It used to be the case that you would have two spinning platters that you would put your vinyl onto and then switch between the two records using a separate mixer in the middle. Although standard turntables are still available, and in fact are somewhat desirable, the DJ industry is leaning towards a more digital approach.
MP3 mixers are a great alternative to the analogue turntable approach and they have a number of distinct advantages.
1. You can fit thousands of tracks on a memory stick or CD. In fact you could probably fit your entire record collection on a single memory stick and carry it around in your pocket.
2. In theory you can play the track an infinite amount of times without deteriorating it in the slightest. In practice memory sticks will eventually fail but it isn't deterioration like you would get with vinyl, it would be a complete catastrophic failure and it just wouldn't work. Hopefully this wouldn't be to bad a situation as you would need to have the tracks backed up elsewhere anyway in order to have them on the memory stick in the first place.
MP3 is here to stay and below we have listed 5 of the best MP3 mixers on the market.
1. Numark MixDeck Numark has been in the DJ market for many years and has produced some of the most iconic mixing gear. They know what they are doing. The Mixdeck is one of the best equipped MP3 mixers currently available. It accepts virtually any source you can imagine. Tracks can be loaded from memory sticks, cd's or IPOD and if you were to hook it up to your computer via USB you would be able to scratch and mix MP3 tracks straight off your hard drive! Simply a stunning piece of equipment.
2. Gemini CDMP6000 A cheaper option than the Mixdeck but still with plenty of features. Ideal for mobile DJ's the Gemini has twin cd players and a mixing console like the Numark Mixdeck except it is slightly smaller. This smaller size means there are a few features missing that are present on The Numark setup but at almost 0 cheaper you may think that this is a more affordable option.
3. Numark ICDMIX2 Another helping from Numark and another great package. The main advantage with the ICDMIX is the price! At under 0 it is aimed straight at the beginners. Given the price you would be forgiven for thinking it may be garbage but surprisingly it still has some of the features of the other two. A major advantage with this unit is the size. It is almost pocket sized. It is clearly designed to be a quick setup however the lack of USB makes it limited to playing tracks off the IPOD or CD.
Whether you love them or hate them, MP3 players are here to stay. They are becoming the industry standard and the advantages far outweigh any disadvantages. It is a clear advancement in DJ technology.
