What is your goal? If you are considering the 1620 which is a great mixer of its time why not go with a Rane MP 2016a.

Looking for a battle mixer ...

Check out the Ecler HAK-360 (info from www.turntablelab.com )

An updated version of Ecler's successful HAK 320, this mixer improves upon it in one major way: a brand new long-life magnetic crossfader with the sharpest cut-in time we've ever seen. Noy only does It have the sharpest curve, it also has the smoothest feel of any magnetic fader we've tested. We'd place it somewhere in between the tighter Rane 56 fader and the extrememly loose Stanton Focus Fader.

1) The crossfader is near incredible. First of all, it operates on a no-contacts magnetic basis, similar to the fader used in Rane's TTM 56, and should last much longer than any VCA fader like the ones found in Vestax mixers. It also has a unique feature, a micro-control curve adjustment in addition to the regular curve adjustment control, which allows you to adjust the fader's cut-in time down to almost nothing. Just nudge it and both channels are on. This is only an option: full curve fade for mixing is still available. Plus the crossfader has a full warranty for 5 years (save money).

2) Like the HAK 320, the 360 offers a functional set of features for hip hop and battle deejays including a session input with level control, strong 3 channel eqs, mic input and assignable external effects for both channels.

Verdict: Pluses
Quality, feel, and warranty of the crossfader. We have yet to have any problems with any of the Ecler mixers we've sold. Clean layout and high-end features (3 band eq and effects processors).

Verdict: Minuses
The only thing holding the Ecler back is it's lack of a household name. The price may seem a bit steep, but this could easily be recouped by not having to buy a new fader for the next 5 years.

• New Eternal crossfader with fine-tune adjustment and 5 year warranty.

• Improved transform switches

• Hamster switch and curve adjustment for the volume faders. o Effects send assignable for each individual channel

• Powerful 3 band EQ (-30, +10dB), gain and left/right balance for each channel.

• Session input for daisy chaining several mixers together plus independent volume control

• Headphone master output preview and super loud headphone amp. o Mic input with 2 band EQ

• XLR and RCA outs offered with independent Master level controls o 14.25"w x 10.5"h x 3.25"d

I'm afraid I've used the Hak360 and it's nowhere near as good as you are making out and not in the ttm56's league

the curves on the line faders are rubbish and they are of a cheap feeling alps type, the gains and eq's are poor, the fader has a feel that i personally dont like and broke after a year of moderate use.

plus they just don't sound as good as the 56. i used to own a Hak320 but got rid of it quickly as i just was not impressed with the sound quality. i do have to say that the new Ecler Nuo 5 (?) looks promising as it combines both the features of a battle mixer and a mixing console into one. however, i would be interested in what the sound quality is like. it's far more important to me to have a better sounding mixer than to have one with all the bells and whistles on it.

Are you reffering to the Urei 1610 or XONE:02 ? or just the HaK ?

just the hak. i haven't played with the 1610 (it's not released yet is it) or the 02.

Thats cool- ive never used one b4- I just read this review the other day and it sounded pretty impressive. The 5 year warrenty on the faders is pretty crazy- but if its not that great in real life forget it. If I were you i would go with the UREI 1610 but its kind of a shame that both the UREI 1610 and the xzone dont have non-contact faders.

Dude i have the Xone 2 and in all fairness it rocks.....they now have the penny and giles cross fader as standard which is really cool....ive been having a wail of a time sice i got it and when i did the research the guy in the shop said that the only mixer better for scratching than the xone 2 was the TTM56 unfirtuntaly couldnt afford the rane mixer so went for the Xone 2. no regrets though....

The XONE:02 is actually more expensive than the TTM56 in Australia!

$1899 vs $1499 ($AUD). Suffice to say, the TTM56 kills it over here.

really!!!!! thats crazy....cant believe the price difference...

the Xone 2 is great but i would have prefered the TTM56...very odd

I have a pre-P&G fader Xone:02, I've had it just over a year. It has worked great, but just as the one year warranty expired, one of the LED meters began to misbehave. The right meter remains at 100% all the time...but the functionality of the mixer is normal. I've removed the faceplace and fiddled with the ribbon cables that go from the meter to a circuit board and if I hold it a certain way, the meter doesn't exhibit this odd behavior. But as soon as I let go, it returns. The weird thing was at first the meter flickered when I was scratching even though nothing was playing on the right channel (I had the meters set to show individual channel levels). Also when I tapped the surface of the faceplate it would flicker. That's when I decided to take a look inside to see what was going on.

I was actually considering selling my Xone:02 and getting a Hak 360...I've never had a go on a Hak before, have no idea how good/bad it sounds.

"If it aint broke why try to fix it?"

It sounds to me that the TTM56 has served you well. IMHO you are going to be hard pressed to find a better scratch mixer in it's price range (or any other really). Stick with what's working for you; the grass isn't always greener (if you know what I mean). ;)

yeah but if you already have a 56 it might be nice to try something new, and the 1610 looks hot.

i agree i`ve got a couple of mixers and it is nice to swap them over every so often for a kinda change of scenary

1601/s

Yes, it is. I got to play on the 1601s a little at NAMM. The sampler was still a little buggy but the production model is going to be a monster.

yeah 1601s thats what i meant. that shit looks super sexy. if you get it id love to hear how it performes.

