Now, more than ever is the best time to be a disc jockey; the technology has evolved to the point where we’re seeing Sci-fi gear coming up by the minute, and now it’s ever so easy to step up your game and gain the edge you’ve been looking for.
We’ve seen DJ turntables, record players, mixing consoles, and whatnot, but what more and more people are hooking on is the use of hybrid media players.
Essentially, you might get the notion that ‘media player’ is a simple gadget that’s just capable of ‘reproducing’ tracks, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. New-age media players are ‘hybrid’ tech in the sense that they combine the elements of record players and mixing consoles, all the while packing them into a smaller, more portable casing.
A Professional DJ Media Player or just a cheap alternative of the legendary CDJ2000NX2?
Pioneer DJ gear has a prominent place in most DJ setups, the new Prime series equipment by Denon DJ is catching up with its competitor on features and beats them at price.
Three years after the release of the SC5000 media player, Denon announced the SC6000 Prime and SC6000M Prime Professional DJ Media Player.
Today we’re going to talk about one of the best-performing DJ media players on the current market – Denon’s SC 6000 Prime. In short words, SC 6000 Prime is a compact, petite tool for professional disc jockeys that is capable of providing the benefits of utility, on-the-fly track manipulation, and tremendous audio quality. Without any further ado, let’s get straight to it.
Denon DJ SC 6000 Prime Review
First Look – Design
Even at first sight Denon’s DJ SC 6000 Prime looks like pure gold. Now, some people might be somewhat intimidated by the fact that there are so many onboard controls and features; the notion that all these features are ‘cramped up’ is, perhaps, inescapable, but that’s only how it might appear to you at first glance.
Upon closer inspection, DJ SC 6000 Prime actually seems to be designed exquisitely well. The features were placed in perfect locations, just next to the main settings they are supposed to alter and tweak.
The console itself is small with its actual dimensions measuring 18.2 inches by 12.6 inches by 6 inches. Sadly, it weighs quite a bit with 20.8 pounds of weight.
Now, the platter itself takes up a good chunk of the construction. It’s 8.5 inches in diameter, and it is made of highly durable metal materials and superb touch-capacitive circuitry.
Overall, it’s hard to say whether Denon intended their DJ SC 6000 Prime to be a ‘portable’ media player or a versatile console. The features would welcome a bit more space between them, and since it already weighs as much as it does, adding a bigger board at the expense of a couple of extra pounds could’ve made a difference.
Features:
Simply put, Denon’s DJ SC 6000 Prime is not for newbies and beginners. The amount of features it is loaded with is simply staggering, but that’s precisely the point of coming on top of the ever-evolving stage of live DJ performances.
First of all, it sports integrated Wi-Fi, as well as connectivity ports for wired internet. This certainly comes in handy if the venue’s Wi-Fi signal is low and you have to react quickly to save the party, but it’s also great for places that don’t even have Wi-Fi connection; doing gigs in obscure, tiny bars is a default for a bunch of veterans during rainy days.
Next up we have the best feature of the DJ SC 6000 Prime – the 10.1-inch High-Def Display packed with multi-touch gestures. Since the console itself is quite petite and tiny, the display actually looks pretty huge. What’s really important here is that you’ll have a clear overview of the track’s (or tracks’) status at all times.
The dual-layer playback is simply titled ‘layer’, and it’s at the bottom-left corner of the console right above the auto-loop encoder slider. Speaking of which, there are ‘in’ and ‘out’ buttons below the encoder that allows you to finely tune the behavior of your loops.
The jog wheel is 8.5 inches in diameter and rocks a full-color display. Other notable features and functions include the world-class time-stretch algorithm, a dedicated panel for beat jump settings, as well as eight hot-cue trigger buttons in different colors for easier navigation.
In Use:
Although you will probably need a bit of time to get accustomed to the layout of the plethora of features SC 6000 Prime is outfitted with, it actually performs great overall.
It’s more than obvious that Denon intended this model to be used for live shows; else they wouldn’t have packed it with so much utility and versatility.
Now, the fact that it sounds awesome even with the most basic settings combined with the ability to playback two tracks simultaneously tell us that it’s also fun to work and experiment with at home. Again, this is not a starter’s digital media player, mainly because its learning curve is excruciatingly steep.
However, connectivity is the field where Denon’s DJ SC 6000 Prime excels in the most. Namely, it rocks so many slots, ports, ins, and outs that it surpasses most of its similarly-priced counterparts in this particular area of performance.
