Numark CDX Review 12/7/04 4:52 pm Numark CDX review - by Gizmo - July 2004 Select a product... First seen at PLASA 2003, the Numark CDX caused quite a stir in the community. Could it possible be that a company has finally brought out a unit that truly allows you to control CD's with real vinyl? Well 6 months later, Numark are about to unleash the finished item onto the market and we're about to find out if it really is the holy grail or not. Expectations are high, especially with Technics bringing out the SL-DZ1200 at the same time. Everyone has their eyes on the Technics - indeed some even have it in their targets. Due to it's heritage, it's expected to be the benchmark by which others are judged. The reality is that all the various CD decks are different. The CDX however, due to it's vinyl platter, is the one scratch DJ's have their eye on. First Impressions After getting over the fresh factory wrapped smell and assembling the CDX (fitting rubber slipmat and vinyl to the platter), it sits seamlessly in amongst my pair of Numark TTX's. The styling is the same as the TTX decks, using the same platter and overall layout. The CDX is lighter than the TTX - acoustics don't play the same role as they do on vinyl decks so some savings have been made with heavyweight cases. The overall build quality of the CDX is also lower than the tank-like build of the TTX, but still of a high quality. That said, if you plan to play out with them on a regular basis, I'd get some good cases to house them. Assembly The CDX comes with vinyl (albeit non- playable) - predrilled with 3 holes for the centre lug to snuggly fit to. A template is also supplied for you to adapt your own vinyl to be used. Don't worry - 3 small holes are all that are required so you'll be able to use the vinyl again if you wish. As with all Numark decks, a rubber slipmat is supplied, though I recommend using your own. I have a skratchworx slikmat on this model right now, that gives me a nice balance between grip and slip. This is one of the advantages of the CDX over other CD decks on the market - you can truly modify the feel as you see fit to exactly match your current vinyl deck. And that's it - all ready for action. http://www.skratchworx.com/reviews/numarkcdxreview.htm Page 1 of 5 Numark CDX Review 12/7/04 4:52 pm For more info check out Numark's CDX quick assembly instructions. Layout Overall, while still being a feature-filled deck, some thought has obviously gone into making usage as simple as possible. Sharing many common components with the TTX, the start/ stop buttons are still in place, as are the start/brake wheels. And the reverse button is now the CD eject button. One of the first things that strikes you is the apparent battle position layout. The pitch fader is at the back whereas on a regular deck (and almost every other deck on the planet) it's at the front. Immediately, club DJ's will be having to change the way they use decks to cater for this revision to the standard. But for turntablists, this position is second nature. Sadly, the CDX lacks the flexibility of the TTX to move the slider around. And you can't rotate the CDX as this will block access to the CD slot. I guess you can't please everyone but thankfully scratch dj's seem to have come off best. As for the rest of the features, well they're neatly broken up into sections. The top is broadly split between effects, loops/cues and the display. One of the problems I have with the CDX is the buttons - they're small, set right at the back and the contrast between the red LED and silver button isn't good. i have my decks et at DMC regulation height but for DJs working in a club setup where the deck height might be higher, some difficulties may arise. Right now I find I have to take a little time to check the button I'm pressing. Still, once I get used to it I don't think it'll be an issue. And it's also worth pointing out that the CDX is a little taller than the TTX, but not so much that I've felt a difference between my TTX and the CDX. Platter Arguably, the CDX's ace in the pack is the full size platter complete with real vinyl control. The CDX shares the same (well almost) platter as the TTX. In fact, the TTX is due for an upgrade so that it uses the same motor as the CDX as well. But I digress. Numark have clearly learned from their TTX experience of overheating motors - the image on the left shows a serious amount of ventilation under the platter. Despite original mumblings around the net when the CDX first showed itself, the audio is controlled by the centre spindle. The platter fits very snuggly onto it and the vinyl is attached with a reverse screw directly - hence the outstanding control. Because the platter is wedged onto the spindle, stopping the platter also stops the audio - just like a real vinyl deck. When I say stop the platter, the motor delivers a serious finger bleeding 5.0kg of torque so stopping the platter isn't something that you're going to do easily. Features As you'd expect from any deck made these days, the usual features are in place. Pitch is 6, 12, 25 and 100%. But why no 50%? Seems like a bit of a slip up there. Perhaps a software update might fix this oversight. The pitch slider is nothing special (a bit of a shame after the high quality of the TTX) and even lacks a zero click. Instead you get a generous 5mm zone either side of zero that stays locked at 0%. Interestingly, if the pitch drops to below -80%, the platter actually stops and you have control only from the pitch control. File navigation is simple - using the search button and the jog wheel, you can quickly work your way through a track that's playing. Likewise the track select knob moves through the tracks one at a time, but if you keep it pressed, it leaps forward in 10's - very handy for those CD's full of short MP3's. Added to this is the key lock. This work differently to the TTX - to adjust the pitch but not the key, hit key lock and adjust the pitch. Now if you scratch with the key lock still on, the effect is odd to http://www.skratchworx.com/reviews/numarkcdxreview.htm Page 2 of 5 Numark CDX Review 12/7/04 4:52 pm say the least - the the new Technics I guess. However, if you release the key lock button, the key remains the same but is now properly scratchable. It works very well indeed - you TTX owner will have to remember it not the same as you're used to. In fairness, it's still not as good as the Pio CDJ master tempo but good nonetheless. Reverses are fully catered for on the CDX. Not only do you get a full platter reverse, but you also get an instant reverse on forward play. Called bleep reverse, this allows you do do "ish" type edits on potty-talk littered tracks - handy for the kids party you promised to do that time for a friend when you were drunk. And to supplement these platter features, there's a motor-off button. Imagine you're at the kids party and your precious CDX is being mauled by all those high on additive kids... hitting the motor-off button allows the music to keep on playing without the platter movement. And if that isn't enough, there's a 33/45 toggle switch (the default is 33) to suit your spinning style. This is also switchable as a default as well. Next up is a particularly useful feature that vinyl DJ's will appreciate. The scratch mode button has 2 useful features - forward scratch and cue scratch, or a mixture of both. Forward scratch does just as the name implies - scratches only in the forward motion. This function alone turns you into an instant fast cutter without the need for any fader control at all. Having the other hand free allows you to either cue up the next track, or more importantly get a swig of beer while scratching. The Numark gets an extra mark for that alone! One gripe - to access the forward scratch is accessed by keeping the scratch mode button pressed for a second. I find this particularly annoying as it's something I want instant access to. Cue scratch is especially useful for instant juggling. Every time the vinyl is stopped, the sound starts back at the cue point. So you can essentially juggle with one hand simply by setting a cue point to the beginning of a break and simply doing a quick baby scratch at the end to take you back to the beginning. And there's fader start. This starts the platter when opening the crossfader. I've tested this with the Pioneer 909 mixer and it works well.