Published in the October 2008 issue of DJ Times Magazine
Volume 21 - Number 7

Allen & Heath XD-53

One of the most respected companies in the audio world, England’s Allen & Heath takes its X:one mixer line a step further with the introduction of its first professional monitoring headphones, the XD-53. Designed as a result of numerous inquires from loyal followers around the world, A&H has given DJs a set of cans that are powerful and well-built.

Out of the box, the XD-53’s look great. They are molded from strong, well-made materials and their silver-and-black design is sharp. They feature a lightly padded headband and ear cups, and a coiled cord that terminates to a 1/8-inch plug—a ¼-inch adapter is also included. They conveniently swivel, fold up for storage in the provided leather pouch, and have enough adjustability to easily accommodate any user. One of my favorite features is the rotating ear piece, which allows for easy one-cup monitoring.

For their size, the XD-53s ($199 MAP) are light and fit comfortably and snuggly over your ears. I was able to wear them for extended periods of time, with very little fatigue. The headphones achieve notable isolation from ambient noise, making them perfect for monitoring in loud nightclubs and onstage at larger events.

One place where the XD-53s really stand out is in their bass reproduction. Made with 53mm diameter drivers—the largest drivers currently available, according to the company—and a high-power neodymium magnet design with 1500mW of power handling, they sound truly amazing, and are able to retain their thump, even at lower volume levels.

I got my head around my pair and got down to an initial sound test. Listening to some downtempo beats, I was struck by the accurate sound and separation. Switching to some techno, I heard the cans absolutely come alive, with pulsating bass that was tight and correct. Out in the field, they easily outperformed every other pair if DJ-oriented cans I have ever used, by miles.

As a DJ that likes to wear my headphones around my neck (and not my head), I found the XD-53s were literally perfect. They swivel easily, and were substantial enough to feel great, but noticeably easy on the neck, even after a couple of exhaustive five-hour-plus gigs.

Overall, the Allen and Heath XD-53 headphones are truly on a higher level than other headphones in their space. They sound better, they’re lighter, they’re stronger, and they’re more robust. They deliver crisp highs, deep bass, and keep you isolated from the unwanted noise in your DJ booth. Next time you are in the market for a pair of DJ headphones, do yourself a favor and add the Allen and Heath XD-53 to the top of your list of contenders.

Ecler EVO5

What do you get when you incorporate a four-channel DJ mixer with a 12-channel state-of-the-art soundcard and a fully programmable MIDI controller? You get the EVO5 by Ecler, a Barcelona-based company with a long history of producing some of the world’s most sought-after DJ mixers.

The EVO5 is one of the first mixers to provide the flexibility to work with standard audio (vinyl or CDs), DJing programs (like Serato and Traktor Scratch), and production software such as Ableton Live. I’ve broken down the main functions of the mixer to help you better understand how powerful this unit really is.
DJ Mixer: From the top panel, the EVO5 looks like an unassuming, four-channel mixer, but with one unmistakable upgrade—a high-resolution, full-color display screen located to the top right-hand corner. The buttons and knobs surrounding the display are used with the internal effects, or for external MIDI control. There are five vertical faders (four for typical line/phono adjustments and one controlling the mic). Each channel has a fully adjustable three-band EQ as well as a small section used to control the fully assignable effects. There is a traditional crossfader, great for scratching action, and a wet/dry fader used to engage the internal effects. The slope of the faders and crossfader is fully adjustable. While using the mixer, I loved the fact that the EQ knobs were big and easy to grip. The crossfader felt loose but accurate, perfect for precision mixing. The back of the mixer has line and phone inputs for all four channels, two sets of RCA outputs, a pair of balanced XLRs, MIDI input/output, a mic input, and two FireWire inputs. The dual FireWire plugs are extremely useful for someone who wants to use two computers without having to fish around exchanging wires in the middle of a set.

Soundcard: One of the unique features is the 12-channel FireWire soundcard built right into the EVO5. That’s right—this mixer has six stereo inputs and six stereo outputs. This gives Traktor Scratch and Serato users the ability to plug their laptops directly into the mixer without having to use that program’s external soundcard. Imagine using Traktor Scratch with four channels and never having to jockey with a bird’s nest of wires—very cool!

