093-4 TSCAN DJ366

19/5/04

5:25 pm

Page 93

TSCAN093
Numark CDX: puts the industry in a spin

NUMARK CDX VINYL EMULATED CD PLAYER

THE LATEST VINYL-EMULATING CD PLAYER FOR DJS REALLY DOES LOOK AND FEEL LIKE THE REAL THING, BUT DOES IT SOUND AS GOOD AND PERFORM AS ACCURATELY TOO? PRICE: 649 INFORMATION: WWW.NUMARK.COM CONTACT: 01252 341400
words: David Eserin

THE

Numark CDX is the latest incarnation of hybrid deck/CD players; a DJ tool purposely designed with a bit of an identity complex. The many benefits of DJing with the CD format have become increasingly apparent, but DJs (and therefore manufacturers) still want the actual CD players to mimic vinyl in the closest possible way to offer the same much-loved feel, instant reaction time and characteristic sound that vinyl offers. Well, this new CD player doesnt just act like a turntable, it is a turntable! Based on the Numark TTX digital deck and with the very same platter and 4.5kg torque motor, its hard to believe that you are using a CD player at all. In the search for a digital counterpart to vinyl, the feel and control that scratching on a moving platter gives is equally important as the actual scratch sound produced. The CDX not only mimics a turntable but improves on it, with eight effects that can be synced to the internal beat counter. It has tap-tempo, keylock and independent music tuning controls. It also has comprehensive looping, MIDI connections and

enough small tricks up its sleeve to excite a DJs imagination for years of innovative use.

PLATTER MATTERS
Its simply not possible to pull off certain types of scratches without the constant drag of platter underneath vinyl. Certain turntablist skills rely on the nuances of a platter that is free to rotate independently of the vinyl, or in this case the controlling disc. So the CDX certainly stands proud as the only CD player available so far that has perfectly copied the medium of the standard turntable. It is the same size that most DJs are accustomed to and the platter is very sturdy, and the motor is also incredibly strong. Even beat-matching DJs will welcome this approach to playing digital music because the CDX feels just like a deck. The platter fits onto the motor drive in the same way as the TTX, with two small pin holes on the bottom that fit into the drive mechanism. The normal middle point is still there, but with the CDX this centre rod is able to move freely and is the direct connection between the vinyl control

disc and the complex circuitry inside the player that measures its position and movement exactly. So regardless of the motor or platter, the disc controls the speed and direction of the audio. Between the platter and the vinyl disc is a normal slip mat (provided), this can be replaced for a favoured mat while even the vinyl disc can be replaced for a favorite piece of vinyl such as a picture disc. The vinyl disc is not as easy to grip as most normal vinyl so this could be a welcome personal touch. However, the provided disc and slipmat offer quite a realistic feel to start with.

SOUND QUALITY
So, the feel of the deck is certainly the best we have ever tried for a CD player, but an equally important question is whether the CDX can sound as warm and smooth as vinyl? If the scratch sound is dodgy there is little point in using it extensively, and no scratch DJ would go near it. Well, the CDX has incorporated audio processing to correct the digital sound that results from playing digital audio in any other way than it

was intended. Because of the resolution of CD audio there is a very obvious digitised effect to the sound if it is slowed right down. On some players it is quite obvious that they have used a processor to simply add a wishing sound when the player is scratched, which makes scratching a variety of sounds almost indistinguishable from one another. The CDX has managed to tune the scratch sound so well that it requires some serious ear bending to tell the difference between the CDX and a normal deck using the same sample. There is still a very slight difference, but this is still the best scratch replication we have heard to date. The best way to test this is to move the platter as slowly as possible to see if there is any strange modemlike noise. Scratching should have character between swipes of different speed to prove an exact correlation between the original audio and the scratched sound. Also, the point of a scratch sound should never drift, which can be tested by scratching the same hit over and over at varying speeds and keeping an eye on the marker to see if it changes position.

OVERVIEW
>> Change the slip mat and vinyl >> 4.5kg motor torque >> Key lock & key tune control >> Pitch: 6, 12, 25 and 100% >> Brake & start time adjust >> 8 beat-sync effects &
tap-tempo

>> Intelligent seem-less looping >> Slot loading CD drive >> Reverse playback options >> 33 and 45 RPM >> Digital output >> MIDI connections & clock >> Full size 12" aluminum platter >> Slot-load CD transport >> CDR compatibility >> Multiple scratch modes >> Bright fluorescent display >> 3,000 cue point memory >> Battle-style platter controls >> Anti-Shock buffer technology >> Fader/remote start & relay play >> User-updateable software

093-4 TSCAN DJ366

19/5/04

5:26 pm

Page 94

094TSCAN
INFO & VERDICT
PROS >> Independent pitch and tune >> Rock solid scratch >> Scratch sounds very real >> Same size as normal turntable >> Plays at any angle >> Plays MP3 CONS >> Plastic casing >> MP3 discs take a while to load
plus no folder support

Numark CDX: up close & personal

>> No headphone output >> No suspension feet VALUE FOR MONEY FEATURES USER FRIENDLY SOUND QUALITY BUILD QUALITY OVERALL

The CDX scored incredibly highly in all these areas and can only be described as rock solid with the most realistic reproduction around.

