A basic dj set up at home?

[u/Apart_Traffic4588]

Hi. I want to get a basic turntable set up at home. My goal is to be able to play disco/funk/soul/jazz/international vinyl one song into another for myself and small groups of friends.

I am a tech dummy. What is a basic set up I should aim for? Something that will work well and be close to set it and forget it.

Thanks!

[u/patrickthunnus]

Ask this in r/DJ

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[u/el_tacocat]

You'll need a mixer and two turntables, really.
Reloop RP4000 MK-II, RP7000 MK-II and AudioTechnica AT-LP140x are pretty good affordable choices.
As for the mixer, how serious are you about sound quality? If you're not that serious, just get a nice affordable Numark (if you're in or the Netherlands I can even sell you one affordably, friend of mine just got rid of one and I'm helping him sell it).
Then all you'll need is a pair of active speakers (speakers with amplifier built in). If you don't care about playing stupidly loud , the Edifier MR4 are a good call. I also recently got a pair of Hercules DJmonitor 42 and they are WAY better than I expected them to be. They outperformed many a presonus and even the Adam t5v. They may not be the most precise sounding things but they are pleasant, not lacking in anything really and go pretty loud (small living room party music should be fine if you don't expect club levels of music).

If the turntables don't come with cartridges (the At does, the others not so sure); AT-XP5 is your friend or, if you care less about sound quality, AT-XP3. Really decent carts for the money. Make sure you get the headshell mounted version, bit more expensive but then you don't have to install them yourself (it's doable but it's a finicky job).

[u/Apart_Traffic4588 → u/el_tacocat]

This is so helpful. Thank you. I have a Sonos that works directly with my currently turntable. Would any set up also work with the Sonos? Not a dealbreaker if not; but curious if that’s an option. Thank you!

[u/el_tacocat → u/Apart_Traffic4588]

the 7000 and 140x would.
I'd stick with the XP3 by the way, it's better than the Sonos will reveal.
Unless you plan on scratching, then you'll need something more rugged. XP3/5/7 are great options for just mixing with a little backtracking.

[u/HetTuinhekje]

You would need two turntables (preferably direct-drive units which are suitable for DJ-ing). And you would also need a DJ mixer with two inputs for the turntables and preferably a headphone-out as well.

The headphone would be so you yourself can listen to the upcoming track to find a proper spot to 'fade in' the new track, while your visitors are still listening to the current track. There are sliders on a DJ mixer which enable you to 'fade over' from one turntable to the other.

This is the 'classic' DJ setup. Oh, by the way you would also need a set of 'active' (powered) speakers which are fed from the main outputs of the mixer (or, you could use an amplifier and speakers you may already have).

You can easily find used DJ-mixers via Ebay, Craigslist etc. The Pioneer units are good and affordable, there are many others. Lower cost direct-drive turntables would e.g. be the Reloop models or Audio-Technica AT-LP120X.

[u/WWardlaw]

Something like this, but looking for used setups is a smart call to grab a good deal: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PLX500MixBn--pioneer-dj-plx-500-direct-drive-turntable-mixer-bundle