I bought the above combination after a great deal of research. I wanted a setup that had all the features I required so that I wouldn't need to upgrade too soon, but had a certain budget to work within (£500). I have the unit housed in a flight case for ease of transport and protection. I'll detail the individual units selling points, and why they're useful;
The Mixer: Stanton RM406 (£189 - Hard to find records, www.htfr.com)
This is a 19" rackmount multi-channel mixer with an obscene amount of features for the price. It's solid and well-built, and looks the part.
Feature Highlight;
PFL meters on individual channels - useful to match volumes between tracks.
3 band EQ on each channel - Good for sound control on the individual channels.
Line input on the front panel - useful if you want to connect a laptop or ipod, and run it through one of the channels on the mixer without having to reach around to the back panel (Very useful if you have the unit enclosed in a flight case)
Subwoofer output - The mixer has a built in crossover and subwoofer output, which makes it easy to add a subwoofer unit to your setup without having to incur additional expenses of buying a crossover unit. Selectable frequency band too.
Booth and Zone outputs - in addition to the master output, you also have outputs and separate controls for the booth (for monitors), and zone (If you want to control speakers at the back of the room, or in a separate area)
Fader Start - When activated with a compatible cd player, the cd will start and stop merely by moving the crossfader across.
The mixer has all the usual features as well - Assignable cue, both 6mm and 3.5mm headphone inputs (in case you don't have the right adaptor), loads of inputs, 3 mic channels with XLR and jack inputs, and more….
A dual CD rackmount unit which is well built and is a very popular choice at this price band. Particular features required in this unit;
Instant Start - Important in the world of Salsa DJ'ing!
Anti-Shock buffer - Again, an important feature to have!
Plays CD-R
Pitch Control - Just don't even think of getting decks without pitch adjustment!
The unit also has two seamless loops, for those that want to be a little more creative.
Summary
In all, the above pairing cost just over £400 including postage, and is probably the best combination you're going to get at this price range. The combination is housed in a budget flight-case which I picked up for £35, and places the whole setup well under the £500.
This is a 19" rackmount multi-channel mixer with an obscene amount of features for the price. It's solid and well-built, and looks the part.
A dual CD rackmount unit which is well built and is a very popular choice at this price band. Particular features required in this unit;