Distributor: Jands | RRP: $3,499
The humble CDJ has certainly come a very long way in the past 30 years, with new iterations delivering more features, greater storage and audio quality that continues to surpass what we all once took for granted.
Now, AlphaTheta have launched their latest, the CDJ-1500X, and for this review they sent us two of the players alongside a DJM-V5 mixer to run as a full setup. This sleek looking unit delivers the sound quality of the CDJ-3000X, but packaged into a simpler layout with a larger screen. It’s the perfect match-up for the DJM-V5 mixer when you want a more compact system that doesn’t lose anything in audio or build quality.
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Like any great mix, there are times for simplicity, broken down into a sparse delivery, whilst ready to show off what the operator is capable of. That is, in essence, what the CDJ-1500X is, in hardware form.
You couldn’t ask for a cleaner, simpler top deck design, yet still have access to a huge array of features. Like the breakdown just before the drop, when we hear what a track has going for it, the first laying of hands on this unit is full of trepidation and expectation, and once you start digging, you soon discover that you’re not to be disappointed.
A large jog wheel, with LED position markers running around the central section obviously takes a central role, with a tempo adjustment fader to the right, where you’d expect to find it. A couple of rotary encoders, Cue, Shift and Play buttons, along with a few function buttons and eight Hot Cue buttons are all you get. Beautifully clean, slick and finished in matt black, the rest of the top panel is a full colour touchscreen where just about anything can be achieved. But don’t be fooled by the simple design, this thing is built like a tank.
The touchscreen section is angled up slightly from the jog wheel section for better visibility, and it all neatly sits alongside a compact mixer, like the DJM-V5. If you want to dress up your CDJ-1500X, you can choose from 12 colours of recessed LED light on the front panel. Plus, there is an option to add wooden side panels. Which I have to say, that in itself just about sold me on these, right there.
The side panels transform the overall aesthetic, leaving it akin to some of my favourite mixing consoles and analogue synthesisers. It’s good enough just to dress up your studio. But of course, it’s performance that is the key, so let’s dig a little deeper.
Getting to know your touchscreen is what will allow you to make the most of your mixes with these units. There’s a lot in there, it’s almost like learning a whole new DAW, though anyone who has had experience with similar CDJ models will find the navigation fairly intuitive. It won’t take long until you’re deep diving into the huge host of features.
A row of tabs across the top allows you to quickly and easily access key screens to pull up your library, effects and a range of playlists. It’s not just your playlists that can appear here, you can also allow requests to be fed into a list, as well as messages from the crowd, via the CoBeat app. Yes, that’s right, the audience can send you requests which appear in a list alongside your library, as well as messages like a running commentary similar to a live feed on YouTube or another streaming platform. This really brings the room together and creates a greater sense of community through the music, whilst allowing you to gauge your audience in more ways than just their energy on the dancefloor. That’s wild! Coming from a world where we started with just two turntables and a mixer that was battered to within an inch of its life, this sort of built-in feedback on the player’s screen is truly amazing.
Of course, the Waveform screen is the one you’ll be most at home with, because no one wants to spend all their time scrolling through menus, when you have tracks to mix. And there’s a heap going on here, with a full waveform of the entire track along the bottom, showing the breakdown of each section, running or remaining time, BPM counter, tempo adjustments, beat loops and more.
The centre section has the larger format waveform running in real-time and a smaller loop waveform above that. It’s a very familiar workspace, and allows for a bunch of features to be accessed when you jump into the Shortcut Screen, at the press of a button.
The audio quality is right up there with the CDJ-3000X, with the ability to connect to a laptop, USB drive or wireless LAN. The AD converters deliver a seamless, latency-free transfer of audio with up to four units able to be connected with a switching hub.
At 3.6kg against the CDJ-3000X’s 6.0kg, and around three-quarters of the size, this DJ multi player really does deliver on features and audio quality. If you’re looking for an installation system with space limitations, or a setup that is easier to travel from one gig to the next with, you’d be hard pressed to find a better rig than a pair of the CDJ-1500Xs and a DJM-V5.
There’s nothing in that size and weight that comes close to the professional array of features offered by AlphaTheta. And it not only saves space and weight, but it’s also more friendly on the hip pocket.
If you’re in the market for a DJ console upgrade, I’d really recommend getting into your local AlphaTheta dealer and checking these units out. It’s safe to say we’ll be seeing a lot more of these setups being used in the not-too-distant future. You’ll probably want to have one yourself!
For local enquiries, head to Jands.
