With its Akai, Alesis and Numark brands, Numark Industries perennially ranks as one of the most prolific electronic music gear producers at the annual Winter NAMM show. Numark isn't afraid of throwing a whole lot of product introductions against the proverbial wall to see what sticks. So it's not that surprising to see Numark design two 24-bit digital DJ mixers basically as companions to its V7 Serato Itch controllers—the two-channel X5 (now available, $699.95 MSRP, $449 street) and the four-channel X7 (coming soon).

Whereas the X7 club mixer incorporates MIDI, USB, and a proprietary linking technology for the mixer to communicate with one or two V7s, the X5 scratch mixer's black-and-silver steel chassis is a perfect aesthetic match for the V7, but uses standard connections that can accommodate any DJ set-up you have.

Made with an eye toward turntablists and the scratch performance features they love, the 10-inch-wide X5 weighs in at a robust 9.5 lb. with a rock solid build. It has analog inputs and outputs, as well digital optical and coaxial S/PDIF outputs for sending a 24-bit/48 kHz master signal to amplification or recording systems.

Sleek Design
Like most classic, scratch DJ mixers, the X5 keeps the lower part of the top panel clean around the crossfader and two channel faders, so busy hands won't jostle any other controls (see Fig. 1). Both channel faders and the crossfader have Contour knobs to adjust the fader contours between a smooth fade or a sharp cut, depending on whether you're scratching or executing a steady mix. Push in the crossfader’s Contour knob on the X5's front panel to keep it out of the way. Each fader also has a Reverse switch that reverses the fader direction and lights up red when activated to avoid any confusion.

A 2-channel level meter between the faders shows you either the pre-fader level of each channel, or, when you engage the Master button, displays the stereo level of the mixer's Master output.

Each channel has stereo RCA line-level and phono inputs (with ground posts) on the back panel (see Fig. 2). On the top panel, two switches let you toggle between the line and phono inputs and also have Transform triggers for that classic turntablist technique. Each channel's 3-band EQ knobs have detented center positions and offer a range from full frequency cut to a +12dB boost. However, there are no EQ kill switches for the quickest, cleanest EQ kills. The channel Gain knobs offer a range of full cut to +10dB boost.

FIG. 1: Simple layout, but useful features. For example, you can adjust the contour for each fader.

A Mic/Aux input channel includes a 1/4-inch mic input on the front and a stereo line-level RCA input in the back (for an iPod, CD player, etc.), with Gain, Treble, Bass, and On/Off controls on the top.

The top right panel holds the output controls. A Master level knob controls output for both the RCA (unbalanced) and 1/4-inch (balanced) outputs on the back panel. There's a Booth level knob for the RCA Booth outputs, as well. The generous cueing section determines the output for the 1/4-inch front-panel Headphone output. You get a red lit Cue Master switch for toggling between the master mix and the pre-fader cue mix in the headphones, a Tone knob for adjusting the bass/treble balance in the cue, a Cue Gain knob, and a mini cue crossfader for mixing channels 1 and 2 in the cue.

Solid Performance
Perhaps the most important keys to any scratch mixer's performance are the faders. The X5 incorporates the same CP Pro crossfader that's in Numark's flagship NS7 controller, a digital VCA crossfader that they advertise as having an "ultra-long" lifespan. Should they wear out, both the crossfader and channel faders are user-replaceable.

I liked the feel of all three faders. They are loose enough for the energetic finesse of fast scratching, yet not so loose that they might move if the mixer leans over, which we've seen before in mixers. They also respond well to the Contour adjustments and have a very fine responsiveness when in the sharpest Contour positions.

FIG. 2: The rear panel includes a pair of digital outputs.

Most of the knobs have a chunky feel and resistant twisting action that I like, although some of the smaller knobs were inconsistent in their feel. For example, the Contour knobs are much looser than the others, so much so that small, inadvertent brushes against them can change their position. I can appreciate wanting fast contour action, but you have to be careful.

The Transform trigger is also very responsive and feels like it's built ruggedly enough for a long life of constant use. However, I found it a little clunky when using the Transform for line-level decks, such as the V7. When the switch is in the Line position, it has to pass through the Phono position before getting to the Transform position. I'd prefer to have the Phono/Line toggle and the Transform trigger on separate controls.

You can spend anywhere from less than $100 to more than $1,000 for a two-channel scratch DJ mixer, and you'll certainly hear a big difference in the sound between that range. For a mixer this price, the X5 gives you a very usable, accurate sound reproduction. You can get some nice-sounding sweeps out of the EQs, which do a great job of killing frequency bands.

As a nice bonus feature, the X5 has look-ahead limiters on the Master, Booth, and Headphone outputs to avoid harsh and annoying clipping on the audio. Indeed, I could not get the outputs to clip no matter what I tried. That is a very helpful feature for venues that want to keep their sound stable when one of those hearing-damaged jocks starts to get volume-happy.

Note that if you're using V7s with Serato Itch and the X5, you will not get the internal 16-bit/44.1kHz software recording option like Numark NS7 users have. I suppose that is why the X5 has digital recording outputs (in lieu of any analog recording output), so DJs can record mixes using the mixer's full digital sound quality. I wouldn't say it's an elegant solution for people who've adopted digital DJing to not give them internal computer recording, but at least Numark is thinking about the recording option.

Fade Out
The Numark X5 does a fine job for traditional scratch DJs, whether they're using Numark V7s or any combination of turntables, CD players, or other media players. It's not the most fully-featured scratch mixer, but at this mid-range price, it does have a solid combination of key turntablist mixer features, sound quality, and rugged construction.

Pros: Nice fader feel and responsiveness. Adjustable contour slope and reverse switch on each fader. Tank-like steel chassis.

Cons: No EQ kill switches. Does not enable Serato Itch internal recording when used with Numark V7 controllers.

Markkus Rovito is a musician, DJ and journalist in San Francisco. He contributes regularly to DJTechTools.com and SonicScoop.com and plays drums for Tomihira.