I would get the DDJ SR2 especially paired with SDJ Pro 2.0

I ended up picking up the 505 but was on the fence with the SR2. You can’t go wrong either way.

So far I love the 505 with the exception of the platters. They are super low latency but stiff. Too stiff for my tastes. Backspins on the 505 suck. Much preferred the SR2 platters when playing around with it in a store.

The sequencer is THE reason to get the 505 over the SR2. It’s a whole nother chapter in DJing. The more you play with it the more fun it gets.

I can only find one sliding tray flight case for the 505 and it’s not available in black. So that’s a minus.

I find the sr2 more functional as a straight dj controller while the 505 is decent control wise, but more limited.

The sr2 is has much more solid build quality, but the 505 sounds way better.

Obviously, if you want a drum machine/sequencer, get the 505.

Ultimately if you take the drum machine out of the equation, it basically comes down to build quality of the sr2 vs the sound quality of the 505.

577, have you updated your firmware? There's a new backspin feature that simulates a backspin with a quick pull of the platters. You can even adjust the length in the utility mode.

I actually prefer the stiffer platters on the 505 and actually wish they were even tighter (or at least had a tension adjust).

So the Roland DJ 505 sounds better than the Pioneer ddj sr2 by a lot ? I may use to play on a big system so sound quality is important.

The Pioneer is a better build quality so it will last longer ?

With the drum/sequencer is this a huge plus from someone who likes to mix and mix well but open to new ideas ?

Really interested in the sound quality on both controllers

I absolutely think so. Sounds better than my VCI 380 which I thought sounded better than the SR2 and I think the 505 sounds almost as good as my Rane 62. Most won't notice, but if it's a priority for you, the roland is definitely superior to the SR2 in sound. I find the SR2 sounds a little muffled and the low end especially sounds very thin compared to other controllers/mixers.



Yes to this as well. They are both mostly plastic, but the quality of plastic is way lower on the 505. There are even spots on the 505 where you can feel the plastic buckling with minimal pressure. The knob stems are plastic on the 505 vs metal on the SR2 and the faders feel really fragile with way more lateral wiggle than the SR2. The most solid feeling thing on the 505 is the platters.



It's cool - I have a lot of fun playing with it and just making little 4 bar loops, but I haven't really incorporated it much in performance yet. Think of it as another layer of drum loops you can add to your sets, only you get to make the drum patterns from scratch.

The 808 I hear is a much better built controller.

Thanks mate your feedback has been top notch really appreciate it going to go to a store and see if I can get them side by side

I'd agree with build quality being the downside of the 505. Functionality wise, I feel the 505 is ahead of the SR2. I like having the drum sequencer and I love the tightness of the jog wheels compared to the Pioneer. I can definitely produce tighter scratch patterns on the 505 compared to the SR2 - it feels more like vinyl to me than a loose jog wheel does.

As a long-time owner of the SR, I wanted something I could take to venues where the management don't complain that the sound is too quiet or too muffled. This happens a lot with the original SR. It's the main reason I went for the 505. I haven't taken the 505 out yet as I'm awaiting my carry case, but on my home speakers, it sounds much cleaner than the SR.

Great feedback mate so a lot of love for the sound for the 505 ..... is there nothing to big up about the Pioneer DDJ sr2 ?

Functionality wise discounting the drum machine I think pioneer is better with more dedicated controls requiring less navigating through midi pages and shift functions. For instance having dedicated pitch shift buttons (vs having to go through two pad pages and use shift) or the Beatgrid adjustment controls or even something as simple as a panel control.

Agree that the platters on the 505 are better tho.

Just want to chime in I think the SR2 sounds great i have it. I used it at a wedding lastnight with 2 QSC k10’s and a 2x 15 Yorkville paraline sub and i really couldn’t tell any audio loss. I’ve used DVS with it and it sounds fine even my regular vinyl sounds nice and crisp. It has ac power and usb power unlike the original SR. It doesn’t have the jogwheel indicators and i don’t think it sounds any different than the SX/SX2 if that’s saying much. Overall solid choice.

Yeah - if you are using the SR2 with the power cable, there is a bit more output. I think it sounds pretty nice even on USB power.

I have not really heard a difference with or without the power cable. I just use the usb cable. The power cable is just something more i have to connect. I can’t tell any audio difference.

You do realize the SX/SX2 both sound like shit right? When I swapped out my sx for the Dj 808 over a year ago the first thing I noticed was the upgrade in sound quality...All pioneer controllers sound like shit..My dj 808 sounds exactly or if not better than my rane 62..now that’s saying something from a controller...the 505 and 808 have different sound cards but the 505 still sound phenomenal.

I haven’t exactly used the SX or SX2 long enough to do a comparison so maybe those were bad examples. But i couldn’t tell a difference in DVS with my S9 compared to the SR2.

The SZ sounds better. I haven't heard the sz2, butvthe SZ is based onntheb900nxs which is better than the sx/Sr at least.

Still not the most pleasing sound quality.

The official carry case for the 505 is finally available in the uk.

Had this controller since Nov 17 but been unable to take out to gigs.

Looking forward to hearing it in the wild this weekend...

One thing I have noticed is that when using my 505 the toolkit/FX packs are not activated, only the packs I’ve previously purchased.

It’s my understanding the 505 ships with serato toolkit included (pitch n time etc.)

Any ideas why/what I need to do to get these working?

In my serato it only gives me the option to purchase these packs.

Thx

The 505 should come with a card in the box with a code to activate those packs.

Thx.

