Dedicated to all things DJing from gear, tricks, tips, mods, news and reviews
By JVC Thu Jan 08, 2015 8:38 pm
I've been looking for a simple DJ mixer that sounds good and inexpensive.
Do I have to get Rane TTM56S mixer? I'm sure it is good, but I don't have such a big budget.
I don't need all that extra feature like Pioneer DJ mixers.
just looking for basic DJ mixer that sounds good.
Usually I just use phono-amp for listening records, but the DJ mixer I've been using
(Vestax Street Master 5005) doesn't sounds good (note: Gemini scratch DJ mixer that I had before sounded even worse.
It was noisy, and didn't last long. Well, it was 90s').
User avatar
By Mike Boogie Fri Jan 09, 2015 5:19 pm
The Pro-05/07 Vestax Mixers are the some of the best mixers I have used. No real bells and whistles, just pure 2-channel turntable rocking love. Pricing is all over the place but if you get a good one, it may be the last mixer you buy.
User avatar
By THE ADVERSARY Fri Jan 09, 2015 7:33 pm
Lots of the guys I know swore that the Ranes always sounded better than the Vestax.
The original 06, 05 and 07 always sounding good to me.
They worked equally well with vinyl or DVS.
By JVC Fri Jan 09, 2015 9:10 pm
THE ADVERSARY wrote:Lots of the guys I know swore that the Ranes always sounded better than the Vestax.
The original 06, 05 and 07 always sounding good to me.
They worked equally well with vinyl or DVS.

Yes, That's what I've been hearing. It is totally understandable, because Vestax products were geared toward more consumer based audience, and Rane never really made "consumer" product, until TTM52 (which, still was not quite "consumer" products.)

I've never used Vestax Pro 05 series, and they are much more expensive mixer than my cheap Vestax "Street" 5005 mixer, so I believe that Vestax 05 mixer would sound better than 5005. But, I guess I should look for a Rane mixer in recent condition.
I'm located in the US, so UK DJ mixers are probably out of question.
User avatar
By le rat Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:07 pm
A bit off topic but if you only need the phono-preamp what about a Radial J33?
Or a cheaper phono-preamp. And what is your cartridge? Personaly I think the sound of the cartridge is more decisive than the sound of the mixer.
By JVC Sun Jan 11, 2015 6:20 pm
le rat wrote:A bit off topic but if you only need the phono-preamp what about a Radial J33?
Or a cheaper phono-preamp. And what is your cartridge? Personaly I think the sound of the cartridge is more decisive than the sound of the mixer.

I do have a custom-made phono-preamp, which sounds great, and I've been using it. But I want to mix records sometimes, and I've been wanting to upgrade my DJ mixer, because I've become to used to the sound quality of the phono-amp.

le rat wrote:...
And what is your cartridge? Personaly I think the sound of the cartridge is more decisive than the sound of the mixer.

Actually, I thought that was the case too, but from my personal experience, I feel that photo amp is more important than cartridge.
For testing, I tried my photo-amp with the Vestax 5005 (so that instead of using the 5005's phono-amp, using my good photo-amp), but I didn't improve sound quality much; it was still kinda muddy sounding and noisy.

I use Stanton 680EE (which is not audiophile cartridge, but I find it very practical and totally good enough for me), and a pair of Stanton 500 for DJing.
By auscience Sat Mar 14, 2015 5:09 pm
My Gemini PMX-03 sound pretty good. My only complaint is that it doesn't have a L/R balance so that I can choose sides of a record when sampling. It's built pretty solid. I am looking something like it, except with an L/R panning feature.

My Gemini mixer says way better than my Vestax. I hooked it up for about 5 minutes today, and unhooked-it-up to put the Gemini back in.
User avatar
By RepRSP Thu Apr 09, 2015 5:00 pm
Rane TTM56s sounds fantastic. Also Ecler Nuo´s sound pretty good, even come with xlr outputs
User avatar
By tapedeck Thu Apr 09, 2015 5:35 pm
auscience wrote:My Gemini mixer says way better than my Vestax. I hooked it up for about 5 minutes today, and unhooked-it-up to put the Gemini back in.

i had the exact opposite experience :mrgreen:
never knew what great sound i could have at home until i got that vestax 05.

just goes to show there are lots of opinions. if yer going cheap - i dont think you can beat vestax value. an 05 for $50 is cheap and dope. i would not say the same about other brands at $50, except the good ones like ecler/a&h/rane etc, but good luck finding one of those for $50.
User avatar
By Wal Martian Thu Apr 09, 2015 6:30 pm
I see the Rane 56 at pawn shops more and more. You can get one for under $200 and they do sound nice, good EQ and handy features like the effects switch (I use a KP2 for effects). The only thing is the wierd phone connector power, hard to find but you can order them through Rane.
By JVC Thu Apr 09, 2015 6:48 pm
I guess if I were to get a new DJ mixer, I should get Rane mixer.
I had a Genimi DJ mixer in 90s' (early version of Scratch master, no hamster switch or bass / trable control) and it didn't last long (eventually crapped out after a few years of use), and it was cheap in every possible way.

The Vestax mixer (Streetmaster 5005) was actually much better than the Scratch master (still works fine after more than 10 years of use), phono-preamp is better than the Scratch master, but it is still a bit noisy and lacks details (I know I'm asking too much for this budget DJ mixer.)

Wal Martian wrote:I see the Rane 56 at pawn shops more and more. You can get one for under $200 and they do sound nice, good EQ and handy features like the effects switch (I use a KP2 for effects). The only thing is the wierd phone connector power, hard to find but you can order them through Rane.


If I see a Rane 56 in decent quality, I think I'd get it.
User avatar
By Dustyfinga1.0 Thu Apr 09, 2015 7:40 pm
Vestax 05 or 07. Great sound, not too pricy, plus all the pots and faders are replaceable if need be.
Spend a little more for an Allen and Heath, and you get a better sound.
User avatar
By Maciek Sun Jul 19, 2015 7:37 pm
Many years ago I had Vestax 06 and thought it sounded fantastic. Since 2 years I have been using Rane TTM57 and I understand what is the proper meaning of Fantastic Sound ;)
By JVC Mon Sep 14, 2015 2:07 pm
Bring back this dead thread...

I bought ART DJ PRE phono amp for US$38 (from B&H website), which is really cheap for phono preamp.
To my surprise, this phono amp sounds really good (I'm not saying "for $38"), very quiet (very low noise & hums), and sounds accurate.
It has gain trim and low-cut filter (which filters out "rumbles", super useful for mobile DJ situations)
If you are looking for good phono amp, I definitely recommend it! Considering it can be had under 40 bucks, it is unbeatable deal.

I've decided that I'll get another one of those, instead of getting a new DJ mixer, and use line inputs of Vestax 5005 mixer (which has noisy phono preamp.)