Got an iPhone? Carry keys with you? then with Urbanears Slussen, you can also carry a complete DJ booth for those “must keep spinning” after-party moments…
Urbanears Slussen is being rather optimistically touted as “the most powerful after-party weapon known to man”. More prosaically, it’s a US$15 DJ headphone splitter adapter for iOS devices, letting you plug speakers and headphones in for an instant, tiny DJ set-up.
Being a consumer fashion item, naturally it has a couple of twists: One, it fits on your keyring thanks to a special holder that comes with it, and two, you can download a complementary free DJ program from the App Store in order to, in their words, “take the party with you, wherever you go”.
The Urbanears Slussen comes four colours, looking kind of like a U-bend from your kitchen plumbing, in miniature.
From the screengrabs we’ve seen the software seems pretty basic, but nonetheless offers sync (of course), EQ, cue points, crossfader, and decks you can scratch on (read: make a scratch-like noise with your fingers).
It’s basically a headphones splitter cable with a bit of simple DJ software, but if nothing else, it’d be a good way to carry a DJ mono splitter around in case the desire to spin gets too much at any time…
Of course, none of this is going to be much fun on an iOS device unless the software is excellent, but if not, it’s our guess the Slussen will work just as well with any iOS software that allows for split cue output, such as Algoriddim’s djay, too.
The Urbanears Slussen comes four colours, looking kind of like a U-bend from your kitchen plumbing…
Also, unless that splitter adaptor actually screws into the keyring rather than clipping into it, personally I wouldn’t hold out much hope of going long without losing it, judging by my track record with keyring USB drives – but maybe that’s just me.
We’ve asked for a review sample so we’ll let you know how safe it is in its holder, how well made it is, and whether the software is up to much, if and when we get a first-hand look at it.
Nice idea? The ultimate after-party weapon? A bit of a gimmick? Or both? Let us know your thoughts on the Urbanears Slussen in the comments.
Now go to:
MixVibes CrossDJ for iPhone Review
4 Clever Gadgets For iOS DJs
Review: Mixed In Key iMashup v2.0 for iOS
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How this device connects to the key ring makes this seem like a bad idea. I like that it’s simple and easy to use, just not how it’s secured to the key ring.
[ link ]Inventive, intuitive, it seems like a nifty product, but it’s too niche. Mobile DJing also is definitely not there yet.
[ link ]Yeah… This might make it a day if that just snaps in like it looks.
[ link ]For $15 I would give it a go and keep it on my keys at all times. If it gets lost no big deal.
[ link ]Completely gimmick market
[ link ]for one thing the software for anything but the simplest djing techniques are not there yet on a mobile platform and if they were i dont see how they would be very usable except maybe on a tablet as the controls would be too small to really work with
the attachment style of the keyring looks highly unstable and will be easily lost and basically beside the nifty color and keychain attachment its just a overpriced headphone splitter you can get the exact same functionality spending 82 cents on amazon minus the keyring which will probably cause you to lose it anyways at least if you lose the 82 cent one your not out $15
http://www.amazon.com/EarlyBirdSavings-Female-Headphones-Splitter-Adapter/dp/B008XYDV4C/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1360968341&sr=1-10&keywords=Headphone+Splitter
No, common error – that is a stereo headphone splitter. DJs need a mono splitter to separate both channels,to have a mono master channel and a mono cue channel.
[ link ]so my question is, does this also work with traktor?
would be a good solution for little parties with friends, just bring a laptop and headhpones, no controller needed
[ link ]If it is a normal stereo to mono splitter, which I assume it is, it will work with any software.
[ link ]You can control your outputs in Traktor and set them to mono, so I assume it will work with Traktor as well as any other DJ software in wich you can control the outputs.
I think it’s a novel idea honestly. Wouldn’t use it for mobile DJ’ing probably, but should I ever give that route a go, maybe I will. Until then, spliters are always a good must have item.
[ link ]Notice that the 3.5mm jack plug is not your standard stereo plug, it has 4 connections. That is quite interesting. Could it possibly give you a stereo master output & and a mono headphone? Let’s say tip pin is mono out for headphones, next pin is master left, next pin is master right & last one is common ground. If so it’s genius!! I’ve never liked the whole y-splitter approach, as it puts out both master & headphones in mono. Thanks….I’ll take 2!
[ link ]The three rings and the tip are the standard i*whatever* interface. It’s built this way to include a microphone into the headphone jack. I’m sure someone would hack the outputs and make this a dual stereo output device if the wiring were intact.
[ link ]it really isn’t “i*whatever*”. any small device that supports a mic input has this sort of setup. the urbanears gadget would do the same job on an android device AS LONG AS the software combined left and right audio channels into a single mono channel.
that is the magic here — the software does the heavy lifting of adding left and right to make mono.
[ link ]Not a bad little gadget to keep with your iPad…easy to tuck in an ipad case/bag.
[ link ]Even better is the Griffin Technology – DJ Cable for Apple® iPad®, iPhone® and iPod® touch which includes a right-angle plug into your i-Device so that it doesn’t pull out by accident, and the output jacks are on 4-inch sturdy cables which allows you to hold and move your i-Device with low risk of cables disconnecting as you DJ.
[ link ]I will DEFF be ordering one…..Imagine you rock up to the club and your laptop dies (hard drive failure or something else)…..what do you do???? whip this out and finish the set for the night. yeah it wont be the greatest set known to man like you usually do, but it’s better than having NO music playing.
[ link ]When I mix using my iPod I just wave ride. If you’re mixing on your iPhone people understand use of the “sync” button, and you can focus more on your song selection than intricate mixing.
[ link ]Not saying that it has to sound bad, you just don’t have to blow everyone’s minds with your transitions, blow their minds with the music.