Product Featured
Model: Denon DJ SC Live 4Release Price: $1,299 (contact by livechat, phone or email for discount)
Released: November 3rd
Model: Denon DJ SC Live 2
Release Price: $1,099 (contact by livechat, phone or email for discount)
Released: November 3rd
This Denon DJ SC Live 4 review was produced by David Michael at The Passionate DJ Podcast.
[/alert]Introduction
The Denon DJ SC Live 4 and 2 are lovely new standalone DJ systems with built-in speakers. The Live 4 is a bit like a stripped-down PRIME 4, both in that it removes some features from the flagship player, and also with its lack of metal faceplate. I originally gave my first impressions of these new systems in my unboxing video this past Monday (See Below), but now I’ve had some time with the SC Live 4, and I’m happy to present my full in-depth review.
Now, I wouldn’t call them revolutionary pieces of DJ gear. There is not one standout feature here that we’ve not seen before, with one exception: support for Amazon Music Unlimited. But, what the SC Live 4 and 2 offer is something that Denon DJ is known for at this point: providing tons of features for your dollar.
The Denon DJ SC Live 4 shown here today, is now the cheapest 4-channel standalone DJ system on the market. In fact, aside from its older sibling (the PRIME 4), it’s the only true 4-channel standalone. Meaning, of course, that it can play and control 4 simultaneous tracks and does not require the use of a laptop.
Powered by Engine DJ, it runs the same OS that powers all the other Denon players, and it will get continuous updates just like those other products have. However, if you want to involve your laptop, it also makes for a pretty killer DJ controller. It includes a license for Serato DJ Pro, and is compatible with Virtual DJ if you have a license for that. And yes, your DJ software will display on the screen.
With its built-in Wi-Fi, 7” multi-touch display, 3 media slots, and several streaming services with which to source your tunes, the Live 4 is an entire DJ system in a box. This is even further reinforced by the inclusion of onboard speakers, something we first saw on the Numark Mixstream Pro, but these sound substantially better.
The SC Live 2 is essentially the 2-channel version of this. For a savings of $200 you get 2 fewer mix channels, fewer pads, and a smaller footprint… but it’s otherwise the same device.
Hardware Features
Looks really nice looks really done what you’d pretty much expect from a dead end at this point. It has a big seven-inch touchscreen, nice long-throw pitch faders and rubberized drum pads. First impressions as far as you know, build quality. This is what you expect from Denon, it feels good, and the knobs feel good. Even the faders feel pretty good, maybe even better than the Denon Prime Go.
After starting and testing it with the included demo songs, I can conclude that those speakers are not going to shake the room, but of course, you wouldn’t expect it to, these aren’t massive subs or anything, but they are loud and clear. I think they could be loud enough to be used for monitoring unless you’re in a really loud club environment. It has nice six-inch jog wheels with LED displays that give you like BPM and track position information
Checking the back of the controller, you can put an SD card, you can also put a USB key into either of those ports, and then you have an USB port that you can use to connect to your laptop because this is supported as a Serato controller and as a virtual DJ controller. So if you don’t want to use the standalone and you want to use it as a DJ controller, you can do that using one or another software. You also have quarter-inch booth outputs, main outs in XLR and RCA, and auxiliary input. And then you can choose between the mic or the Aux here using a switch. So all in all some great connectivity options and thats how you know is going to be a great device.
Software
As we already said, for the first time we have a controller that supports Amazon Music, and you can access that over Wi-Fi or you can also play over USB sticks or the cloud using your Dropbox connection. So lots of great connectivity options, and of course, this is a four-deck player, meaning that you can switch decks and then you can control decks C and D.
Competition
Now, an interesting thing happened the day after I posted my unboxing, day-1 video, Denon DJ reduced the price. So, the one benefit of being somewhat late to the game here is that I can speak about pricing and competition with this context in mind.
As it turns out, I have an entire ultimate guide dedicated to the subject of Standalone DJ Systems like this, and now that these are out, I’ll be updating that soon. But you can always get to the latest version of that video by visiting passionatedj.com/standalones.
Remember, as I stated before, this is the only true 4-channel standalone system on the market, aside from the Prime 4. So those are literally your only options, if that’s important to you. The PRIME 4 also lets you connect external sources like turntables or CDJs, install a hard drive so you can keep all your music with you, and have a bigger screen and more professional connectivity options. The PRIME 2 is discontinued, so we don’t need to worry about comparing it to that.
As far as other stuff running Engine OS, the only other device with onboard speakers is the Numark Mixstream Pro. It’s certainly a less capable device, but at $699, it’s an insane value. Even more so than either the SC Live 4 or 2.
The PRIME GO is also a less capable device in many ways, but its onboard battery gives you 4 hours of standalone use. Seriously, the PRIME Go is just a dope little piece of hardware, and is much, much easier to carry around.
That brings us to the Pioneer XDJ-RX3, which has a bigger and better screen. As always with these things, it’s a question of the ecosystem. People who want to get into the Pioneer and rekordbox thing because the venues they play have it should choose something like this.
Final Thoughts
The SC Live 4 is a terrific system, but it’s a bit large. Not as large as a PRIME 4, mind you, but it definitely takes up some desk space. This is where one might be tempted to go with the SC Live 2 instead if they don’t care about 4 channels so much.
Like the Mixstream Pro before it, these devices have a way of letting you dive in and out of DJing on a whim. Seriously, it makes a huge difference when the gear you’re using has built-in wifi, streaming services, and speakers. I find myself turning them on and just mixing here and there for fun because it’s so accessible.
And with that, my final thought is that I’m not 100% sure who the SC Live 2 is for. The Live 4 makes sense at this new price point, but if what you want is that portable device that you can sling around anywhere that’s the MixStream Pro, or even the Prime Go. These new devices are terrific for rocking a *small* room, and perfect for monitoring in a Livestream, but its speakers will not be useful as monitors in a really loud club. I just want to be clear about that.
But with all that said, I’ve really enjoyed my time with the SC Live 4. If you’ve been thinking about a PRIME 4 for a long time but haven’t been able to justify the price, this is the answer to your prayers.
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Additional Video: Denon SC Live 4 Unboxing/First Impressions
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