There’s one massive list of strange customers that wear the original LP model customized to their liking – Paris Hilton, Gio Conzales, NERVO, and Lindsay Lohan to name a few. And though celebrity names like Kobe Bryant wont do one whole heck of a lot for audiophiles when it comes to actual audio quality, you can bet that this team of manufacturers isnt going anywhere any time soon. And I’m here to tell you right now: if it’s good enough for Paul Oakenfold, it’s good enough for me.

Unboxing

So we’ve got a pair of $199 headphones here in a box that you’ve got to cut a ribbon to get into. The box itself is impressive enough what with cardboard around it that’s thicker than the jacket of a hardcover book, then the top has a button hinge and a snakeskin strap (fake, we hope) that keeps the contents beyond safe in their travels to the specialty shops. Inside you’ll find padding around a monster shell which contains the headphones and the mass of cords and plugs that come with it.

Package Contents

Inside the shell are the headphones themselves, two detachable cables with 24k gold-plated plugs: both of them fabric, 3.5mm jacks, and universally compatible with all headphone jack-having devices. One is is a classic cable with no added features along it, the other has a 3-button remote control able to work with Apple products including iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. Also inside is a converter plug for plugging these same cables into your larger amplifier, and all of these items are held down with a couple of strap-heavy removable panels that you can use (or not use) inside your shell – one also has a belt clip so you can attach your goods to your side when the shell is too big to bring with you on the go.

Military Grade Construction

The shell is a hard exoskeleton carrying case that’s black-on-black printed and ribbed on the outside surrounded by a red and black zipper and embroidered in red with the V-Moda logo at the top. Inside is a lovely bright red padded container custom molded for your V-MODA Limited Edition Crossfade LP2s. Great for tossing in your backpack for long trips on airplanes or short trips to the recording studio. Don’t worry too much about damage, on the other hand, because with these phones you’ve got an Immortal Life Program – this allowing you a 50% off lifetime discount if you’ve accidentally smashed the crap out of your phones and want to pick up a new pair – cheap!

For the phones themselves, you’ve got a business that’s ready and willing to help you get the best fit and feel the most awesome when you’re using your headset on the regular. Get a taste of trueHERTZ to see what I mean. As far as how hardcore the equipment is, Military-Grade durability should keep you sleeping at night:

The Crossfade LP2 is tested under strict MIL-STD-810G military testing and V-MODA’s even tougher VMQA guidelines:

• Kevlar® reinforced detachable cables and 45-degree plug strain relief can each bend over 1 million times, over 100x industry standards
• Survives 70+ drops on concrete from 6 feet, approximately 3x the industry standard
• Headband can bend 10+ times flat, not break and retain its memory and shape
• Virtually inaudible sound variances across the spectrum of less than 2dB from unit to unit versus 10-30dB+ of inferior products
• MIL-STD-810G environmental tests including high and low temperatures, humidity, salt spray and UV exposure

Sound

As for sound – and I know you’ve been waiting for this after all that talk about every other possible aspect of these phones – you’ve got what V-Moda calls Live Play Sound. It’s a patent-pending “biggest-in-class” set of 50mm Dual-Diaphragm Drivers and V-PORT 3D staging. This setup, they say, is able to recreate the sound of multiple drivers at the same time as it sticks to the consistency of a single quality driver. The Crossfade LP2 phones are fine-tuned with a 31-band EQ, this keeping your eardrums in tact whilst delivering a wide range of sounds with high quality power.

Wrap-Up

And indeed that is what they do. If you were looking for assurance from your humble narrator here that these headphones sound fabulous – they certainly attain that level of approval from me. These are without a doubt the finest set of over-ear headphones I’ve tested at this point for the price point they set at, and are currently my day-to-day go-to pair for everyday listening as well as listening out in the wild – read: at coffee shops and at the library.

For DJ situations, again, I’ll trust the tests of the masters listed above working with the model that came before this one, essentially the same in build and quality. What this set offers is a bump above the original LP model, and without a doubt they are worth the cash you toss down on them at $199. You can also grab yourself a pair of custom metal plate replacements if you really want to – go ahead! Treat yourself! These limited editions are available at V-Moda’s online shop while supplies last.

