Numark NS7 review

You can't underestimate a product's look and feel when it comes to the fickle DJ market, but the crucial test of a USB DJ controller is responsiveness. Unlike analogue gear, where buttons and faders are intrinsically linked to their function, the features of a USB DJ controller rely on ones and zeros being sent back and forth from your laptop.

Fortunately, we have no complaints about performance latency with the NS7. During testing on both a 2007 Apple MacBook and an HP laptop (with a 2GHz Intel Pentium processor and running Windows XP), we experienced no noticeable lag time between the NS7 controls and the bundled Serato Itch software. We're also happy to report that the NS7 produced minimal audio latency over its integrated 24-bit, four-out, two-in soundcard. Audio buffer settings within the Serato Itch software allow a degree of control to compensate for any audio or performance delays you may experience on your computer.

Overall, the NS7's performance matches that of its highest-rated competitor, the VCI-300. But, when it comes to the responsiveness of each system's jog wheel/turntable mechanism, we prefer the solid, lively feel of the NS7's metal, motorised, vinyl-topped platters over the VCI-300's smaller jog wheels. Arguably, the NS7's motorised system introduces more parts that could fail but, in our experience, the trade-off is worth the added fun.

Software
The Serato Itch software that comes bundled with the NS7 is the same program used by the VCI-300. Essentially, Itch is a competent, yet slightly stripped-down version of the popular Serato Scratch Live program, and it should appeal to DJs who prefer stability and simplicity over tricks and effects.

As far as music organisation goes, Itch makes it easy to collect all the music files from your computer or external hard drive (MP3, WAV, AAC and OGG are supported, but iTunes-protected AAC files are not), sort them using editable ID3 tags, search for songs by name and file them into virtual crates. Song tempos can be detected automatically by the software, entered directly or tapped in manually. One feature that caught our eye is that, after a song is over, Itch colour codes the title to prevent you from repeating it later and boring people to tears.

The Serato Itch software bundled with the NS7 is the heart of the system, acting as your music library, and working invisibly as the engine behind the NS7's EQ, looping, pitch and hot cue features

Compared with a program like Native Instruments' Traktor or PCDJ DEX, Serato Itch is extremely light on effects and advanced EQ settings. If you want to add filters, delays or flanger effects to your mix, you'll need to do it with outboard gear. Itch does offer a three-band EQ (0-6dB), a reverse/censor effect, and three independent cue-point loops per channel.

Our favourite feature of Serato Itch is the audio waveform view, which is coloured to distinguish high-frequency sounds (snare drums) from low-frequency sounds (bass drums), making it easier to visually align two beats to fall in sync. If more drastic measures are needed to beat-match a song transition, Serato's pitch-shift keys, auto-tempo controls and key lock should come in handy.

For better or worse, the Serato Itch software uses the NS7 hardware as a glorified copy-protection dongle, leaving the software crippled without the controller being attached to your computer. The upshot of this system is that there are no passwords to manage, and you can install the software on as many computers as you like without the hassle of online registration. The downside, of course, is that the software can't be used with any random MIDI controller, and you can't practice your mixes without having the NS7 hardware attached to your computer.

Conclusion
We can't say enough good things about the Numark NS7, but, then again, we didn't have to put down £1,350 to get our hands on a review unit. It's certainly an investment, but the extra expense is reflected in the uncompromised construction quality and professional performance.

Another advantage we have as reviewers is that we never have to move the NS7 around that much. Considering the reality of being a working DJ, and loading your equipment night after night, you'd be foolish to underestimate the hassle of lugging this thing around. The NS7 is a behemoth that dwarfs every other USB DJ controller we've seen. Granted, it takes up less space than a conventional turntable, mixer and record-crate set-up, but you won't be saving yourself any back strain.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet