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Forum: General Discussion

Topic: AlphaTheta XDJ-AZ
The AlphaTheta XDJ-AZ, is new and reviewers are raving..

Wondered what thoughts everyone has.

For me was feeling this would be an amazing controller for 2020.. (but, its almost 2025, now)
and now I really expect (would love to see) more controls (knobs & buttons) for stems..
(and I know its self contained, and cannot create stems internally)
The AlphaTheta XDJ-AZ, feels like, 'more of the same' .. (where is the innovation)
though it appears to be of awesome build quality.

And 2) would love some, O-Led displays at hotcue pads and other places as some other controllers now have.

link discusses the maybe a "dream" controller (which I am still waiting for something closer.):
https://www.virtualdj.com/forums/255282/Wishes_and_new_features/Hardware_-_Dreams___Wishes.html



And questions:
1) will this be a hardware or software mixer controller

2) will all the knobs and buttons have midi out ? (even say, for the master eqs)
so all can be mapped to software control.


here are links to 2 reviews
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 4:49 am
I think the focus has mostly been on being a stand-alone unit, which reflects on for instance no stems buttons

So I of course expect it to be supported in VDJ eventually, but I don't think it will be used a lot with software
I guess that's also the reason why it doesn't work with Serato out of the gate, like the DDJ-GRV6 did a few days ago. That's probably not the main focus
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 6:13 am
Hello,

Personally, I hope that it will quickly be compatible with VirtualDJ.

As for the controller itself, it's just an update of the XDJ-XZ (which dates from 2016) with 4 channels for USB sticks, a larger screen and the addition of bluetooth and wifi.
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 10:45 am
PRESTIGE SONORISATION wrote :
Hello,

Personally, I hope that it will quickly be compatible with VirtualDJ.

As for the controller itself, it's just an update of the XDJ-XZ (which dates from 2016) with 4 channels for USB sticks, a larger screen and the addition of bluetooth and wifi.


and the possibility of standalone with 4 decks and streaming.

I hope VDJ will implement it.

As Klaus said, mainly it's for standalone use.
But it would be great to have the club standard gear to practice at home for an affordable price in comparison to a 4 deck CDJ 3000 setup and A9 mixer.
that for a VDJ support would be great to practice with the stems and try things out at home. After that you can use the VDJ export for CDJ USB Sticks to use sticks and stems in a club environment with their CDJ/Mixer setup.
All in one a great solution and combination.
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 11:52 am
IIDEEJAYII wrote :
The AlphaTheta XDJ-AZ, is new and reviewers are raving..


Of course they would be...it's arguably the number one DJ hardware company giving them a chance to be the "first reviewer" of the next potential flagship product and they know much most the DJ world follows the releases of the company almost religiously.

IIDEEJAYII wrote :

For me was feeling this would be an amazing controller for 2020.. (but, its almost 2025, now)
and now I really expect (would love to see) more controls (knobs & buttons) for stems..
(and I know its self contained, and cannot create stems internally)
The AlphaTheta XDJ-AZ, feels like, 'more of the same' .. (where is the innovation)
though it appears to be of awesome build quality.


The unit almost looks exactly the same as the XDJ-XZ, with the additions of better jogs, a better screen (welcome addition), streaming services (also welcome but seems limited currently), SonicLink (proprietary Wireless protocol, which only works with their headphones currently and it doesn't work with the Wave-Eight it seems), 4 deck standalone, but no effects send/return (potential remix feature), no dedicated stems controls (not a dealbreaker but it's 2024 and they have gear out with it..it's maybe a standalone processing problem) no dual USB soundcard (which I guess it's supposed to be a standalone unit, but it's also going to be used as a flagship controller).

The update was needed, but it feels like they could have done more and didn't.
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 12:17 pm
I found it quite funny that Mojaxx was effectively saying "Isn't it fantasic that this new unit is almost identical to the last one?". Yeah, great.

1,000 more than the Prime 4+ but with fewer USB ports, no SD slot, no internal drive option, only one streaming service, no sampler, limited inputs - but hey it's got big jog wheels. :-)
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 1:41 pm
These reviewers are paid to be positive so they simply twist the narrative. It's hilarious to be honest.

Personally I'm happy using VDJ and the FLX10 with stem support as it does everything I need.
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 2:39 pm
locoDogPRO InfinityModeratorMember since 2013
I'm always sceptical of reviewer reviews, even those when the brand has no input or prior viewing,
If your content is reviewing and that hinges on being sent review units are you really going to be really honest? or is a positive spin going to be applied? Just so you stay in the good books to be sent the next new thing.

I don't really care for dj HW reviews, [if there's actually something cool somebody else will tell me about it] but I like my tool tear downs and the best ones are patreon funded, unbox & disassemble [so you know the tool inside out], reassemble & test the marketing 'lies/aspirations' and the real good ones give a 6 month later review or an autopsy.

