DJ Expo 2018 - August 13-16

[steve149]

I was also there for the last day (today) ... and saw Kevin quite a bit as we were waiting to "win" the big one .. and then as we were leaving without winning anything.

Not much better today except I got a couple bargains from booths wanting to not bring things home. Bought a nice Gator LED puck bag for $25 (display model) .. my Blizzard bag broke it's zipper after 2 uses .. and a Colorado Sound N Light fixture mount for $20 that goes over the top of most speaker/light stands to mount a light or a projector or such.

Went back to the speaker demo rooms and the only one that demoed the speaker I asked to hear was Pioneer. The RCF room was useless .. all kinds of speakers and they were demoing just one pair ... someone would ask to hear a specific speaker (the EVOX 12 was one) and they played it for about 10 seconds and then back to the main system. EV was similar. I thought the purpose of a demo room was to hear the product .. not to hear some wannabe DJ playing a club set.

Wish I had seen this... I know that RCF had a small booth in the corner of the exhibit hall, but it was unmanned when I walked by and I couldn't tell if they were selling RCF stuff or just happened to have a J8 in their booth. I totally would have bought a pair of the JMix 8's at that price. Oddly enough, the JMix 8 that they had in the demo room was off to the side and wasn't connected to anything. I found it strange that the regular EVOX stuff wasn't in the demo room either.

They had a few upstairs in the RCF demo room, but they were playing the heck out of the pair in the corner of the expo hall .. at least on Wed and Thurs. It was a great price .. especially for the J8, since it was close to 1/2 of what the 8 is selling for. My guess is they would honor the pricing if you called in tomorrow (many booths basically said that). I believe the RCF stuff was being handled by Chuck Levins in the DC area. Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center Instrument And Music Gear Store

 

[steve149]

One speaker they had playing there was interesting .. the LD Maui 5 Go (I think it was introduced early this year or late last) .. a small stick speaker (similar to the Bose compact), with a battery .. sounded pretty good. They said it ran for 6-8 hrs at full volume. The bottom linear array segment is the battery. Decent bass for an 8" "sub". Built-in Bluetooth. LD Systems | MAUI 5 GO

Show price was around $800.

 

[djmm]

Agreed - after the one year warranty unless you give them more money apple won't do jack for you. I just paid 160 to have my MacBook fixed because the trackpad went out.

So, as I thought, it's a money thing, as to why you use PC's?

 

[djmm]

Macs are NOT "better" for DJing .. nothing wrong with them, they look nicer, which is why they're in the booths .. but there is no intrinsic betterness to them. I won't buy one simply because you can't make any upgrades to the current models. What you buy is what you keep .. no adding RAM or getting a larger SSD .. they clamped down on that several years ago ... people still look for the older Macbooks to be able to do that. And I don't need a retina display for DJing .. practically NOTHING takes advantage of the resolution.

And that leads back to my original question. If PC's are equal or better, why would NOT ONE vendor at the DJ Show be using a PC? Perception? Maybe but I doubt it. Wouldn't the vendors want to use what they thought was the best, not what people perceive as the best?

 

[ittigger]

I don't think it's just a money thing. Why doesn't everyone drive the same car? Have the same job? Eat the same food?

If I can meet my requirements using a machine that I'm much more comfortable using and not have to reinvent the wheel, then that's what I'll do. Most people know how to use a PC easily - and as an added benefit most are cheaper than a Mac. Most current laptops can run ANY of the software's that are available. If Mac's are so much better, then why are all the MFR's making PC versions of their software?

Can most people use a Mac? Absolutely - but look at their eyes when you try to convince them of that. It's like you're an alien with 5 eyes and 6 heads. Again, if I can meet my requirements, save a little coin and use something I'm really familiar with, then it's a no brainer. This applies to ALL people and businesses. I guarantee you that the vendors at the event, also have PC's that can do the same exact thing. I'm also willing to bet that most of those same vendors use a PC for day to day activities.

 

[djmm]

Of course macs are not better for DJing, but I can honestly say the only reason I even switched from PC to Mac is b/c my PC (brand new) couldn't "hold" the drivers for Serato hardware, so actually DJ related. I would have to reinstall almost every time, and about half the time, it didn't recognize it, and I would have to install 3 times, restart, and repeat until it worked. Dell couldn't figure it out either and blamed Windows.

Mac's aren't better, you say and then you go onto say why Mac's really ARE better? Interesting. Ironically, that is exactly why I went with Apple. Haven't looked back.

 

[djmm]

I don't think it's just a money thing. Why doesn't everyone drive the same car? Have the same job? Eat the same food?

My comment was to the person who posted the comment, not a general rule. I know MANY dj's who work very few jobs who use Apple. Obviously not a money thing for them.

 

[ittigger]

Of course macs are not better for DJing, but I can honestly say the only reason I even switched from PC to Mac is b/c my PC (brand new) couldn't "hold" the drivers for Serato hardware, so actually DJ related. I would have to reinstall almost every time, and about half the time, it didn't recognize it, and I would have to install 3 times, restart, and repeat until it worked. Dell couldn't figure it out either and blamed Windows.

Mac's aren't better, you say and then you go onto say why Mac's really ARE better? Interesting. Ironically, that is exactly why I went with Apple. Haven't looked back.

I like and actively use them both (and more). . My current PC side is an Asus i7 running W10 1803 and it's had no issues with Serato (or the drivers). My current MBP is a 2012 i7 (the last of the upgrade-able ones) running High Sierra (it's gotten a little slower since the HS upgrade). My personal preference is to use my Mac for events but if it gets much slower, it will either be replaced by a newer Mac or the Asus will step in as the primary (it's already on backup duty).

