The mobile market is a huge but often overlooked sector of the DJ world. It’s just not sexy enough you see, as their needs are pretty basic in the whole scheme of things, so you’re not likely to see people losing their minds over RGB lights and HID, as it’s just not a factor when your needs extend to slam mixing Billy Jean into Sex Bomb to a bunch of smashed wedding guests.
So to a lot of us, Denon upgrading their massively successful DN-D4500 to add USB might be a bit coma inducing. But for a very great many people, this is a quantum shift in workflow, akin to moving from vinyl to CD and mustn’t be trivialised or overlooked. For some, it’s a step too far of course, as being able to flick through endless CD cases is part and parcel of being a mobile DJ. I’ve seen some party DJs who normally play from a repertoire of no more than 100 songs have the most ridiculous volume of CDs on display. Perhaps they’ll switch up, and have hundreds of USB drives to replace them.
Here’s what Denon have to say about the Denon DN-D4500 MK2:
Denon DJ DN-D4500MK2
Category: Professional Dual CD/MP3 & USB Player
Press Release Date: 10th September
Product Release Date: October 2012
Suggested Retail Price: circa €585 + local VAT
- Audio playback from USB memory devices (AAC, AIFF, MP3, WAV)
- MP3 CD File Search System
- CD Text / ID3 Tag Support
- CD-R/RW Disc Playback
- 2 Hot Starts/Stutter per drive
- 2 Seamless Loops per drive w/B Point Trim
- Power on Playback
- Pitch Control: ±4.0/10.0/16.0/24.0/50.0/100.0%(CD) : ±4.0/10.0/16.0%(MP3)
- Platter Hold (Jog Bend): ±99% max
- Key Adjust
- Shock Proof Memory (Audio CD: 20 sec., MP3: 100 sec.)
- Instant Start
As a DJ, your desire to be creative and rock a crowd with your music doesn’t stop when you’re using different media formats. Whether you’re playing MP3s up to a high quality 320kbps, standard audio CD’s, or files from a USB drive, the DN-D4500MK2 offers you two Seamless loops with live B-Trim editing for mixing perfection, two Hot starts for instantly starting from your predetermined point on a track, Cue stutter, Selectable pitch ranges from 4% to 100%, an adjustable Brake effect, and a superb Key Adjust feature, which keeps vocals and music sounding true even when you adjust the speed of the track.
Is there any need for an update in CD based technology? The beauty of the Denon DN-D4500 originally was its ability to give you flexibility in media sources, ease of use, and a robust build quality that would last the rigour of taking gear on the road from club, to party, to Wedding. The DN-D4500 became a celebrated product for mobile DJs who rely on a sturdy robust tool to do their job – wherever that may be! So what was there to improve?
Feedback over the last few years was always the same – add USB integration because everything else about the original Denon DN-D4500 was already perfect. So the DN-D4500MK2 has taken the very best of what Denon, and now Denon DJ, has become known for – providing the very best DJ solutions (that last!) and made them better.
The MK2 features two USB slots for connection to USB storage devices containing digital music files. The first is located on the front of the unit for ease of access and suited for USB sticks and the second is on the rear of the CD drawer unit which is best suited for larger USB drives that can then be mounted in a flight case with the product (not included).
“The Denon DN-D4500MK2 delivers a simple, indestructible, unit which continues Denon’s reliable and trustworthy legacy”Pro Mobile Magazine 2012
The Denon DN-D4500 MK2 has taken the very best of what Denon DJ has offerd the Mobile DJ market over the last decade and brought it completely up to date without losing any of the key original attributes. As a Mobile DJ you can still play from your thousands of CDs, control your mixes as intuitively as ever, and take the step forward into digital storage, all in one device that still lasts the demands of DJing night after night.
Links:
Denon DN-D4500 Summary
I find myself a little sad that this doesn’t use Denon’s Engine software, but perhaps that’s for another update. One step at a time I guess. Prying CDs out of some hands is going to be a hard enough task.
Interestingly, the update is more for the APAC market – that’s Asia and Pacific to you. Seems that Denon players are massive over there. The regional nature of DJ technology is fascinating, and will be covered in an article very soon.
