Help! Want to buy cd decks, dont know what im looking for!

[louiselegs11]

Hi! I really hope you can help. Im looking to buy some cd decks for my boyfriend for christmas, but have no idea what im looking for. He used to dj at parties and in clubs with turntables (i bought him some technics a few years ago). But since we had our daughter he's got out of practice. He says he'd love to return to djing,but the technics need new needles and the vinyl collection is well out dated. I think he's better off getting cd decks than spending money updating the technics,and he seems keen for cd decks too. However,i obviously want to surprise him, but there is such a huge range on the market i dont know what im looking for. I dont want to spend a huge amount, as he will be fairly new to cd decks, only having used friends a couple of times (but very experienced with turntables so he has the skill), and due to comitments he may or may not pursue the djing further. So i basically want to try and pick up an ebay bargain or something like that. It doesnt have to be top of the range,but does have to have the right features to be useable should he want to begin to take it further, and for him to have fun with. I know some of these cd decks just have 2 slots to play one cd after another-this is not what i want! I have seen the ones where there is a dial on top and you get hands on mixing and scratching the cds using these dials as if they are turntables. What are these types of decks called, and what would be a good brand to look for? Any ideas on price? When im browsing, what specifications are important to look for? I would really appreciate your help!! Thanks,louise x

[neilios]

Just get him one of these for now VESTAX VCI 100 - USB DJ CONTROLLER (SILVER)- EACH
,he also neds a laptop ,then he can download his tunes from beatport ,trackitdown etc ,these types of controllers are the future ,this is one of the cheaper decent ones.

Then if he likes he can buy one of these ALLEN & HEATH XONE 4D - 4 CHANNEL MIXER / CONTROLLER- EACH.

[DanTheManc]

The two main brands to look out for are Pioneer and Denon. Denon are generally the cheaper of the two. Depending on your budget I would recommend the Denon DNS1200. They are very small in their dimensions, but a fantastic little deck.

It has a jog wheel on the top for scratching and pitch bending. You can play tracks from CDs and off a USB flashdrive. It's a great deck and a recent model so has all the latest features like MIDI, 0.02 pitch resolution.

You should get a pair for between £400-£450 used.

Other options are pioneer cdj400, pioneer cdj800 mk2,

[DanTheManc]

Another option is to buy DVS rather than cd decks.

DVS enables you to play mp3's from your computer using your turntables. It's cheaper than buying cd decks. A decent cheap DVS is m audio torq or you could buy others like Serato or traktor scratch but these are more expensive. You probably don't understand what I'm on about but if you search Serato on youtube you will get a better idea.

M AUDIO TORQ CONECTIV VINYL/CD - DIGITAL DJ SYSTEM & USB AUDIO INTERFACE- EACH
SERATO SCRATCH LIVE SL 1 - DIGITAL VINYL SYSTEM + FREE LTD EDITION SERATO VIN- PACKAGE

[louiselegs11]

Being able to mix from mp3 sounds ideal as the songs will be cheap to collect! But we dont have a laptop,so i dont know how practical-and i wouldnt have any understanding of what im looking for to begin the search! How easy is it to learn what to do with downloading and mixing the songs? He's not the quickest person on a computer..
I saw some numark decks in the cash converter locally,but no one has mentioned them being any good on here and they were fairly cheap,so would this be a waste of money? They were Numark axis 4, and there was also a numark cd mix 1. Any opinions? Thanks everyone for your help!

[louiselegs11]

just seen some denon DNS1000's on ebay, and some DNS3000. They sound ideal, as they play cd and mp3 - what do you think? Or how about pioneer cdj 500 II? Thing is everyone does a really good description of what theyre selling and makes it sound really exiting, but i dont know what are good specifications to look for, and whats old, or new etc!

[oska]

The DNS1000 are very good and should be ideal for what he wants. The guys at DJStore and Dolphin music are really helpful if you email/ring them. Give them your budget and tell them that he is used to Technics decks. Check out reviews on their sites. Make sure there are touch sensitive jog wheels on whatever you decide to go for as this separates the good from the bad.

Cracking GF by the way to buy these for your other half! I'd be over the moon.

[louiselegs11]

thanks very much! Great help, cheers

[Jay]

I'd go with Pioneer.

The cdj1000s may be out of your budget, if your boyfriend used to dj he'll want something hafl decent, and if he goes with cdj 800s or 1000s it'll be handy if he ever palys out.

Most clubs use cdjs only a few have denons.

or pick him up a pair of cdj400s and a djm 400, as you'll need a mixer too.

I personally don't like denon and hate having to play out on them.

[Kieron]

Denon's everywhere I work (but I only use them to trigger my Serato software on my laptop)