Product Featured
Model: Reloop RMX-95Release Price: $1,099.99 (contact by livechat, phone or email for discount)
Released: Jan 17, 2023
This Reloop RMX-95 review was produced by David Michael at The Passionate DJ Podcast.
[/alert]Introduction
The release of this mixer kinda snuck up on me. It was launched a few months ago without much fanfare from either Reloop or Algoriddim. And that’s surprising since this is advertised as being plug-and-play compatible and DVS-ready with Algoriddim’s DJay software.
Honestly, to call this an “Algoriddim mixer” would be to do it a great disservice. To be clear, that’s not me talking smack, they make a great piece of cross-platform software. But, it implies that this mixer is limited in ways that it actually isn’t.
It’s indeed plug-and-play compatible with the Algoriddim DJay software, but there are so many other great uses for a well-priced 4-channel hardware mixer like this. For example, you could pair it with a pair of standalone players, like CDJs or XDJ-1000s. You could pair it with some Denon LC6000 controllers and use it with Virtual DJ, or some other software. You could use it to mix vinyl or with timecode records and mix with Traktor, Virtual DJ, & Algoriddim DJay. With the dual USB sound card, you could mix from the Algoriddim app with USB A and with Traktor DVS with USB B.
You could do all of these setups and tons more, which is why I say it’s limiting to call this a mixer FOR Algoriddim DJay. Really, the important thing to know is that this is NOT a Serato mixer. That’s the actual headline – this is useful for just about anyone except Serato users, for which this mixer is NOT certified as an unlock device
Features & Layout
The RMX95 does not have a revolutionary design or a particular killer feature that will make it a must-buy. That’s not what this mixer is. This mixer is a solid, high-quality workhorse of a 4-channel club mixer. It’s meant to fill a sparse spot in the market, acting as a stripped-down “DJM style” mixer without all the unnecessary bells & whistles. Instead, it focuses on being a long-term daily driver for many kinds of DJs, with nice inputs and solid build quality.
All the faders and knobs feel good, with a rubberized coating that gives it a premium feel. The onboard displays look crisp and clear. And everything is laid out in a way that is perfectly familiar.
Under the 3-band EQ, you’ll find a low-pass and high-pass filter knob, with adjustable resonance (so you can go from “clean” to “squelchy”). All the faders have adjustable curve with an analog dial, so you can perfectly select your own setting.
Speaking of faders, while the onboard crossfader is nice and high-quality, it’s also drop-in compatible with Innofader. So, if you’re serious about scratching, you can drop something in that can take the abuse. The FX on this mixer are solid, if uninspired. You’ll find the kind of FX you’ve come to expect on club mixers since the 90s: reverb, delay, echo, rolls, and so on. But the FX *section* is what I really appreciate. Like the rest of this mixer, it’s simple and “not fussy”. You select an effect, choose which channel it’s routed to, and your time and level parameters.
Broken out to the side are your beat division buttons, and a dial to select the sound frequency for the FX. All in all, this makes for an intuitive experience that I appreciate. The single dial under each channel EQ is used for filters only, as there are no single-knob FX on this mixer. However, the addition of a filter resonance knob is a welcome touch
Ports & Connections
On the back of the mixer, the build quality is still evident. A proper IEC power cable, balanced main and booth connections, the dual USB interface and the onboard USB hub are all nice touches.
Of the four channels, the two phono preamps are located in the middle (channels 2 and 3). During my testing, the levels were sufficiently hot, even when testing fairly old records (see the video above).
On top of the mixer you’ll find mic EQ settings, which you can use to remove rumble for your voice, etc. You get two headphones jacks: a large one on top, and a small one up front. You also get a dedicated record output, as well as RCA aux inputs located conveniently on top of the mixer
First, there’s Active Part & Part Iso. Active Part means you’re literally selecting which Parts of the song are active. They’re all on by default, but what if I want to, say, remove the drums? Just hit the button and, like magic, they’ve disappeared. Part Iso lets you do the same thing, but you can control the volume of the individual Parts. The EQ knobs instead convert into knobs to control these parts. This is pretty neat, but does keep you from using your EQ when this feature is active.
The next feature is called FX Part Select. As you might guess from the name, it lets you select which Part to apply FX to. And I bet it won’t take long for your imagination to run wild with cool ways that this can be used. For instance, applying a slip roll or echo to only the vocals on a track. See the video above for an example.
Finally, there’s Part Instant Doubles. This works just like the regular Instant Doubles feature, which instantly duplicates your track in another track and plays from the same position. Only this time, isolates a specific part in that deck. So, you could bump just the vocals out to its own deck, and then scratch or apply FX only to the vocals.
Track Separation, or “Stems”, currently sounds better on Serato and Virtual DJ than it does within Rekordbox (again, demonstrations in the video above). They are functional in Rekordbox, but nowhere near as clean as the other two, at least as of the writing of this review
Final Thoughts
I’ve said this before on the channel, but, Reloop holds a special place in my heart. The reason I appreciate them is: they are good at finding holes in the market and filling those needs. This mixer is a good representation of that.
If you’re the kind of person that wishes you could just get a solid modern club mixer without all the bells and whistles, and you don’t want to pay a huge premium for it, the RMX95 is the answer, unless you’re a Serato user.
That’s going to be a big disappointment for a large chunk of DJs who use that software. If you use nearly anything else, it’s a solid choice. This type of product is a rarity in the DJ market, these days. It’s a product that doesn’t try to sell itself on gimmicks, or on a feature set that prices it out of our budgets. It’s a *good* mixer and I’m happy that it exists.
It seems well built, it has everything you need and little else that you don’t. It retains a layout and workflow that we’re all familiar with. This means that this product should last its user a good long while, whether or not they use Algoriddim DJay.
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