Denon DNS1000 or Pioneer CDJ-800?

[FlameBoy]

I'm thinking of finally ditching my Technics 1200s (and most of my vinyl) next year, partly for space reasons, but also because I only seem to be buying (mostly psytrance and chillout) CDs these days...

I was thinking of going for some "mid-priced" decks, probably either the Denon DNS1000 [http://www.djstore.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.pl?item=dendns1000 ] or the Pioneer CDJ-800 [http://www.djstore.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.pl?item=piocdj800 ]. They've both got Pros/Cons as far as I can see:

The Denon is smaller (which is good as far as I'm concerned), can play MP3 CDs, has built in high & low-pass filters (fun!) and is cheaper - £369 on www.djstore.co.uk versus £449 for the Pioneer's
Also it looks well-made and from what I can tell from conversations with Fushion Julz, the spares service can't be worse than Pioneer's!

On the other hand, the Pioneer's are much more standard in clubs (either the CDJ-1000 or the CDJ-800 anyway, but they're very similar), and they're what are used at the moment at the local psytrance night in Oxford (Baraka) that I'm involved with. But, as Julz can atest to, the spares situation is dire, and I don't know if they look as well-made as the Denons (and they're much bigger)

If I do go for the Denons and learn how to use these, how difficult do you think it woud be for me to use Pioneer CDJ-800/1000s? Are the two similar in the way that they operate?

Alternatively - any other suggestions? Preferably for decks that are not too dissimilar to the Pioneer CDJ-800/1000s in operation (BTW I've tried the new Technics CD decks and really didn't like them). I don't intend to do any fancy scratching etc., just beat-mixing, plus some looping etc.

BTW I have checked out the thread "CDJ 100 Vs Other CDJ's" http://psy-forum.co.uk/psyforum/viewtopic.php?t=12040 for some info., but would like some comments about the Denons vs. the Pioneers if poss.

thanks

Paul
_________________
"If there's trouble, all us freaks have is each other" --Abe Sapien (from the film Hellboy)

 

[Fushion Julz]

Paul:

Honestly, there aren't too many decks that are similar to Pioneers....For some reason Pioneer have chosen a non-standard cue/pause button configuration. Denon are similar to almost all the other decks (Numark, Technics, Stanton, Gemini, etc) that are available.

Obviously, if your prime consideration is to have/use and learn on decks *identical* to the ones in (most) clubs, then the Pioneers are the only option...

But what happens if the clubs change to (say) Technics? TBH, there isn't a whole heap of difference between the different ones in operation terms, and 5-10 mins of "familiarisation" and they will all seem the same...

The closest emulation of vinyl (since you are coming from a vinyl background) are the Numark CDX1...However, they are the same size as the Numark TTX1 vinyl deck and that is already bigger than Technics/Vestax decks!

The smaller Numark Axis 8/9 models don't emulate vinyl as well....But I reckon out of all the budget decks they are the best made....

When I looked and played with the DN1000s at PLASA this year, I thought they were superb and a direct competition for the Pioneer CDJ500s in size and price, but with a much better build and feel....

Good luck with your choice....

 

[FlameBoy]

Paul:

Honestly, there aren't too many decks that are similar to Pioneers....For some reason Pioneer have chosen a non-standard cue/pause button configuration. Denon are similar to almost all the other decks (Numark, Technics, Stanton, Gemini, etc) that are available.

Obviously, if your prime consideration is to have/use and learn on decks *identical* to the ones in (most) clubs, then the Pioneers are the only option...

But what happens if the clubs change to (say) Technics? TBH, there isn't a whole heap of difference between the different ones in operation terms, and 5-10 mins of "familiarisation" and they will all seem the same...

The closest emulation of vinyl (since you are coming from a vinyl background) are the Numark CDX1...However, they are the same size as the Numark TTX1 vinyl deck and that is already bigger than Technics/Vestax decks!

The smaller Numark Axis 8/9 models don't emulate vinyl as well....But I reckon out of all the budget decks they are the best made....

When I looked and played with the DN1000s at PLASA this year, I thought they were superb and a direct competition for the Pioneer CDJ500s in size and price, but with a much better build and feel....

Good luck with your choice....

Julz - Thanks for all this, was just the kind of info. I was looking for. I'll have a think about what would be the best option for me (probably not the Numark TTX 1 though)

FlameBoy