Got an iDevice? Want to start using it for DJing? Here are some products you can casually drop into conversation when your Christmas pressies get mentioned...
Got an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch? Why not set it up as an ultra-portable DJ rig? With just a few accessories, you can turn your humble phone or web surfing device into a DJ set-up that you can large it up on anywhere.
Today we’re going to look at some products that any self-respecting ultra-mobile DJ might love to find in their Christmas stocking this year – the kind of gear that’ll help complete your iOS DJ set-up. Time to start dropping hints to the family…
Griffin DJ Cable
Make sure you go for a DJ splitter, not a 'normal' one, as standard headphone splitter cables won't work.
Most DJ apps have audio splitting as an option to allow cueing of one track while another is playing. Both cue and master audio signals are mixed down into two separate mono channels, and you need an audio splitter cable to double up each mono channel to provide two (left and right) channels for headphones and output into your mixer/amp/speakers
While this cable is endorsed by Algoriddim (the makers of djay for iPad and djay for iPhone/iPod Touch), it will work with all other DJ apps that offer audio split cable as an option.
The cable is relatively simple and connects directly to the headphone socket, providing you with two female jack sockets, one for the phones and one for the main output.
Price: US$19
Buy from: Amazon.com
AIODJ Cable
The Rolls Royce of iOS DJ cables, this one does everything!
This is a similar cable to the Griffin model (but with gold connectors), however the it provides lots of options – it’s like a Swiss Army knife of cables!
It connects to the 30-pin base connector on the iDevice (in theory a better source of audio output than the headphone socket) and gives you a 3.5mm jack for headphone monitoring, L+R RCA plugs which can go directly into your mixer line input, as well as a USB cable for charging (and possibly data transfer too?).
It seems possible that you could use this cable to connect to Vestax Spin / iDJ Live with the djay app and split your audio as well – I haven’t tested this set-up, so I’d be interested to know if it works.
Price: US$22 / £16
Buy from: ebay via AIODJ website
Griffin Survivor Case
These have already been military-tested so you don't have to do it again...
After spending a few hundred dollars on an iDevice, you want to make sure it’s protected against the trials of playing out. There are a number of rugged cases out there, however I opted for this one: The US/UK military standards of testing on this product convinced me.
The case is very rugged. You put the iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad 2 into a sleek hard-plastic looking case which includes a perspex protective cover for the touchscreen. Then you slide the unit into a larger rubberised case which does all the shock absorbing.
I’ve seen this product thrown around car parks on YouTube and blown up on UK TV Channel 5’s Gadget Show, so I am fairly happy that my iDevice is safe in there. You will need to ensure that the cable you connect to the headphone socket doesn’t have any bulk around the connector, since the case is fairly deep and could block the cable short of the headphone socket. (They unfortunately don’t do these for the original iPad.)
Price: from US$23
Buy from: Amazon.com
MiniRig portable speaker
The MiniRig speaker: A real boutique ultra-portable item, that even comes with your name on it.
The speakers on iDevices are obviously not good enough to DJ through. You need a bit more volume and quality in your audio output, and that means an external speaker. In order to keep my iPad set-up as trim as possible, I went for this truly tiny product, from Pasce UK Ltd (based in Bristol).
The unit arrived very quickly and had a nice “This belongs to DJ Hombre” stamp on the base! Both build and sound quality were exceptional, much better than you may expect from such a small speaker (three-inch driver). The speaker is charged via USB with one charge lasting up to 50 hours. The unit has a neat power monitor LED on the top, so you can tell when it’s running out of juice.
It comes with USB cable and a 3.5mm jack cable which plugs directly into your iPad headphone socket, or audio splitter cable. There are no knobs, buttons of dials to control the volume on the speaker, however you can choose whether to plug your cable into the low volume option (bottom socket) or the high volume option (top).
The unit boasts 15W output, which is incredible from a unit of its size. Although the unit is a single speaker, it does present all but the lowest frequencies well – you can even boost the bass a bit by positioning the speaker near a corner or on the floor. You can also daisychain a number of speakers together. Instant pint-sized party!
Joos Orange Solar Charger
The Joos Orange: Claims to be the most efficient charger there is.
If you’re away from home for any length of time, then you may need to charge your iDevice (plus MiniRig!). I love the portable nature of these devices, but regular charging at a wall-socket does restrict your movements.
So, why not consider something like this? The award-winning Joos Orange solar charger claims to be the most effective portable solar charging device on the market. Pop it next to you on the beach (or if you’re lucky, on the boat!) while you sip sangria during the day and it should have enough charge to give you power for a sunset / evening DJ set by the pool!
This would make your DJ set-up truly mobile and wall-cable free, allowing you to DJ pretty much anywhere as long as you had enough sunshine during the day.
Price: US$149
Buy from: Amazon.com
Arktis Medusa & Gooseneck iPad stands
The Arktis Gooseneck Stand: Will this kind of thing become a common addition in the 21st century DJ booth?
Most of the previous accessories are aimed at taking your iDevice out of the home, club or bar and playing music in unconventional locations. If you’re unlikely to do this and really want to get your iPad(s) embedded near your hardware mixer, then you will need a stand of some sort. Balancing an iPad on the top of a turntable or CD deck isn’t a wise option.
At the launch of the Red Bull BPM DJ app at Amsterdam’s Dance Event in October this year, I saw these screwed in place on both sides of the mixer, placing the iPad at just the right height with an adjustable position to suit the DJ. Medusa comes with a round flat base (no need for screw fixing) while Gooseneck has a small round base and will need to be screwed to the DJ console.
