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Numark CDX: puts the industry in a spin
NUMARK CDX VINYL EMULATED CD PLAYER
THE LATEST VINYL-EMULATING CD PLAYER FOR DJS REALLY DOES LOOK AND FEEL LIKE THE REAL THING, BUT DOES IT SOUND AS GOOD AND PERFORM AS ACCURATELY TOO? PRICE: 649 INFORMATION: WWW.NUMARK.COM CONTACT: 01252 341400

D words:David Eserin

Numark CDX is the latest incarnation of hybrid deck/CD players; a DJ tool purposely designed with a bit of an identity complex. The many benefits of DJing with the CD format have become increasingly apparent, but DJs (and therefore manufacturers) still want the actual CD players to mimic vinyl in the closest possible way to offer the same much-loved feel, instant reaction time and characteristic sound that vinyl offers. Well, this new CD player doesnt just act like a turntable, it is a turntable! Based on the Numark TTX digital deck and with the very same platter and 4.5kg torque motor, its hard to believe that you are using a CD player at all. In the search for a digital counterpart to vinyl, the feel and control that scratching on a moving platter gives is equally important as the actual scratch sound produced. The CDX not only mimics a turntable but improves on it, with eight effects that can be synced to the internal beat counter. It has tap-tempo, keylock and independent music tuning controls. It also has comprehensive looping, MIDI connections and
enough small tricks up its sleeve to excite a DJs imagination for years of innovative use.

PLATTER MATTERS

Its simply not possible to pull off certain types of scratches without the constant drag of platter underneath vinyl. Certain turntablist skills rely on the nuances of a platter that is free to rotate independently of the vinyl, or in this case the controlling disc. So the CDX certainly stands proud as the only CD player available so far that has perfectly copied the medium of the standard turntable. It is the same size that most DJs are accustomed to and the platter is very sturdy, and the motor is also incredibly strong. Even beat-matching DJs will welcome this approach to playing digital music because the CDX feels just like a deck. The platter fits onto the motor drive in the same way as the TTX, with two small pin holes on the bottom that fit into the drive mechanism. The normal middle point is still there, but with the CDX this centre rod is able to move freely and is the direct connection between the vinyl control
disc and the complex circuitry inside the player that measures its position and movement exactly. So regardless of the motor or platter, the disc controls the speed and direction of the audio. Between the platter and the vinyl disc is a normal slip mat (provided), this can be replaced for a favoured mat while even the vinyl disc can be replaced for a favorite piece of vinyl such as a picture disc. The vinyl disc is not as easy to grip as most normal vinyl so this could be a welcome personal touch. However, the provided disc and slipmat offer quite a realistic feel to start with.

SOUND QUALITY

So, the feel of the deck is certainly the best we have ever tried for a CD player, but an equally important question is whether the CDX can sound as warm and smooth as vinyl? If the scratch sound is dodgy there is little point in using it extensively, and no scratch DJ would go near it. Well, the CDX has incorporated audio processing to correct the digital sound that results from playing digital audio in any other way than it
was intended. Because of the resolution of CD audio there is a very obvious digitised effect to the sound if it is slowed right down. On some players it is quite obvious that they have used a processor to simply add a wishing sound when the player is scratched, which makes scratching a variety of sounds almost indistinguishable from one another. The CDX has managed to tune the scratch sound so well that it requires some serious ear bending to tell the difference between the CDX and a normal deck using the same sample. There is still a very slight difference, but this is still the best scratch replication we have heard to date. The best way to test this is to move the platter as slowly as possible to see if there is any strange modemlike noise. Scratching should have character between swipes of different speed to prove an exact correlation between the original audio and the scratched sound. Also, the point of a scratch sound should never drift, which can be tested by scratching the same hit over and over at varying speeds and keeping an eye on the marker to see if it changes position.

OVERVIEW

>> Change the slip mat and vinyl >> 4.5kg motor torque >> Key lock & key tune control >> Pitch: 6, 12, 25 and 100% >> Brake & start time adjust >> 8 beat-sync effects &

tap-tempo

>> Intelligent seem-less looping >> Slot loading CD drive >> Reverse playback options >> 33 and 45 RPM >> Digital output >> MIDI connections & clock >> Full size 12" aluminum platter >> Slot-load CD transport >> CDR compatibility >> Multiple scratch modes >> Bright fluorescent display >> 3,000 cue point memory >> Battle-style platter controls >> Anti-Shock buffer technology >> Fader/remote start & relay play >> User-updateable software

