When was the last time we heard a major product announcement from Denon DJ? There was the tiny-but-impressive DS1 Serato soundcard at NAMM 2015, but aside from that the company has been silent. But now with an ambiguous new teaser video, it’s clear that Denon DJ is back in business under their new ownership.
Denon DJ in 2016: A Teaser Without Any Details
Yes, there’s a teaser video. It’s ridiculously cryptic and without much meaning, aside from some “stars are aligning in the Mayan calendar” graphics. We’ll have to wait for any real details, but I’ve got some speculation below this video:
The Denon DJ division was purchased by the InMusic group back in April, 2014 (they also own Numark, Akai, M-Audio, Ion, Alesis, and more). What we know for sure about DJ technology companies that work in the InMusic umbrella are:
- They share technologies readily (for example: Akai-style pads on Numark gear)
- They have a close partnership with Serato (Denon historically has been software agnostic, or worked with Virtual DJ)
So what will 2016’s NAMM bring? We’ll have more speculation in the near future, but we can present some of the lay-of-the-land:
- Physical product design: Will Denon continue on the same form factors of DJ controllers they’ve produced in the past (all-in-one MIDI controllers, MC-6000 style)? Or will they start fresh with new designs?
- Keeping Up With Pioneer: For a while, it seemed like a company priority for Denon DJ to out-do or match Pioneer DJ’s feature sets. Pioneer has been on an industry domination spree recently, with forays into digital DJ software, standalone DJ gear, and continuing to update their own hardware products. Denon might have to pick what they want to be better at Pioneer at.
- Software: It has been a while since we’ve heard anything from Denon’s software team, which was responsible for Engine, the sole Rekordbox competitor on the market for their standalone DJ players. Will it make an updated return in new products in 2016, or is it abandonware?
Think you have an idea of what Denon DJ might be up to in 2016? Let us know your speculation in the comments below.
