Stanton, Pioneer bust out new DJ rigs

It looks like DJs (robot or otherwise) will soon have a couple of new pieces of gear to consider, as both Stanton and Pioneer took advantage of the currently-happening NAMM expo to announce some new and decidedly non-amateur rigs. First up is Stanton's SC System (pictured above), which will be available either as a set for $2,499, or as a separate "virtual turntable" and "virtual mixer" for $1,499 and $999, respectively. As Crave reports, the former of those'll give you a 10-inch, high-torque motorized platter covered in real vinyl, while the latter packs four channel strips with EQ control among other standard controls and, most importantly, a Firewire interface that'll handle a 96KHz sample rate. Look for it to be available in May. For its part, Pioneer's announced two new additions to its line of DJ CD players, including the MEP-7000 Professional Multi-Entertainment Player and the SEP-C1 Professional Software Entertainment Controller. Both of those pack 4.3-inch LCDs and make use of Pioneer's DJS software suite for control from a PC, with the $2,300 MEP-7000 adding dual players (that'll handle DVD-ROMs in addition to CDs) and a slew of other features not found on the $1,200 SEP-C1. As with the Stanton, however, you won't be able to get your hands on those just yet, with each of 'em only slated to roll out in June.

Read - Crave, "Stanton unveils SC digital DJ rig"
Read - Press Release, " Pioneer Livens DJ Performances with Two New DJ Machines"

[e_grz(Zune 80 originals owner) @ Jan 17th 2008 10:43PM]

i just like commenting first. i dont really like turntables. look/sound stupid

[Dusty Nipples @ Jan 18th 2008 12:22AM]

Says the Zune owner.

[dos @ Jan 17th 2008 10:46PM]

what's the point everyone's just going to keep buying SL-1200's anyway...

[Moses Jiggetts @ Jan 17th 2008 10:51PM]

alright to the first comment guy. swallow ...you'll be noticed by your peers
the second... yeah i know what you mean.

this is pointless i mean over a grand??? thats more than most laptops wich is basically why djs like myself have gone digital its cheaper and easier on the wallet. turntables are only for show and tradition . suddenly M-Audio aint lookin so expensive... wait . i already run an m-audio rig... oh my poor wallet.

[xploit @ Jan 17th 2008 11:20PM]

mk3d's here :)

[010111 @ Jan 18th 2008 1:15AM]

Moses Jiggetts : this isn't a real turntable genius. this is a controller for a digital system. hence the use of the word "virtual", the lack of a tone-arm, etc etc etc.

[Tomek @ Jan 17th 2008 11:03PM]

I'd be glad if something happened here OR autoblog today...

[Tomek @ Jan 17th 2008 11:04PM]

im an idiot, rip on my horrible grammar all you want, im going to sleep

[dj moksha @ Jan 18th 2008 12:05AM]

stanton decks in general aren't that sturdy. their previous cd deck release was bugged out. i think they should stick to making carts and needles.

as far as turntables being for show and tradition, i couldnt disagree more. even if you are running a DVS (digital vinyl system) you are playing back digital quality music, and people who are really in tune with their collection and sound will hear the difference. with DVS, your sound will only be as good as your mp3.

unfortunately the barriers to entry for the dj market have been completely destroyed so you have these toy style mixers with cheap components running around the market. 2500 bucks isnt that much if you are serious about a hobby or it is your profession. im sure people spend the same on their priorities if not more.

[Brooks @ Jan 18th 2008 12:59AM]

I'm not a DJ, and I'm not really keen on digital DJing rigs, so you can rate me as low as you want.

But I have to ask, if you're taking your profession seriously and using a digital system, unless you're stealing your tracks why on earth are you using MP3s? It's well accepted that MP3s, while perfectly good for day to day use for the majority of people, are not a professional format.

If I understand your post you're still an analog-ish type of DJ, so is this something you see a lot with emerging DJs? Lack of knowledge and the use of low quality MP3s?

