(Standalone DJ System)
Today’s AlphaTheta XDJ-AZ review is brought to you by David Michael of Passionate DJ.
Make sure to get yours now here while they last!
Introduction
The XDJ-AZ is not the first four-channel standalone DJ system from AlphaTheta, but in a sense, it’s the one we’ve all always wanted them to make.
Its design philosophy is shared with the earlier XDJ-XZ, whose primary flaw has always been that it only offered 2 channels in standalone mode. It was 4 channels as it relates to the mixer, only.
The Opus-Quad is a great unit that offers true 4 channel operation, but it strays from the club design philosophy, and doesn’t truly feel like a CDJ-3000 experience.
The AZ fixes all this, and includes one of the nicer screens you’ve ever seen on a standalone.
It works with your own library via its dual USB ports, by streaming via CloudDirectPlay, and also supports Beatport and Apple Music. This is great, though I’d like to see TIDAL here.
The experience of using the XDJ-AZ is truly the closest thing I’ve found to using CDJ-3000s and a Pioneer DJ mixer – all the way down to the FX suite that comes straight out of the DJM-A9. If it had two screens and browse knobs instead of one, I bet you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
AlphaTheta has brought their low-latency SonicLink technology to the XDJ-AZ, which means if you buy their high-end proprietary headphones, you can enjoy lag-free audio without any cords or dongles.
On top of all this, the AZ is designed with high audio quality in mind. The onboard 32-bit A/D converters by ESS Technologies, the high quality mic circuits, the balanced connections and those crispy “Pioneer FX” all combine for a crystal clear experience.
Features & Layout
Using the older XZ as a base, they’ve removed some of the hard controls that you don’t need to access frequently, and put them into the screen.
This means that while the XDJ-AZ is indeed enormous (35.24” × 19.85” × 5.25” and just shy of 30 lbs.), it’s ergonomically stout.
Everything is well-spaced, your hands know exactly where to go from muscle-memory, and there’s no extra fuss. However, adjusting your fader curves or enabling a recording is a single button-press away.
Special attention is given to the dual mics, with full three-band EQs for each, and a talkover button. They could’ve easily gotten away with dual-band EQs, so this is nice to see. There’s also a 3-band EQ on the Master.
The upfaders and crossfader feel decent: not cheap and grindy, but they’re also not Magvels. The mixer is capable of doing some scratching, though I’d be concerned about how the crossfader would hold up over time if you do this for hours every day.
The jog wheels are basically perfect. They remind me very much of the CDJ-3000s, and are adjustable for tension. When moved all the way to the “light” setting, the wheels will easily spin for several seconds.
While I personally prefer loop encoders, loops are easy to engage (especially with the 4/8 bar loop buttons), and can also be set manually.
The beat pads feel of high quality, with a rubbery resistance and crispy RGB backlighting.
Filters & FX
The FX for the XDJ-AZ have come straight out of the DJM-A9, so you’ll feel right at home if you’ve used any of the brand’s higher-end mixers or standalones from the past few years.
Effects come in two forms: Beat FX, and the simpler Sound Color FX (which use a single knob turn). This knob also works as your filter knob.
Beat FX can be engaged by pushing the big blue button, or by tapping on the X-Pad (a small touch strip). The X-Pad lets you engage FX at different increments, such as beat divisions. If you swipe your fingers around, you can often manipulate the FX.
Pioneer DJ / AlphaTheta is still the king of onboard FX, and on the XDJ-AZ, they sound as nice and crispy as ever.
Like DJM mixers, you can select the frequency bands you’re applying those FX to: Low, Mid, and Hi. The most common use here for me, is to disable the Low band to avoid rumble.
You can touch the X-Pad on any little division, and the FX will instantly turn on without you needing to push the engage button. The large screen will tell you what the divisions are if you need a reference.
XDJ-AZ Beat FX:
- Delay
- Echo
- Ping Pong
- Spiral
- Helix
- Reverb
- Flanger
- Phaser
- Filter
- Triplet Filter
- Trans
- Roll
- Triplet Roll
- Mobius
XDJ-AZ Sound Color FX:
- Space
- Dub Echo
- Crush
- Sweep
- Noise
- Filter
Demos of these FX can be found in the video above.
Screens & UI
The touch screen is as responsive as it is sharp. It’s nice that the CDJ-3000-style shortcut buttons are included above the screen. It’s really easy to just hit browse, select a track, tell it which deck to load into, and go.