Connect these mothers to your Android device for listening to the Google Music all night long – connect to your iPhone for some iCloud banging throughout the day! Then for those of you without Bluetooth devices or a need to connect directly, there’s also the option for using a 3.5 mm audio cable in the interim. Charge them up with the included USB cable and grab yourself 22.5 hours of talk time with 180 hours of standby.

That’s right, talk time – these headphones can also be used as a handsfree headset for your smartphone should you feel the need to chatter. The Signal to Noise ratio on these beasts is More than 58Db at 1kHz and they’re designed to fold up nicely for travel as well. And what’s best about these phones in black or white? They only cost $39 USD including shipping! Available in early February for all interested lovers of Bluetooth-compatible sounds.

[via Tenqa]

The Numark IDJ station has nudge/scratch jogwheels, buttons for looping, pitch controls, and the whole shebang besides. You’ve got volume knobs all around, buttons for the programming, and full integration with the already diverse djay app. This unit is made for consumers mainly, but certainly has nothing large holding it back from being used in a professional party environment.

This unit is made of both a brushed alminum and semitransparent plastic so lighted controls can brighten up your world on the fly. Capacitive touch-activated platters work with Hot Cues and retro-styled aluminum bits across the board for a powerful experience for everyone from beginners to veteran musicians. This device has a dedicated RCA 1/4 input, is Airplay compatible, and has a lovely dedicated music-library scroll knob of which it’s quite proud of. This device does not yet have a release date or a price, but we can expect it inside 2012 for sure!

Check out this fabulous hands-on video with Numark’s product manager Chris Roman courtesy of the folks over at DigitalDJTips – note that although the unit isn’t fully working as of yet, it’s pretty much a final look at the hardware.

Check out how the DJ crafts a few beats here in this trailer and notice how the digital bits flying around in a transparent array, this telling you that while the connection is there, you’ll still be working in your native environment. This takes what mostly analog users had loved about their preferred work station and keeps it in the real world, taking with it the advantages of the digital world to make a wholly connected experience.

Now we’ve only got the skills of the DJ at hand to blame for the idiotically insanely wicked beats that shall be dropping imminently. We’ll be following TRAKTOR very closely in the next few weeks here to grab the name, release date, and price of this particular station, and hope that they’ll be releasing it into the wild soon! The set you’re seeing in the video, mind you, uses Loopmasters sample content from these lovely titles: Lynx – Eclectic Drum and Bass, Kanji Kinetic Presents Drumstep & Mutant Bass Vol. 1, and you can find those at Loopmasters.

With the Faderfox DS3, you can switch between four devices, yes, but you’ll also have four multifunctional encoders. You’ll have access to all of your FX, deck, and loop parameters via 6 group buttons, and dedicated FX assign buttons allow you to switch between 4 FX busses. You’ve got a loop recorder section with encoder and two buttons — and from here you’ve got an additional copy function to any of your sample slots. Then of course there are buttons galore with a selection of 12 extra large, each made for sample trigger and hotcue access.

Every single control has a secondary function when you hold down your shift button, and a total of 31 LED lights and a 2-digit display show you all the various information and feedback data from your computer. In all you’ve got “about 750 commands” at your fingertips, each of them open to reassignment. This unit is currently listed for sale for 210 Euros, this ending up being right around $280 USD before shipping. Sound like the controller for you, or will you go with something like the $50 Lemur for iPad? I suppose that might depend on if you’ve got an iPad or not!

[via Create Digital Music]

For instance, Blue LEDs on the jog wheels show how close the mix phase is, pulsing more strongly when you’re closer in pitch. The channel fader lighting, meanwhile, match track beat with their flashing as well as showing output levels by their brightness. There are also dedicated controls for loops, filters and sample playback, while ports include a MIDI output, microphone input and line-out. The angled physical design means you can slide your laptop keyboard underneath and keep the overall footprint low.

The Pioneer DDJ-ERGO-V DJ Controller is available now, priced at £429 ($671). Buyers get a copy of Atomix Productions Virtual DJ Limited Edition in the box, though the controller should support other apps as well.

The speaker system has a pair of compact wooden satellites that are small enough to reduce clutter in a packed studio. Each of them has a silk-dome tweeter and a 4-inch woofer with a Kevlar diaphragm. The speakers also have a dual port system for hearing the bass frequencies in music. The rear of the speakers have a lots of inputs.

