There’s some interesting movement on the DVS pricing front – mirroring a price drop on Traktor Kontrol Z2 that we saw in February, Native Instruments has resurrected the 25% off sale for all of December. Beyond pointing out that’s it’s a great deal at $599 (and we’ll include Chroma Caps if you grab one in the DJTT webstore), there’s a bit of interesting speculation to be had on what’s motivating the price drop.
What Mixers Are Crushing The Market Right Now?
As of October 2014, the three top-selling DJ mixers with integrated DVS (according to industry reports) are:
- Rane Sixty-Two (7.6% of all DJ mixers sold in October)
- Pioneer DJM-900 Nexus (2.7% “”)
- Pioneer DJM-900 SRT (2.6% “”)
But the top two selling mixers overall? Numark’s budget mixer line (the M2 and M6USB) are at the lead. Pair them with a $299 sound card like the Audio 6, and you’ve got a perfectly good DVS mixer for less than $200 $400 (Editor’s Note: corrected from a much lower wild price, our bad). It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of a software-certified mixer, but it easily makes sense for most budget-minded purchasers.
To break into this market, you have to compete on price. NI’s doing it by regularly dropping their pricing down to a more attainable price point while still including control vinyl, a pro-level DJ aluminum chassis, standalone mixer mode, and much more.
Serato has found their own way to compete on price by working with Akai to develop the soon-to-be-released AMX mixer, which has DVS compatibility and runs $249 (although you’ll need the Serato DVS expansion unlock; $100).
Where’s My Kontrol Z4?
Have you looked a the very middle section of the Kontrol S8 recently? It’s essentially a four-channel standalone mixer, meaning that if a Kontrol Z4 is going to happen, it can’t be too far off in the distant future. NAMM is coming in just under two months, and while Native Instruments never shows product there, it wouldn’t be too unusual for a launch in the weeks prior to or following the convention.
My question: if NI comes out w/ a Z4 mixer and a Z2 MK2 edition, is the Z2 first edition likely to stay $599?
I hoping for that !
I wanted to order a Z2, but with that price drop, i’m likely to wait at least until the NAMM start for a possible mk2.
you must mean an audio 2?
No, because the Audio 2 is not Scratch/DVS compatible.
I think that comment was before the article was updated with the correct price.
I’m hoping for a Kontrol Z2 mk2 sooooooo badly!!
Please N.I. this time thou with:
– 2×3 FX knobs
– Linefader curves
– 2 USB-ports for easier switch overs between DJs
– if you have the space FX Send / return ins & outs
– less plastic, more metal!
I’d gladly pay >899 € if the features and quality are right!!
yeah, i also want a Pioneer DJM-T1 with a traktor logo slapped on.
I’m would also pay $899 for it. it would be worth it. And yes N.I please put 2 USB- ports thats a killer when in the clubs and switching DJ’s
Yes, totally agree. The 2 usb ports and a Serato FLIP-like feature would be dope.
Hoping to see it at the NAMM.
That would be great.
“Pair them with a $100 sound card like the Audio 6, and you’ve got a perfectly good DVS mixer for less than $200”
Huh? Where are you getting an A6 for $100?
for real, i sold one for 120 on craigslist a while back and i was hooking it up phat, that kid got a steal never gonna see one for that low again. another thing why tha fuck is the djm t1 so under rated fuck tha z2
The DJM T1 was sadly dropped by pioneer and is no longer available! 🙁
The 900 Nexus makes them more money and is four channel.
yea i noticed that. i picked mine up right when the z2 came out, they cut the T1 price in half as a promotion, i paid around 700 for a brand new pioneer mixer what a steal. it just got swept under the rug when the z2 came out tho
T1 was sick but i wish it had post fader routing like the Z2.. would have been the bomb!
the new update made post fader effects possible
The Z2 is a great mixer Luis. Ever try one out?
no the mini fader,lack of full control over effects and the missing active buttons ruins it for me, they just stole the design of the djm t1 cut out alot of the features and made it with cheap plastic.
You obviously have not tried one out. Plastic? That is the heaviest 2 channel mixer I have ever lifted next to a Rane 57 SL or 62. It has very little plastic on it. It’s a veritable tank of a unit. Is the crossfader an issue for you? Or the volume fader?
im talking about the potentiometers all have plastic struts, and yes the cross fader is a problem all though you can replace it with a full size innofader
Calling the Z2 a tank is like trying to deep fry with a plastic pot. That mixer might have a good layout, but the built quality is nowhere close to even good. The faceplate peels off a couple weeks after use, all knobs are (and feel) plastic, the CF has issues with software integration (cut-in lag & bleeding) and it still misses features to make it top-notch, like master mute.
The only part where it can be compared with Rane is weight indeed. And having a heavy mixer without justification is not good either.
Upon request, NI sent to z2 users both a new crossfader and a durable faceplate. I love my Z2, even after using form many years the incredible Vestax PMC 08 Pro.
I know that both were replaced upon request, but end-user quality control is an unacceptable practice.
Nevertheless, if you indeed owned the 08, which is probably the GOAT of all mixers (I own 2 of them), then I can only wonder how you could possibly liked the Z2, in terms of built quality.
I’ve had nothing but trouble with my Z2. The little round buttons get stuck all the time. Got 2 replacements, same issues. Sold it eventually and went for djm850 which has zero problems and doesn’t blast my speakers when powering on and off the device. Hopefully quality control on a possible mk2 is better. I liked the layout of the Z2 a lot.
I’m just as confused as you are considering I got an email blast from NI this morning saying that the A 6 just went on sale for $199.00
Uh, yep, my bad. Serious rounding down in effect. But you get scratch vinyl and CDs with it, so that’s worth the other $99, right? 😉
I don’t know man, I think that sentence needs to be edited in the article. It’s very misleading, and simply not even close to correct. That’s way more than a rounding mistake. Everywhere I’ve seen, entry to dvs in NI-land is an A6 at $300, unless you are buying used on ebay or craigslist, where you might save $50. I appreciate the humor in the reply, but this is a pretty big correction.
You are absolutely right. Even if you already have Traktor and can buy an A6 for $199 you still need the Traktor Scratch Software and Timecode kit to unlock DVS.
BEST CASE (unless buying used), even with a $100 mixer, Traktor Scratch and a mixer is going to cost $500. ($100 for Traktor Pro, $100 for mixer, and $300 for an A6 + Timecode kit or the Traktor Scratch A6 package).
Thanks for correcting the article!