best Standalone DJ Systems in 2024: No Laptops Allowed! | Ultimate DJ Controller Alternatives Guide
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- Опубликовано: 4 июл 2024
- In this video, we’ll talk about the available options for standalone systems in 2024… and try to figure out which is the best for you!
📘 Full written guide! passionatedj.com/standalones
00:00 | Introduction
02:50 | Rekordbox Devices
11:08 | Help Me Decide! (Rekordbox)
14:09 | Engine OS Devices
18:24 | Help Me Decide! (Engine OS)
21:10 | Cross-Shopping (Rekordbox/Engine)
25:45 | Wrapping Up
Unlike DJ controllers, standalone DJ systems are self-contained devices meant for the purpose of mixing music… without involving the use of a laptop.
While the most popular option for DJs (especially those just getting started) is to use a standard DJ controller, many modern DJs are opting for the all-in-one standalone solution… which mimicks a more CDJ-like experience.
Obviously if you don’t have a modern laptop, and have no intention of getting one, a regular old DJ controller isn’t going to help. These standalone systems require nothing but some music (and a set of headphones) to get you DJing.
Removing the laptop tether not only frees you of some cost… it also frees you of potential issues that are out of the manufacturer’s control. For example, you don’t have to worry about some Windows/Mac OS update, or weird driver issues, getting in the way of playing music.
You don’t have to worry about system requirements, latency, or whether you have the right number of USB ports… just get right to the DJing.
The nature of standalone systems means that they are overall simpler than DJ controller setups. With the laptop out of the way, there’s a smaller footprint and fewer wires to worry about.
If you’ve ever DJed with several other people using several other setups, you’ve probably seen laptops placed in some pretty interesting angles and positions. These systems eliminate that kind of problem.
📘 Full written guide! passionatedj.com/standalones
📘 See our controller guide: • Best DJ Controllers in...
REVIEWS: ========================================
REKORDBOX DEVICES:
👉 AlphaTheta Opus-Quad: • Pioneer DJ OPUS-QUAD R...
👉 Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX3: • Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX3 Rev...
👉 AlphaTheta Omnis-Duo: • AlphaTheta Omnis-Duo: ...
ENGINE OS DEVICES:
👉 Denon DJ PRIME 4+: • Denon DJ PRIME 4+: The...
👉 Denon DJ SC Live 4: • Denon DJ SC Live 4 and...
👉 Denon DJ PRIME Go: • The PRIME GO is the Mo...
👉 Numark Mixstream Pro: • Taking The Numark Mixs...
👉 PRIME 4 vs. SC Live 4: • Denon DJ PRIME 4 vs. S...
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The prime 4 is still hard to beet/ price / performance and sound
Denon user here all good
While you did this video Denon made an Engine update that activates Bluetoots, for input. The BT out comes with the next release this year. So with Live 4 and Prime 4+ you get more bang for bucks. Denon doesn't tell you what hardware is in their controler. Then suddenley they introduce new software updates and you get suprised with totaly new features.
I appreciate the update. I never saw the other videos. I'm using pioneer ddjsb2 at the moment.. Thanks again, I'm a Serato user.
Thanks for this, such a good comparison.
mixstream pro and denon now have bluetooth in and out. update engine os to 3.4 :D
Standalones are cool, I picked up a Denon SC Live 4 and I love it, the latest engine update brought some great features and blown away how good the speakers are, but I'm also glad that I can still hook up my laptop with Serato if I so choose, and seems like all the standalones out there other than maybe the Opus Quad, have that capability. So I don't think its a no laptop allowed kind of party, but its cool to see what a standalone unit can do. I happen to have started finding a lot of good tracks on Amazon music so I was very stoked to get that use feature on the Engine DJ standalone side (which for now, laptop setups can't do, although all Serato has to do is integrate a DRM component which pry wouldn't even require any special additional hardware). I like having the extra options, even though I own Serato exclusive controllers, but its nice to not be locked in to just being a standalone in my book.
If I want to use additional software & hardware like Ableton Live & SP 404 would it be best to use a controller or standalone?
I have technicax1200s with a s 11 + a pioneer srt 1000. Looking for just a stand alone , this video helped with the optins but I'm going to wait to purchase because there are still options i want but aren't there yet like a serato stand alone controller. Fingers crossed ,if it doesn't come. Ill just get the pioneer xdj rr.