Inputs include a RCA input for main source, a balanced TRS input, one line input, and one output for headphones. The speakers mute themselves when headphones are connected. The satellites measure 10.8 x 7.5 x 7-inches and they weigh 9.3 pounds for the right and the left speaker measures 6.3-pounds. Peak power is 80W and the speakers will launch in late October for $169.99.

The device also has eight different inputs and XLR balanced outputs. Other features for the device include a sound color filter, which is a manual filter function on each channel of the device that is enabled with a large knob and can be adjusted to the tune and the DJs tastes. The filter allows the mixing of fader and EQ effects.

The device has eight inputs with patch for four DJ multi-player and analog turntable inputs, three AUX inputs, and a mic input. The mixer can also act as a pre-amp for PCs and other gear. The mixer is compatible with 48 kHz/24-bit digital processing and supports fader start play functionality. It also has peak level meters, and can be rack mounted. A black version will launch in December for $399 and a white version will land in January for $399.

The show has a slew of customized Pioneer CDJ-2000 digital music players that were used as the canvas for the art. The art show is set up to benefit the VH1 Save The Music Foundation. Artists include BT, Bob Haro, George Thompson, Jesse Graves, Joe Hahn, Man One, Ritzy Periwinkle, ROSTARR, Steve Aoki, The Crystal Method, Tommy Lee & DJ Aero as well as Victor “Marka27″
Quiñonez.

The art ranges from 80′s style splatter paint to my personal favorite, the LEGO version. The LEGO version has all the buttons and scratch wheel replaced with LEGO bricks and plates and it is really cool. I also like the turntable with the small keyboard at the bottom and the dual guitar necks on the sides. Check out the source to see all the custom gear.

While there have been so-called time-coded vinyl (TCV) systems in the past, they have all required specially-marked records and hardware to track their movement. MOPHO DJ differs in that it simply requires an accelerometer or gyroscope-equipped device, like an iPhone or iPod touch, and uses that motion tracking to do the same thing. That makes it cheaper and easier to implement; Bryan uses a disc of perspex with a rubber mat mounted to seat the iPhone, but you could feasibly use a regular record.

Because the direct movement of the turntable is being tracked, you can still use all its manual controls – such as pitch-adjustment – while the iPhone’s display shows the real-time waveform of the audio currently playing. Even if you don’t have a turntable you’ll still be able to use MOPHO DJ in the “untethered performance” mode, simply moving the phone in mid-air so as to scratch records.

Bryan details MOPHO DJ in his paper [pdf link] and intends to release the iPhone app and accompanying computer software in the near future.

[via Geek]

The DJM-T1 is a complete solution with a hybrid mixer, a controller, and an audio interface in one unit. Pioneer designed the new mixer to support and be ready to use the new features of the Traktor Duo 2 software right out of the box. The mixer can be used without a computer if the turntables stop working and the mixer has controls for the six FXs that are included in the software and for crossover adjustments as well.

The mixer supports the Sample Decks feature that allows the DJ to open two scratch decks and load up to four loops or samples in each. The device has a USB soundcard inside and it can be used for scratching with CDJs or turntables. The soundcard will allow the recording of sets to a computer using a cable and the device uses a 24-bit DA converter for clarity. The mixer also has enhanced fader operability and durability. Pricing and availability are unknown at this time.

The company has already addressed the issue at the production line, but it does mean that any units already in the wild in the US and Europe will have to be returned and swapped for a new model. According to Pioneer, that swap should happen at the retailer, but with availability now pushed back until early April it’s probably worth ringing ahead to make sure they’ve an updated version for you.

The Pioneer DJM-900nexus has am integrated 24bit/96kHz USB sound-card, four audio channels and two mic channels. It has an X-Y controller and can connect to up to four CDJ-2000s/900s (or alternatively software sources) simultaneously. MRSP is $2,399.

As with the more expensive models, you get a pair of touch-sensitive jog wheels, each with volume, 2-band EQ and effects, along with a cross-fader. It hooks up via USB and comes with a copy of MixVibes CROSS LE with support for M4A, AIFF, WAV, MP3, FLAC and OGG audio files.

Set to go on sale in May 2011, the Gemini FirstMix will arrive at $79.95. Probably not something that Tiesto will give up his kit for, but an affordable way for bedroom DJs to get started at least.

