Many DJs perform using a laptop with a controller — a single point of failure. While common in local-DJ world, this approach introduces several reliability risks. Controllers rely on a computer’s operating system and internal sound card, which can freeze, crash, or experience software conflicts. It happens daily. They also offer very limited redundancy, meaning a single point of failure can stop the entire show. Furthermore, a computer’s sound card or controller is no where near the same quality as a professional music player (96 kHz/32-bit floating internal processing across all file formats, with a frequency response of 4 Hz – 40 kHz).

Professional DJs and touring artists instead perform on separate professional media players, such as a CDJ3000 or CDJ3000X, routed into a dedicated professional mixer, such as an A9 or V10 — the same architecture used for the largest events and artists in the world. This system removes the computer from the primary signal path and allows each component to operate independently, dramatically improving reliability and audio performance. There is a huge price tag to be able to do this, so not many people do it, but we think your event’s success, no matter the guest count, is worth it.

We only use a computer to live-source song requests that weren’t relayed prior, to auto-mix in a non-critical situation, or as a 3+ layer redundancy.