Looking for cd decks.. Anyone got some? Or where's a good place to buy?

Dj Superior · 22-08-2007, 04:59 AM

Mostly like the topic sais.. I live in norway tho

I dont know how much is regular for cd decks.. So ill take all tips

Thanks

dfx · 22-08-2007, 08:46 AM

for pioneer: cdj 100 is about 300 €
cdj 800 around 600-700 €
other brands offer (almost) the same functionality for less money, but the question of usability, handling and quality remains... pioneer is club standard.
ebay has good deals sometimes, as always with ebay, care is necessary...

Dj Superior · 22-08-2007, 10:16 AM

Thanks.. So a cdj 100 is good enough to start with?

dfx · 22-08-2007, 10:24 AM

yes absolutely. of course it's only a very basic cdj, supports no mp3 or cd-r media, the precision is only in +- 0.1% steps and it has other minor limitations (well, limitations is the wrong word... it just doesn't have all the features of the "big" cdjs), but other than that, it's a rock solid device, and once you got the feel for it, you can spin with any cdj there is (and you will never want to go back to any software based mixing system

). and if you later decide to upgrade, you can still sell them for a very good price, as they dont lose value very quickly. but of course, if you get a good deal for say a cdj 200, you can go for those as well

i've been using a pair of cdj 100s for a year and a half now, and i'm still very satisfied with them. i did try cdjs of a few other (cheaper) brands (like denon), but i never liked the handling of those. on the other hand, nothing beats a cdj 800 or 1000 of course... ;) its just a matter of the question of whether you want to spend 1500+ euro just for getting started... and even more if you need a mixer too.

dj beta ice · 22-08-2007, 01:38 PM

I have two gemini cfx20's......supposeablely they stopped making the cfx30s and the mpx30s, but these work amazingly..... I think I paid like $250usd for each, and the mixer was just a basic two channel mixer......

great for beginning/starting out....I'm looking to upgrade within a year or so when I get better and I start getting some gigs.

Dj Superior · 23-08-2007, 06:05 AM

Ok, thanks for the comments from both

BassT4ken · 23-08-2007, 10:49 AM

I have some question too about that...

For moment I have a basic Dj Console : Hercules MK2, it's about 220, 230 €
Have the CD decks all the feature there is on Virtual Dj ? I mean, when I set a cue point, I see the time remaining to this cue point and so I can make my transition... I wonder because I haven't really seen cd decks in real life ^^ I mix for 4 months now, I'm still a novice.

And I think it is necessary to have 2 cd decks but if one is 500, 2 are 1000 €... It's expensive :s.

dfx · 23-08-2007, 11:00 AM

theres a time display that can either show the time remaining till the end of the track (this is the default) or the time elapsed since the beginning of the track. usually you start making the transition when the time counter has reached 1:30 or so.

BassT4ken · 24-08-2007, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfx

theres a time display that can either show the time remaining till the end of the track (this is the default) or the time elapsed since the beginning of the track. usually you start making the transition when the time counter has reached 1:30 or so.

It's often between 0:55 and 1:00... And for another tune, it can be 1:20... (for me) But with cue on virtual Dj it's easy, you can see exactly when you'll arrive at your cue point to make the transition. Maybe without any software and with CD decks, you must make your transition only with listening so. A bit more complicated.

But of course you can take your software with cd decks and mixer I believe.

xruntime · 29-08-2007, 11:15 AM

To be honest, I'd say it isn't worth to settle for 100s unless you are certain you will be keeping them and using them for several years. Nor is it necessary to get 1000s, either.

Van Deka · 30-08-2007, 01:37 AM

If you shop on American websites, you will pay a lot less but the shipping will cost a small amount more, i know for a fact that certain stores will ship to Europe and but a for a little bit more, my friend still lives in the ukraine and he told me he bought a djm mixer from an American site.

dfx · 30-08-2007, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassT4ken

It's often between 0:55 and 1:00... And for another tune, it can be 1:20... (for me) But with cue on virtual Dj it's easy, you can see exactly when you'll arrive at your cue point to make the transition. Maybe without any software and with CD decks, you must make your transition only with listening so. A bit more complicated.

with the larger cdjs, it's possible to store many cue points per track and even permanently (on an mmc card for example), but i can't say for sure if it's possible to set the time display to "time remaining till cue point x". but anyhow, you shouldn't rely on such things anyway. suppose you go to play in a club and they only have some diff kind of cdjs, you wouldn't be able to play properly then. so, it's in your own interest to get used to mixing by listening only. don't ever start to rely on any features of any specific cdjs too heavily.

BassT4ken · 30-08-2007, 09:06 AM

I think so, you must memorize when you want to make the transition (per exemple, at 6:10 for the current tune and 0:50 for the next tune) so you can say, I start the next tune when the current tune is at 5:20...

Of course, you get your transition cue point after pre listening

Maybe it's a way...

GreyDog · 01-09-2007, 01:27 PM

I've had a pair of CDJ-100s' for almost a year, with a VMX1000 mixer, and they do great job for all your basic needs, they DO play CD-r's and most of my RW's. But no MP3

I'd love a pair of CDJ's that play MP3 and show tag info, but not important.

Virtual DJ is like autopilot compared to a pair of Decks, Mastering VDJ takes a few hours, but mastering a pair of CDJ's may take you a little longer.

I think the units I have are at least 7 years old, and still work perfectly, but there are several battle bundles, integrated mixer and 2 cd players, for less than $400cdn for the whole thing.

But you'll be very happy with CDJ100s or even CDJ200 to start, if you are on a budget.

lethalleigh · 24-10-2007, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfx

with the larger cdjs, it's possible to store many cue points per track and even permanently (on an mmc card for example), but i can't say for sure if it's possible to set the time display to "time remaining till cue point x". but anyhow, you shouldn't rely on such things anyway. suppose you go to play in a club and they only have some diff kind of cdjs, you wouldn't be able to play properly then. so, it's in your own interest to get used to mixing by listening only. don't ever start to rely on any features of any specific cdjs too heavily.

I must agree with you here dfx, get used to listening to tracks and after a while you know when changes are gonna happen in a track and how long it is to the end roughly! pre-listening to determine when and how you bring in next track, and setup EQ is important but effort on such time features is not recommended eg. you cant do it with vinyl anyway, its guesswork and becoming familiar with records and the track, and like dfx said "LISTENING" IS THE KEY.

As for the larger CDJ's, i can speak for the 800's and 1000's, its not possible to as dfx said "set the time display to "time remaining till cue point x", its only time remaining for track (default) or time lapsed for track! but if you really wanna use this technique, as much as i suggest against, use the time lapse feature and set your cue, then it will tell you how far in the track you are, then when set change it to time remaining, and you can then start it from the previous amount you got from time lapsed to get to your cue point! but ill say again not something i recommend either, its one of those bad habits that software can give you as i have used software when i started out also, now i use both but have learnt from the bad habits associated with it!