Press Release:

Gemini Introduces FirstMix – USB DJ Controller for Aspiring DJs

Edison, NJ – March 10, 2011 – Gemini, a division of GCI Technologies and a leading innovator of modern DJ technology, is excited to unveil the FirstMix USB DJ Controller for aspiring DJs. This easy to use, yet feature rich controller with two touch sensitive jog wheels that allow anyone to scratch like a pro.

A “Best in Show” winner at the 2011 Winter NAMM show, FirstMix connects via USB and allows users to DJ using their iTunes or other music library. FirstMix ships with Cross LE DJ software from MixVibes and is also compatible with Traktor, Virtual DJ and Algoriddim’s DJAY and other popular DJ software.

“We took many of the best features from our Gemini professional DJ products and integrated them into FirstMix for anyone who is interested in a fun and easy way to get started in digital DJ,” says Mark Wilder, Vice President of Marketing for GCI Technologies. “FirstMix lets you ‘scratch’ right out of the box and gives you the tools you need to put together a great party mix.”

Other key features include the ability to seamlessly mix songs together, spice up tracks with effects, play music in reverse, adjust bass and treble output and record your set. Priced at $79.95, the FirstMix is the newest addition to Gemini’s Digital DJ Controller line and will be available through musical instrument, electronics, and DJ retailers in May, 2011.

For the latest information on FirstMix and all of Gemini’s DJ gear, visit www.geminidj.com and follow us at facebook.com/TheGeminiDJ and twitter.com/gemini_dj.

The mixer has a bunch of different effects including new sound color FX with Space, Dub Echo, and Gate/comp in addition to Filter, Crush, and Noise that can be activated with twist knobs. The device also has Beat Effect with 13 effects including new Spiral and Melodic effects. A touchscreen is in the side of the mixer as well called the X-Pad that allows control and access to the 13 integrated effects and more.

The DJM-900nexus is designed for sound quality with integrated 24bit/96kHz high performance USB soundcard inside that can handle input from four stereo sources via the singe USB port. The mixer also has the same input and output circuits as the DJM-2000 for accuracy of sound and has booth outputs and headphone outputs along with a 32-bit DSP. The mixer has hoards of other features as well. It will land in March for $2,399.

The DJ 4Set measures 13.7″ x 9.8″ and is large enough to mix easily with space between the control and non slip feet to keep it in place on a desk or table. The device has large dual jog wheels that are 12cm in diameter and they have a Touch Wheel mode for scratching and other uses.

The backlighting on the wheels can be changed between red or green and the backlighting can be changed on the buttons as well. Other features include four channels and a stereo headphone input plus a mic input that allows talk over for tracks. The device has four virtual decks for mixing and 60 total controls in dual deck mode and 112 in four deck mode. The DJ 4Set will ship in April for $249.99.

This is the gear that a Storm Trooper turned DJ would want to rock the Deathstar with. Other than the color, the gear has the same specs as the black offerings from earlier in the year. The CDJ-350-W media player has a BEAT display that helps the DJ to see where the beat position of a song is. It also has a beat loop, loop divide, and hot loop function. The device has tons of other features as well.

The DJM-350-W is a DJ mixer with functions that are the same as the black version and similar to other DJM mixers offered by Pioneer. It offers four effects including noise, short echo, filter, and jet. It converts analog signals to digital, and has multiple other features as well. The packaged pearl white DJ system with two CDJ-350W and one DJM-350-W will sell for $2445 and will ship in January.

Sennheiser says that the headphones have a high maximum sound pressure level and a detachable one-sided cable. They ship with a carry bag and an adapter that allow use with 6.3mm audio ports. The headphones have a frequency response of 16-22000 Hz and a sound pressure level of 120 dB.

The cable is 1.5m long and the normal adapter is 3.5mm and will fit into most music devices like the iPod and iPhone. The headphones weigh 162g. If you want to pick up a set, you can get them online and in Apple stores for £224.99.

The DJ08 speakers are bi-amplified 2-way powered speakers with 2.5cm soft dome tweeters. The woofer of the speakers is an 8-inch unit and they have a frequency range of 43Hz to 26kHz. The speakers offer XLR x 1 and TRS x 1 balanced inputs and dual RCA inputs for unbalanced use.

