The two contenders are not surprising. All I will say is that regardless of badge, I'd be unhappy using a 2 channel unit as main playout. Not really flexible enough. That would ( for me ) mean an additional mixer, which may well be an advantage, rather than a drawback, so I suppose that doesn't narrow it down much.
Except to say that if my VMS 4.1 died tonight, a VMS 5 would replace it without a moment's thought. .
Would you consider second hand, an mc600 km2 would be about the new price of a Mc4000?
As much as I'm not a Denon fan, that would be a comparable alternative to the VMS 5.Originally Posted by sweetie
Thats what I thought , I have sent a PM , haveing used the Denon X900 and the 4500 I found them perfect for my needs , then again so was the VMS4.1 , what ever happens I shall either a VMS 5 , or a Denon as a back up
Daryll
darylldj.co.uk , serving hampshire , Surrey and sussex
I have the MC4000 and don’t use the jog wheels - I’m pleased with it
Well thats me and ADJ finished forever.
My VMS4.1 not only dosent work with USB , none of the channels work on phono either ( Yes I did move the switches from USB to Analogue]
So the back up laptop dident work with the VMS either , so in the depths of my cable bag was a Sound blaster X-fi with 5m phonos , so from laptop to sound card.
Sound card to SRM 450`s ( wow are those nice speakers) , so the gig went on , bit of a pain using the software EQ in ultramixer , same set up tomorrow , in the mean time I brought a Denon MC6000 Mk2 in the bay , that wont be here until Tuesday , I may get it all working with Ultramixer , but no hurry , as I can now gig ( pain using windows volume control , but that`s the way it goes) , the VMS will get stripped down to find the problem , but I am in no hurry to do that.
It shows the importance of Backup equipment...
Daryll
darylldj.co.uk , serving hampshire , Surrey and sussex
OK - I now realise why I shelled out best part of a grand for the MC7000!
I got it for failover purposes....if laptop 1 dies, laptop 2 kicks in - I got the chance to test that theory today!
The scenario - a kid's/family type party this afternoon. Thankfully not something important like a wedding and even better, the customer is a personal friend so no real stress...except I take this job way too seriously and expect to put on a professional show regardless of who the customer is (so yes....I was sweating gallons!).
I'd stood talking to said client for way too long before I even got the gear out of the van...time was very tight for setting up and sound checking everything...my bad
Turned on, started playout on MacBook 1, and everything seemed fine.
What was strange though is that it took a couple of minutes for the distortion to "appear". I'd turned on background music and it was fine. Nipped outside for a crafty smoke before the guests arrived, came back inside and the sound had degraded....A LOT!. It sounded like I'd wrapped the columns in the McDonalds bags sitting in the cab of the van! Nothing was peaking, it certainly wasn't loud, but it sounded fatal
Soooo...MacBook 2 is the lighting controller, but also the backup playout. It hadn't been updated with this afternoon's playlist (including a couple of important tracks I needed to play but hey-ho....that's what 4G is for right?). Press two buttons on the MC7000 and abracadabra....laptop 2 is in control (and not distorting). The best part is...this party is such a walk in the park that I hadn't planned on even firing up the second laptop but for some reason (maybe habit) turned it on anyway. What I certainly didn't bother taking with me was backup PA (because we can run on one side can't we??? Well BOTH sides were sounding rough).
I suspect (but have been dozing on the couch since I got home so haven't had the time to test), that the problem possibly lies with the USB cable from laptop1 to the controller (although wouldn't like to put money on it because it was working the last time it was out on Friday night). I'll test this out in the next couple of days and deafen the neighbours. It could also be down to a recent Mac update which has been applied to MacBook 1 (and tested on studio monitors yesterday at home) but NOT MacBook 2...testing will find the root cause
So...just shy of £1k for a controller with dual inputs? One hell of an investment in my book because it saved my bacon this afternoon.
Alternatively, deploy Laptop 2 with ESI soundcard and DJ2GO into channels 3 and 4 analogue inputs on the VMS 4.1,significant cost saving over your system.
Well there's one I've never heard of......
Been diagnosing the problem I had on Sunday with the MC7000 degrading in sound....it looks like sound card 1 has a problem(all leads swapped, physical laptops swapped, same laptop which was running when distortion kicked in has been put through the other USB channel etc.). The distortion even happens in the headphones....it's strange.
Looks like a trip to Colchester on Saturday morning for a straight swap out then
This would be my first choice if I moved to a new controller. One of my DJ's had a 7000 on Saturday and demonstrated the fact that he can run 2 different software systems. Perfect back up if the laptop dies! it a bit on the large side mind you. On the same night another of my DJ's had the 4000, which is more my style. I like both of them, good work Denon. Don't know how but i had not seen either of them (I tend to walk straight through the knob twiddler room at BPM). I am feeling a bit antiquated now with my Vestax VCI, but it still works perfectly and does everything I want it too which is the main thing; it runs on USB power, which is one of the key benefits.OK - I now realise why I shelled out best part of a grand for the MC7000!
I got it for failover purposes....if laptop 1 dies, laptop 2 kicks in - I got the chance to test that theory today!
Last edited by yourdj; 20-12-2017 at 10:24 AM.
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