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Voting is open now for DJ Mag's 2017 Tech Awards

Vote so your favourite kit makes the cut!

DJ Mag Tech Awards is back to shine a light on all the latest developments in the world of dance technology. With “industry standard” CDJs/media players battling it out, the turntable resurgence and the introduction of brand-new categories, things are heating up!

2017 has seen some pretty big leaps in terms of DJ and production technology, with new players are coming in to challenge the old guard, attempting to re-adjust the balance of what will become known as the industry standard in years to come. All this is definitely great for the DJs, producers and users of all this kit and technology. We have never had it so good especially with the options that are now available for how we perform, produce and play music.

The hardware revival just goes from strength to strength and a lot of DJ/producers are now moving ‘out of the box’ into the hardware domain, this in itself stirs up a whole new dimension for how things are recorded and played. Just walking around this year’s NAMM convention in LA, at the beginning of the year, indicated the direction that a lot of manufacturers were looking to pursue. Here at DJ Mag Tech, we have to say that this year has to be one of the best years for new developments and technologies, providing artists, producers and performers with a plethora of tools at their disposal.

We suppose the biggest tech story of 2017 has to be Denon DJ and their assault on the DJ booth — a bid to wrestle the industry standard tag from Pioneer DJ who have sat on the throne for more than two decades — but this is only the start of something good for all DJs and users of technology as these manufacturers, and others, step up their game and deliver products geared to elevate the scene to the next level. Having options increases competition, making it more exciting for all involved and, as a result, we’ve had our work cut out when checking out all the new developments this year.

Checking out the masses of online videos and resources, we are seeing users come up with some amazing set-ups and creations, more technologically advanced than we have ever seen before. New young devotees are really stepping up to the mantle to embrace new technology, unafraid to be part of the revolution.

And so, we now get to the business end of what we do here with our 2017 Tech Awards. This year will be even harder to preside over than previous years. It just gets harder and harder to pick out a piece of kit that warrants its place at the top of its field and that difficult decision on the whole sits with you the readers and users of all this technology, and of course our industry judges who get to give their two-pence worth as part of the live streamed judging event.

This year we continue to shake things up. The Ultimate Club Deck category will now be fought over just the two main players — Pioneer DJ CDJ-2000 NXS2 and Denon DJ's new SC5000 Prime, who will go head to head at our live stream event. And in another twist, we have introduced Best Turntable back into the mix; the vinyl and turntable love affair just keeps growing with each manufacturer now having a deck in their product range. Who would have believed that when we dropped the category a good few years ago that it would re-emerge healthier than ever? And we’ve also introduced a new category Best DJ Accessory — this category captures some essential bits of kit and technology that might not have all the knobs and buttons normally associated with tech, but still play a big part; be it from the technological advanced materials used in the products or the technology to aid a DJ or a producer.

Every year we see more and more numbers in terms of the public voting on their favourite bits of kit and we envisage that this year will be no different. You are the guys and girls using this technology, so it is only right that you get to be the ultimate judges, wielding the power that will decide the winners of what's always a hotly debated contest. Public voting will be carried out on our Facebook voting page. Voting will close at the end of September and the results will be announced a forthcoming edition of the magazine. So sit back, sip on a brew and bask in the delight of all the magical bits of gear available to budding DJs and producers over the course of the next eight pages...

The Tech Awards Judging Process

Last year we introduced live streaming to the proceedings, this year will be no different, here’s a run-down on how our 2017 Tech Awards will be contested

We’ll be introducing our judges over the forthcoming weeks, these are the guys and girls who will be taking part in our live streamed event taking place in London at DJ Mag Head Quarters September 19th. All our judges are experts in their fields and have extensive DJing and production knowledge and have always had a keen interest in what technology brings to electronic dance music culture.

There will be six categories to be featured on our Facebook live streamed event including, of course, our straight head-to-head battle on what will be the Ultimate Club Deck for 2017.

