Prime 2 or 4.....do I or don't I?

[Imagine]

It's been a while since I made any purchases for the business (quite rightly because there's no money coming in).

I'd been promising myself before "you know what" put an end to life as we know it that I was going to invest in a Denon Prime 4 (I'm a big fan of Denon kit and currently have an MCX7000 as the main controller with an MC6000 Mk2 as back-up)
But, I like the idea of being laptop free, especially since the Prime series now work with VDJ (my software of choice).

I know it's not going to make me any more money by having one of these (which is always my business case), but it'll make life easier (both of my play-out MacBooks are well past due for replacement). Add to this, we'll be out and about again (fingers crossed) in the next 12 months, and it seems that it's the right time to commit, get the kit and get accustomed to it before it's used in earnest.

So...is it simply a case of the Prime 4 has four decks and the 2 has two? (I only ever use two decks)
Does anyone here have real world experience of these re reliability? i.e. what happens if the PSU goes down (is it possible to run on USB power from a laptop?)

Any thoughts on this one would be well and truly appreciated. It's a BIG investment for something the customer won't necessarily notice (but I WILL in terms of setup and break down times and that's important).

[Excalibur]

As you know, I too considered a Prime , although I haven't owned any Denon kit since the last X-500 waved goodbye. I was looking at the GO, to go with my GOGOs. ( No children, I haven't gone back to having dancers at the front of the rig).
Prime GO, with Maui 5 GO was the idea with the need for no mains supply being the driver. Wedding ceremonies would be the main use for the battery bit.

Only advice I can give is that one of our number, who is set in his love for some kit not specifically designed for DJ use ( although it does the job very nicely, I have to say ) had a play with the Prime, and pronounced it very user friendly, and briefly considered dipping his hand in his pocket. Had he been five years younger, he might have bought one, but he didn't think he could turn a profit by the time he might retire.

[rth_discos]

But, I like the idea of being laptop free, especially since the Prime series now work with VDJ (my software of choice).

But, don't you still need the laptop to be connected to the Prime to make it interface with Virtual DJ? Just saves you looking at the laptop screen (and instead squinting at a 'smaller' screen?!)

I think if you particularly wanted to give the look of a DJ who doesn't use a laptop, you can put the laptop under the booth for example and use it that way.

But I personally don't get the attraction of the Prime series. My biggest fear is that you're at the mercy of how long they want to maintain the development of it for.

If the laptop needs an upgrade, personally, I'd just upgrade the laptop. Because even with the Prime I think you're going to need to upgrade the laptop anyway.

Had he been five years younger, he might have bought one, but he didn't think he could turn a profit by the time he might retire.

From a purely business point of view, it's highly unlikely it was ever going to turn him any form of profit.

Would it bring him more bookings? Was he going to put his price up? What he meant was, over the 5 year period he felt he could justify the cost of it - rather than it being an investment that actually brought him additional revenue.

For me, every investment needs to bring in 10 x extra revenue to be worth doing.

[Excalibur]

For me, every investment needs to bring in 10 x extra revenue to be worth doing.

Your Mum didn't by any chance go on a day trip to the Yorkshire Dales before you were born, did she? Nearly a year before?

Here's a little story.
A Frenchman is on holiday in England, and is involved in a horrific car crash. The only blood compatible with his comes from a Yorkshire farmer, and saves the Frenchman's life. The Frenchman seeks out the farmer, and gives him £5,000 as thanks for saving his life.

Years later, he's revisiting the scene, and has an equally horrific accident! ( Yeah, he's really unlucky, I know). Once again, he is given blood from the same source, and when he recovers, he again seeks out the Farmer, to reward him with a five pound note!

When asked why the large decrease in generosity, he replies:

" Ah yes, but I now have Yorkshire blood in me".

[ppentertainments]

Just my personal opinion, but think these 'all-in-one' units are still being developed and waiting a couple of years might result in you getting a trouble free system which will do what you need.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

No.

Makes no business sense.

[DJ Jules]

They're good units and I've heard very good things from everyone who's bought one. If I were starting out and hand to put my hand in my pocket for a laptop, controller and VDJ license (specifically for DJ use, forgetting admin, etc) I could easily build a case for buying a prime instead.

As someone with a number of workable laptops, existing investment in software licenses and a usable controller, I'm happy to let others spend their money on them as my existing platform does what I need and I'm in no rush to change.

Julian