The DJ08 speakers measure 9.84″ x 15.39″ x 14.61″ and weigh 59.52 pounds per pair. The DJ05 speakers have the same specifications and vary in the frequency characteristics, woofer size and weight only. The DJ05 speakers have a range of 50Hz to 25kHz and measure 7.28″ x 11.85″ x 10.16″ with a weight of 29.54 pounds per pair. The woofer is a 5-inch unit in the DJ05 system. Availability for both is set for January with the DJ08 selling for $1199 per pair and the DJ05 selling for $899 per pair.

The Finish CLUB Deluxe DJ table is actually the first in a set that Mödek plans on creating for their DJ Furniture collection. The table itself is of glossy origin, and features vinyl exclusive decorations. The table itself is created from wood and MDF, and provided with a high gloss lacquer finish. The top cover is the same hue, to make it look flush and clean. As for the wires, you’ll hide them within the table, running them through a connecting hole so you can plug in your equipment.

While the standard options are probably enough to get a DJ excited, the optional features make it all so much better. You can opt-in for optional laptop support, as well as LED RGB that are hidden within the holes thanks to brackets. And, if you’ve got yourself a logo, you can have it hanging there on the table, and outlined in LEDs thanks to more brackets. The Mödek Finish CLUB Deluxe DJ table is available right now, and it will run you €999, or about $1,300.

[via The Design Blog]

The HDJ-500 headphones have a $125 MRSP and are designed for comfort and fidelity. The headphones will come in black, white, and red colors. The headphones have urethane pads for the ears that mold to the users head for comfort. The pads are wrapped in leather and the main structure of the headphones is magnesium for lightweight and durability.

Pioneer ships the headphones with two cords with one 1M long and a coiled 1.2M cord that extends to 3M. The black and red headphones will ship in November with the white version shipping in January. The headphones have a frequency range of 5Hz to 28,000Hz, impedance is 45 ohms, and the drivers are 40mm.

All of the details about how designer Rodrigo (who lives in Chile) got this to work are scarce at this point, but for now we know that it’s built around a rear-projector. Other than that, we don’t know how he’s doing it. From what we can tell, that’s just a clear sheet of glass, and it’s showcasing the fact that it can beam out video that will respond to the touch of a finger.

The video below is worth all of the text above, we assure you. And, if you find any pleasure in being a DJ, then you should be pretty ecstatic that this is what your art is going to turn into, some day. Then again, we could go into an alternate reality, and this is what you may get.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/13724835[/vimeo]

[via Engadget]

This rig was set up by one Lord Baron Joseph C.R. Vourteque, who hails from Chicago. You may not be able to tell just by looking at it, but this is a DJ mixer set within a frame of old-school Steampunk. As you can tell, there’s plenty of wood and brass in here, making us inherently attracted to it. You get speaker horns! Speaker horns! As for the whole mixing thing, it can actually do that, between two CDs.

[via Boing Boing]

This device has the same club layout as the professional level media players like the CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900. The 850 has a 206mm jog dial with rotary selector and browse buttons. The device supports a range of media formats like MP3, AAC, WAV, and AIFF form CD-r/RW discs or USB drives.

The 850 ships with rekordbox software that can analyze data like Wave, Beat Grid, BPM, and ID3 tags. The user can create cues and loop settings as well as create and edit playlists. The CDJ-850 will ship in August for $999.

The CDJ-350 lets the DJ create music with different format music files including MP3, AAC, WAV, and AIFF files. The files can be accessed from USB drives or CD discs that are burned. Pioneer rekordbox software is used with the device to categorize tracks by genre and beat position. An auto beat loop function is integrated including beat loop, loop divide, and hot loop.

The Pioneer DJM-350 mixer has four different kinds of effects and an isolated 3-band EQ. A front USB port lets users record mixes onto flash drives to make a tape or listen on different devices. The four effects include filter to change the tone of tracks, crush for accenting sounds, jet applies the sound of a jet taking off, and gate alters track rhythms. The device converts analog signals to digital and has a number of other features. The CDj-350 will sell for $850 and the DJM-350 will sell for $750 with both shipping in June.

