Denon SC5000 Prime Review

For the first time in a long while, DJs have an alternative to players, decks, and classic mixers. There are now many star DJs who have chosen Denon Dj as their setup, indicating that it was probably time for a change.

In recent months, we've already taken a look at the Prime series and have encountered some DJs speaking very highly of the new Denon DJ products, but now it's time to investigate what this product line really offers.

Play On - The SC5000 Media Player

Let's start with the SC5000 Media Player, which was the trigger of this revolution that has hit our world in recent months. At first glance, it closely resembles Pioneer's CDJ 2000 Nexus player, of which it is the sole direct competitor. In the test, we'll be forced to compare the two devices multiple times, but it's inevitable. Besides these two decks, it's clear what Denon DJ is aiming for here.

The SC 5000 isn't an exact copy of the Pioneer, but the look is familiar enough to make the transition between the machines intuitive. We believe the transition couldn't be more immediate. If you're familiar with Pioneer players, switching to Denon Dj is easy and intuitive.

Almost everything we've used on the CDJ-2000 NXSII is in the same position and configuration on the SC 5000. Both decks have jog wheels, pitch sliders, and an angled screen, although the Denon looks slightly larger, but this is an impression since the SC5000 Prime screen is tilted more towards the DJ and thus is more visible and comfortable.

The dimensions are nearly identical

One thing that might be missed in an initial comparison is that Denon DJ lacks support for CD discs. The SC5000 is not a CD player but a sophisticated DJ media player that can read and manage all common digital sound formats.

Where a DJ would expect to find the slot for the CD, instead, you find the USB and SD card ports. On the back, there are two additional USB ports and an output for connecting a hard drive or a computer. This allows for various connection options and more variables for the SC5000.

The Denon in Detail

Now that we've begun to move beyond the inevitable similarities, we start to see the real differences between the two models, the most significant of which lies in the Performance Pads. The Performance Pads are located directly under the Jog-Wheel of the Denon Dj SC 5000 and provide access to various controller modes, such as Rolls and Slicer, which behave professionally, as well as exactly like Serato DJ, Traktor, or any other DJ software with such features.

Hot Cues and loop functions are selectable in this area, adding a new dimension to the performance. Speaking of Serato and Traktor, the SC5000 Prime introduces the (dual) "Layer" mode, allowing DJs to work on two tracks from a single deck by simply clicking on the Layer button.

In addition, there are two outputs, one per layer, allowing connection to a mixer and potentially providing the mixing performance of two decks with a single player and four decks with two SC 5000.

This function, so common in the digital realm, had not been applied to such a hardware product before. The SC5000 is much less demanding in terms of layout than the CDJ, not least because the loop functions are integrated into the performance area of the deck.

Touch Me

The touchscreen is great: it feels like using a tablet, so it's absolutely intuitive to operate. For those who don't want to activate the touch features, there's a manual control panel on the side of the screen. We must admit that the SC5000 Prime is more of a controller than a CDJ, it's truly a revolutionary model and integrates the best solutions needed by DJs worldwide today.

The Denon DJ combines the ease of use of dedicated hardware with the luxury of DJ software.

This brings the TSC5000 closer to today's digital DJ goals, but it was to be expected, considering that the Pioneer CDJ still comes from an era of CDs and physical formats, while its competitor is part of the born-digital generation. Use the SC5000 with the X1800 mixer and the (dual) "Layer" function to complete the Prime setup in the realm of DJ controllers without laptops.

The integrated operating system has the necessary power to manage this device: the Engine Prime management system doesn't even need to worry about analyzing raw audio files, just plug in a USB stick or SD card, choose a track, and voilà.

During testing, we found that this whole process took about 40 seconds, which isn't bad at all. And what about DJs working with Rekordbox? No problem, the TSC5000 seamlessly plays all files that you would normally play on Pioneer players.