The absolute best turntablist tool that got shelved way too early.

There were two iterations of this unit: the CDX and the HDX. The only difference being the CDX used a CD drive and was black, and the HDX used a hard drive caddy and was silver.

I bought a brand new CDX when they came out. I was deep into turntablism, and at the time digital options for vinyl DJs were just coming out. The CDX had most of the features any turntablist could want.

First, the layout: the only turntable that has this layout is the Vestax PDX-a2s. A turntablist dream: everything setup vertically and not only that, it sported not one but TWO start/stop buttons so access was super easy when juggling for stop effects. The pitch fader placed vertically is also a given!

Then, the track selection. It was pretty rudimentary but the system worked well. My only gripe was the resolution of the display, that could fit way more info than it did.

The effects selection was really nice to have onboard and cool to control with the big wheel. Could be passed-on, but you could literally use the wheel to "scratch" effects! How cool is that?

THE BIGGEST THING that was forgot by everyone quickly and that was never implemented this way in any other DJ media player was the MIDI input. Hear this:

• Load a CD full of long horns samples on C notes
• Connect something like a 25-key MIDI controller

The pitch can now be controlled by the MIDI controller: since your original sample is in C note, the pitch is now automatically mapped to the MIDI controller keys. So you can pitch the sample to any precise note you want on the scale, and scratch it. Think DJ Dexter, Kid Koala who spend hours digging through vinyls to find a sample that could fit their set within many parameters and when they play it they have to be ultra price on their +10/-10% pitch fader.... But with the CDX you can do the exact same thing just by hitting a key on your MIDI controller and be on note every time.

It's an incredibly nice experience to scratch samples chromatically and being able to play melodies while doing so. AFAIK no other piece of gear does that.

I've read about users not getting satisfying results when scratching super fast on the CDX. I think I scratch pretty fast and never felt any lagging issue.

The main CDX problem is the CD drive. Like an Xbox 360, you cannot just swap the drive for any other. It has to be the Numark compatible model. Most problems come from drive loading issues, since it's a motorized input system. I don't know if it can be fixed by disabling that motor, but it's just sad InMusic (Numark proprietary group) never felt the need to build another one.

Nowadays with the Rane Twelve, it's hard to justify getting a unit that only supports medium from another era (CDs). Denon could do it too, they are real close with their latest; the SC6000M which sports a 8.5in platter. But it's just way too much tech for a traditional turntablist that just wants to mix, juggle and scratch and their use of effects is limited to post-fader delays, filters and reverbs.

Numark seem to have decided that the scratch market needed no more than 7in platters with the NS7-1-2-3 and the V7. Native Instruments was rumored to release a Rane Twelve-like unit many years ago, that would have been coupled with Traktor. They surprised everybody with the Maschine+ standalone, maybe they will be getting there sooner or later.

Numark are no stranger to the DMC scene and have been sponsoring it since its beginning. They even released a new scratch mixer 2 years ago, but when you head to Numark website, the only turntables they have are 7in portable ones. What a shame.