The device has the industry’s first 5.8-inch multitouch screen effects, Evolved Beat Effects, Pro DJ Link, and MIDI controls. The color LCD also lets the DJ set up seven different dynamic audio effects with touches and movements on the screen.

Other features include Pro DJ Link to link the Pioneer CDJ-2000 or CDJ-900 turntables to the mixer and a Live Sampler for taking sounds from as mic or master output to use in the mix. A 3-band EQ is built-in and the Cross fader function can be assigned and adjusted. The DJM-2000 will ship in June for $2,999.

“It is a sad day today but due to low sales globally in analogue turntables a decision to stop production has been made on Technics Turntables.  For Australia this means we will receive our last shipment in March” Ian North, spokesperson, Panasonic Australia

We can’t find a copy of the statement on any of Panasonic’s region sites, nor their Technics pages.  It’s also unclear what the news means regarding the production of mixers and headphones under the Technics brand.

Recent years have seen a rise in the popularity of digital mixing systems, which either use CD or completely digital MP3-style mixing rather than classic vinyl.  These setups are generally easier to transport, less prone to damage and allow for more flexibility in post-processing.

[via InTheMix]

The two turntables are the CDJ-2000 and the CDJ-900 that are designed to work with digital files and allow the DJ to perform without needing a laptop. The turntables feature Pioneer rekordbox music management software.

Other features of the turntables include Pro DJ Link, Needle Search, USB, and SD connectivity. The SD card function is limited to the CDJ-2000, which also has a CD/DVD capability. Both devices support MP3, AAC, WAV, and AIFF audio files from CD and USB devices. The CDJ-2000 will ship in November for $2,150 and the CDJ-900 will ship in December for $1,600.

The DJ Control MP3e2 hooks up to your PC or Mac via USB, and packs twin virtual mixing-decks, twin jog-wheels, a cross-fader and dual volume faders.  There are also various peripheral controls, for important matters such as adding loops, playing with bass, treble and mids, and dropping in effects.

Compared to the previous model, the surface has become better spaced and the jog wheels broader and more precise.  More of the controls are backlit – all the better to see them in your bedsit – and the file navigation joystick has been replaced by buttons.  Still included is software for your computer, in this case VirtualDJDJC MP3 e2, which lets you play all sorts of havoc with MP3, WAV, WMA or AAC audio files.

The Hercules DJ Control MP3e2 will land in October, priced at $129.99.

Press Release:

Hercules Brings the Sensation of Pro DJing to the New Mixing Generation

NEW YORK, NY – (September 10, 2009) – Hercules, the leader in portable DJing solutions for computers and manufacturer of entertainment hardware unveils their latest DJ creation, the Hercules DJ Control MP3e2. This new DJ controller is designed for teens and adults, who want to experience the feeling of being a Pro DJ, or anyone enthralled with the world of DJing, digital music and the latest remixes. Users can create their own mixes with the DJ Control MP3e2 which features two decks to mix music tracks on and offers the ultimate mobility. The advanced, lightweight digital mixer retails for the SRP $129.99 and will be available starting early October 2009 at Musician’s Friend, ZZounds, B&H Photo, Six Star DJ and PSSL.com

The DJ Control MP3e2 is a new controller specifically designed to make mixing MP3’s easy. If you have a computer (PC or Mac®) equipped with a sound card, amplified speakers, your favorite music tracks and a USB port you are ready to rock the house with your personalized mixes. Feel like a DJ with a multitude of mixing functions at your fingertips including two mixing decks, two jog wheels for easy music track navigation, one cross fader and two volume faders for mixing two music tracks together and track speed controls for changing the pitch or tempo. Aspiring DJ’s can set the floor on fire by altering the music with the equalizer controls (bass, medium and treble ranges), adding (automatic) loops, multiple effects and even signature sounds.

“The success of our products has helped spread the Hercules brand throughout the international DJ community.” states Winn Keaten U.S. Marketing Manager for Hercules. “We are proud to offer this fun and intuitive DJ solution that gives novice users the sensation of being a Pro DJ” adds Keaten.