[Rufus White @ Jan 18th 2008 5:00AM]

I've been DJing for 12 years now (since I was 14), and was one of the first DJs to 'go digital' by programming my own crossfader for winamp. I didn't steal my MP3s, I ripped them all from vinyl and CD (and still do - or buy them from online dance music sites eg. Beatport and Xpressbeats) at 320Kb/s so I retained as much quality as possible. So long as you use good quality MP3s and a good quality audio interface, there's absolutely no reason why it should sound any worse than vinyl. Same as anything else... you put sh*t in, you get sh*t out. Personally, I actually prefer the crispness and punchiness of the sound you get with MP3s.

I now have 2 residencies and a radio show in Ibiza, and more and more people are making the switch from vinyl - the benefits are enourmous if you think about it - firstly there's the fact that instead of carrying a huge bag of maybe 50 records around with me (50 records weigh in at about 23Kg if the excess luggage lady at the airport last time I traveled from the island was correct), I can carry all of my tracks on a laptop - the laptop + sound card + midi controller = about 6Kg. It's worth it just for that. Add to that the remixing possibilities (4 decks, separate effect for each deck + master effect, all the loops and cue points you could want, key adjust, waveform display etc etc etc) and the choice is really not that hard. That's how I made the decision anyway, and personally, I've never looked back. At the end of the day though, if you're a good DJ, you'll be a good DJ whatever your medium of choice is!

Back to the hardware - I've been waiting for pure MIDI controller with a motorised platter for a long time so I came a little bit in my pants when I saw the stanton - I really hope for the price it lives up to its promise though, as I had the same reservations about their last CD player. I was considering the Pioneer CDJ400 until this came along.

[Don @ Jan 18th 2008 5:38PM]

Could not agree with you more. I've been experimenting with digital since I could, back with the very first PCDJ system from Numark (it was not very good :( ). However, in recent years it has come into its own.

I've said this before elsewhere, but this is a truism in the DJ world - Most of your guests are there to:

1) drink
2) pick up someone to hopefully shag
3) listen to cool music while doing so

A small percentage has these priorities flipped around. In a big room setting, however, the difference between digital and non-digital is so negligible as to be nonexistent. In many cases, because there is not a dust-pop or scratched record worry to be had, the sound quality is higher than analog.

While I don't have a show in Ibiza (jealous!), I did DJ professionally in clubs for several years. Now that I am a husband and father, I don't have the lifestyle or time required for that anymore, but seriously - the folks who think that they will be 'rocking the 1s & 2s' forever are sorely mistaken, and likely amateurs. Pros look at technology as an enabler, not a threat.

[Rufus White @ Jan 18th 2008 5:48PM]

@don:

agree with you totally! In my experience the only people who whinge about vinyl these days tend to be the bedroom DJs who see it as a point of pride that they can mix with vinyl. The fact is, if you practice, any monkey can mix with vinyl, so there's nothing special about it.

It's got to the point in Ibiza now where the amount of vinyl being stocked in traditional stores is thinning at a rate of knots - legendary stores like M15 barely stock any at all these days. You might be the best turntablist in the world, but if you can't buy the tracks you want to play on vinyl, what are you going to do?

(actually if you were the best turntablist in the world, you'd probably have some kind of wax-cutter in your home, but we don't all have those kinds of pennies)

[jared @ Jan 15th 2009 3:23PM]

Agreed. Beatport offering up uncompressed WAVs is just a superior music acquisition option than shopping for import vinyl (shop owners hoarding the good stuff or selling it to their friends, etc., not to mention the cost-per-track delta).

A hybrid setup is the most flexible, but also has the most potential failure points. At the end of the day, it's what you play and how you mix it, not what tools you use.

[Moses Jiggetts @ Jan 18th 2008 7:43AM]

ive been spinning for years its a hobby i picked up in 8th grade. i love it but i hated the load( i also picked up the bass and lemme tell ya, any bass amp worth gigging with is phucking heavy.)
decks needles vinyl(correction:mom and dads old stuff plus whatever i dug for)that stuff was heavy. going digital lightens that load billionfold.now all i need is an external hd my laptop and my xponent, maybe my triggerfinger and im good to rock for hours on end. oh and my records dont get destroyed. win win situation.
my beef is it shouldnt cost so much. the tech itself is cheap nowadays.

[PsychOfMSE @ Jan 19th 2008 2:05PM]

Great...more shitty equipment from a shitty company.