Numark D2 Director - A Review (pt 2)

[quenmax123]

can you connect it to a pc ? USB .

[gatler05]

So what exactly is the difference between D2 and DDS? Cause im buying a DDS

[groovindj]

@gatler05, read the comments!

[13thfridaythe]

Thanks for the reply,so you suggest the DDS is more prefernce than the HD 2500,Reliability wise,is DDS a Good Investment? Cheers.

[groovindj]

I don't have a DDS so I couldn't say.

You could try to find a used D2 on eBay.

[13thfridaythe]

Hello. I would like to Know whats the Difference between the D2 and The DDS. I intend to get one.also interested in the Denon HD Dn 2500. What do you suggest is better? i am a Mobile DJ. Thank you Very much.

[groovindj]

Well the D2 has been discontinued. The DDS replaced it. Colour screen but not really much difference in features or operation.

I think the HD2500 is being discontinued soon as well, if not already. For me, the restriction on the 2500 is the screen size.

It's split between the two players, so you can only see a few characters of song and artist names.

Also the internal HDD is IDE (not SATA) which limits you on size.

[artthoudarkstranger]

What's the pitch step like on these?

[groovindj]

It can be set to 6, 12, 25 or +25/-100

[Parker1006]

Do you have to plug that thing up to a cross fader? Or can you properly mix songs with it as a stand alone? Sorry for my dumb question.

[groovindj]

It doesn't have a mixer built in, just two separate stereo outputs, so you have to use an external mixer.

There are similar all-in-one units though, like the SDJ2 (which uses SD cards).

[jearley2424]

Hello Paul how you doing my friend? good i hope. question the 500 tracks per folder rule. i have folders with other folders in them and sometimes folders in them will it handle that or will i have to sort them out.. also does it come with any software to organise the tracks? many thanks jason

[groovindj]

Hi Jason. It's like the pirates code - more guidelines than actual rules. For best search speed and load speed, keep the files per folder down, but you can go over without too much ill effect.

The software doesn't organise tracks, as there's no need, with the D2s ability to search by artist, title, genre, BPM and so on. What the software does is add all the info from the ID3 tags to the database.

[totes32]

i see you are a few months into this kit i'm about to bite and buy the numark do you still rate it.cheers

[groovindj]

I understand that it's now been discontinued and replaced by the much pricier DDS80 system.

The D2 is good but is limited (compared to a computer) by the screen size and speed of searching.

[osearth]

it's a bit slow to react to scratches. hmm wow it's hard to find info on this things back-cue scratch specs. vinylists mostly care about these details.

ahh NICE you just said the placement of the beat on the jog wheel moves. that sucks

thank you for this review i'm not getting it now!!

[therealdjessence]

This units a waste of time if theres no pioneer cdjs or a mac with serato n decks its not worth buying cos you would never find this in a night club

[groovindj]

Who said it was designed for clubs? It's primarily for mobile DJs.

[djluis626]

Oh, Ok i see thankyou for the help

[djluis626]

so like each genre can only have up to 500 songs in it

[groovindj]

No, only the number of files in each folder need to be around 500. So you could have 2000 funk songs but just make sure there are only around 500 in a folder (so have 4 folders).

[djluis626]

ok thank you for the info if i plug in a mini 500gb harddrive to this unit with it take a long time to load the songs and have u expirience any lagging problems or problems in which it just shuts down with this unit while using it in a party

[groovindj]

The D2 loads songs very quickly because it uses a database system. Numark Librarian software scans your files first (on your computer) then creates a database on the hard drive where they're stored. When you connect that drive to the D2 it uses the database to search etc. Keep your song files well organised (up to 500 per dir) and there won't be any problems.

[djluis626]

oh ok im planning to hold more so how do you update this unit to the newest firmware when you get it does it come with the newest firmware?

[groovindj]

If it's new stock, it should have the latest firmware. New firmware's easy to download from Numark and includes instructions!

[djluis626]

would this unit be good for sweet 16's to hold at least like 500 songs and how is the cue and play button on this when you press it is it fast

[groovindj]

If you're looking for a unit to hold around 500 songs, American Audio have the SDJ-1 which uses two SD cards, is smaller and cheaper than the D2. The cue and play response is very good on the D2, and now with firmware 1.09 (just released) the track search is very fast.

[Hamsterman3]

Thanks for posting up your opinions on this unit - it is really nice to get some actual user feedback.

Quick question - what is the name of the song you start playing ~ minute 6. I keep running the beat through my head, but I am at a loss for the title! Thanks in advance for any response :)

[groovindj]

Encore by Cheryl Lynn.

[xezarac]

Hi, im planing on getting this player, does the song start exactly wen you push the start button? a quick response from the buttons, and how good is the pitch blend jog? do you recomend it?

sorry for my english i hope you can understand my questions.

[groovindj]

The start time is very good - the same as a good DJ CD player.

The wheels are quite light and move very easily, which can be bad (you can accidentally touch them) but they do their job.

[djsellman123]

iv got to get one of these

how much is it about £400

nice vid m8

[groovindj]

Cheapest I've seen in the UK is £385. Did you see the new American Audio SDJ1-? Half the price of the D2 and plays from SD cards.

[djsellman123]

ye i have are they actuall avalible from shops though

where is it that you seen it for 385

[groovindj]

UK stock of the SDJ-1 is 2-3 weeks away.

If you search the Google shopping page for the D2 it'll bring up a list of sites and prices.

[killerkaly]

u have a great mixer!

an allen & heath??

[groovindj]

Yes, a Xone:92

[shiftael]

Is the beatkeeper accurate? It's the one thing that's really selling me on this unit I've never seen type of thing before

[groovindj]

It's pretty good, and should certainly help beginners to line up beats. It can be fooled by tricky beats, but that's like any automatic beat counter. Numark are adding it to other things as well.

[shiftael]

Thanks for getting back so quickly! Now it's a tossup between this and the Denon, except this is more economically feasible for me.

Is there any way you could do a video showcasing and explaining the beatkeeping thing at all, maybe?

[TimLake]

Could do with a close view of the screen but it's a useful overview

[fermixx]

awesome videos man! nice tutorials.

[ellaskins]

looks fun!