Simple DJ Operations

Swift Mixing, Solid Controls

User-friendly automation for beginners
Cue point suggested by DJ software during audio file analysis (Included software: VirtualDJ® DJC MP3 e2)
Track synchronizations with 1 push of a button
Automatic loops on 1, 2 or 4 beats
Lighter & smaller than a laptop
Compact DJ control surface
USB powered – no extra power supply needed
2 Mixing decks
3-Level equalization per deck for producing big sound
2 jog wheels to navigate tracks
1 Cross fader and 2 volume faders
4 Buttons to browse music lists
2 Buttons to load tracks
Alter your music files with your own effects
Save your mixes as your own music files
Non-slip pads ensure perfect stability

Compatibility

Runs on PC (Windows® XP and Vista 32 and 64-bit versions) and on Mac® (Mac G4/G5 and Mac OS 10.4)
For use with all digital music formats: Audio CD, MP3, WAV or WMA files for Windows®, AAC for Mac® OS
This new DJing controller succeeds the DJ Control MP3 by Hercules (Edition 1, the best-seller in its category on a global scale) and provides a number of additions including a new, wider, more slender design for comfortable mixing, broader and more precise jog wheels, 4 navigation buttons which replace the previous version’s joystick, increased space between the cross-fader and jog wheels, and more backlit buttons for mixing in low-light conditions.

Renck also revealed that existing Pacemaker owners should expect at least two more software and firmware updates for their devices during the second half of 2009.  No word on what those updates might address, however.

We reviewed the second-gen Pacemaker back in May, and despite the obvious extra bulk over an above a normal PMP such as an iPod, the additional functionality made for a much more involving musical experience.  The device allows you to fade-between, mix and generally mangle multiple tracks, with various audio-out options for playing back your creation through speakers together with an online sharing site.

[via GenerationMP3]

The Tonium Pacemaker is possibly the coolest $500 you can spend if you’re a DJ. The device is a 60GB mp3 player/portable mixer/sound effects generator/turntables/pure awesome. You can store and mix tracks right on the device, or do it on the included software (which makes it really easy by he way) and this makes it possible for professional or amateur DJs to take their beats on the road with them. If needed, the device could essentially act as a makeshift DJ booth just in case a rave breaks out and you have your Pacemaker handy.

Using the device was much easier than I anticipated. The quick start guide showed you the simple gestures required to do whatever you wanted to the track, whether it was fade to the cued track, add in reverb, or beat-match. Soon enough, I had the gestures memorized, and was making poor attempts at mixing some really awesome songs. I decided to let DJ T.A.I have his go with the Pacemaker, and needless to say, he handled that thing like an artist, as if he had always owned the device.

The controls on the Pacemaker include a few buttons to select between the two tracks, a touch pad for doing the bulk of your controls and selections, a touch slider to control the fade, and a switch on the side that acts as sort of an alt-choice selector. The display is beautiful and gives you BPM readouts, EQ, track names, and with the right gesture, can show all the different sound effects you can add in.

The Pacemaker will make many DJs extremely happy, whether they want to simply mix and save tracks on the go, listen to their own mixes and re-mix them, or put on a make-shift rave. The headphone out and audio-out allow for two tracks to be played and cued respectively so the DJ can beat-match and control volumes as well. Syncing your own tracks to the device is as easy as it can be. Drag and drop them onto the device through the included software. You can even import your entire 1980′s techno collection from iTunes the first time you start the software.

The Pacemaker is potentially one of the coolest devices I’ve ever played with, and I hope you enjoy the short video demo by DJ T.A.I. (The music in the video is his own stuff).

The Pacemaker is a compact, sleek device that features a beautiful display and easy to learn controls. I’m a music lover and musician myself, but I called in my DJ buddy to come and play with the device and show me some tricks. In just a few minutes, he was mixing and playing tracks off of the Pacemaker. The device is basically a very powerful, very portable DJ station. The audio out allows you to share your creation with others at a performance venue, or you can even publish your mixes online through the included Pacemaker song editor software. The functionality of this device so far is astounding. Tone modification, treble reducing, beat matching, and any other song-mixing function you can think of are all features of the Pacemaker.

Set up was a breeze, and in no time, I was being assaulted by trance beats and heavy bass. The Pacemaker is $499.00 out in the US now, and it includes all the fixings you’ll need to get started: cables, chargers and quick start guides. All you need to bring to the table is something better than the 30-second previews of techno songs you got off of iTunes and a pair of cans to hear your creations. I’ll be playing with the Pacemaker more in the coming days, and will have a full review for you soon.