Tascam X-9

Standard size 12 inch ixer, Heavy as hell! feels good though, not cheap and plastic, but still wouldn't call it a complete tank, road worthy though.
All standard connections. 1/4 headphones on face and front side, a touch I like as the cord gets in my way (dont forget youre 1/4 inch adaptor!). 1/4 master outs would be nice, not needed though. biggest complaint here would be NO rca record out pre master! cant use the booth out to record its to unbalanced. XLR master balanced and spdif digital out as well.
Fully Digital mixer at 24bit 48khz seems a touch low for a pro mixer, but sound has been far above what you would think. Maybe its watered down for spdif out. Fader curves are adjustable through the settings, so no worry that you will be locked into a nasty software feeling fader curve. Also a 3 mode EQ for the headphones.
with 2 spdif in 4 phonos/aux, 4 lines, fx send/return, and 1 xlr mic, i have always owned a 1/4 inch mic, dont use mic much bout if i did id like 1/4.
4 channels, with a feature to copy the 1 and 2 pre faders to 3 and 4. like an input matrix before it was invented! love this. The fx send has no wet dry just a punch in... this can cause popping. usable, but a complaint. Ideally i would want a wet dry on each channel. Dont like the channel to send knob either.
Fully parametric EQ with independently adjustable Q value!!!!!! prize feature on this mixer. The reason its in my collection to stay! needs to be on new mixers! like a good mastering desk eq for the djay that likes master blends!
2 bulilt in fx units but they each can only be assinged to alternating channels, meaning you cant run 2 fx on one channel. Inless you run fx unit A on channle 1 or 3 and then fx unit B on master option... then i guess you would have 2 fx on one.
2 loop/1 shot samplers. have not found use for this in the mix, used it for one shots before, but with vinyl i could see this to be good!
Color scheme, feel, architecture, and layout make this mixer stand out! Alot of times a company tries to build a top of the line product and misses out on simple over sights or makes it with too much character so that its a love hate thing. though this mixer is not a just show up and play on it for the first time, once you tune it to your styles and lean it, its good as any. well done tascam, a classic in my eyes. for sure worth owning, but is it ageless?? im not sure.

UTILIZATION

fx are not the best... and the way you use them is not the norm... punch in is fun, but with encoders and no dedicated knobs, fx values and wet dry are hard to control. fun, but not a real mixing tool, more just some frosting to throw on top of a mix. I had high hopes for the low pas filter, but no can do its a pulsing oscillator type thing.

This is not a just plug in and show out for your first time mixer.
You will NEED the manual!!!!
Functions are not easy to access.
With no manual you will never be able to set the features to your mixing style. You will be able to mix, but only using maybe half the features, and with the default settings, and since there is so much that can be changed to fit your style, you need to read that manual.

You have to cue the master channel to hear the master in the headphones. This through me off at first.. why would you even not select this? it would effectively turn the mstr/cue knob into a backwards volume control.
Having the samplers input on there own channels with no meter and a volume knob can make it hard to drop a sample at the right volume.

SOUNDS

No his.. have seen a slight buzz before but probably some place else in the cords not the mixer. Mixer seams clean and true. sounds slightly cold.. probably not preferred for playing old soul vinyl or something.
The fx are a step above toys, but not a strong point on this mixer. They can sort of be used as real tools, but the control is not as intuitive as one would like. In combination with the input copy feature you can create a wet dry control and cue preview the fx. The pitch fx is the coolest and good on looped vocals! also the delay and echo can be good, but maybe pull some bass and work the volume down as it builds.

The sampler seems to loose a small amount of bass push.
But I love the highs!!! to me the highs sound better then any pioneer mixer, even the newest djm900! some of my favorite highs come from the rane ttm57, and these highs are a good runner up, with a little less space between the mids and the highs, but in no way would i say the highs sit on top of the mids. sound wise i would say this is the digital version of Xone sound! Not a xone sounding digital mixer, but the quality of sound frome a xone with out the analog warmth and a crisp almost refreshing at time digital crisp on the highs!

