DENON DJ MCX8000

The Denon DJ MCX8000 is a game changer. I make this bold statement because it’s the first controller that blurs the line between midi DJ controllers and standalone media players in a very effective way. It’s rugged, and boasting a full metal face plate the MCX8000 feels solid, ready to withstand heavy use.

Rather than going through what the MCX8000 can do, it would be easier to state what it cannot do. Short from toasting your bread and preparing your coffee in the morning, this is a true “Swiss knife” of DJ controllers. Let’s look a bit closer at what the DENON DJ MCX8000 is capable of.

The MCX8000 being a standalone controller, it can work without a PC. In order to prepare your music before transferring it to USB, Denon DJ has upgraded their music preparation software called Engine to version 1.5. It allows you to import your music library from, let’s say, iTunes or even Serato DJ. When you import from Serato DJ, Engine will carry over your cue points. This means, of course, less work to do. Once you have analyzed and prepared your tracks, export them to a USB stick and you are ready to go!

Switching from Engine to PC or to an external source is a breeze. Simply flip the switch on top of line 1 or 2 on the mixer and the mode changes. Only channel 1 & 2 support Engine, so no 4 channel mixing when in standalone mode.

With all this, the level of flexibility that the MCX8000 provides is…unprecedented. Think about it. You can have turntables or media players hooked up to the MCX8000 that work in standalone or through DVS (you need the Serato DJ DVS extension pack for that). At the same time, the controller is working with Serato DJ through the PC Link on channels 1 & 2, with the option to switch to USB at any time seamlessly. I mean, with a setup like that, there is absolutely no excuse when it comes to managing glitches (PC crash, media player meltdown…) during a gig. Unless the place burns down with all your gear in it of course…
And it does Serato Too…

The controller is at its best when hooked up to a PC or Mac and working with Serato DJ. In this mode, all the functions of the decks are unlocked. Additionally, you can use the DVS and Video expansion packs from Serato DJ with the MCX8000 as well. More on that later.
Build In Screens

So the controller is flexible. But with so many ways of using the controller, how do the different functionalities behave when hooked up to Serato DJ versus Engine? Let’s start with the screens.