When choosing a professional DJ controller in 2017, you might think that most manufacturers have professional DJ controllers with built-in screens in their range. But we haven’t seen much released this year and most of the controllers with built-in screens are starting to age.
Nevertheless, there are two controllers that, against all odds, seem to be destined to compete with each other: the Denon DJ MCX8000 and the Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX2.
Hold on, the XDJ-RX2 isn’t really a DJ controller, is it? Officially, it’ an all-in-one DJ media system that can act as a midi controller for Rekordbox DJ. In practice, you can use the XDJ-RX2 as a fully fledged DJ controller if you wish. And this makes it comparable to the Denon DJ MCX8000. The MCX8000 can operate as a Serato DJ controller, but can also work in standalone mode, reading tracks from USB.
The XDJ-RX2 is a couple of hundred dollars more expensive than the MCX8000, yet it has a 2 channel mixer compared to the MCX8000’s 4 channel mixer. How do you decide between 2 pieces of gear that share so many common elements, yet are so different?
Let’s delve a bit deeper!
Denon DJ MCX8000
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*Price Ranges in USD: 300:$ 300-500:$$ 500-1000:$$$ 1000-2000:$$$$ 2000+:$$$$$The Denon DJ MCX8000 is a fantastic DJ controller with many facets. It acts primarily as a full-blown Serato DJ controller, with 4 channels, 8 performance pads per decks and most importantly, a high-resolution screen per deck.
Secondly, the MCX8000 can play tracks from a USB device. In order to prepare your tracks, you will need to use Denon DJ’s Engine software.
Thirdly, the MCX8000’s mixer supports Serato DVS, so you can connect external devices to it such as turntable and media players. Combined with professional level inputs & outputs, the MCX8000 is a true workhorse for the professional DJ.
Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX2
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*Price Ranges in USD: 300:$ 300-500:$$ 500-1000:$$$ 1000-2000:$$$$ 2000+:$$$$$The Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX2 is seriously improved over the previous model. The screen is now touch enabled, and the amount of performance pads on the bottom of each deck doubled from 4 to 8. The mixer has added sound color effects and reminds strongly of the equally new Pioneer DJ DJM-450.
Additionally to the obvious standalone feature, the XDJ-RX2 also works pretty well as a DJ controller for Rekordbox DJ. Which makes it a true hybrid machine, and the reason why it made this comparison.
The screens compared
The approach for each device is quite different. The MCX8000 has 1 screen per deck, the XDJ-RX2 has 1 big screen placed centrally.
The MCX8000’s screens are good and display a fair amount of track and track library data. The layout changes a bit depending on if you are playing from a USB stick or directly from Serato DJ, and that can be a bit confusing when in use, but it isn’t a major grip. One thing the MCX8000 cannot do is stacked waveforms, so for Serato DJ’s that rely on those, they will have to look elsewhere.
The screen on the XDJ-RX2 is big, crisp and easy to use and navigate. The waveforms are displayed in a stacked format, which makes visual beatmatching easier. The touch capacity is limited though, don’t expect the screen to behave like a tablet like on the Denon DJ SC5000. And that is a bit of a shame for a new piece of DJ gear in 2017.
| WINNER | |
| I have to go with the Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX2 here because the screen is easier to use because of its size. The stacked waveforms are a good extra help for DJ’s that aren’t beatmatch champions. |
The decks compared
The decks on both devices couldn’t be more different: the MCX8000 is a typical Serato DJ deck, complete with 8 performance pads. The XDJ-R2’s deck is true to the classic CDJ design, but with the added performance pads.
A big advantage of the MCX8000 is that it supports 4 decks in Serato DJ. The jog wheel is solid and feels goods in use, and the blue led ring acts as a visual aid, indicating the track’s position. The performance pads support Serato Flip (sequence your hot cues and save them as separate clips) and Serato Pitch ‘N Time (stretch and bend the pitch of a track and create remixes with it).
The XDJ-RX2’s decks are, as said, more traditional and while the performance pads support controller-like features such as Beat Loop and Slip loop, it doesn’t go as a far as the MCX8000 in supporting all the performance features of, in this case, Rekordbox DJ. The jog wheels are as good as the ones on any other professional Pioneer DJ controller.
| WINNER | |
| I prefer the MCX8000’s decks. The performance pads are higher quality and better for performance tricks, and the support for 4 decks is handy if you regularly need 4 decks of control. |
The mixers compared
Things become quite interesting here. The most obvious difference is the number of channels here. While the MCX8000 supports 4 channels when used with Serato DJ (using it in standalone mode you can only use 2 channels), the XDJ-RX2 only supports 2 channels.
The MCX8000’s mixer is a real powerhouse. It has 4 channels, individual filter knobs, EQ knobs for the 2 microphone channels, Full 3 band EQ on each channel. It feels and acts like a professional club mixer, and since its a hardware mixer, it supports external audio sources as well.
The XDJ-RX2’s mixer is limited to two channels, but frankly, that’s where the negative news ends. The mixer is fully packed and has onboard effects. Next to 4 sound color effects with a handy parameter knob, it has a complete beat effects module, with 8 beat effects. These work with the built-in decks, but also with external equipment connected to the XDJ-RX2, or even when used as a midi controller with Rekordbox DJ.
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| I can’t decide between the two. The MCX8000 has 4 channels but lacks the onboard effects, while the XDJ-RX2 has only two channels and two onboard effect modules. Hard choice, but I do like the DJM mixers from Pioneer DJ, so the XDJ-RX2 has my preference. |
Inputs and outputs compared
Both devices are equipped with professional inputs and outputs.
The MCX8000 supports external devices on its 4 channels. It also has 2 microphone inputs, XLR and RCA master out and XLR booth out.
The XDJ-RX2 has a very similar setup. Double microphone input, inputs for external devices for the two channels, XLR and RCA master out and TRS booth out.
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| A tie between the XDJ-RX2 and the MCX8000. |
Conclusion
First of all, let me make clear I really like both devices. Despite their obvious differences, both should appeal to similar audiences: professional DJ’s that want a sturdy all-in-one media player that can handle multiple types of input. Until the release the XDJ-RX2, the MCX8000 was the only DJ controller that could claim the “stand-alone” label. With the release of the XDJ-RX2, Pioneer DJ delivers a truly hybrid machine, that can do (almost) everything.
| OVERALL WINNER | |
| While the MCX8000 is our overall favorite professional Serato DJ controller, it cannot beat the XDJ-RX2 when it comes to overall flexibility. Therefore the XDJ-RX2 is the overall winner of this comparison! Disagree? Comment below! |
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