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drdrevid
New member
First Impressions : Without plugging in the mixer, I twiddled around with the faders and knobs, picked it up and looked at it from all angles. First impression was this is a very small and light mixer. The faders were smooth like butter and the knobs felt solid. I really liked that it had balanced TRS outputs.
Testdrive : First I tested out the fader contours and when I have the knob turned to fast, the sound cuts in real fast; about a millimeter. The channel reverse worked as I had expected and hoped because I do work the crossfader "hamster" style. The channel reverse reversed the faders but did not reverse the EQ or Gain knobs. I then tested the outputs (the balanced TRS outs, RCA, and Headphone outs) and everything was fine. I tested the microphone and it too worked just fine. The talkover switch which lowers the master volume slightly in order for you to talk over the music is a nice option.
The Ugly : When I began scratching everything worked fine, until I reached a certain speed in cutting with the crossfader. I found crab scratches impossible just as the review on skratchworx explains. And if you're wondering, I am not a rough scratcher, meaning I don't rough up the crossfader or do hard clicks with the faders when scratching. I'm very light handed. One day, the crossfader cut just died completely. When I had the crossfader stopped working and sound was leaking out 100% meaning when the crossfader was on off, full sound was still coming out. At first I thought maybe I was unlucky and that by exchanging for a new one, I wouldn't have these problems. I was wrong. The crossfader didn't die, but its performance didn't improve either.
Conclusion : I don't mix much, but I do scratch alot. This mixer is definitely not for scratching. It annoys me because everything was so smooth until I put the crossfaders up to the test. Other than the aforementioned problems, the mixer is not bad. I rate it a 6/10. I'm returning the mixer later today, and I'm ordering a Audio Innovate AEM-100 (not 100i) mixer. It's about $100 more than the Denon, but it comes with pro x faders which appeals to me. Once I get it in the mail I'll hope to have a review up for you guys as soon as I can.
If there are any questions regarding the DN-X100, ask away.
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