MIDI Controller: Another revolutionary feature is the assignable MIDI functions. This is where Ecler separates itself from every other mixer manufacturer. Each and every button and knob on the mixer can be set to be used as a MIDI controller, and each parameter is fully assignable. There are 69 assignable controllers, six of them are assignable rotary knobs, which are the key for allowing the user to navigate features such as song selection, software effects, and view display options for programs such as Traktor. In fact, the mixer is Traktor Scratch-certified and all of Traktor’s functions can be controlled via the EVO5. The DJ never has to lay a hand on their laptop’s keyboard—it is all handled on the customizable control surface of the mixer.

Ableton users interested in incorporating Live into their sets need look no further. Not only does this mixer have all of the necessary customizable MIDI features to really push Ableton to its limits, it also has MIDI Clock Send/Receive capabilities. The signal can be set to be used as a slave or master MIDI clock. The user can synch their set to other programs or to live music—incredible! Being that all knobs/fader are MIDI assignable, even the mic fader can be set to control audio which turns this four-channel audio mixer into a five-channel digital control surface.

Test Drive: Right out of the box this mixer looks sexy. It sports a black-and-silver finish, which is sleek and elegant. When I first received the mixer, I plugged it in and began using it to mix audio without any problems at all. The next step was to use the internal soundcard. I personally use M-Audio’s Torq with time-coded CDs, and it was a little tricky to actually engage the mixer to function without my Torq Connectiv interface (the external soundcard). Ecler has included a CD which contains the user manual, so after a quick search, things got squared away.

Being a Traktor Scratch-certified mixer, I was curious to see how the EVO5 worked with Native Instruments powerful software. I called in local New Haven DJ C-Los, an avid user of Traktor for years. After setting the MIDI mapping to the preloaded Traktor Scratch setting, all of the fader and knob settings were assigned with the push of one button. Watching C-Los playing four tracks all at once, while navigating everything directly from the mixer was quite inspiring and truly amazing.

We then decided to see how well it works with Ableton. You may notice that the physical layout to each fader is identical to the layout of Ableton’s Live software. Ableton users will feel comfortable instantly. And, there is no need to remap the individual functions, just simply select the provided Ableton Live setup (a setting which comes preloaded into the mixer) and you’re off to the races. You can still make adjustments to the preloaded mapping and save all of your changes.

I’ve found frustrations in the past, trying to incorporate Ableton into DJ sets. In order for it to work properly you need an external MIDI-clock device—not with the EVO5. The customizable MIDI clock provides incredible flexibility and works flawlessly. All of the user settings are customizable and there are six assignable memory banks where the user can store presets and create their own title such as “Nate’s Ableton” or “Nate’s Serato, Ableton & Traktor,” etc.

The EVO5 also has a powerful effects processor, which can be used with both audio and digital signals. The nine primary effects include delay/echo, filter, flanger, phaser, trans, panoramic, pitch, reverse and vocoder. Each effect’s pattern and parameters is fully adjustable so you can tweak them to your liking. You can also create custom effects by chaining two effects together. If you’d like a Filter that has a bit of Delay, it can be set up to function as one effect, rather than using two individual effects.

Ecler has conveniently built in a Limiter function, which can control the mixer’s output to prohibit DJs from cranking the volume too loud and permanently damaging a club’s sound system.

Another notable component: An included piece of software developed by Ecler called Librarian. This little program takes this mixer to the next level. It enables the DJ to upload all of their customized settings from the mixer to their personal computer. Then, anytime that computer is plugged into another EVO5, all of the settings are transferred to that mixer. Librarian saves both MIDI settings and Effects settings.

Conclusion: Over the last three years mixers have evolved to become an all-in-one solution for DJs searching for flexibility, a familiar layout, and usable functions. Ecler is the first company to develop a professional audio mixer which can be completely customized to fit the DJ. You should feel confident in spending $1,899 (MAP) on this mixer, one that will grow with you for years to come.

If you have any questions for Sounding Off, please send them to djtimes@testa.com.