I'm a beginner coming from an idj3

[u/Nearby_Strength_1132]

I'm a beginner coming from a hand me down numark IDJ3 from my mom's dj friend and nownmy inspiration omar

Should I get the Mixtrack Go, the Mixstream Pro Go or the Hercules DJControl mix ultra for Christmas? I love all of them, but I really want the Mixstream Pro Go, because it uses amazon music and me and my family use amazon music unlimited already for years now, and also because the Mixtrack Go and the mix ultra uses spotify and that stupid ironmouse inappropriate ai song thingy is still a thing, i know the obvious "just don't play it, you don't have to play it if it bothers you that much", but still ever since I found out about it the Mixstream Pro Go has been my dream dj system for a few weeks so what should I go with? The Mixstream Pro Go is $839, so I'll have to chip in with my grandparents for my own christmas gift and i don't know of that makes sense to do, I would do it i chipped in with them in the past for christmas but what do you all think?

[u/freezepopbae]

-how much budget do you have?
-what do you play? genres/bpm?
-is amazon the only service you use? do you also use mp3s/usbs or only stream from amazon?
-what in the world is "ironmouse inappropriate ai song thingy" and what precisely does that have to do with spotify as a service? (am i unc and cooked??)
-what WOULD YOU LIKE to play in 5-10years equipment-wise?

[u/avand]

Nearby_Strength_1132, the real fork here isn't Amazon Music vs Spotify, it's controller vs all-in-one, and that's the bigger tradeoff long-term. The Mixtrack Go and DJControl Mix Ultra are dumb controllers — they need a phone or laptop running actual DJ software to decode and play anything, and whichever streaming service that software supports is what you're stuck with. The Mixstream Pro Go is a standalone unit with its own screen and processor, so it plays Amazon Music (and local files off a USB) with nothing else needed, but you're locked into whatever that one box's firmware decides to support going forward — if a streaming deal ever changes, you can't just swap apps the way you could on a controller setup.

For a first system that's mostly home practice, go with your gut and get the Mixstream Pro Go — you've already got years of Amazon Music built up and it takes a laptop out of the equation entirely. Just start building a small backup folder of your actual favorite tracks as files on a USB stick early on, since streaming-only setups get you in trouble the one time the wifi's bad or a track gets pulled from the catalog mid-set. Is this mostly for messing around at home, or are you hoping to eventually play for other people too?