What do you like and hate the most about the SC Live standalone?

Engine DJ Hardware Standalone Controllers
1

I have been playing with the SC Live 4 for a week and I really really like this machine, but nothing it’s perfect and having in mind that these products are not the top of the line gear so i will not ask for a 10" screen, alluminum alloy, knobs, more line in inputs, etc or Engine OS features that could come in future updates… Here is what i like the most… and what i don’t like so much.

WHAT I LIKE:

  • Clean and simply layout, it makes very easy to mix with this controller for first time users or people coming from other brands.

  • kind of a plug & play controller… depending on your use you will need just your music, headphones and power, which makes it very very portable.

  • Real 4 channel standalone controller as the Prime 4

  • Build in speakers… yeah yeah some people might think this is useless but belive me these speakers are way more than OK for preparing sets, gig a little with a couple of friends and basically for home use.

  • Streaming service, wifi, etc… very good connectivity in general

  • Engine OS really bring nice features, not just to these controllers but to other devices as well

WHAT I DON’T LIKE SO MUCH:

  • USB inputs in the back… it’s just complicated to stick a USB in the back of a controller specially in tight spaces, this can easily be fix with a USB hub and some velcro but still, the placement it’s not right.

  • Not having a led light to difference decks 3 and 4 from 1 and 2, the only visible sign it’s the small number on the jog wheel LCD, but besides that nothing else.

Overall i really like these machines, it fits perfectly for what i was looking for and the things that I don’t really like are not as bad so it’s all good.

What’s your experince so far?

2

I don’t own either but one of the main negatives I have is related to one of yours, and that’s the omission of the hard drive bay. It really sets Denon apart by having that on their standalone units in my opinion, so removing it from these those 2 machines feels like an own goal.

3

Yes that’s a top feature of the Prime series which I love… but having in mind this is not a controller designed to “compete” with the Primes I guess that not having the hard drive bay it’s “Ok” … it would be a really nice feature… in my case i can deal with it.

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4

My favourite part is turning up to gigs and not having to worry about where my drives are, if they will get pulled out etc. also a 250gb SSD is far faster than any removable media and much cheaper.

I see your point about the differentiation however, but a lot in the industry fear that these 2 new units are replacements for the Prime and not complimenting them. Hopefully it’s wrong.

5

I had the SC Live 4 for 4 weeks - but then exchanged it for a Pio Rev7.

pros

  • Price-performance ratio
  • great for non-motorized jog wheels, great display
  • clear layout
  • Super implemented standalone function
  • good build quality
  • great sound switch integration

Cons:

  • Display for effects much too small
  • Number and quality of effects
  • the pads are much too stiff

Finally:

the stiff pads and the effects section was the main reason for me to switch to the Rev 7

  • 4 channels and standalone is not a priority for me
  • Soundswitch also works perfectly with Serato and the Tidal integration is much more convenient via Serato and laptop (not to mention smart lists and sorting functions)

Nevertheless, the SC Live 4 is a great device in its class

6

I’d love a REV7 but I’ve decided no more controllers/DVS until these companies can drag themselves into this century and provide full support for tablets, including powering them through a single USB-C cable.

Imagine the REV7 with an iPad mount and USB-C interface so you can use it with a single power source and one small cable to connect to your software. That’s where I want to be when these DJ companies pull their heads out of the sand.

7

I use my REV7 with a Macbook Air 13".

This is not much larger than a large Ipad and connects directly to the REV7 with a USB-C cable.

The battery is easily enough for a gig for a few hours so that I don’t even have to connect a power supply.

I don’t see the big advantage of an IPad there.

8

The advantages for me would be no keyboard so no laptop stand needed, just a mount on the back of the device to stand the tablet on, one less thing to carry to a venue and find room to set up (see the original XDJ-R1 for an example of how this would look).

I’d never do a paid gig on battery power with a laptop either, far too risky so the idea is to have the device plugged in with an IEC connector then a USB-C interface that passes data and powers the tablet at the same time. So the setup is 2 pieces of gear, 2 cables, not 3 pieces of gear and 3 cables.

Apple have put the M1 chip into their iPads now so the power is there to support any DJ software, the DJM-S5 is halfway there to reaching the goal I’m aiming for but they have the power thing the wrong way around.

