jaakko
I just have to say that: don't buy dac-3! It seems very durable controller but it is not at all!
I bought dac-3 controller last summer and I have had maybe one gig per week. Now less than year of use, it is totally broken.....
- after 6 months of use, buttons became unresponsive, first it was the play button only but now ii have had to press almost any button twice or three times to get response!
- after 10 months of use pitch start to randomly reset itself to 0% on the left channel. Very annoying if it happens during mix!
- And worst of all: last week I got serious usb-problem! After 1 or 2 hours of playing, ALL my usb devices (dac-3, esi u46dj, external harddriver and even usb-mouse) dropped out! And replugging did not help until i restarted the computer. Now the same dropout happens almost as soon as i plug in the dac-3! :(
I'm speechless...
I also have two xp10s which work flawlessly. I should have bought em in the first place!
geposted Mon 21 May 07 @ 2:48 pm
jpboggis
jaakko wrote :
after 6 months of use, buttons became unresponsive, first it was the play button only but now ii have had to press almost any button twice or three times to get response!
This seems to be a common problem with the DAC-3 (Not sure if this is fixed now with newer manufactured ones) - However, if you are prepared to take it apart, it can usually be permanently fixed by spraying contact cleaner (As used for noisy faders) into each of the micro-switches and pressing them several times to work it in. The procedure should be repeated a couple of times before re-assembly. Having done this, my DAC-3 buttons have worked reliably ever since.
jaakko wrote :
after 10 months of use pitch start to randomly reset itself to 0% on the left channel. Very annoying if it happens during mix!
Sounds like a faulty pitch slider :(
jaakko wrote :
And worst of all: last week I got serious usb-problem! After 1 or 2 hours of playing, ALL my usb devices (dac-3, esi u46dj, external harddriver and even usb-mouse) dropped out! And replugging did not help until i restarted the computer. Now the same dropout happens almost as soon as i plug in the dac-3! :(
Not good - I had a problem with USB on mine too, but that was with losing USB connection to it. Solved it by resoldering the USB socket to the circuit board.
jaakko wrote :
I'm speechless...
Now that the Numark DMC-2 has been released, there is a much better rackmount controller solution for VDJ/Cue.
Having written a mapper for it, I'm now using this instead of the DAC-3 and it is a lot better.
jaakko wrote :
I also have two xp10s which work flawlessly. I should have bought em in the first place!
Unfortunately, the XP10 also has a flaw too - Each of its buttons uses a plastic hinge that after so many presses will eventually fail (Play/Cue are the most used and will usually go first.) You can now replace the buttons though (Replacements can be purchased via EKS website.)
It's a shame that you didn't consider a DMC-2 - This is very similar to the DAC-3, but designed specifically for VDJ/Cue. It has higher quality buttons, finer pitch precision (4x that of the DAC-3) and text displays (Shows artist/title, effect/sample names, etc.) It's also based on the hardware of a real CD player (Numark CDN-95), so should be able to stand up to the demands of professional use.
geposted Mon 21 May 07 @ 7:28 pm
jaakko
Thanks for the good reply! I have already had xp10s for a month, i did not know that dmc2 was coming out. But if xp10s last for a year and half or so, it could be ok and then i can afford to buy dmc-2.
BTW I think that dac-3 has some power problem? It haunts too much power from laptop and shuts all the usb ports? Don't know... There is already six usb devices on, which is quite much for a laptop?
BTW I think that dac-3 has some power problem? It haunts too much power from laptop and shuts all the usb ports? Don't know... There is already six usb devices on, which is quite much for a laptop?
geposted Mon 21 May 07 @ 7:55 pm
jpboggis
The XP10's will probably be OK if you treat them carefully. And if the buttons do go, you can always buy a replacement.
The DAC-3 is quite heavy on USB power usage - I used mine on a powered USB hub and have never had any problems. 6 devices from one laptop might be too much.
The DMC-2 is mains powered, so doesn't have this problem, but it does mean an additional power brick. In a rackmount setup, that's not too much of a problem though.
The DAC-3 is quite heavy on USB power usage - I used mine on a powered USB hub and have never had any problems. 6 devices from one laptop might be too much.
The DMC-2 is mains powered, so doesn't have this problem, but it does mean an additional power brick. In a rackmount setup, that's not too much of a problem though.
geposted Mon 21 May 07 @ 8:40 pm
Govind Ganesh
Hi jpboggis
can u post some pics of your dmc-2 setup please.
i am currently saving up for it's purhase as well as a copy of vdj
pics will be totally appreciated
can u post some pics of your dmc-2 setup please.
i am currently saving up for it's purhase as well as a copy of vdj
pics will be totally appreciated
geposted Tue 22 May 07 @ 1:45 am