Beyond the dedicated Mixer Settings button lies a screen of adjustments for your mics (such as feedback reduction), your recording settings, your deck 3/4 assignments, headphones settings and curve adjustments.
Skimming through the rest of the menus, you’ll find settings for your Decks, Display, Audio Output, Network, Bluetooth, etc. The menus are intuitive and easy to use.
Everything around the browse knob is what you expect from a CDJ-3000, including Track tag and filter options and the shortcut button.
The round displays inside the jog wheels are lovely, sharp, and colorful as well. But they also have a trick up their sleeve.
Double-tap the Shift button, and you’ll engage your Pad Info Display. This changes these screens into a small grid that represents your beat pads, and tells you what each pad will do. For example, each Hot Cue displayed by color, or what beat division will be enabled for Slip Roll.
Having this visual feedback at the press of a button, without having to search for this info on your laptop screen, is a rather under-rated feature.
Ports & Connections
On the back of the AZ, you’ll see a single USB-C port. If you’re using Serato or rekordbox with your laptop, that’s where you’ll connect it.
There’s an ethernet port, which gives you internet access via a hard wire, and lets you connect to other CDJ/XDJ players for more control.
There’s a nice set of balanced connections: XLR main output, ¼” booth output, and you also have two XLR/quarter inch combo jacks for microphones. Of course, there’s also an RCA master out.
You get two sets of RCA inputs for your external sources, including turntables. There’s a ground peg in the middle if your tables require that.
The inclusion of a standard IEC power port is nice, and your power supply is completely internal. So yes, the AZ is huge, but at least you don’t have to deal with a “wall wart”.
Wireless Headphones: SonicLink
Inside the XDJ-AZ, AlphaTheta has included a transmitter for their new low-latency wireless standard, called SonicLink.
This matches perfectly with the AlphaTheta HDJ-F10 headphones (mainly because it’s currently your only option). These are the first SonicLink headphones on the market.
There’s no support for Bluetooth headphones, mainly because the latency (or lag) makes it difficult for Bluetooth to be useful for a DJ.
There’s also no built-in support for their SonicLink speaker, the Wave Eight, though this could still work using its included adapter.
I’ll be reviewing the HDJ-F10 headphones in an upcoming video, but I definitely wanted to test it with the AZ. To show the response time, I shoved my microphone into the headphones so you can hear what it sounds like to cue in them. As you can see in the video above, it’s very responsive and lag-free.
Pairing these headphones works very much like Bluetooth. Hold down the pairing button on both devices, until they start blinking and ultimately find each other. Simple enough.
A high-speed wireless audio protocol is a great idea for the DJ booth. But regarding whether SonicLink itself will catch on, time will tell.
Wish List
Generally speaking, the XDJ-AZ answers my prayers, in regards to a 4 channel all-in-one standalone rekordbox solution. But I do have a small wish list.
Firstly, it would’ve been nice to have a tilt screen. This is one of the best features of Denon DJ’s PRIME 4+, not only for comfort, but to help avoid glare from overhead lights (or the sun).
Also, it would have been really cool to have included individual deck screens in addition to the big middle screen (as they demonstrated on the Opus-Quad). Maybe this is a little overkill, but I think it would’ve been convenient to see individual track data on each side.
The recent inclusion of Apple Music is nice, but it would be nice to see TIDAL on the list of streaming services. Not for any brand loyalty reasons, but for the limited libraries offered by these services.
Finally, the inclusion of a dual-cue system would be the icing on the cake, making it easier for 2 DJs to do tag-team sets or pass back and forth.
None of these things are deal-breakers, but would’ve been nice inclusions at the price point.
Comparisons
AlphaTheta XDJ-AZ vs. Opus-Quad
The Opus-Quad is an obvious alternative to the XDJ-AZ, since they are both high-end units from the same company, which cost the same money.
While the XDJ-AZ appeals to the club, festival, or rave DJ – the Opus-Quad has features geared towards high-end mobile DJs, or any home user who wants a unique aesthetic (but doesn’t care about so-called “club standard” design).
Differences:
- Individual deck screens are included on the Opus-Quad. Rather than a focus on the jog wheel display, much of this information is located in a larger rectangular display above each deck.