As well as being aesthetically pleasing, they are very rugged so very little vibration or movement is felt when tapping on the screen. The company also sells an anti-theft device which can be used to secure the iPad in place on the stand – a useful addition if you’re the club owner, perhaps! They’re not cheap, though…
Price: US$389
Buy from: Amazon.com
Summary
Most of the above products have alternatives, but these are the few that really stood out when we were compiling this list. There’s definitely something there for every iOS DJ this Christmas!
Where’s the most obscure place you’ve ever DJed? Have you used an iDevice to have an impromptu party in a hotel room, on a train, or someone equally unusual? what’s your favour ultra-portable gadget? Let us know in the comments!
Tags: ios
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
So, are those splitter cables horrible sounding mono or does the one with the connector output a proper stereo signal? Someone really needs to make a decent DJ interface for the iPad, because using it as a mixer ain’t going away but there are already far too many bottlenecks to audio quality in the chain!
[ link ]The Griffin one is mono but that doesn’t necessarily mean horrible sounding, does it? After all, most club sound systems are mono anyway.
[ link ]There are already so many links int he chain that lower the sound quality… my point is the DJ should endeavour to mitigate that as much as possible. I may even say it should be the DJs responsibility to understand and manage the sound quality from their end as much as they can! I’m not suggesting they use audiophile cables but just ensure no drop in quality throughout their gear and until the sound leaves the mixer.
[ link ]If the Griffin cable with the USB adapter allows for charging while using the device with the IDJ live or other controller this would be great.
Currently while using the iDJ live with iphone/ipad you are using the 30 pin to connect it so you cant charge it (and at the same time draining the idevice to power the controller.
[ link ]That shouldn’t really be an issue with a fully charged iPad if you’re doing a 2 hour set, but maybe an all-nighter.
[ link ]I just remember back how annoying it was when I got home from work and wanted to kick around on DJAY for iphone before going out (on an already drained iphone now draining it further) before I went out for the night.
I agree if I was using this as my actual means for mixing I would ensure I had a full charge prior to sitting down..
[ link ]That minirig thing is absolutely amazing. I want one!
[ link ]I love the MiniRig, although only small it can pack a considerable (and quality) punch without distortion. The personalised stamp on the base gives a nice ‘hand-made’ touch.
[ link ]Add the “DJ Tempo” app for iPhone to that list. It tells you what BPM is playing in the club after you sample the music for 10 seconds. Super easy to use, and it’s free.
Search the app store for DJ Tempo and grab it for your iPhone.
-Yakov
[ link ]Mixed In Key
I too salivated immediately over the all-in-one cable package. I worry though about non-apple cables charging the iPhone after my 3s developed problems charging which were traced back to non-apple cables I was using. It’s important to verify that the cable manufacturer is matching Apple’s specs.
[ link ]Theose iPad holders are sooo sick. Would love to have a couple.
[ link ]They are gorgeous – the Red Bull BPM team spent a small fortune on Arktis stands for that event.
[ link ]There are two other holders for the iPad out that attach to microphone stands which are MUCH cheaper. I have both of the cheaper alternatives and have used them on more than one occasion. They’re rock solid and work great.
If you want to ‘hover’ them over the DJ booth, you can either use a boom stand or gooseneck mounts screwed into the console.
Sure, the Arktis stands are SWEET, but you don’t have to drop the same amount of $$$ to mount up an iPad. Although, the Aktis stands are a little cleaner looking.
[ link ]I ordered the Griffin splitter at the beginning of the week – is the sound going to be as bad as the first comment suggested when hooked up to some speakers?
[ link ]The sound is fine, don’t worry – we have one here and use t all the time.
[ link ]Pleasing to know. Thanks Phil.
That set of Cables from AIODJ do look pretty sweet – especially having the RCA cables in there as part of it and the option of USB charging/data transfer, but I’d be a bit wary of having all my cables running from one outlet if that makes any sense – if one goes they all might go…. Might be one to consider though further down the line though.
In terms of stands, I’ve got this coming (hopefully as a Christmas present): http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/ekit-stand-for-apple-ipad-p27242.htm (Not from this website).
Cheapest place I’ve seen it is at Tesco’s with a price of £17. Amazon have it for £30. So while not as expensive as the one mentioned in the article, I’m hopeful that with the lock facility it has, it will do a somewhat decent job. I’ll post up my thoughts on the forum should I be lucky enough to get it from Santa.
[ link ]Actually I have the Griffin cable paired with djay app works like a champ and sounds very good!
[ link ]Apple has an audio/video (3-way RCA output) + USB to-dock cable. I´ve been using it for a while. It´s high-quality and quite long, looks a lot like AIODJ´s but doesn´t have the splitter.
I´ve been using iPAD2 with DJAY for my club and radio gigs without sound Q problems. Sometimes I use the Apple cable, sometimes the Griffin DJAY splitter, and indeed the sound levels come out higher from the dock pin. But either way it´s amazingly fine, sound-wise.
I´m very, very picky and demanding about sound Q in my sets, way more than my crowds and promoters. No one has been able to tell the difference from my CDs and iPAD´s MP3s, but then I don´t ever use low-Q files.
[ link ]You confirm what I suspected about using the iOS sound card in pro situations – use good music files and nobody can tell the difference
[ link ]Is the Jooz solar charger available in aus? I looked on some sites and apparently it only ships to places around US.
[ link ]Anyone know of the ultimate iOS controller for Dj mixing…I’m a old vinyl house Dj and wanna mix with my iPad and a controller as well as amped speakers…
[ link ]Have you seen the forthcoming iDJ Pro from Numark? Here’s our preview: http://www.digitaldjtips.com/2012/04/video-numark-idj-pro-working-demo/
[ link ]OMFG that thing is definitely the most intricate iPad specific controller in the world….can’t wait for a price on this so I can gauge my spending on this “iOS mixing expierience ”
Any other controllers worth checking aside from the IDJ live?
[ link ]