Starting from the very beginning, it sports two pairs of RCA outputs, two coaxial digital outs, one 0.125-inch mini-TS in for remote starting. As well, three USB Type-A connection ports, one USB Type-B connection port, an SD-card slot, one Ethernet port, one IEC in, and one 2.5-inch SATA-HD bay.
Find one of the best DJ mixers in the world for professional standard DJ setup. Including the Denon DJ X1800 Prime to make the perfect combo.
Denon DJ SC6000M Prime
The Denon SC6000M offers a bit more:
- 8.5” motorized-platter with torque adjustment
- New vinyl design
- Motor spin ON/OFF control
Pros:
First and foremost, the undoubtedly best thing about Denon’s SC 6000 Prime is its well-roundedness. It rocks so much utility and brings convenience before anything else to the table, which only means that you’ll get the opportunity to customize and tweak your tracks in the way you probably never could have before.
It’s geared for all possible cases and scenarios for live events and shows as it sports a clearly visible display, dual-layer trackability, a strong, reliable OS engine, and Wi-Fi integration.
Moreover, its connectivity is hands down unparalleled. There are so many ports for you to use that you’ll be able to connect it to multiple laptops and dozens of channels on your main mixer (if you even need it).
Cons:
Not everything about Denon’s DJ SC 6000 Prime is shiny and sparkly; there are just a couple of minor flaws that are, sadly, unavoidable.
Firstly, there are so many features in such a small place that you’re going to need some practice, trial, and error before you get the hang of it. The bottom segment is exceptionally cramped as it sports eight hot-cue triggers, pitch bend controls, and seven-track fine-tuning settings. Although the buttons are colored differently, it’s pretty hard to differentiate them at first.
Secondly, it’s hard to imagine that something so small can actually weigh above 20 pounds. Even though it’s not ‘heavy’ true to form, it’s certainly not as light as most people would assume.
Lastly, even though the plinth is durable and the buttons sturdy, many features are exposed and protruding upwards. If the SC 6000 Prime hits the ground, you’ll be lucky if only a handful of buttons are all that needs replacing.
Video overview of the new SC6000 and SC6000M by Denon DJ:
Denon DJ SC 5000
Differences between Denon DJ SC 6000 Prime vs SC 5000:
Even though Denon’s DJ SC 6000 Prime came out not too long after SC 5000, there are so many clearly visible differences between the two that it will make your head spin.
First, as well as the most obvious difference is the display; it was a pitfall of SC 5000 and one of the highlights of the SC 6000 Prime. Basically, the older SC 5000 version sported a miniature 7-inch display while the newer DJ SC 6000 Prime has a 10.1-inch display. Given the fact that both media players are pretty small, three inches actually mean a lot.
At first glance, most people would say that the outline of the main features that the SC 5000 is supplied with is the same with DJ SC 6000 Prime. From a functional aspect, this is completely true. However, from an aesthetic viewpoint, SC 5000 hot-cue buttons are outlined with bright, fluorescent colors while the same keys of DJ SC 6000 only feature a dash (in the same colors, though).
The fluorescent lines are, in a way, aggressive to look at in poorly-lit environments, so the way Denon improved the hot-cue buttons with SC 6000 Prime made this model much easier to use.
For a full comparison, check out the best DJ Media players in the world!
Denon’s Prime series of digital DJ media players:
- Denon DJ CS5000 – 7” Multi-Touch Display
- Denon DJ CS5000M – 7” Multi-Touch Display / Motorised Platter
- Denon DJ CS6000 – 10.1” Multi-Touch Display
- Denon DJ CS6000M – 10.1” Multi-Touch Display / Motorised Platter
Denon’s DJ Prime series, except media players, includes DJ controllers, turntables, and DJ mixers.
- Denon DJ Prime 4 DJ Controller
- Denon DJ VL12 Prime DJ Turntable
- Denon DJ X1800 4-channel DJ mixer
Final Thoughts
Generally speaking, Denon’s SC 6000 Prime media player is among the strongest, most-versatile models in this particular tech category. Its unparalleled and unequaled versatility is complemented with a ton of convenience it brings to the table, making this a well-balanced weapon every professional DJ needs to have in his or her arsenal.
Despite the steep learning curve, most of SC 6000 Prime’s features are pretty intuitive, so it might be a bit fairer to say that it’s perfect for intermediate-level, experienced, and professional disc jockeys. We may be going out of the line by saying that it’s a great tool for daring beginner prodigies too, as it’s currently the latest letter in technology, and the idea of it becoming the precedent for newer media players is not just wishful thinking.