The 'sound' of the X1800 - tell me please ;-)

Hi, I’ve been wondering myself and also people have asked me this question, since they know i became a ‘Denon Head’

How would you describe the sound of the X1800 mixer, if you’d explain someone who hasn’t heard or mixed on one?

Basically what i mean is; mostly its Pioneer vs Allen&Heath. Pioneer being said sounding actually quite ‘harshi-sh’ ‘metallic-ish’ etc. and A&H sounding more ‘warm’ ‘musical’ and obviously has their specific filter stuff etc. The X1800 LOOKS more like a traditional mixer, than, for example the Model 1 etc.

I hope someone can give some answer to this, better than ‘well it just sounds Denon’ :slight_smile: I personally have used many analog mixers mostly Dateq before the Pioneer DJm’s were all over the place (here in The Netherlands) I’ve never mixed on A&H myself. I am not a big fan of the Pio sound… At home, my first mixer was a cheaper Numark 3 ch. Around '97 i bought a bad boy (club standard pretty much in N.L. in the day0 : a Dateq LPM 7.3, the bigger brother of the XTC, Apollo, Stich (?) and successor of the 7.2. Last year i bought my MCX8000 and in standalone, it replaces my old analog mixer and it’s crackling faders…

Additional question: Is there recemblance in the way the X1800 sounds vs the MCX8000 in standalone mode? I could understand both a yes and a no…

Thanks in advance for a reply!

Hello fellow Dateq gebruikert! :wink: I used several like Apollo, Styx, GPM and still have an XTC2 (VCA analog), next to the D&R broadcast mixers.

First off, it’s a digital mixer. No extra warmth of analog with “round bass” etc. as everyone more or less tries to describe an A&H. But the X1800 sounds really good. It reproduces what you put into it. No extra sound, just clean clear audio. Don’t know if you have ever heard an RME-audio interface? They do the same and sound like…it is supposed to be!

I cannot comment on the sound of the MCX8000, because I’ve never heard one of those.

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Hallo daar :slight_smile: Ok, that makes sense yes. yeah, i have a history in audio and producing so know what you mean by clean sound. So, you’d say the DJM’s do color a bit (not in the best way imo) and the X!1800 is transparent , thus, sounding better in that way? (people will always have diff tastes to. but yeah…) Dank!

edit: yes, and no 'analog / tube / SSL mixer etc ‘flavour’ is added, ok yes.

My first and last pro Pioneer was a CDJ500. Never liked the DJM line, mainly because of the faders. I bought my last Dateq XTC2 second hand but was brand new, because people nowadays want a DJM.

Wanted to buy an A&H Xone PX5 after that, but with two SC’s hooked up digital and an RME Fireface connected analog it was a no-brainer to go for the X1800. After a test of the mixer on a L’Acoustics set, IT DID NOT FAIL!!

I did change the fader knobs by the way. :sunglasses:

To be honest, I don’t really know how the DJM’s progressed in sound. But I’m told by many in the industry only the last DJM NXS2 mixers sound clear and transparent enough.

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yeah let’s make this a Hollands Dutch topic :grinning:

I can understand your question but I Always say go to the store and take it for a test drive.

Sound color is very personal and in this case the sound out of the mixer can and will be influenced by the equipment after it, e.g. amplifier, speakers etc.

:grin:

That’s why I want to ensure that equipment does not add color to sound unless I want it to.

Some things have to be unlearned like the color of a screen. Some like blue. Some like yellow images. If you calibrate it to neutral, it takes time to get used to it. Same with an RME interface; it gives you an honest and neutral playback. People may find it to be cruel at first.

Hup Holland Hup hahah

Yes, ok thank you. Wise words, i get what you’re saying. thnx.

PS: yes - so much things can influence perception. A great example: When Logic Pro went from a blue/grey interface to a more black one, a lot of users were convinced the audio engine had improved, sounded better. Which wasn’t the case. So even the look of the interface made people think it sounded better!!

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Just another Dutchie pitching in: Mogguh!

But seriously, I’d say the 1800 sounds really good (have a background in DJ-ing AND sound engineering too) and can compete with the best out there. Definitely way better than DJMs as far as my humble opinion goes.

With all that said: we all know how ears work and with a few drinks and a prolonged stay in a loud (sub-optimal) PA environment (not to mention ear plugs!), any kind of subtle listening/differentiation in sound quality experience is pretty much out the window. Also no good mixer can make up for bad PA sound (or the other way around for that matter). So it doesn’t all boil down to mixer sound quality.

As a mobile DJ I do appreciate good sounding systems as the volume levels are often lower and I get to use my own PA, rather than whatever scrappy PA is in a venue.

Just my two cents (en geen cent meer hoor!) worth.

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I’ve owned Pioneer, NI, Vestax and others over the years. This X1800 has a CLEAN, HOT signal and I detect nothing but clarity. It sounds legit in the studio, in the dj booth, over the QSC system I use for mobile setups. The mixer really, really impresses me.

sorry @Bobbyduracel you can’t be part of this Dutch topic as you are not from The Netherlands :rofl:

appreciate your feedback.

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Haha @polderboy, but nevertheless he’s still right about the X1800 :smiley:

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You guys are silly!

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Only slightly!

Been a while since i replied - sorry; been seeing aal your replies on mobile… Thanks for all info until now. My question is answered for sure: Great, clear, transparant, digital sound… (it could have had some tube/analog/whatever ‘sound’ at it, that’s what i wondered… even being digital… All DAW plugins are digital too :slight_smile: And with mixers like the Model 1 around and such… )

Cheers guys!

I have looked at the Model1, but that mixer is, apart from being completely analog, best when you need to blend 6 different sounds into one. And on a very different level. Also price-wise. Now I’m an old techno DJ fundamentally, but it just doesn’t fit my style. I don’t use Maschine or Ableton to blend tracks.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really great sounding mixer, but the guys who use them are also hooking up RME Fireface UFX+'s or Antelope Orion 32’s. Then it needs to be great or it will simply fail.

The X1800 to me sounds great. No concessions. Even the headphone output (connected to my DT770 Pro) is really good! Again, we’ve tested the mixer also on a L’Acoustics rig. Be amazed.

Yes the FX’s could still be better, but that’s all software and algorithms.

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Cool. yes get you! And i know that’s analog.

It’s funny for me too: I got an MCX8000 when i finally went 100% digital after my CDJ1000’s + Dateq setup - i wanted ALL digi possibilities… But, after 18 months of owning one, i have to admit i mix in the old skool way: Mostly use 2 decks (not 4), 1 cue point (or 2) almost no FX and almost no loops… LOL! It’s just my way! Since 1994, but most importantly : my MUSIC of choice, doesn’t ‘fit’ with much ‘toying’ - 9 out of 10 times, the arrangements of the tracks have a story to tell!!!

Same here. Don’t use much more than the Wash Out effect on the X1800.

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I would go for the Prime series (over my current 8000) because of better stand-alone options (the same features as with a laptop, just without the laptop) and the form factor which has always appealed to me over a single controller. Mind you, for a quick and dirty gig a single controller is still da bomb, so I’ll keep my 8000 just in case :smiley:.

That said, I am also limited on FX use, but some of them are really nice to make big BPM or genre-jumps that are hard to make with plain old (beat-matched) mixes.

And nog een dutchie! Crisp And clear yes! I like it very much better than the djm900 i had before. I dont like the compressie pios have.

One comment i have is the gain, the uv meter and my ears tell different stories. In other words, there is too much Change in sound for the Lights to accuratly show. And the effect filter knobs could have a finer tresshold or be smoother how you wanna say…

But X1800 is an awesome mixer, hands UP!

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