Ok how about a Empath with the penny & giles faders? May not toally fit your every need but close.

yeah but the empath doesnt have a sampler and there isnt much need tor a third channel in a battle mixer. (not that the empath isnt the shit, but...)

I am not interested in a sampler but I wonder if this is still the case ..

The Urei/Soundcraft 1601s has sampling.
The 1601 does not...

s42000,

There are two models; the 1601s (sampler) and the strait 1601 (no sampler). So you can get the same quality mixer without the extra stuff. It's a lot less expensive without the sampler as well.

what does the 1601 go for just out of interest??

any idea what a price might me in england?

Seen it for US$ 799
TTM56 goes for US$ 699
XONE:02 US$ 439

via froggle ..

Where the frogs shop... LOL ;-)

just looked at that urei scratch mixer on their website....why is it a computer generated image? is it not out yet? its not avaiable anywhere here in england...

It was just announced at this year's NAMM (AFAIK). The www.ureidj.com site just went up less than two months ago. These two new scratch mixers have no track record yet - too new. After they are released, we will start to get the first proper reviews on the sound, quality, layout, etc.

Has anyone really seen an actual UREI, other than the cgi beeing shown. Even the vendors selling it are not showing a real picture but they claim to have it in stock.

wonder which will come out first out of this and the rodec scratchbox... interesting times

s4200,

Yeah, I played on the 1601s at NAMM. It was a prototype so I imagine that is why there are no product shots available.

CS-80a,

MAP on the 1601s is $949, MAP on the 1601 is $799.

thanks

I am seen the real 'Urei', but I know that isn't what you mean... lol.
;-)

Hey, I forgot that we have a picture we took at NAMM of the 1601S prototype. check it: www.agiprodj.blogspot.com

Scroll to the bottom.

sweeeeet !!

Would you consider a Vestax 05d Samurai... Just got one of these thing and it is pretty impressive. Plus it has a digital (never break the shit} fader.

how is th samurai range for scratching? i found the o;ld 06 i had quite limiting so couldnt really see the point why they slapped a digital fader on it.

no no no no no

what what what what ;-)

you disagree?

Already did, that did not meet our consideration. 2 band EQ, No booth output killed that one.

i put the penny and giles fader in my 06 and it served me well just for when i was teching myself how to scratch...

anything more than that and its a waste of time

Is the XONE:02 taller than the standard height of turntables ?

It appears to me that way ... any insight ?

same height.

..mhhh this is really tough ....really smelling like another TTM 56 ... the fader's resistance to bleeding, dust, crackles seems to be a feature most lack ...

Please someone correct me !

why are the EQ and flex switches so crappy tho?

i fi9nd the EQ switches fine with my xone mixer....

height wise they fit nicely between my vestax turns....

in all fairness its difficult for me to be objective cos i went from a vestax 06 to the xone 02 so i reckon its amazing.

but if your all using the rane TTM 56 then i suppose your gonna be used to a higher standard of mixer..

i meant on the rane

oooo........

Why do you find them crap? They practically never break.

Hmm, to be fair I'm judging by apperance and 'feel', I haven't even had my 56 that long, they just don't seem that sturdy/chunky compared to the rest of the mixer.

I still love it btw

^ id agree, the flex fx and eq switches SEEM like they'd break, but be gentle, and im sure they're solid.

I love the ttm 56 but i dont understand why they didnt have a universal power supply like the empath. A small detail but surely wouldnt have been that hard to add to the 56.

if you have a ttm56 you`ll be disappointed by every other mixer.... mabie mackie d2 (firewie) or rodec scratchbox (mic-in can be switched to line-in

maby :o

i read an article on the rane website that made a convincing arguement for the external psu.. but yeah the proprietary connection is a bit annoying.

www.rane.com

I feel that dude ...... I will await a scientific reason from the RANE mods why they chose an RJ45 ... RJ11 ... RJ28 ....RJ WHATEVER for the connector. Other than well known reasons(read g****, sa***) it does not make any sense.

Is there actually any good reason why rane didint use an internal psu.

Check that site, man.

its funny they justified that decision but put the internal switchable power supply in the empath??? whats with that???

noise. keeping the supply away from the internal audio path is a lot cleaner; that lends itself to the ttm56's excellent sound quality. also psu's puke ; if it fries or starts on fire (for some reason), at least you don't have to send in the entire mixer.

using an rj-11 connector for the supply is more pratical than you think. for one, it can't be pulled out very easily since it clicks in place. two, even if you did use a 3rd party one, you can't mess up the polarity on the plug. it's very hassle-free imo.

also, space-wise. the empath is a little bigger than the ttm56; it's hard to seperate the psu from the rest of the components when you have a small box to fit everything in.

I was wandering why the ttm56 doesnt have XLR and chose 1/4" jacks as there balances master output. What is the reason for doing this???

my guess is space. the ttm is already pretty stacked in the back; 2 XLR outputs would take up a lot of space. it's not hard to find cables that have XLR on one end and balanced 1/4" on the other.

its quite hard to find in london! i spent the whole day trying to find balanced trs to male xlr.

(without any luck unless i was prepared to pay over the odds for a 'custom cable') :/

How about online ... www.zzounds.com ... They may ship overseas ...

yeah.. already found a good-looking one at www.sweetwater.com who are meant to be good, just a shame that they're not readily available over here.

plus, I'm not a fan of monster cables.