Lastly the EQ's for me are the crown jewel of this mixer! I dont know why this style has not become the norm or more commonly found on all mixers! I have seen some high end mixers like the stanton vrm that has a paramic control on the mids. also i have seen high end digital mixers that the parameters of the mids can be changed in the settings. but these eq's truly offer the most control I have ever seen on a dj mixer!
True the knobs are small and pointy and a bit hard to work needing 2 hands. they dont feel good in your hands like some mixers.
The curve on the pull down of the EQ's is very aggressive! not as bad as some cheap digital mixers. ( the built in mixer on the numark ns7 so aggressive it makes the eq's almost un-usable.) to describe the curve, when you see so called pro djays always just slightly turning the eq's and you cant hear much of a difference. Almost looks like they just are touching or making sure the eq knob is centered. well on these EQ's that all would have a nice small effect on the music. but a slightly more normal turn on the eq will pull it out too fast and with out a track under to fill will make the mix sound a bit dry.
There is a delay on the EQ, drives me crazy but it dosnt get in the way too much. if you slam to -40dbs or full cut its instant. any other adjustment there is a half second or so delay! almost like it moves in slow motion. so lets say you have you bass turned to -12dbs and then you want to slam it back in!, so you spin it fast up to strait, what you get is a smooth longer slightly delayed reaction. as if you did it smoothly. So it can gloss over a dj that eq's overly aggressively and makes everything he dose sound done smoothly. but with the sharp curve on the db pull down added to a delay, can cause some problems. but still the control makes it easy to look past this.
so if you twist from 0 to full kill no delay, distant kill. but if you go kill bring the bass in twist back to 0, delay and smoothing/slowing of motion!!!! ok... well ill do my bass drops with the eq kill toggles on either side of the crossfader. NOPE! these are a fun feature.. but i dont think many people buy a mixer based on EQ kill toggles next to the crossfader. well these are junk! for the music I play the low cuts out the lows and most all of the mids, were the highs cuts out most all of the mids and highs and the mid kill, will damn near cut out the whole song. Awful useless parameters that cannot be adjusted on these kill switches.
Let me dive in deep here and paint a few pictures.
Another mixer like the x9 that had a revolutionary idea, that should have, but didnt catch on is the Urei by soundcraft 1603 series mixer. if you look up this mixer the eq is at 0dbs when turned to 2 o'clock, +8 db at 5 o'clock, and then full cut at 7 o'clock. so between 2 o'clock and 5 o'clock there is 8 dbs of positive, and between 2 o'clock and 7 o'clock going backwords you have from 0 to -100 or kill. helps balance the curve. most mixers like the x9 have 0 to kill from 12 to 7 or 5 "hours" between 0 and -100 then 5 " hours between 0 and + 8!! so there has to be curves so fit the physical range of motion. the X9 can go +9 and then goes to like -40 then kill or off. what im saying is i need less motion range on the up side and alot more motion range on the negative side, or a better designed curve on the down side of the EQ.
So as if i didnt write enough about EQ's let me finish up with saying, pick any 3 mixers to go up against the X9, some mixers have better feeling knobs, some have nice long curves on the eq, some mixers like the Xone may even have 4 parameters with the mid high and mid low. But no matter what the mixer and how good the eq's lets play songs of all ages and styles through them and play the eq's some are going to cut the lows all the way into the mids, most get sloppy when on some style of music when it comes to the point were the highs meet the mids. lots of vocals will be mastered in the mid high area, and there will be overlap. so in my mind from ontop of the vocals up i want my high know, vocals down to the top of the kick i want my mids, and kick down to bass line i want my low knob. every song every style of music, these points are different! adjust the parameters and tune it in every song. you can even use it to do sweeps giving you a control like a filter with a pull down like a eq. making it still different and better in most situations then a filter sweep with a wet/dry. There are songs when you got a good kick, but the bass line just isnt coming through strong enough, damn... turn up the lows, too much kick.. but with the X9 go down and grab that bass line and pull it up were you want it!!!
The X9 has the best EQ CONTROL found on any dj mixer. not he best eq's, but the most control of the EQ's!