THESCOOP

One Hard-Driving Table

By Dan Walsh

Numark helps you carry your whole music collectioninside your turntable
ontrol of CD audio with a turntable platter. Thats what Numark gave us with the CDX, modeled on their highly successful, high-torque TTX turntable. Now, with the HDX Hard Drive CD/MP3 Player, Numark has added another dimension to platter-controlled mixing with the addition of an 80GB hard drive for storing music in digital audio files. Control and portability of your entire performance library. Thats what the HDX means to any DJ who wants to go digital, but not have to carry a computer along to get the job done.
mobi l e :be at nove mbe r 2006
Mouth-Watering With its striking silver finish, the HDX immediately asserts its own identity among the Numark CD/ turntable family of products. It shouts futurethinking loud and clear A soothing blue on black Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD) provides all the necessary track info. The controls are logically arranged, with all the control buttons, knobs and dials clearly marked and thoughtfully situated mostly to the rear of the performance surface, so as not to interfere with turntable maneuvering. Effect buttons are found to the left, along with Beatkeeper controls, a reverse/bleep switch, a record button, and a jog wheel for tweaking the effects and browsing songs. More control buttons appear to the right, as well as the pitch fader and a menu navigation/song selection knob. The HDX is battle-oriented, i.e., 90 counterclockwise from the regular position. Left and right start/stop buttons with start-up and braking adjustment dials (as on the TTX) are situated up front. Also on the front is the CD eject button. The CD slot is located dead center. Audio connections are found on a recessed panel on the HDXs bottom, including: RCA line inputs and outputs, a USB port, a PS/2 keyboard jack, a relay connector, remote start connector,
power jack, HDX link, a digital output, and MIDI connections. Set the Table Before discussing the tasty new dimension of 80-gig digital file gluttony, we need to talk about how the HDX emulates the feel of vinyl scratching. Rather than relying solely on software to transform a regular jog wheel into a scratch controller, the HDX carries on the tradition begun with the CDX, of providing an actual turntable mechanism to control CD audio, and now hard drive-based tracks. The HDX features a high-torque, 4.7 kgf/cm direct-drive motor, taken straight from the TTX turntable. The platter works with a slipmat and a real piece of vinyl secured by a small locking disk to the mechanism below. Scratching is accomplished just as it would be with any other turntable, other than having to avoid a tonearm. Both 33 and 45 rpm speeds are available. If you set the default speed to 33 rpm (under the Playback Options menu), switching to 45 has the same effect as spinning a 33 rpm record at 45 rpm. Where the vinyl meets the road, I found the HDX to have excellent sound quality. Both slow and fast scratches sounded great, revealing no problems with the transmission of motion from
platter to emulated scratch sound. no scratch emulation. It would be one thing to just slap a turntable motor on a CD jog wheel and hope for the best; Numark has obviously put in the long hours of software development to accompany their high-torque mechanism. Pitch control can be set to four range settings: 6, 12, 25, or -100/+50 percent. You can also press and hold the control button for two seconds to disable it altogether. With increments of 0.1%, the fader resolution is precise. Setting the pitch below 80% will deactivates the platter motor but still allows scratching without spinning. Pitch control is also tied to BPM detection, so that adjusting the pitch changes the BPM display. Whats on the Menu? You get your digital audio into the HDX via a USB 2.0 connection to your Mac or PC. Simply power down the HDX, then hook it up to your computer. When powered on again, the HDX appears as a removable hard drive called NumarkHD on the desktop. While its connected, the HDX cannot be used for playback. Transfer MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, or Ogg Vorbis files to the HDX by simply dragging-and-dropping them to the hard drives Audio folder. When your tracks are loaded, turn off the HDX, disconnect the USB cable and turn on the HDX. Its not quite as direct a route as I expected, but its still exhilarating to see all those tasty audio files waiting to be played after the HDX scans them into its database. You can also play music directly from CD or rip CDs to the hard drive. If the CD is recognized by the onboard Gracenote database, the artist and song information will be displayed. Here is where it is good to pause and note that good ID3 tag info is essential for the HDX to efficiently sort and find your tracks. Song selection by navigating the menus on the VFD is accomplished easily. Using the Track/Menu Select knob, you simply cruise the list and depress the knob to make a choice. Music is browsable by artist, track, BPM, album, or genre. You can also create and store custom playlists and perform custom searches, all of which are stored after the unit is powered down. You can expect periodic updates to this and other software functionality, which will be downloadable from Numark. The HDX also comes with a small PS/2 keyboard you can use to navigate your storehouse of tracks. The unit recognizes a bunch of pre-programmed shortcut keys, making track selection even easier for those of us who prefer typing to twisting. Another sweet feature is the HDXs ability to record audio directly to the hard drive through the RCA inputs. This means that the HDX connects you with just about every possible way to access audio. I had a blast recording my mixes and even (dont tell anyone) pulling some streaming audio off of internet radio on my laptop via an external soundcard. As if this audio fest wasnt enough, MIDI connectivity is also provided. This is not audio but allows synchronization with BPM counters, drum machines, and other control devices. Icing on the Cake The HDXs looping and cueing functionality is similar to other CD players for pro DJs. It ups the ante by making its Smart Loop play nicely with BPM detection, thus making loop creation almost error-proof. The onboard Beatkeeper aligns and quantizes the loop (locks it into the beat), then allows you to use +/- buttons to double the loop or chop it in half. Other performance features include two hot stutter starts for triggering drop-ins and Key Lock at any tempo down to -100% (although the usual weirdness happens to the audio at the extreme ends of the tempo spectrum). Once you have all your tracks loaded and have a grasp on how the platter can spin them, the effects section adds some helpful creative colors to your mixing palette, all automatically synched up with the beat. A responsive wheel alongside the platter provides effects control. The effects feature some cool names to go along with the cool sounds they create: Sonar, Slide, Echo, Chop, A.D., filters, and auto-pan. Multiple scratch modes are available, as well as adjustable start and brake speeds. The HDX is a truly incredible machine. Yes, the price fits the level of sophistication; this is not a beginners deck. It is, rather, a tool for the master DJ who needs ample digital files storage, access to multiple audio streams, and the intimacy of turntable controlin short, the gourmet chef of the mix. WWW.NUMARK.COM HDX MSRP: $1,899

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