 

[djmm]

To each his own... I am only inquiring as to why ALL of the vendors at the DJ show use Mac's. I don't buy the perception argument. I know why I use Mac's. I have heard WAY too many horror stories from dj's using pc's. It happened to a guy in Pittsburgh and he didn't have music for a few hours at an event as Windows did a random upgrade on both of his computers.

 

[steve149]

Maybe the users that aren't too smart use the Macs .. since they're easier to use of course ..

 

[ittigger]

To each his own... I am only inquiring as to why ALL of the vendors at the DJ show use Mac's. I don't buy the perception argument. I know why I use Mac's. I have heard WAY too many horror stories from dj's using pc's. It happened to a guy in Pittsburgh and he didn't have music for a few hours at an event as Windows did a random upgrade on both of his computers.

MANY people are not using PC's properly. MOST use systems with root level access and this is NOT how you should be using them. Many people have also loaded tons of crap on their machines which also slows them down. On a Mac, this is less likely to happen and the user is generally NOT using an account with Admin privileges, much less with root level access.

The argument for the scenario you present (random upgrade) could have easily been solved if the user had disabled WiFi and/or made it so that updates could not happen across a mobile connection.

 

[djmm]

Maybe the users that aren't too smart use the Macs .. since they're easier to use of course ..

Actually, wouldn't they be much smarter to be using a product that doesn't need constant attention and updates?

MANY people are not using PC's properly. MOST use systems with root level access and this is NOT how you should be using them. Many people have also loaded tons of crap on their machines which also slows them down. On a Mac, this is less likely to happen and the user is generally NOT using an account with Admin privileges, much less with root level access.

The argument for the scenario you present (random upgrade) could have easily been solved if the user had disabled WiFi and/or made it so that updates could not happen across a mobile connection.

So, what your saying is that it's the owners fault for not using the product properly? And that the computer or system is not to blame? So, the user needs to disable basic functions of the computer for it to work properly in a dj environment? Interesting!

 

[steve149]

Actually, wouldn't they be much smarter to be using a product that doesn't need constant attention and updates?

See, I never understood that complaint. I don't spend any time with my laptops. They are on the net, update automatically. Other than loading the ASIO drivers, there isn't any attention to them. And it's not like MacOS doesn't update as well.

 

[Cap Capello]

While the Mac may be the Rolls of the pc world, I find that my Yugo gets me where I want to be with equal ease. I love using that analogy because I've never driven either so I wouldn't know. Same holds true with a Mac. Never driven one. I have driven many different makes and models of the other non-Mac's and dig the diversity available. My current machines are off-the-charts with speed, stability, and sensuality (yes, I have a thing for computers).

 

[djmm]

And it's not like MacOS doesn't update as well.

Ah... big difference. Mac updates when you tell it to, not when it wants to. Also, you don't have to disable wifi to use a MAC.

Just wondering why all vendors use MACS at the shows.

 

[djmm]

I agree Cap. Use what works for you. My question was specific to the DJ Show.

 

[steve149]

If Scott wants to spend twice as much for a less flexible thing because the exhibitors are showing it .. who are we to say how he should waste his money....

Me, I'll use the $1000 difference and buy something that actually DOES matter ..

None of the exhibitors were showing EV or Bose speakers (other than those 2 booths) .. should we use that as an indication of what NOT to use too?

 

[Jeff Romard]

To each his own... I am only inquiring as to why ALL of the vendors at the DJ show use Mac's. I don't buy the perception argument. I know why I use Mac's. I have heard WAY too many horror stories from dj's using pc's. It happened to a guy in Pittsburgh and he didn't have music for a few hours at an event as Windows did a random upgrade on both of his computers.

Most of us don't use wifi on our performance machines at an event....No wifi no updates. Mac's may not update randomly but they could get a virus to knock them out randomly, and yes they can get a virus.....

I prefer to use a PC. I can use a Mac and can afford a Mac. If a Mac was a better tool for what I do I would have one and one for a backup. If I was doing video editing on a regular basis I would have a Mac it's a better tool for the job. My current performance machine is 11 years old. I have 5 other laptops that are varying ages the newest being about 9 months old I happen to like the old PC that I use.

The first PC I used for DJing was a speedy 166 with 2 gig of RAM. It worked just fine never a blip. Playing music just doesn't require that much power. If you want to use a truck to haul a doll carriage that's cool but it's not necessary

 

[DJ Bobcat]

Ah... big difference. Mac updates when you tell it to, not when it wants to. Also, you don't have to disable wifi to use a MAC.

Just wondering why all vendors use MACS at the shows.

Again... You’re not really talking Macs versus PCs, You’re talking OS X versus Windows. You can easily buy a very powerful and affordable PC and run Windows 7, on which you can turn off updates.


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[ittigger]

Actually, wouldn't they be much smarter to be using a product that doesn't need constant attention and updates?

So, what your saying is that it's the owners fault for not using the product properly? And that the computer or system is not to blame? So, the user needs to disable basic functions of the computer for it to work properly in a dj environment? Interesting!

I am absolutely saying that it is the owners fault for not using the product properly. The system can certainly take some of the blame - but the proper configuration and use is certainly to blame. If you have a car with a manual transmission and you drive everywhere in 1st gear and blow it up - is it the manufacturers fault?

Disable basic functions? I don't understand how not using Admin privileges 'disables' basic functions. On a Mac, considering most people are 'General Users', are your basic functions disabled?

If Mac took the majority of the market, I think you would see alot more updates and attention.