The remaining eleven categories will be up for the public vote, last year we received over 50,000 votes on our Facebook voting page as to which bit of kit takes the haloed crown. It is always going to be an interesting process as many factors are taken into account: popularity, brand loyalty, functionality and essentially what actually is simply the best bit of kit. It continually causes heated debate in all corners, but at the end of the day highlights what is available in the world of tech for either performing or making great music.

LIVE JUDGING CATEGORIES

Innovative New Product

  • Denon DJ SC5000 Prime 
  • Pioneer DJ TORAIZ AS-1
  • Reloop Mixon 4
  • Serato Sample
  • Evermix Mixbox2

Ultimate Club Deck

  • Pioneer DJ CDJ-2000 NXS2
  • Denon DJ SC5000 Prime

Ultimate Club Mixer 

  • PLAYdifferently MODEL 1
  • Pioneer DJ DJM-900 NXS2 
  • Allen & Heath XONE:PX5
  • Reloop RMX-90 DVS
  • Denon DJ X1800 Prime

Ultimate DJ Controller

  • Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol S5
  • Pioneer DJ DDJ-RZX
  • Denon DJ MCX8000
  • Numark NS6 II
  • Roland DJ-808

DJ Controller under £600

  • Reloop Mixtour
  • Pioneer DJ DDJ-RR
  • Allen & Heath XONE:K2
  • Novation LaunchPad

DJ Mixer under £600

  • Reloop RMX-60 Digital
  • Pioneer DJ DJM-450
  • Allen & Heath XONE:23C
  • Native Instruments Traktor Kontrol Z2
  • Mixars Duo MK2

PUBLIC VOTE

Vote for the Best DJ Software 

  • Serato DJ
  • Pioneer DJ rekordbox dj
  • Native Instruments Traktor Pro 2
  • Algoriddim djay Pro
  • Denon DJ Engine Prime

Vote for the Best DJ Turntable

  • Stanton STR8 150 MK2
  • Technics SL 1200
  • Denon DJ VL12 Prime Turntable
  • Pioneer DJ PLX-1000
  • Reloop RP-8000 STRAIGHT

Vote for the Best Studio Controller

  • Arturia BeatStep Pro 
  • Akai Pro MPC X
  • Pioneer TORAIZ SP-16
  • Native Instruments Maschine Jam 
  • Ableton Push 2

Vote for the Best New Studio Device

  • Pioneer DJ TORAIZ AS-1
  • Akai Pro MPC Live
  • Novation Circuit Mono Station
  • Korg Monologue
  • Novation Peak

Vote for the Best Audio Interface

  • Pioneer DJ Interface 2 
  • Apollo Twin MK2
  • Apogee Elements
  • Focusrite Clarett 4Pre
  • Arturia Audiofuse

 Vote for the Best Studio Monitors

  • ADAM Audio S2V
  • Pioneer DJ RM-07
  • Eve Audio SC205 TS 108
  • M-Audio BXD3 Monitors
  • KRK V-Series (V6-S4)

Vote for the Best DJ APP

  • Novation Launchpad
  • Native Instruments Traktor DJ 
  • Algoriddim DJAY Pro
  • Mixvibes Cross DJ Pro
  • Pioneer DJ WeDJ

Vote for the Best Music Production APP

  • Ampify Groovebox for iOS
  • Mixvibes Remixlive for iOS/Android
  • Akai Professional iMPC Pro
  • Novation Launchpad for iOS
  • Garageband For iOS

Vote for the Best Production Software

  • Logic Pro X
  • Ableton Live 9 Suite
  • Propellerhead Reason 9.5
  • Bitwig Studio 2
  • FL Studio 12

Vote for the Best DJ Accessory

  • Decksaver DJ Covers
  • UDG DJ Bags and Flight cases
  • Output Platform desk
  • Reloop Concorde VIBE Cartridge
  • Ableton Link

Vote for the Best Headphones

  • V-Moda Crossfade 2
  • Sennheiser HD25 Plus
  • Reloop RHP-15
  • Pioneer DJ HDJ-2000 MK2
  • AIAIAI TMA2 Modular