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DJ

Clumsy, drunken DJs rejoice

Being a DJ can be an expensive and confusing proposition. Going the traditional route of turntables and vinyl offers simplicity and street credibility, but it also means back-breaking record crates, an investment in turntable needles, and the constant fear of warped or scratched records. A laptop-based DJ rig solves these problems, but with the movement still in its infancy, there's lots of confusion over what products to buy, and each choice comes with its own set of hurdles to overcome.

There's no perfect solution for every digital DJ, but we were impressed by the Hercules DJ Console Rmx'… Read more

MP3 Insider 112: Headphones with style

Donald and Jasmine discuss two pairs of headphones that are anything but boring. Also this week: Find out how to be a nuisance on public transportation and get hints about the top 10 MP3 players for less than $100. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Episode 112

New iPods September 9!

Monster Beats by Dr. Dre headphones

Phiaton MS 400 Moderna Series headphones

Hercules DJ Console RMX

Disturb the peace with speaker-sporting MP3 players

Top 10 MP3 players for less than $100

E-MAIL

Q: Hi guys,

Love the show. My hard drive crashed recently, and while I try to back … Read more

DJs march on D.C.

After reading to the end of this Boston Globe article about this weekend's Million DJ March in Washington D.C., I was confused. What are DJs protesting?

One DJ interviewed in the article mentions that he had to fight with a club owner to get paid, and that DJs aren't required to fill out W-2 tax forms. I've got news for him: unless you're a union musician with an airtight contract, being ripped off is an unfortunately frequent part of the performing experience. It's supply and demand--there are more musicians and DJs willing to perform … Read more

The real reason Dell might get back into MP3 players

Dell gave up on MP3 players in 2006, after three years of fighting the iPod juggernaut. Initially, Dell's players relied on Musicmatch software for library organization, content syncing, and online music purchases, although they synced with the Windows Media Player as well in case of problems with Musicmatch (which CNET reviewer John Frederick Moore encountered back in 2005 with the flash-based Dell DJ Ditty). The reviews were middling at best, and the players never got much above 3 percent market share.

According to a report in today's Wall Street Journal, Dell is considering re-entering the MP3 player market … Read more

Tonium Pacemaker review and photos

Announced back in May of 2007, we were beginning to wonder if the Tonium Pacemaker pocket DJ system would ever actually roll off the assembly line. Lo and behold, the fickle DJ gods have smiled, and the Tonium Pacemaker arrived on my desk just days ago.

Following their efforts creating the Pacemaker online mix community and their free Mac and PC DJ editing software, the folks at Tonium have done well to lay a solid foundation under their first product. At a cost of about $800, however, the Pacemaker is not for everyone.

To find out if it's right … Read more

Photos: Traktor Scratch with Audio 8 DJ

DJs are a funny bunch, mostly preferring to use clunky old vinyl to work their magic. But technology rarely takes no for an answer and Traktor Scratch is no exception, offering traditional DJs who can't be separated from their Technics decks access to massive digital music libraries.

Put simply, Traktor Scratch is a simplified version of Traktor DJ Studio, which enables you to mix music without any special hardware. What the Scratch system adds is a very high-end sound card that enables multiple audio inputs, via which you can connect either vinyl or CD decks.

What's the point … Read more

ThisIsMyJam offers intelligent mash-up creation

Most of us remember mix tapes as those carefully curated cassettes that collected our favorite music together into one 90-minute playlist. Ask a DJ about mix tapes, however, and you'll hear about a whole other side to the art, involving matched beats, seamless crossfades, and other nuances of literally mixing music together. If you're looking for an alternative to mix tape sites such as Muxtape and Mixwit, ThisIsMyJam offers people a way to create mix tapes that emphasize the science of blending songs together.

Based off of the Musical Brain API, ThisIsMyJam allows you to create interwoven music … Read more

My headphones are better than yours

Koss has a bad reputation for manufacturing terrible audio products, but it struck gold back in 1984 with one set of headphones, the PORTAPROS. They're still being produced with continued success after 23 years and are, in my opinion, the most underrated headphones on the market, and here's why:

Price: $35 with free shipping on Amazon. Maybe less on eBay. Sound quality: Best sound I've heard out of sub-$200 cans. Instead of telling you how awesome these are, I'll let these 249 people do the work for me:

CNET Review (Review on its way, but … Read more