Back on topic, ... yeah I'm not even going to bother looking at it, if there's anything clever SW wise there somebody will ask about making it.
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 3:11 pm
Someone on the FB page asking when it will be mapped. Honestly....
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 3:22 pm
locoDog wrote :

If your content is reviewing and that hinges on being sent review units are you really going to be really honest? or is a positive spin going to be applied? Just so you stay in the good books to be sent the next new thing.


This should be common sense but it seems like the majority of the DJ community swears by the words of the reviewers, instead of coming to their own conclusions by their own research. Both the reviewers and the companies know this...and this is how the status quo is maintained/interest in other hardware/software is generated.

Note: I appreciate the reviewers, but I also appreciate doing my own homework based on the above being obvious.
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 3:25 pm
Mojaxx loves literally everything and is rarely critical. There's your answer.
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 3:38 pm
groovindj wrote :
I found it quite funny that Mojaxx was effectively saying "Isn't it fantasic that this new unit is almost identical to the last one?". Yeah, great.

1,000 more than the Prime 4+ but with fewer USB ports, no SD slot, no internal drive option, only one streaming service, no sampler, limited inputs - but hey it's got big jog wheels. :-)


Ok as a Prime 4 owner myself, I cant stand the way the fxs are setup and I do wish the jogs were full sized, other then that it is a solid unit BUT......out of everything I own it is the LEAST used unit in my closet. I honestly havent opened the flight case in a good 2 months. My main issue is the way the fxs are setup. Having them up top and then seeing which 1 I want on the screen is a real pain at times. I dont see myself owning it for much longer.
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 4:13 pm
And least we forget its a PIONEER product so of course all the reviewers are gonna be balls deep in saying how great it is, I swear Phil might as well work for Pioneer at this point.....
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 4:19 pm
kradcliffe wrote :
Mojaxx loves literally everything and is rarely critical


He's said many times that if he really doesn't like something, he simply won't review it.

He's also not afraid to say what he thinks about stuff when he's reviewing it.

 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 4:26 pm
groovindj wrote :

He's said many times that if he really doesn't like something, he simply won't review it.

He's also not afraid to say what he thinks about stuff when he's reviewing it.


He's a great reviewer (one of the better ones), but he's not completely impartial - he's still receiving gear preferentially to review directly from the manufacturer.

Here's another example of bias:

He has never done a direct review of VirtualDJ (or at least I've never found one), even though it's been top 4 or 5 in DJ surveys done by platforms like DigitalDjTips for years.
He's done a Traktor, Serato, Rekordbox and more recently a DJay Pro review pretty much everytime an announcement was made.
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 4:47 pm
Just because [person] has never done a review of [product] doesn't mean they're biased. I'm sure it's possible to make a huge list of reviewers who've never reviewed X, Y or Z.

If you're really curious, I'd suggest tuning in to one of his Twitch streams and asking. I have no doubt he'll give you a valid explanation.
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 6:22 pm
groovindj wrote :

Just because [person] has never done a review of [product] doesn't mean they're biased.

If are running a DJ tech review channel and you know that a (arguable) top software player in that space, with significant enough user base (that is proveable) is making significant changes (stems, hotswap, cloud drive to name a few), and you haven't reported any of those, but you've reported everything else for other players in the space (a lot of which are equivalent features but in a different app), it's not unreasonable to assume bias.

groovindj wrote :

I'm sure it's possible to make a huge list of reviewers who've never reviewed X, Y or Z.


I agree here too (and I won't go down that road because there isn't anything really to gain there). But more people doing a questionable/wrong thing doesn't make the action right.

groovindj wrote :

If you're really curious, I'd suggest tuning in to one of his Twitch streams and asking. I have no doubt he'll give you a valid explanation.


So I have no doubt here either, but that isn't the issue. I'm pretty much handing you proof of preference for tech in the review series that ppl look out for first.

Remember, that the name of channel series gives the impression of general DJ tech, but if you look at what is reviewed, only certain things come up, and if VirtualDJ comes up, it's usually with a hint of "not as good as X currently" or "yes it's ahead now, but it will eventually be matched/bettered" (look at the stems reviews for e.g., pay attention to things like when exactly they were done wrt the evolution of the tech). Users of "mainstream" software don't have to wait for the livestream to get some info, it's there almost at the same time the vendors report it.

I get it...you like what he brings to the table...I do too. I'm also not flaming reviewers in general...I refer to them all the time as well. But we can't dismiss the breadcrumb trail because we like/follow someone. If you feel that trail indicates differently I respect that too.
 
Inviato Thu 10 Oct 24 @ 6:59 pm
Mojaxx and Cleveland are the main 2 I watch, I believe both are honest when reviewing gear.

 
Inviato Fri 11 Oct 24 @ 12:05 am