I think I want a 4 channel RX3 with DVS support or an updated XZ. I want to swap or mod my xone 92 for a rotary.
the sc live 4 and mixstream pro just got updated and they both have bluetooth enabled.
What DJ Controller will automatically analyze the songs on my flash drive to mix on the spot?
Do any of these allow to connect an internal hd?
Question: I'm a Pioneer user but i'm thinking of buying the SC Live 4. I'm concerned about the screen (it's size). I've got big hands/fingers.. Furthermore, i'm used to use the RX and RX3 and I really like the whole experience rekordbox/Pioneer. So, is the screen on the SC Live 4 easy to use to search tracks on tidal etc if you have bigger hands? And second: going from Pioneer/Rekordbox to Denon / Enige DJ is a bit scary, or is it worth it?
I have huge hands (1,98m) using the SC Live 2. The display is absolutely fine imho. Bigger is always better but the whole experience is really good. I started using tidal, switched now to mp3s. Don't see any problem with streaming, beside the missing possibility to sort for key/BPM for example while streaming and also not setting loops and cue points. Also recording isn't possible, I did it with an audio device connected to my phone. That's the reason why I switched to mp3s.
In general I really like the Live 2, unfortunately I didn't decide to go straight to the Live 4, because I just started and couldn't see any reason to spend the money on the 4, but now I'm missing a third channel.
I have no experience on Recordbox or Serato, Engine DJ is working fine to prepare songs on my PC.
Edit: only four performance pads is also not as great as the eight from the Live 4. It's a little bit of extra work which is unnecessary.
Any1 here recommend sc live 4 for bedroom use?
Pretty sure you can plug LC6000 to the sc live 4 to use the other channels with
Yes!
Denon is the way. #Prime4gang
Best value for money is the sc4 live.
Over 3,000 dollars yet no WiFi for streaming and no stems?? Hard pass!! Alpha Theta!!
I think this new company has lost there mind Overpriced joke
@@roymoxley2587 it doesn’t even have an internal drive! They have to copy denon or stick to old technology of their own🤷🏾♂️
Stems for noobs. Streaming gimmic.
@@Suriprofz go back to your cave lol
these are stand alone controllers. the main and most important factor is the internal processing since this is going to be the only device in the chain that controls your playback.. you've only talked about the dock in the Opus Quad. it uses a 32bit version of the dac chip found in the a9, V10 and euphonia (theirs is 64bit). so that tells me a little bit about the sound quality I would be expecting. 32-bit means that it's floating point conversion meaning that they'll be ample headroom and little to know distortion no matter how much gain is applied to the digital sources. sound quality must be top notch.
I really wish you didn't ignore this aspect in every other controller if you talked about.. this is one of the reasons why I rarely allow a DJ to hook up their controller to my club setup. and why a lot of other sound texts at high-end clubs just outright ban controllers. if we know shit about the digital to analog conversion being used, it makes it very difficult for us to ensure good sound quality on our often massively powerful system. the worst thing possible would be to pump through a crap signal thru speakers that drive nightclubs and festivals. amplifying a turd will never ever sound good.. and not because xlrs are built into the controller means that they are "professional"... its all about the DACs. the XZ and RX use 24-bit floating point conversion which is also found in the djm900 Nxs 2 mixer... those translate well..
I've heard some sound techs that have evaluated the Denon standalone PLAYERS and have found them to be far superior to the CDJ 2000 Nexus 2 Players. so I would be curious to know whether denon's standalone controllers also make use of whichever chip their newer players use.
Don't take this the wrong way, but if you want to talk about sound quality in this manner, you need to understand how it works. Like most people, you're falling for the dac chip specs. The dac chip is not where most of you sound quality comes from. You need to start with the file you're playing. 99% of DJ's use MP3's. When you start with MP3 quality you end up with MP3 quality. Always. 32bit sound quality requires a 32 bit file. Lossy compression means musical information was removed and discarded from the original file during the transcoding process. You can never get it back. Now, you're going to tell me the dac upsamples the file to 32 bit. Yes it does, and here's what that means. Since you can't get the musical information back that was lost during the transcode process, you're left with only one option. During the upsampling process, non musical information is added to the file. Essentially, the file gets inflated so that it looks like, and is the correct size, of an actual 32 bit file. All you're doing is tricking the dac into thinking your MP3 file is really a 32 bit file. You still get MP3 sound quality.