Didn’t notice it. Will look again.... cheers dude.

should be in the baggy with the manual!

505 gets better toolkits than the 808, I only got PnT with 808, but 505 gets pretty much the whole lot :(

Didn't realize there was an update for the 505! Would love to try that backspin feature.

Here’s a good comparison didn’t know the 505 was so limited. Strip search is a lifesaver! youtu.be

I turn off strip search myself. I had a residency with the sz installed, I found myself accidentally hitting it often enough when using the effects that I would turn it off.

On my vci 380, I just remapped it to the fx depth knob.

It's basically a toss up for these two controllers as both have their strengths and weaknesses and itnreally depends on what is more important to you.

The only reason I have the 505 is because I'm writing a review on it for a website - if I were to actually pay for the controller, I'd probably consider waiting a little bit longer and seeing what else comes out on the market and hope my trusty 380 stays alive til then. When I originally bought the sr2, I returned it mainly due to the sound, size and the lack of jog wheel indicators - but I was still under the impression that the primo was going to be released at any time. Now that it's in limbo, and I had to choose, I'd probably stick with the 505 for one reason - it's actually small enough that it fits between my turntables on my DJ nook. The sr2 was like and inch too thick whereas the 505 just slots in between.

Sound quality and drum machine are a bonus...

There’s actually a way to disable strip search when a song is being played. Think it’s in the utility settings. I saw a clip on YouTube that demonstrates it i too have hit strip search on accident when turning fx on lol it annoyed the shit out of me. Now that i know it can be disabled while a track is playing is pretty convenient.

This is great guys thanks for all the feedback.....suppose the best thing to do is go out and see these controllers in the flesh.

505 cuts pretty nice👌🏼 instagram.com

the platters are great - better than the pioneer ones imo. Unfortunately there seems to be a bug or defect where you can lose track playing ability if you cut too much.

I've seen it happen a bunch and the only way to consistently get the platter working again is to restart the controller.

I can confirm that as welll I returned a unit because of that bug but it’s a great controller as for the sr2 that machine is solid the ns6ii is great as well that’s what I currently run with the platters are solid and accurate that machine is a sleeper but Numark did a great job .

Typical. Now that I've owned the unit for 3 months, been able to purchase a case and I'm taking it to 2 gigs this weekend, do I find out people are having issues.

Sigh

Hahaha. Exactly my position. 1st time using tomorrow night...

Basically, don't scratch and you'll be fine

Luckily, I only bring in 90% of my songs by scratching.

What's Rolands official take on this jog wheel scratch g issue?

If I scratch for extended periods of time, it will eventually fail? I'm looking to force the issue and file a complaint with my retailer in case I decide to return it.

maybe? HAve you seen the issue at all? could just be a bad batch

Yea, me too :(

Spent a good while scratching on the 505 this morning. No issues to report. Let's see how it goes after a 6 hour set, tonight.

Yep, keep us updated... where do you play in MCR btw? We’ll likely know a few of the same people.

I can confirm that SDJPro and the 505 is sounding much, much better than my setup last week of SDJ and a vestax VCI400 over the same system.

Impressed this far. Sound quality is the BIG thing for me...

Best sounding controller I've ever heard (haven't heard the 808)

I can confirm that it's happen on my 808 or on all Roland controllers. I guess is that it's a midi i bug on serato software is side where the controller losses the mid signal or the midi signal freezes between the platters and serato Dj pro.

We reported it the beta but scot maybe didn't see it or ignored it who knows!
All we can do is just make noise

^^^ lol at the gramma shittttt that is what happens when I type on a phone with out proof reading

Sounded awesome last night! It's far superior to the sound of the DDJ-SR and I'd say on par with the MCX8000. The only thing I noticed was 2 or 3 short audio glitches/drop-outs when using the side of the platter to adjust the tempo. I did use DJ Pro for the first time so it's impossible to say if it was a 505 issue.

It wouldn't surprise me as all the DJs around here seem to know each other. I play mainly around the bars in the Norther Quarter.

I’ve noticed audio issues when using FX with the hi res screen option switched on but when it’s switched off there’s no issues at all. I’m not a scratch DJ so didn’t have any issues with the platters and playback.

Yep, play around the northern 1/4 myself but was down at wood & co on king st south last night.

All the best buddy...

I don't think mine has this scratching issue. Spent about 15 minutes juggling and scratching. I can't imagine going longer so I'm not too concerned.

I've literally had it happen within 10 minutes of playing normally (I do scratch in a lot) and also have gone 6 hours straight without an issue. It's a weird one, but I'm keeping the 505 for very low profile gigs and trying not to scratch as much when I use it.

If it happens, what you can do is flip to deck 3 or 4, but you will lose vinyl mode for that deck and only get pitch bends on that deck.

I figured out a work around how to get out of pitch bend is to spin the platters fast forward and back for a few seconds and vinyl mode engages it self back back on

It usually doesn't happened with in 15 minutes

It happened after like 5 hours plus. Of using the platters and the play button

It happens is what I meant to say

Matter of fact I can reproduce it at will every time I beatgrid and cue point new tracks.

Let's say 70 songs take me an average of around 4 to 5 hours to beatgrid and cue point with all 8 cue point per track.

And am able to reproduce that platter midi bug even with out scratching. But just using the play button the the Dj 808 to stop and play tracks as I place cue points and fix the beatgrids
And also as I use the platters to rewind and move forward also.

Reason it takes me that long is beatgrids eat up a lot of time since you have to listen to the entire track sometimes in order to get them right

Can the 505 be powered by USB only (without power supply?)

no