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redelta222 « A fantastic unit from Gemini finally! »
Published on 06/09/13 at 13:10So far I absolutely love this unit. Over the past 2 years or so, Gemini have seem to have turn a corner in the quality of there products. However, it's not a Pioneer. But it is a close facsimile. And I love that. People have been saying that Gemini has a lot of "balls" copying the Pioneer. I say good for Gemini. Besides who the hell cares who they copy from. I call that capitalism. And for $400 if you want a new media deck that plays CD's and takes a USB stick, and plays them well, then this is a great buy for the price. For this is a great upgrade from my obsolete Denon DNS-1000 which don't have USB, and has a tiny jog wheel.
Now I read reviews criticizing the quality of the all plastic form of this unit. To those, I have a tip: if you don't throw this unit against a brick wall or drop it from a 2 story building, it should last for many years to come. Put it in a good case or coffin and you'll find that it should be durable enough for transport if you need to take it anywhere. Besides the mostly plastic form factor helps to keep the cost factor down.
I hate CD's. There limited in there capacity, and they take up space, and cost more money then an mp3. You can put all your music from any year on a thumb nail device and have it instantly ditching those CD's. Its that simply. And that's one big reason why I bought this unit. You can also use an SD cards as well. Nice! And it's a midi controller as well though I haven't use it in midi mode yet. Nice! The jog wheel is huge. It measure almost 8 inch in diameter. It has a nice sturdy feel to it. Has a rubber lining with finger placement all around the outside of it. There's a torque adjustment as well. Now on the lightest setting, it might still feel heavy for those scratchers out there. So this unit might not work well for those with that talent. But if your a BPM mixer like me, then the jog wheel and this unit as a whole will feel just fine. And oh yeah; it's jog wheel looks exactly like one other jog wheel out there on the market right now. Right down to the LCD display in the middle. Nice! The touch sensitive screen is a nice feature but I don't find myself using it to actually browse for files. The screen can also display wave form. That's where the screen could be a little bit larger. But again, cost factor.
The sound from this unit is incredible. Whether it's CD, USB, or SD, the sound is crisp and clear. The Gemini has a coaxial digital out which I use with my Denon DNX-900 mixer making the sound twice as loud then using the regular RCA's. This unit also works just fine with my Mixvibes Cross Pack and the time coded CD's which I originally bought for my old Denons. And there's a usb on the back for use with any DJ software.
Now if I were opening a big club tomorrow, I'm probably stocking the DJ booth with either a pair of Pioneer CDJ's or Denon SC's and not a pair of Gemini CDJ-700's. The Pioneers and the Denons are the "Technics" of CD/Media decks without question. But if you need to equip your you small home studio, or maybe a small venue, small bar, do a small house party out in the Hamptons, put your 18 month old in DJ training, etc... or maybe you just want to make an upgrade without deleting your bank account, then this table top deck is plenty capable.
People should stop making the comparison between the Pioneer and the Gemini. Although the Gemini closely resembles the CDJ-900, Pioneer CDJ's are high end products, with super high end prices. The Gemini is more like second class. But it works. And if it doesn't break down, all the better. And by the way, the Pioneers also break down and occasionally have bugs as well. They call the CDJ-700 a professional media controller. Again I'm not sure if I'm using this unit at a large venue but I wouldn't be afraid to try. Its very well put together and feels solid enough. Control layouts are conveniently placed and easy to use. Its puts out excellent sound, and has all the media options you would want to use. And for $400. It's a no-brainer. Just remember to update that firmware first thing before using...
Now I read reviews criticizing the quality of the all plastic form of this unit. To those, I have a tip: if you don't throw this unit against a brick wall or drop it from a 2 story building, it should last for many years to come. Put it in a good case or coffin and you'll find that it should be durable enough for transport if you need to take it anywhere. Besides the mostly plastic form factor helps to keep the cost factor down.
I hate CD's. There limited in there capacity, and they take up space, and cost more money then an mp3. You can put all your music from any year on a thumb nail device and have it instantly ditching those CD's. Its that simply. And that's one big reason why I bought this unit. You can also use an SD cards as well. Nice! And it's a midi controller as well though I haven't use it in midi mode yet. Nice! The jog wheel is huge. It measure almost 8 inch in diameter. It has a nice sturdy feel to it. Has a rubber lining with finger placement all around the outside of it. There's a torque adjustment as well. Now on the lightest setting, it might still feel heavy for those scratchers out there. So this unit might not work well for those with that talent. But if your a BPM mixer like me, then the jog wheel and this unit as a whole will feel just fine. And oh yeah; it's jog wheel looks exactly like one other jog wheel out there on the market right now. Right down to the LCD display in the middle. Nice! The touch sensitive screen is a nice feature but I don't find myself using it to actually browse for files. The screen can also display wave form. That's where the screen could be a little bit larger. But again, cost factor.
The sound from this unit is incredible. Whether it's CD, USB, or SD, the sound is crisp and clear. The Gemini has a coaxial digital out which I use with my Denon DNX-900 mixer making the sound twice as loud then using the regular RCA's. This unit also works just fine with my Mixvibes Cross Pack and the time coded CD's which I originally bought for my old Denons. And there's a usb on the back for use with any DJ software.
Now if I were opening a big club tomorrow, I'm probably stocking the DJ booth with either a pair of Pioneer CDJ's or Denon SC's and not a pair of Gemini CDJ-700's. The Pioneers and the Denons are the "Technics" of CD/Media decks without question. But if you need to equip your you small home studio, or maybe a small venue, small bar, do a small house party out in the Hamptons, put your 18 month old in DJ training, etc... or maybe you just want to make an upgrade without deleting your bank account, then this table top deck is plenty capable.
People should stop making the comparison between the Pioneer and the Gemini. Although the Gemini closely resembles the CDJ-900, Pioneer CDJ's are high end products, with super high end prices. The Gemini is more like second class. But it works. And if it doesn't break down, all the better. And by the way, the Pioneers also break down and occasionally have bugs as well. They call the CDJ-700 a professional media controller. Again I'm not sure if I'm using this unit at a large venue but I wouldn't be afraid to try. Its very well put together and feels solid enough. Control layouts are conveniently placed and easy to use. Its puts out excellent sound, and has all the media options you would want to use. And for $400. It's a no-brainer. Just remember to update that firmware first thing before using...