OVERALL OPINION

If you are a DJ and you know you always bullshit knob touching on the eq... doing super slight to no adjustments to make it look like you are doing so much work up there, stop bullshitin and get this mixer! enough EQ control to keep you busy!
If your a producer that is into hardware and not laptops, and your use to working with big mixing mastering desks, if you are starting to dj and/or do live hardware shows this would be an ideal dj mixer to sit along side a pair os cd players, an electribe and a tr909 drum machine! Perfect for me a dj thats starting to like pre-laptop prediction hardware. Mixer is timeless for its build and features, like the sp-404, not like the sp-303 witch is timeless for its sound color.
This mixer is well made and far from a cool toy for in your home. this bad boy is ready to go on tour! I paid 300 for a used x9 off ebay. I wanted it because its unique and I wanted to use it at my weekly gig that didn't have a house mixer. I will still opt to use the house mixer a pioneer 800 or what ever, if another dj brings our his 900 or rane or what ever ill plug in and play. this isnt the kind of mixer that you just show up and play on, but its fun when you know it! I also have found some use for it in production as well.
Well made and the plentiful options gives you a creative way around most all limitations. it may be old, but it will keep up with the top guns of today still!
so in conclusion, I dont think anyone can complain about the sound, I personally love it! top notch sound to me. Not the best mixer in the world, but a unique mixer with character and special ability's. It will make you different, not better! Its timeless for the right collector. Its not timeless for the sound like a bazooka or a urei. but timeless as it was the electric car made by GM in the 90s before there was Tesla. I the next new Pioneer mixer the djm 1100 has full parametric EQ's then no one will remember this mixer, but someplace there will be a die hard fan like me saying " I told you so!"

This DJ Mixer has some cool features that other mixers in the market do not have, such as Dual 8 second samplers, two seperate sets of effects, adjustable Q value for all EQ's and input faders, 100 storable EQ memory settings, and two assingable foot switch inputs that can be assined to trigger effects or starting and stopping samples. However, TASCAM dropped the ball on some basic features. There is latency in the response of the channel EQ's, the BPM counters are very innacurate (which makes syncing effects correctly in time with your actual source difficult), when triggering an effect to a source for the first time it misses the first beat and catches on the second (this only happens when first applying, after first time they work ok). I don't know that you necessarly can consider these anything more then quirks, because there are ways to work around each and everyone of them, but when it comes down to paying $1000 for a mixer one would expect basic technology like BPM counters to be spot on. I mean cheap mixers like those made by Numark and Gemini are able to accurately read BPM from a source so it was surprising that a TASCAM product would be so bad at it. Something also to keep in mind is that Tascam makes mention of an optional Midi-CARD for this mixer. Well the card is not available yet, and one would have to assume that if this card came to fruition that it would be sourcing its time Data from the same BPM circuitry that is innacurate at best.

Price paid

$1000

UTILIZATION

It takes quite a while to get used to this mixer, the first time you use the mixer its overwhelming so many buttons and assign switches all over the place. The placement of the effects buttons and switches are in awkward spot in my opinion. You will definitly be referencing the manual for a while till you are very familiar with the 18 or so different parameters that you can change. Fortunately the manual is very good, you quickly can find what you need to know.

This mixer is definilty geared for users who have the time to actually learn the ins and outs of the mixer. No DJ is going to be able to step up to this mixer cold and push it to its full potential. Prior experience with this DJ mixer is required to even scratch the surface, and lets face it most DJ's aren't going to start experimenting with stuff their not familar with in front of a packed dancefloor. As for build it seems solid so far, but this mixers is pretty new so only time will tell

SOUNDS

Sound Quality is good, seems to have a bit of a digital feel even when playing vinyl. Alot of digital circuitry built in hence the more digital sound. But overall it was good the EQ's are sensitive and very responsive small adjustments can really change the music. The effects for the most part sound typical of those on DJM's and EFX boxes, but you are able to create some unique sounds by really tweaking away at the effects. Its trial and error, but fortunatley you can save those settings into the Mixers memory and quickly recall them later.

OVERALL OPINION

I liked the Tascam X-9, i thought Tascam had some good ideas but dropped the ball on basic circuitry that is a necessity for todays DJ's. I would recommend checking out the DJ forums on Tascams website to see what others are saying before deciding to drop a $1000 on this mixer

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: Unknown ( 5-, 2002)

This mixer has a ridiculous amount of features, not that it's a bad thing. In comparison to the Pioneer DJM-600, the X-9 contains almost twice as many features. The dual sampler comes in very handy in complex mixes as well as the dual effects with parametric adjusments. The faders feel good and the fully adjustable curve for the channel fader is a plus.

