fast laptop essential.
I would say dont buy the Numark controller they're usually shit quality - WILL break and quickly. Plus its a stupidly heavy piece of kit with a built-in laptop (??) Review here:
http://www.production-room.com/news/numark-ns7-review/
M-Audio, which is a semi-reliable pro-audio brand do this one called Torq Exponent which is pretty good and comes with the software included (although I dont think thats much cop) its $899 from storedj.com.au
Review from Digitek:
http://digitek.net.au/2008/12/m-audio-t ... nt-review/
I was DJ'ing for a friends party the other day and rather than bring my whole time-coded vinyl setup I thought I would try out his M-Audio Torq Xponent, and see how it runs with Virtual DJ.
The M-Audio Torq Exponent is one of the more advanced (and expensive) Midi controllers available. It can be used to control DJ software such as M-Audio's own Torq, Virtual DJ, and Traktor. Much like an all-in-one CDJ/Mixer kit the controller features all the controls typical of a pair of CD decks and a two channel mixer. The mixer includes:
* a horizontal crossfader control with transform buttons
* two volume faders
* two 3-band EQ control knobs with kill buttons
* two gain-control knobs with mute buttons
* two LED volume meters
* four RCA outputs for independent control of the house system and booth monitors
* a ¼” TRS headphone output with cue and volume controls
* a four channel sound card
The 'players' include:
* two touch-sensitive jog wheels
* two 100mm pitch adjust controls
* a built-in touchpad with assignable X/Y control surface for mouse or effect control
* eight assignable knobs for effect control
* 64 assignable back lit buttons, including Play, Cue, Seek, Loop, Key and Sync controls
I used the Xponent with both the Torq software and my own copy of Virtual DJ 5.2 so I will consider both for a comparison.
The Good
Xponent
A number of midi controllers have similar set ups to the Xponent but where it sets itself apart is with the large touch-sensitive jog wheels. Not many controllers offer touch sensitive jogs which means that performing moves such as scratching or 'throw ins' is more or less impossible. They are about the same size as the wheel on a Pioneer CDJ 100, and unlike just about every other product in this market they actually stick out from the surface about half an inch or more which allows you to move it with your whole hand rather than just a finger tip. The location of the jog wheels is also advantageous, being in the upper corners of the device mean that they are away from the volume and cross faders which on other controllers can often be accidentally moved when touching a wheel. They also have a good, weighted feel and are not so easily spun as say the Vestax VCI series. This is closer to the way the better CDJ jogs are and are much easier to play on.
The layout of the device is fairly smart overall with everything placed as they would be on a typical CDJ setup, with a mixer in the middle. Cue, loop and faders are all exactly where you would expect them to be. Think of it as a really compact set of CD decks in a road case, with the whole thing about the size of one vinyl turntable on it's side. I think they have got the size just right too. If it was smaller like the Vestax VCI-100 then the ability to play would suffer and if it was any larger then it would not be as portable.
It is also a fairly solid device. It has a good weight and feels like it has a better build quality than a lot of other controllers. The buttons are rubber and do not click but this gives you confidence to hit them with a bit of aggression. They are also all back lit to let you know if they are active or not.
xponent_back.jpg
Back Panel
In order to operate like a traditional mixer, giving you a master out as well as pre-listen in your headphones, a midi controller needs to be paired with a 4 channel sound card. This provides a channel for each turntable, and a channel for each turntable in the headphones. The Xponent is one of only a handful of devices that actually has this sound card built in, and does not require any additional spend on a 3rd party solution. I am happy to report that my experience with the Xponent's sound card was positive. Unlike cheaper devices, such as the Behringer BCD range, the internal M-Audio card is a true low latency solution producing great sound on all channels simultaneously, without any delay from the device to the speaker. The Xponent also has an additional Master Out for the Booth, which is essentially an output for a third speaker used by the DJ in the DJ Booth so that you can hear yourself.
I use Virtual DJ (Virtual Vinyl) as my usual DJ solution but I was keen to try out the Xponent with the latest version of the software. Virtual DJ does not fully support the Xponent by default. The backlight on the buttons will not work and you will have to map the controls yourself. There is however a custom mapper available on the VDJ website that does bring full functionality to the device. All I had to do was download and install the mapper, install the Xponent drivers, and then open up VDJ and activate the Xponent controller. All in all it was a relatively simple process.
I was running Virtual DJ and the Xponent on my EEE PC 901 and I am happy to report that it ran quite well. All buttons were mapped correctly and functioned without too many problems. The EEE PC also did a fine job of handling the software and sound reproduction, albeit with a slight bit of distortion in the sound coming from the headphones. I am not sure if this was due to the Xponent, the EEE or the software but it was not a major issue as the master out sounded fine. I have had this issue with Virtual DJ and midi controllers before and I think it has something to do with using Midi controllers and the Two Soundcard option in the sound card setup. Sadly I did not have more time to test but either way, it was no biggie.
The Bad
Virtual DJ
I have to say that I am not a fan of the Torq software. The Xponent controller comes with its own DJ software called Torq which like Virtual DJ and Traktor allows you to mix MP3's. I found the interface to be poorly laid out and overly detailed, there are so many buttons and so much information crammed onto the screen that it can be difficult to quickly find what you are looking for. I also did not think much of the top and bottom wave pattern and the way it moves across the screen. Having them overlaid the way Virtual DJ does works much better in my opinion, and makes it far easier to see where the anchor beats of two songs are. The Wave pattern for the whole song is also cramped into a very small area which for me defeats the entire purpose of having it. It is so small that you can't see where the individual break downs and phases of the song are. Despite having so much information on screen I think Torq actually gives you less visual aid for mixing.
The Jog Wheels do have a really good feel with Torq however, much better than they feel in the Virtual DJ default setup. The ratio between how far a song moves forwards or backwards and how far you have turned the wheel seems perfect. Back spins feel and sound great with Torq. The same can't be said for Virtual DJ but this is due to the default setup I was using and I believe it can be changed.
I also found the gain control to be rather manic with Virtual DJ. A slight turn of the knob seemed to dramatically adjust the volume up or down which gave some nasty results to the master output. Again this could be an issue with the default VDJ setup which may be easily fixed.
Summary
All things considered the M-Audio Torq Xponent is a great Midi Controller. In Australia it is priced lower than the Vestax VCI-100 at about $1000, and in my opinion the built in sound card and more intuitive layout make it a superior device. The Torq software that comes with it is not my favourite, but being a Midi device you can use it with any software that allows external controllers such as Virtual DJ or Ableton. This is a big advantage over say the Vestax VCI-300 which is locked to the Serato Itch software that comes with it.
Using the Xponent is very similar to DJ'ing with CD decks and if you are in the market for a software/controller solution, then this device would be a very good choice.