Review By: DJ Blaze
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The first thing that jumps out at you when you sample the
NUMARK CDX CD Turntable, is its motor and platter size. This true to life vinyl table has a 12-inch vinyl and a direct drive motor with 5kg/cm torque. That is even more than the analog Technics SL-1200 flagship turntable!!! This is, without a doubt, the closest feel that you can ever get to real vinyl while using CDs. You can even put your favorite vinyl on the platter (this will require drilling three small holes into the centre of the record for the record cap) and put your own Slip-Mats underneath for your comfort.
The NUMARK CDX is based on NUMARK's TTX turntable, and also boasts twin start-stop buttons with adjustable brake and start-up times. This thing looks and feels just like the TTX. So if you like the NUMARK TT line of turntables, then you will really be in for a treat.
For all the scratch fans out there the NUMARK CDX offers four different scratch modes. Normal scratch mode will sound like ordinary vinyl on an analog turntable. The response time is right on and sound reproduction one of the highest I have ever used in a CD deck. The scratch cue mode allows you to perform loops by returning to a cue point after you finish the scratch.
The other two scratch modes are 'scratch fwd' and 'scratch cue fwd'. These functions eliminate backward motion sounds of a scratch, which means you will only hear the forward scratch. Some DJs may call this cheating and others say it's a very nice feature to have.
The NUMARK CDX also packs reverse and loop functions. The reverse switch has two settings: one that simply changes the direction of the motor, like a normal turntable, and the bleep setting reverses the sound instantly. The loop function has a smart-loop option that will automatically fix the timing errors made by DJs. The loop can also be doubled or halved.
The pitch control features are the norm amongst most new CDJ units on the market. The NUMARK CDX has selectable ranges of +/-6, 12, 25 and 100% and, of course, a key lock feature that provides one of the best results. There is also a key change feature that will change the key in which a person or sound is played.
Other features found on the NUMARK CDX are the Echo, Chop and Sonar that manipulate using BPMs. Other features include a stutter button and a huge cue memory. The display screen is bright and clear just as the one is on the TTX (which includes track BPM and a track elapse/remain bar). The NUMARK CDX also comes with a MIDI I/O, so you can use it in the studio.
There is also very nice and intuitive jog wheel in the upper left hand corner. This is used to navigate through the menu bar and also used as a functional jog wheel to scroll through a track or rewind it very quickly! I enjoyed this jog wheel very much in addition to the vinyl control. It gives DJs the ultimate control over their mix, session, or scratch!
Using many different CDXs I have noticed a small design flaw. The slot-loading mechanism on the NUMARK CDX really feels cheap and like it could break at any moment (I don't really think it will, but the feel is suspect). When inserting a CD, the mechanism is relatively loud. We also experienced the same problem we saw on the Technics DZ1200 table. When pitch lock was engaged…I could not scratch without getting some serious reverb and digital distortion sounds. Only time can really tell us how reliable and trustworthy these machines are. We will soon see if Numark has truly started giving us high quality long-lasting gear or flashy products that only perform for a short period of time.
These units also have an upgradeable firmware which can be used to add more advanced features and correct flaws in the future. Downloads are available at
http://www.nurmark.com
Conclusion:
The
NUMARK CDX CD Turntable is certainly one of the top 5 CD turntables on the market. This unit has definitely lived up to my expectations and it definitely deserves a look if you are in the market of buying a CD turntable. This unit is also a scratch artist's favorite. If you are going to do nothing but scratching, then it may be a good decision to go with these players so when you switch to scratching on vinyl (one day you will have to); you will still be right at home. There are so many features on these things that the mix-artist will also enjoy them just as much. The only thing making me not give this a perfect 10 out of 10 is the quality of build…which is still questionable.
Rating: 8.5/10