- Jog wheels on the Opus-Quad aren’t as nice as the XDJ-AZ. The feel is more similar to a CDJ-2000NXS2 than a CDJ-3000. See comparisons in the video above.
- The XY Pad on the Opus-Quad offers a neat way to add creative control to your FX, where the XDJ-AZ has an X-pad only.
- The FX are accessed differently: on the Opus-Quad, you don’t have as many hardware inputs. Rather, when you turn the select knob, your FX options pop up on the screen.
- Streaming services differ as well. At present, the Opus-Quad supports TIDAL and Beatport. The XDJ-AZ supports Apple Music and Beatport.
- Gate Cue Mode is only offered on the XDJ-AZ, enabling controller-style hotcue behavior.
- Pro DJ Link is only offered on the XDJ-AZ, enabling expansion with other players.
- Zone Output is only offered on the Opus-Quad, enabling separate audio output to multiple rooms.
AlphaTheta XDJ-AZ vs. XDJ-RX3
The XDJ-RX3 is, effectively, the two-channel version of an XDJ-AZ. If you never actually use four channels, you can save over a thousand dollars and just get this.
The screen, user interface, decks section and jog wheel are based around the CDJ-3000 (much like the XDJ-AZ). The mixer section is more like a 2-channel version of a DJM-900NXS2.
The build quality is top notch, the screen is terrific and responsive, and you can still connect external players (such as turntables).
AlphaTheta XDJ-AZ vs. Denon DJ PRIME 4+
As far as competitors from other companies, the PRIME 4 (now 4+) from Denon DJ was the original 4-channel flagship standalone, and it’s the standard all new standalones still get compared to.
Denon DJ wasn’t messing around when they dropped the PRIME 4. It might even be fair to say that it was revolutionary in the DJ space – or at least, it helped make huge waves when it came to “changing your rider” (aka switching from rekordbox).
But in the few years since, this segment has grown – so where does PRIME 4+ still have the edge?
Differences:
- The Touch Screen on both units is lovely, but the PRIME 4+ edges it out both in sharpness and smoothness (e.g. waveform scrolling). It also pivots!
- Music Sources are more varied on the PRIME 4+:
- There are four USB inputs vs. two. This is also how you might connect controllers for decks 3 and 4 (like LC6000s).
- There’s an SD card slot.
- There’s a SATA drive bay underneath.
- You can connect four external sources vs. two.
- Streaming Services are more plentiful on the PRIME 4+: Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, TIDAL, Beatport, Beatsource, SoundCloud Go+.
- Zone Output is offered on the PRIME 4+, enabling separate audio output to multiple rooms.
- Lighting Control is available on PRIME 4+, thanks to Engine Lighting.
- Stems are available on PRIME 4+ only (but must be pre-rendered). This lets you separate your songs into vocal, melody, bass and drums.
- Jog Wheels are bigger and better on the XDJ-AZ
- Software compatibility is better on the XDJ-AZ, since it supports rekordbox and Serato when using it as a DJ controller (PRIME 4+ supports only Serato).
Generally speaking, the PRIME 4+ offers a value that’s hard to beat. You can save a thousand dollars over the XDJ-AZ, and still have a well-supported flagship product that plays in four channels, using any source your heart desires. Though it’s worth noting that the XDJ-AZ is noticeably larger than the PRIME 4+.
See Also: Best Standalone DJ Systems (The Ultimate Guide)
Wrap Up
The XDJ-AZ is one of those devices that looks like a value if compared to its individual components, but looks expensive if compared to its competitors.
The same could be said of its physical size.
But it mimics the professional club setup so perfectly, at less than half the cost. This makes me think it’s a viable option for smaller bars, clubs, and venues who want a pro-level house setup (and are tired of renting gear).
It’s also great for any DJ who often plays on a rekordbox-powered setup, who wants the “best” club setup duplicated at home – within reason.
With the availability of the XDJ-AZ, it really makes the idea of buying CDJ-3000s and a DJM-AZ for home feel like overkill.
It’s the standalone 4-channel DJ system that they should’ve released from the beginning. The Opus-Quad is nice, but I’m honestly struggling to find reasons to recommend it over the AZ. I can think of plenty of reasons to recommend the reverse.
While this is in many ways the answer to our standalone-rekordbox prayers, $3200 is a hard sell for many of us. If that’s too pricey for you, there’s no reason you can’t get a DJ controller instead.