We’ve seen some very vague teasers from a new brand, Mixars, that kicked off their company at this year’s NAMM 2016 convention. The brand is focused on (unsurprisingly) DJ mixers and has launched a complete lineup of mixers, turntables, and headphones. Two of the mixers, the DUO and CUT, caught our attention as being potentially big wins for DJs – keep reading to find out why.
Mixars DUO Serato DJ Battle Mixer
- DJ Gear: Duo Serato DJ Mixer (official product page)
- Manufacturer: Mixars
- Price: ~$999 retail / MAP
- Availability: TBD
Mixars is taking aim at a market that Pioneer and Rane have fought over recently – the two channel Serato DJ mixer. What you need to know is that this is a Serato-supported mixer, with an Innofader on the crossfader and two solid Alpha upfaders. The layout is basic but spacious, meaning that for a lot of DJs looking for a two-channel Serato DVS mixer that doesn’t cost over $1000, there’s a well-designed option soon to hit the market.
The pads (which at the flick of a switch can be alternated between SP-6 and Cue Point control) feel really solid, have more-than-acceptable response time, and rock full RGB backlighting to match the color of your cue points.
In terms of I/O, there’s everything you would expect – XLR master outs, 1/4″ booth outs, RCA master out, two line/phono inputs, a record out, and even a USB hub with two ports.
On the front of the unit, complete crossfader curve adjustment controls and Microphone/Aux inputs complete the feature set.
Mixars CUT Basic Turntablism Mixer
- DJ Gear: Cut battle mixer (official product page)
- Manufacturer: Mixars
- Price: ~$249 retail / MAP
- Availability: TBD
We’ve seen a number of low-end turntablism mixers designed for vinyl DJs come out in the last year, and this one seems to be yet another solid option. There’s an Innofader on the crossfader, and has a lot of the same features as the Duo mixer above (just without a soundcard or Serato support).
There is basic crossfader curve adjustment on the top of the mixer – not as convenient as the front, but still solid. Worth noting on this mixer, the EQ knobs are big and chunky (great!) but a bit more resistive than normal mixer knobs. This might be appealing to some DJs, but could also shy others away – YMMV.
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