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If you want them for DJing then monitors are the way to go. Reason being that they deliver a flat frequency response and don’t “colour” the sound as regular hi-fi speakers do, so in effect you get a “truer” sound. In the ideal set up the speaker should be at your ear level so you may want to consider some speaker stands. They should be configured in a “V” pattern about a metre away from you. I also found that acoustic foam insolation pads for your speakers and sub-woofer make a huge difference .
When I was looking for monitors, I asked around a lot and then went and spent a whole afternoon just demoing different speakers. KRK was a name that seemed to come up a lot and I have to say for the money I paid, the sound / build quality they represent excellent value. I find that DJs are not your average consumer, because of the costs involved, most do a lot of research before spending their money, so I found it reassuring that a lot of DJs I knew used KRK. That’s not to say that there aren’t other good monitors out there so be sure to go to a good store and listen to a few. I can recommend KRK because that’s what I use, if I had unlimited funds then I would probably go with Focal.
Now one tip when listening in the store. Beware the salesman that just tries to turn up the volume and crank the hell out if it to try and impress you….it’s a sure sign that he is a tool and doesn’t know what he’s on about. Take your own music that you know well and take a variety…some with deep bass and also take some acoustic and most importantly vocal. Listen at a volume that is comfortable to you and clarity is what you’re listening for, hence why I suggested taking vocal tracks.
In terms of difference between the 5″ and 6″, there is a noticeable difference and even though it’s going to be more of a pain to transport it will be worth it in the end. If you’re travelling with someone maybe take one each as carry on ? As for being fragile, probably the opposite is true, they tend to be more robust and better built than regular speakers but that being said you would never trust them to be handled by an airline if you seen the way baggage handlers throw stuff around…even if it does say fragile on it…definitely take it as carry on.
As for a sub-woofer the KRK 10s would be a perfect match and a very nice sounding set up indeed.
Hi Thomas,
Firstly you have to decide on what sort of speakers you want. Do you want a pair of studio monitors specifically designed for DJing or do you want general purpose speakers ?
Active monitors have an in-built amp and tend to be heavy, but this means that they’ll plug straight into your S4 so you don’t have to worry about a separate amplifier. Generally speaking the larger the speaker the broader the range. Since you will be purchasing a sub-woofer later on, then a 2-way speaker is fine. With $600 then I would highly recommend a pair of KRK Rokit 6 G2 , nothing gives you more bang for your buck and you’ll have money to spare.
The only issue is the size and weight. The 6″ Rokit weighs 8.8kg (19lbs) and dimensions are 13″ x 8.82″ x 10.87″ they do have one size down the 5″ Rokit 6.4kb (14lbs) 11.1″ x 7.28″ x 9.06″. Personally I would go the 6″ but as you can see transporting them will be the issue. The only advice I can suggest is either have a chat to the airline well before hand and explain to them that they are extremely fragile etc and try to put as much spin on it that you can or get the store you purchase them from to have them delivered to your house. That way if something does go wrong you’ll be able to return them. Hope that helps.
Hi John and welcome to the DDJT family.
My advice is that before deciding on what hardware to buy I would first look at what software option you are thinking of going with. Almost all controllers now come packaged with a manufacturer addition of software that is specifically matched to that controller…so essentially you can just plug your controller into your laptop, open the software up and then whatever knobs and buttons you push on the controller are reflected on your screen. Manufacturer editions of software usually have limited features but allow you to upgrade to the full version for an upgrade fee.
Now it is true that you don’t have to stick to that software as most controllers allow you map your controller to run with other software and download overlays but this can get a bit technical and time consuming especially if you’re just starting out.
In terms of the two most popular DJ software options you’re looking at Traktor and Serato, although there are others. Free trial versions of these are available for you to download and try. I would download these and start to explore them to see which one seems more intuitive to you and you would be more comfortable using. When I was at your stage this is what I did and I decided that Traktor was the software for me and only after that I went looking for a controller that would have good integration with this software.
Also you mentioned that you were in the process of organising your music library with iTunes. I find that Traktor integrates very well with your stored iTunes library and navigation/loading is very straight forward. Please note that this is just my humble opinion and I can only really comment from my experience as a Traktor user who uses a dedicated Traktor controller. There are other DJ’s here who use and like different software for different reasons and their opinions are just as valid. In the end it just comes down to personal preference.
As things stand at present if I was to recommend an option for you I would say get the Kontrol S2 Traktor controller from Native Instruments. Both the software and controller are made by the same company so the integration is excellent, it comes with the full version of the software so you don’t need to upgrade it, no overlays or mapping is required so its simple plug and play and lastly its on sale at the moment so its a great deal !!
My final bit of advice is that if you’re new digital DJing, the “How to Digital DJ fast” series of tutorials from this site are excellent and will guide you through a lot of what you need to know when starting out. I highly recommend them to all beginners.
Once again welcome to the DDJT family and good luck with it !
