M-Audio Torq Xponent Advanced DJ Performance/Production System | List Price: $599.00
Discount Price: Too low to display
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Brand: M-Audio
Binding: Electronics
Release Date: 2008-05-09
Features: - Full-size, professional-grade controllers
- All hardware controls are pre-mapped to corresponding software functions in Torq
- 4-output USB audio interface - 4 RCA outputs for independent control of the house system and booth monitors; ΒΌ? TRS headphone output with cue and volume controls; 16-bit/48kHz max sample rate; ASIO and Core Audio compatible
- Advanced MIDI control surface
- Mixer controls - 2 vertical volume controls; 2 3-band EQ control knobs with kill buttons; 2 gain-control knobs with mute buttons; horizontal crossfader control with transform buttons; 2 LED volume meters
Built better than expected but firmware/software a bit buggy (on the PC side) [Posted on 2007-08-01]
Before Xponent, I was using Torq with Akai MDP24 (a midi controller with 16 pads, 6 sliders, 8 knobs, similar to Trigger Finger). While it worked fine, I couldn't wait to get Xponent that's perfectly midi-mapped for Torq that has jog wheels. Now, I finally got one and here are my thoughts on this product.
My immediate impression of Xponent was that it was built better than I had expected. Having played with the X-Session Pro (usb/midi mixer)which felt cheap and slightly flimsy, Xponent felt more solid. The sliders are very lose and smooth and didn't feel like they'll break anytime soon. The rubberized buttons feel good, too. The jog wheels spin very smoothly. Although, I hear from some that the right wheel gets a lot stiffer after some time. The Xponent is not bus-powered. It comes and must be used with an external power supply. Overall, the built definitely met, if not, exceeded my expectations from an M-Audio product.
On the performance side of things, I believe the product is still buggy. My PC is 8 months old (dual-core/2MB RAM) running on Windows XP. Even with the latest Torq software and latest Xponent driver here are the issues I get:
1. Time to time, Torq fails to run, indicating that I need to attach the hardware. I would have to uninstall/reinstall the driver occasionally.
2. I also ran into this issue once: After I installed the driver, Audio output and Cue output option (for audio channel output) in Torq disappeared. After reinstalling the software yet again, the options appeared as they should be.
I can deal with the driver issues because once it works, it'll continue to work, at least until the next reboot.
Now the biggest issue I have is this:
1. After a while, I hear some distorted noise in the sound output. This is really bad because you can't have that during a gig. I read through all kinds of forums and found a temporary solution around this issue. Depending on your PC, play around with increasing/decreasing the latency, the ASIO buffer size, and sample rate. If the sound goes bad again, I learned that at least I don't have to quit and relaunch the software. I can reselect the buffer size in the option menu in Torq. I know for a fact that the problem isn't from an overloaded PC as some might think. PC performance is not at peak (ran windows task manager). Also, I've been using Torq with Conectiv and I've NEVER ran into sound issues.
The good thing is that at least Xponent works most of the time. I am giving it 4 stars because, in my opinion, it's still too buggy to be perfect.
A great foray into DJing, now without all that messy vinyl! [Posted on 2008-01-24]
So after scouring the internet for reviews of the xponent, and having used its cousin the Torq Mixlab and getting down the basics of CPU based DJing, I am proud to say that I couldn't be happier with the Xponent. I got it a few weeks ago, have a Macbook that runs great with it, and have so far had no problems whatsoever. The software is fast and loads my itunes library (over 16k songs) in about 30 seconds. One of the best features of the Torq software is how it figures out (or you can override) the beat of each song and SAVES it. This means that when you're spinning, you can sort by BPM and see the 20 songs that are close in BPM that you have used before. This makes song selection a pleasure!
All the switches and knobs are very responsive, and as a person who basically started DJing (beatmatching, mixing, cueing) a month ago, I feel right at home here. The loop features are easy to use and drop in, and the sampler is very powerful and easy to use. I just spun a big house party with this thing a week ago and it went great! The effects are fun, and using the mouse pad like a Chaos Pad allows for some cool remixing on the fly. I find that scratching is easy to do and there are various settings to determine how sensitive the wheels are.
All in all, this is a great product for a novice or someone who likes to pick music and wants to get into real mixing. If you're the person always holding the iPod at the party but want more control, this is definitely a great place to start (and as far as I'm concerned, finish). As for all the haters of digital DJing, I don't really care, its much easier than bringing vinyl and remembering BPMs and you can plug in someone at the party's ipod and use their music in real time. I find that the Xponent is extremely versatile, perfect for a beginner or seasoned DJ alike, and it and its grandchildren will be leading us into the future of DJing. Hope this helps, there is a lack of people talking about the Xponent and its a truly great device that has allowed me to finally do something I've wanted to do for years, but I've never had the resources to get set up with vinyl and dj lessons.
Cheers!
-DP
great [Posted on 2008-07-30]
I ordered this for an event at the office. I didn't use it personally, but from what I hear from those who did, it rocks.
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