CDN-88 Twin CD Player
What can we say about this, It is without doubt a work of art !!
If you've got the money to spend, get one, it's the best CD player
on the market at this time.
It's a really good CD player, a professional bit of kit.
This machine is pitched to go head to head with the Pioneer 5000 and
the Denon 2600. It features the best bits of both.
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And it's so
easy to use. We've spend a day exploring, and playing with the
deck, and haven't needed to refer to the instructions once,
something we can't say about the Denon or Pioneer models. With
these machines you need a degree to navigate your way through the
menus and sub menus, on the Numark it just all makes sense. The
display and the LED's on the deck show you exactly what's
happening, clearly and concisely.
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Firstly the basics. It's a twin CD player with antishock. Really good antishock. 24 seconds on each side. Which means you can bang it constantly for 23 seconds and it won't jump. As long as it can read the disc again within 24 seconds it will keep playing. It's also got instant start, and 2 seamless loops. And hot Starts (using the cue points from the loops). Generally it's very fast and frame accurate, and unlike Numark's previous CD players, it's got good old rubber buttons. Thank you. |
| It also has built in effects. Real time digital scratching. Which really does sound like your moving a record with your hand. Forwards and back. Oh and if you want that authentic cueing vinyl sound you can. Brilliant. Flanger, verb, chop, slip etc they are all here. You'll just have to have a play to see what you like, and what you don't. As I said above, they are easy to use, and easy to get to as well. It's also got a selectable pitch control ( up to 100% if you want it !!) and key control which stops vocals sounding too fast when your pushing the pitch further than you really should. |
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And if your worried that you won't have time to use all this stuff because your busy in the mix, don't. Hit the Interlock button and the deck takes about 20 seconds to line up the beats on both decks ! In 4/4 time ! and then keeps them there. It's really cool to watch, and can sound really good. It can also sound really bad because it's not perfect, and shouldn't be trusted. If you want to, hit a button, and it will start the next track just before the previous one has finished. In time too.
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have one bug with the machine. If this is your first CD player,
you will love the fact that it cues like vinyl, but if you're an
experienced CD player user, it will drive you mad that it you have
to push a button to make it cue the CD player way. Also, it
reverts back to the "vinyl way" after 20 seconds. And we
also have major issues with the way the wheel works. Because it
doesn't have a separate jog/shuttle combination, it has a point at
which it stops being a jog wheel (used for stepping through
frames) and becomes a search wheel, and this point is set FAR too
early. When your cueing in a hurry, it goes into search mode, and
skips all over the place. It may sound like a minor niggle, but
believe me, in 24 hours, five experienced CD jocks have all
complained about how annoying it is. And another thing. If you are
in "CD cue mode" and you want to use effects, you have
to turn the cue mode off. If you don't, turning the wheel, even
when in effects mode makes the machine enter search mode. There
are major software issues with the machine, because once again, DJ
equipment should be designed by DJ's and not by people in white
coats. Numark have to get these issues sorted. That said, we've been waiting for this machine for a long time, but now it's hear, we really like it. It will convince some vinyl jocks that you can finally use CD's and it will allow the people who have been doing it for years to add new levels of creativity to their work. Or disappear to the toilet and let it get on with it. |
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