So, why does the 32bit Pioneer sound better than the other units? The dac. A dac consists of 3 parts. The digital section, the analog section and the power supply. Most of your sound quality comes from the analog section and power supply. By far. If you give 5 designers the exact same dac chip, you will get 5 different sounding dacs. If you want 32 bit sound quality, you need a real 32 bit file. If you've ever heard the term bit perfect playback, that what it means. You play the file back in its native resolution.
Aside from that, your comments on gain are a bit confusing. It just doesn't work like that. Where I think you're going wrong is you don't know the difference between gain and volume. Most people think they are the same thing, but they're very different. No matter how good the gear, too much gain will overdrive any input on any piece of audio gear ever made, regardless of quality. Only gain can distort, or damage the signal. Volume can't. So when you say that you can turn the gain all the way up with no distortion, 99% its really a volume control, and not gain. Also, you're going by the assumption that issues you've had with sound quality and DJ gear plugging into your system, is dac related. If far more likely that poor sound quality was due to bit stripping, or not knowing how to deal with single ended and balanced circuits. Those types of issues are far more common.
One last thing. I don't want to argue. People sometimes get upset when you challenge them. So, if you want to have a real discussion, that's fine. I love talking about audio equipment. However, everything in my post can be checked. Its not my opinion, so there's no point in arguing facts. If you can legitimately show me something that conflicts with the information in my post, that's fine. I'll be happy to look at it.
@@AT-wl9yq I'm a 30 year experienced audio (live and studio) audio technician and mixing engineer (and more 😅). I couldn't agree more with everything you wrote. However I have also heard that the side by side comparison with these Pioneer and Denon standalone models, people preferred the sound of the Denons. I only read this in comments though. No educational info in regards to why was given. On the other hand, I've personally heard the efx on the Pioneers are currently superior in sound. I would suggest the OP of this comment section invest in a high quality limiter haha. Other than that I don't know what else to tell him.
I'm on the fence with the Prime 4+ and the RX3. The Prime 4+ seems to be more future proof and with an internal hard drive swap option, wifi, BT in/out, 4 actual channels, streaming and multi touch screen; its calling my name. But the efx and larger jog wheel of Pioneer are calling my name as well.
I'm will only be using either for home use and parties/weddings. So any feedback of your opinion on that is requested and respected.
Cheers
Would be smart to bring your laptop 💻 in case the all in one crashes you have a back up! Trust me they aren’t perfect!!
Yes u can I been using my prime 4 for about 3 years weekly and now issue yet just got a prime 4+ but not in use yet
Shoulda put the Ethernet hub in their A-9 mixer🤷🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️ what a hard miss🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️ pass!!
What's the issue with using laptops? Nonsense.
Nothing. I have videos for that too. :)
XDJ RR is trash and very outdated. Do not buy! Buy Live 4 instead for same price.
Do you own sc live 4? If so, can you mix just as well on it, as a 1210 turntable? I know they’ll feel different but part of me thinks you may not be able to mix that well on this device.
@@grahamkelly8662 I own one and the RR is still trash.
Why is the RR trash and outdated? I always hear it’s one of the best budget all in one controllers
@@Chris-qi7yy yes, from Pioneer sheep. But from a pure technical and age to price ratio, its horrible. Lacks many essentials. Get a Denon, Numark, or second hand RX2 at least.
Biased review
Pioneer gave him a brown envelope.
🤣🤣 I wish!
What’s you non-biased option then?
I wouldn’t say it was biased, but he overemphasized the FX part ( Denon has updated its effects with 3.1 and 3.2 by a lot) and also forgot some crucial advantages, like lighting/dmx control, Ableton link, SD card slots on all devices including the Numarks, or better customization. Also, Engine DJ 3.4 brought bluetooth.
@modingo21 if you Want to pay over the top for a club ready giant deck with no WiFi or streaming go for pioneer. If on a budget g o for prime 4 +