Allen & Heath DB4 & DB2 TECH
VERDICT BUILD QUALITY
EASE OF USE FEATURES
9.0 8.0 9.0
VALUE FOR MONEY 8.0 SOUND QUALITY
10
HYPE “The V2 upgrades are great. I’m
so relieved that Allen & Heath have retained their musical EQs and filters, despite stepping into the digital domain. The DB4 and DB2 sounds wicked, I’m using mine as the main studio soundcard! Top work.”
GRIPE “Packing in so many functions
always means sacrificing some simplicity when it comes to using these beasts, and it’s not waterproof, so I can’t play with it in the bath!”
SWEET FX “The FX section is powerful and easy to configure, giving you options for pre/post fade, letting the DJ choose where the EQ sits in the chain, and also the great inclusion of letting users choose between having your chosen effect as an insert (‘Classic mode’), as a send, or in ‘Hybrid’ mode, which is a blend of the two, with the character of the effect changing as you reach the top end of the dry/wet mix. These changes are all new to the V2 versions along with the DB2’s specific ability to ‘cascade’ the FX, allowing for even more processing! ‘Cascade’ is a fancy term for putting the two FX in series, so that X feeds into Y and any channel assigned to X gets processed by both. This is a really nice touch and makes the DB2 more powerful in terms of processing than it initially appears. There is no need for me to go into detail about all the different FX available to DJs. Suffice to say that the mixers come with a lot of power, and that all the effects are what I would deem as suitable for the DJ and live show environment. “An extensive routing matrix allows DJs to record whatever they want via the DB4’s soundcard into their DAW. Another new feature to firmware V2 is the ability to route the Mic/Aux input to any of the four channels, so it can be effected and looped. This opens up all kinds of possibilities for creative performance — is there nothing that these mixers can’t do?
IN THE LOOP “Another V2 high point is how the K2 controller now works in conjunction with the DB4 looping section. Connecting the K2 via the ‘Xlink’ cable lets the user control the four loopers on the DB4, with the faders on the K2 letting you mix between the currently active loop and the track that’s running underneath it. It’s a very nice expansion of the looping function. “The great thing about these mixers and MIDI control is that almost every switch/rotary on these desks throws out MIDI information over the USB connection, whilst still fulfilling its primary function on the mixer. This may seem a bit overkill to begin with; I mean, why would a DJ need a switch that selects the EQ/filter type to throw out MIDI data? Well, thinking about how it might impact on a live show, it begins to throw up some very cool applications. For instance, you’re going to tweak the EQ for the next track, and also want to add some specific effects in your DAW. Switching between the modes allows this to be done easily — one minute you’re controlling the mixer and EQs, the next you’re controlling a function in your software. Users can have specific MIDI control messages looping in Ableton Live (for instance), controlling parts of the mixer in time with your project while you worry about something else. Or go crazy, set up an LFO that controls your filter frequency, and set the depth or frequency (or both!) to work inversely with a Hi Pass sweep. Real techy stuff, but totally insane!
“You can’t treat these new Xone units merely as DJ mixers, they are DAW-friendly soundcards with great routing and FX flexibility — especially with the V2 firmware upgrades. They are equally at home as the hub of a live performance, with external synths and FX, as much as they are with the DJ who only plays vinyl and wants nice-sounding EQs. Everything from the build quality to the logical and easy-to-navigate menus screams attention to detail. Allen & Heath have nailed it. The mixers are stable, have a lot of great functions, but most importantly they look great as well.” =
8.8/10 PRICE
DB4 £1799 DB2 £999
CONTACT
allen-heath.com
144
www.djmag.ca
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