$799

UTILIZATION

This is not a mixer for beginners. The Pioneer DJM-600 is much easier to use. Its format is fairly simplistic. The Tascam, however, with its various features, seems to have a more complex format. It will take a while to get used to the mixer, but once that's all in the past, the mixer should be no problem. It's always the first step that's the most difficult and once you take your first step, you'll be crawling, walking, then running with no problem.

SOUNDS

Its hard to say that anything can be improved with the sound quality. The frequencies are adjustable, the bass is nice and clean along with the treble. There aren't very many mixers with better sound quality, such as the Rane Empath. Overall, the sound quality is excellent.

OVERALL OPINION

This mixer is solid, and heavy at that. Buttons don't look cheaply built and it has a very proffesional touch to it. It looks like it can take a beating.

I've used the DJM-600 and several other mixers. I thought I would be stuck on the DJM-600 forever because of its ease of use and features, but after using the X-9, the DJM-600 jusT didn't compare. Don't get me wrong, the Pioneer is an excellent mixer, but for around the same price range, the Tascam X-9 offers much more and gives the DJ more versitility and diversity in his or her mixes.

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: Unknown (January 2-, 2003)

The table is in rack 19 ", supplied with equres.
Table 4voix with a master.
Send return and externality.
Digital output (SPDIF), Master in RCA and XLR, RCA Booth. headphone.
ENTERED INTO CAR: 4line, 4phonos, 2digitales
Fully parametric EQ, the most complete that I've never seen a DJ table: 3 eq per voice, you can set the Q and frequency of 3 eq on each see without other!! In the menu we chose the voice and by Q-med hi-lo.
2 sampler of 8 seconds each
between footswitch to manage the effects auxpieds
The table contains a section of double effect and assignable to m voix1.3.Mic.Sampleur1 autre2.5.master.sampleur2
Effects: Reverb, delay, echo, flanger, auto-pan, pitch, Low Pass Filter, Transform.
effects of quality sync to BPM, customizable presets and'''
Kills every cot the crossfader.

C is the complete: only regret the upgrade MIDI silent originally planned seems more NEWS. Too bad.

UTILIZATION

The table is very easy to use but you have to delve a little nose in it to use all the possibilities. To mix and using few effects, no more complicated than DJM. Handling immediate.

The digital architecture provides many opportunities, set these preferences before his set that might otherwise get lost in menus Abscon without the manual. But given the damage EXTENDED possibilites we can not say anything.
EVERYTHING is adjustable through the menu system: the curve of volume faders, EQ on the headphone output to correct the color, the Q of eq, the appearance of diodes levels - for q ca moves more or less slowly ....
The simplest is to determine the prefernces once and for all ... especially for eq.

The effects are easily manageable set. Few parameters, using preset, good sound no big surprise. Very usable.

A little regret for the part sampler that is a bit difficult to use al use. It is not as practical as a red or other sound that hold the bpm. You have to edit the sample, determining the beginning and end of the loop, then it can be addressed by the tempo in the Sampler menu if the tempo has changed. It s not flawed but it takes time, too much during a mix. I use the least that I'll have believed. Remains interesting, one-shot mode or loop, reading in or out.

The manual is ok. Enough.

SOUNDS

With regard to the sound, sorry I have not pushed the last stronghold with these 100Kilos ....

To use my home studio and some accessories on a small sound system, ca me look pretty good. Nobody did that grill of digital c silent, it sounds very good. J got a Tascam XS4 - ecler manufacturing - and it seems to me that it sounded a little worse. Good output voltage, aps need to push the master in the red to hear something.

I often used in the input line and dig but the phono inputs are also great, good converters. Nothing to say, c is pro.

No breath (ca me change my first Behringer, lol).

Eq very good, no complaints. The scope of parametric EQ c is far from being a gadget - the other brands should follow.

OVERALL OPINION

I have the last 2 months, bought a 770, it declined further since. At that price, NO HESITATION.

I am not especially interested in the digital adjustable but given the possibilities that this offers the n is not negligible.

The pros: the effects, parametric EQ, sound quality - c is a pleasure to mix eq.
(Small) unless: the use of samplers somewhat laborious, lack of upgrade noon.

Quality price, given the huge recent declines, no hesitation. For a midrange price you have the high end. Tres seen over the possibilities of the DJM500, Smac Pro40 for a similar price.
S why I trade? Allen & Heath Xone 92, Freevox, Rodec 180. Consoles immediately much more expensive ...