Hi all Read lots of good about P4. But how is the quality? Crashes? Freezes? I am a bit hesitant to go the P4 route after the MCX8000 problems lots of us had…
I am choosing between P4 and Pioneer XDJ-XZ if having advice which too choose…
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I had a similar decision to make about 5 weeks ago - the pioneer name versus the future proofing and build quality of the denon. I went with the denon primes
Here’s some things that I found when I was researching. Before primes Denon used to have dozens of individual models, all with their own dozen of different firmwares.
Prime models all have the same firmware (prime OS) so if something misbehaves in that Prime OS then all models are affected. But that means when the fix is made, all the models are fixed. That must be an incredible incentive for denon to correct anything, as one fix fixes 10 models (10 so far). That’s not the case for say the old old denon mcx 8000 which wasn’t even released by the same company as today’s Denon and has only its own non-shared firmware.
I did look at pioneer really closely before I ordered my primes and once you scratch beneath the plastic badge there are some bad issues with general workings like play buttons, platters (even on the new cdj3000 which is supposed to have robot-tested robustness as it’s, to be honest, main selling feature.
Pioneer is just looking old now by many many years and they’re looking greedy too by making rekordbox a monthly subscription service and locking it down from working with outside software.
Go for the prime - not the pioneer
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P4 can have hardware issues. Same with any kit, including Pioneer.
My Prime 4 certainly hasn’t got any issues. It worked out of the box, it worked after several firmware upgrades. Engine Prime likewise…
You have to bear in mind that people post here when they have issues. The other people who don’t have any issues don’t post, so (looking at posts here) it’s bound to seem as if there are loads of awful isses, when actually they’re rare.
I’ve not had issues when upgrading firmware. I’ve not had corrupt database messages. If you read the forum, you’d think the units were plagued with this.
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And when I was doing my research before buying, it looked at though pioneer problems were increasing and denons problems were decreasing. Both companies seem to have had significant changes in the last few years. Denons almost certainly in the rise right now in hardware terms , with pioneers reputation and innovation on the wain.
What’s up @Jackson,
I have both the MCX and the P4. The MCX did have issues at first. The bugs have now been ironed out for the most part. I picked up the P4 several months back and I’m totally in love with it. I’ve only played a handful of gigs with it (thank you Pandemic) but it’s proven very reliable, not to mention it’s awesome not having to use a laptop.
One thing the I must stress is that it’s important to use quality USB’s and SSD’s. I’ve had performance issues when using generic USB sticks and a SATA hard drive. Currently I’m using a Crucial 1TB SSD and a SanDisk 256GB USB.
Good luck!
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It’s sorta worth thinking of the mcx8000 as not being a denon. The company that made that 8000 isn’t the company that’s made the denon items for the last 5 years. The primes are made by a company called inmusic who also make and or own akai, stanton numark, marantz, m-audio, and a load more of audio companies. It seems inmusic repair and picked up the firmware tab for the last couple of firmwares of the mcx 8000 and I think a couple of the older denon mixers.
The mcx8000 and the primes are in practical terms made by two separate companies. You can’t get bogged down with histories when you’re out to buy new. I didn’t
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I have a Prime 4. Like yourself i also was looking at the XDJ XZ. In the end i decided on the Prime 4. My main reasons were that Engine Prime 1.5 had just been released with a completly new BPM algorithm, which is ace BTW. My other reasons were just how future proof the prime 4 is. Its still going to be rocking and looking ace in 5 years time. XZ is at the end of its line now, 6 year old tech. Prime 4 is amazing to mix on. Internal SSD, loads of ports. Its a beast, thats ahead of the pack.
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Thanks all of you Thing is my present controller pioneer ddj-1k is just wonderful to use and it beat both my mcx8000 and the old mc6000. The buttons and responsivness is fantastic. Well will see.
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I’ve had my Prime 4 almost a month now. Firmware upgraded without issue and I use it most days from anywhere from 1 hour up to 6. It’s been rock solid stable for me. The main issue with forums is that they are mostly full of problems. I wonder how many P4 units have been sold compared to the number with issues. The Kontrol S4 mk3 is the same, mine was stable for 2 years but the forums are full of people with issues.
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I couldn’t agree more. I had the mk3 also, what a great controller. I think it also boils down to what kind of DJ are you or want to aspire to be? Me i am a serous hobbyist and occasional function DJ. This is why i opted for the Prime 4 and Prime Go. Best of both worlds. If how ever i was a club DJ that played in clubs where only pioneer were there, i may of opted for pioneer. For 99% of DJs we dont really have the luxory of telling club owners what equipment we want in the booth. The likes of Carl Cox, Laidback Luke and co can to a degree. Yes we can take some of our own equipment and put it in the booth, if it will fit.
So i guess the question is, what dj are you, or aspiring to be? Be honest with yourself about that question and dont fall for the industry standard trap that a lot of pioneer users fall into. 90% will never get near a booth and are missing out on feature rich, future proof equipment that will blow pioneer equipment away. Only my thoughts btw. I am no expert, just a happy denon user. Oh btw i have owned high end pioneer gear also.
Po po po… Using it 4 days a week since last year (one of the first device available in France) and no real pb. Just one or two freezes because of the usb key, but no pb with internal ssd. What an amazing device ! Serato, virtual DJ (best dj software ever ! Try it) reads rekordbox & traktor too, tidal, soundcloud… Reads any mp3 usb device and analyze it, sweep fx… a few lacks but updates come.
I’ve only ever had the ‘peripherals not coming online’ issue. This happened around five or six times for six weeks after buying the P4 and never did it again (It was purchased July 2019).
I was carefully carrying the unit vertically in a Swan case to my gig each night so there could have been a loose connection on the board. In the12 months that has followed it has never returned. I have seen these issues on the forum but I feel there is a small handful in the thousands sold.
As far as stability goes, I have had no issue with freezes or crashes on official firmware. There is the odd bug but nothing that can’t be fixed in firmware. I love my unit and feel smart consoles is definitely the way forward.
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Yea, I also use the Prime 4 for about a year now. Have installed all Firmware updates without any problems. Knock on wood.
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I didn’t like the pitch faders on the S4 as they are too short, everything else including Traktor (been using that for 10 years) was excellent. Before the S4 I had a Denon dnx-1600 for 8 years and I missed it. I only play at home so needing to play on “industry standard” gear is not a concern for me.