MP3 COMPATIBLE
Like all up-to-date DJ CD players, the CDX also supports playback of MP3 files on discs and quite honestly there is no difference in reaction time between audio CDs and MP3. However, its worth noting that MP3 discs can take a few more seconds to load up, particularly if there are a lot of tunes on one disc. Unfortunately the CDX doesnt support folderbrowsing, so you may need to re-burn some discs. As usual, the sound is also only as good as the quality of the encoding.

SCRATCH MODES
There are four different scratch modes that really open up the possibilities for easy scratching. This can be shamelessly used for cheating or, looking at it more positively, the functions can allow the performer to increase the stakes. The scratch mode can be normal, or it can play back only the forward motion sounds. This mode can also be used with the cue function so that after the reverse action of the deck, pushing forward will instantly play from the cue point. This allows one-handed beat juggling. The cue mode scratch can also be used without the reverse mute. Last but not least, the CDX will obviously never skip or wear out your precious vinyl, and as far as the memory buffer is concerned, the CDX will give you up to 10 average backspins as long as the CD has been playing for around 20 seconds.

player that is very un-deck-like indeed. For a start, searching through a track cant be done by needle dropping, because there isnt one. This is the only major difference between this player and a normal deck. The CDX has all the major features you would expect on existing DJ CD players, so cue points can be set and used in conjunction with the disc, while tracks can be searched using a small jog dial at the top left of the deck. The transport controls are again the same as the TTX and it features variable control for stop and start times by the two play/pause buttons. When entering into pause, a cue point is automatically set. The stutter button can be used to start playback without waiting for the deck to speed up, which incidentally is almost immediate anyway. The motor can actually be turned off to prevent accidental movements of the disc or for DJs preferring to use the CDX like a standard DJ CD player. The small jog dial then controls the pitch bend of the deck. This area of the deck also has controls for reverse, which can be used in two ways: pushing the lever back plays the music in reverse from that point while the original CD keeps its original time so that when released the track continues as if un-interrupted, ensuring accurate timing. Pulling it forward reverses the whole stream of audio, so more accurate timing is needed to sound flash. The platter will change direction in this mode, which takes a moment, so for highly accurate changes in direction this can be switched off internally, making the facility instant.

TTX, and most other digital decks except the Gemini PDT6000, is that it can lock the pitch to wherever the fader is currently set, but also independently control the tuning in cents. This allows DJs to mix in harmony, but also achieve some really interesting effects as the key-lock can be used while scratching. This mode makes scratching feel slightly less solid, but creates a mad sound. Coupled with effects, it can spice up your DJ set with great sounding tricks. The pitch slider is not incredibly rigid and sometimes the display flickers between decimal points, but as far as mixing is concerned, it seems to offer the same accuracy as with its vinyl competitors.

doesnt exaggerate a slightly inaccurate loop, but works with the BPM to lock it in perfectly. Similarly to the Pioneer DJM-600, you can step through different timings to a point of wild snare rushes.

CONNECTIONS
The outputs are taken care of with normal line level stereo RCA connections or via the digital (SP/DIF) output, which also supports karaoke text; a weird match for the CDX. It also has two MIDI ports for syncing up two or more players. The CDX can act as master or slave and can control another players start and stop features as well as pitch. It can also be used with drum machines and will output a MIDI clock. There are mini-jacks for relay play and fader start when connected to a mixer with these features.

EFFECTS
The effects include all the most commonly used types and some others that are unique. What makes them stand out is the beat detection and tap tempo facility. The BPM counter has four lights to show each beat of the bar. When you hit the tap button on the first beat of the bar, the lights start from the bottom, which acts as a guide to beginners and helps syncing with other players. The BPM is nearly always spot on or can be immediately guided to perfection with four taps. The effects sync up to the BPM counter, making the chop actually usable for a change. Amazingly, it will track the speed of the platter and chop in time to scratching back and forth. Other effects such as filter and sonar are manually controlled using the small jog dial and all sound pretty tasty. Unfortunately the delay doesnt leave a tail when scratched, which can normally be used as a nice effect. The player has a really great looping tool and is very dynamic. For example, a short loop can be set and then expanded according to the BPM. As you would expect, increasing the loop range

BUILD QUALITY
The CDX is definitely geared up to scratching with the same massive 4.5kg torque motor as found in the TTX, but the chassis is made of plastic rather than metal. This doesnt pose any real problems and in fact makes the unit lighter and therefore more portable, which certainly helps with a unit the size of the CDX. Being the biggest CD player on the market, it certainly will need some careful consideration when incorporating into an existing DJ set-up and will no doubt be quite troublesome to fit in to many spaces without another deck stand or some booth expansion. If mounted above a set of standard vinyl decks, as other CD players often are, the units would hang so far over them that it would be hard to see what was going on with the vinyl. In the CDXs favour though, it can amazingly work standing up completely vertically on its front edge and also on its side. A few people may want to do this, perhaps...

NAVIGATION
While the CDX immediately proves that it feels incredibly like a turntable, and sounds almost identical too, there is a whole load more to the

TIME & PITCH

As we have come to expect from new gear, the CDX has pitch control that varies from 6% to 100%. The difference between the CDX and the