In a rare video with Ean, he answers a question that we get almost daily here at DJTT: what’s the best all-in-one Traktor controller? There isn’t one answer, but in this video Ean shares his experiences from DJing with each of these controllers in real life situations. After the jump, watch him compare and contrast the Kontrol S2, S4, S5, and S8.
Every All In One Traktor Controller Compared
This article compares the MK2 versions of the Kontrol S2 and S4 – but doesn’t take into account the new MK3 versions released Fall 2018. See Ean’s review of the Kontrol S4 MK3 here.
Why compare all the Traktor Kontrol units against each other? The truth is, there aren’t a lot of all-in-one Traktor controllers being made specifically to use with Traktor. (Yes, you could MIDI map almost any controller to work with Traktor if you’re up for the challenge.) If you’re a Serato or Rekordbox user, there are tons of options out there.
Ean has spent countless hours DJing with the Traktor software – so it made sense to shoot a complete round-up review sharing his experiences with each controller. To find out what controller he likes the most – watch the video to the very end!
No, we didn’t get paid by Native Instruments to make this video. If after watching this video you want to buy a Kontrol unit, please visit our store using the links below to support our community 🙂
- Traktor Kontrol S2 MK2 – released 2013 – $399*
- Traktor Kontrol S4 MK2 – released 2013 – $599*
- Traktor Kontrol S5 – released 2015 – Discontinued
- Traktor Kontrol S8 – released 2014 – $1,199*
*DJTT members (free) can receive significant discounts to these prices
What’s The Best All-In-One Traktor Controller?
Ean’s recurring point in the video is that each controller that Native Instruments has released for Traktor has unique purposes. Not every DJ will have the exact same types of gigs or requirements.
From a purely feature-focused standpoint, here’s a quick roundup of the key features that might matter to DJs making a decision when buying a Traktor Kontrol DJ controller:
- Jogwheels: S4 and S2 only
- Touch strips: S8 and S5 only
- Displays that show track decks, effects information: only S5 and S8
- Work as a controller for Traktor DJ for iPad/iPhone: only S4 and S2
- Loop recorder controls: only S4
- Four channel mixer section: all but S2
- Dedicated per-channel filters: all but S2
- Can be USB bus powered: S4 and S2 only
- Turntable inputs / Traktor Scratch compatible: S8 and S4 only
- Comes with Traktor Scratch Pro 2: only S8
- Simple loop length display: only S4
- XLR Output: Only S8 and S5
- Mic input: all controllers
- MIDI Input/Output: S8 and S4 only
If you really want to comb through all the specific difference in the features, there’s an official comparison chart here on Native Instruments site.
