No computer needed! Built-in Engine software! Full-colour screens! Transition between DJs with ease! DENON DJ MCX8000 (comes with full version)! Controls lights, visuals, and even pyrotechnics!
Blimey! A “me-too” DJ controller this definitely isn’t, and it feels that way when you unbox it too. It comes in a wide, deep, shallow box, and unpacked it’s a relatively thin but spread-out metal-built beast that instantly screams “quality”.
Bigger than the Traktor Kontrol S8, lighter than the Numark NS7III, smaller than the Pioneer DJ DDJ-RZ, and thinner than the Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX (its closest cousin out there in DJ land currently), the Denon DJ MCX8000 has a look of its own, while definitely sharing a lot of the pro-feel of some of the controllers I’ve just listed. Frankly, barring maybe the Numark NS7III, it feels the best built of the lot.
The unit is three things: First, a DJ controller with built-in screens for Serato DJ (four channels, top end features including DVS); second, a standalone USB DJ controller (ie no laptop required) that works with files analysed in Denon DJ’s Engine software, and even with normal music files on a USB stick; and third a full standalone mixer with four channels, two fully featured mic inputs, and a good range of outputs.
Therefore, setting it up really depends upon how you want to play with it. If you want to use USB drives in one or both of its two USB slots, you introduce a USB stick with Engine-analysed music on it (or just a pile of files if you really want), and once you’ve plugged in your speakers, power, and your headphones, you’re off.
If you want to use it with Serato DJ software, you plug in your laptop and launch the program, and again, you’re ready. If you want to add external turntables or CDJs, either for spinning actual vinyl / CDs directly or using them with timecode for Serato DVS, you’ll plug those into the back too.