9

Ok, I understand - maybe such a device will be born in the high-end sector :wink:

10

I had the Traktor Kontrol S3 (4 channel controller) and it can be connected to an iPad and run the iOS version of Traktor (2 channel)… it is pretty cool actually for movil djs… I sold it and got the SC Live 4 basically because i wanted to play music with my friends so i needed several USB inputs to share music and not just depend on one source as Traktor does… but besides that the Kontrol S3 it’s pretty nice.

11

I also use an IPad Air 5 with M1 for fun - the thing is really super fast - playing around with Algoridim DJ is impressive - the analysis of the tracks alone works in warp tempo

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12

Hopefully given that the whole computing world is embracing the power of USB-C, the DJ world follows.

I got a new Dell monitor at work and it has a built in USB hub and displayport daisy chaining for additional monitors. I now turn up to work and plug my surface laptop in clamshell mode to a single USB-C cable which then connects all the devices on my desk, 2 screens and powers the laptop in return, I don’t even have to take my charger out of my bag anymore…. After being sceptical about USB-C for DJing to begin with, this has completely changed my train of thought.

Of course the same interface could and should be utilised by laptops too, like the M1 MacBooks etc.

13

USB-C is already a cool invention - video, sound, data and power over a single cable.

I use it at home with a new HP 32" monitor - no more cable clutter.

But we’re getting off topic… :slight_smile:

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14

Very much so, I guess back ‘on topic’ the live series are ultra simple to take somewhere and plug in to just use, minimum fuss… and I think that’s where the DJ world needs to be heading overall, Denon are very much leading the way in that aspect.

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15

Just to stay “off topic” for a minute… :slight_smile:

My main rig is Traktor based, but one feature from this i’m very happy with is the USB-C docking station mounted under & permanently connected to my Kontrol S4 in its flightcase.

This means i can do as suggested above. Just power & XLR outs to the main flightcase, then a single USB-C lead from the docking station to my MacBook air

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16

That’s the type of stuff these companies should be looking to eliminate, and the type of ideas they should be using.

17

Hi there, here are mine:

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT DENON SC LIVE 4:

__When my body is too tired, I can take this on to my lap and have only one wire going out and just use it - laidback playing is possible.

__Speed of using it - really runs fast with no lags.

__Truely 4 channel stand-alone.

__Effects are more closer and thus more handy to use.

__The effect parameter changes are well organized!

__Speakers are great! For what I want them for, they really are.

__There are no excess buttons - I basically use allmost all of the buttons - thus nothing is wasted, it’s minimal while being full of function.

__Portability is great! Weights less and really easy to enter existing dj tables at live events.

__In Jog screens help a lot. Sometimes it’s good to swhitch off excess information.

__The way you loop and beat jump - it’s just so much better with Denons way of doing it.

__No texts or logos around the crossfader - I like the clean way, as in general it has nice layout.

__Loop shifting, loop saving and active loops - a game changer for me.

__Grid editor!

WHAT I DON’T LIKE:

__Not possible to write tags to the search section (I used to do that in Serato). When I add the tag to comment section, Engine would not find them. Simple tag searches would be lot of help.

__Continueous mode does not play tracks from the same playlist. If there are tracks on both decks, then the next track will be coming from other decks playlist. I could not return to previous track, because it decided to select tracks from other deck-s playlist (when continous mode is on). I wish both decks played theyr own playlists.

__Lack of smooth key change. What they’ve done is good, but fine-tuning the key could be there. Could also have the key info inside the In-Jog Screens.

__The roll effect could have more than 4 beats.

__Sometimes when nudging with side of jog, it considers it as a vinyl touch and throws me a bit off the beat. Same happens time-to time in grid editor (I swear I had my sleeves up!).

__Sometimes at start of device the button lights are not lit at all. Then I shut it down and open again and then it’s all right. This tends to happen more and more. Don’t know why.

__(So mainly the issue side is connected with Engine OS and not so much SC Live 4.)

18

did you include comments as part of your search categories on the engine os device? the engine os devices I have (5/6000m) allows one to choose all tags or selected few e.g. title, artist etc.

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19

That’s nice, I didn’t know SC 5/6000M allows such option. The SC Live 4 with the Engine OS version of 2.4.0 does not have that. Pressing that arrow down menu next to search button - there is no option for comments. My computer version of Engine does have that, but it’s not on the device.

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