Denon SC5000 Leaked [Updated]

So there seems to have been a leak of Denon’s new gear, the SC5000 Engine controller/media player. Somewhat resembling Pioneer’s XDJ-1000 in both looks and function, this controller takes a step away from external software companies such as Serato and Traktor in favour of Denon’s own Engine.

This development is unsurprising, considering Denon’s social media campaigns over the past few months, there has been plenty of rumours and hints that they’ll unveil a system to compete with Pioneer’s own flagship models. With the release of controllers such as the MCX8000, it’s no shock that they are aiming even higher.

At first glance, this media player/controller looks like it could give Pioneer a run for their money. Notably, the inclusion of 8 pads along the bottom are a welcome touch, long awaited for these systems (Pioneer included these functions to an extent in their latest model’s touchscreens but many will prefer buttons).  

The pads include features such as loops, cues, rolls, and a slicer. all what you’d expect from a Serato controller of this day and age. There are also sync and censor buttons, as well as manual loop controls and beat jumps. The face is very feature packed and doesn’t fail to impress.

The screen is evidently a touch screen with what looks like a high quality display, it also looks a lot less cluttered than Pioneer’s touch screens, most likely due to features moving to the pads at the bottom.

Various comments on social media allude to the possibility of motorised platters, this is confirmed by some and debunked by others. Certainly considering Denon’s previous players it may be true, but perhaps more likely, the rumours are just hopeful wonderings – are motorised platters even that necessary nowadays?

One thing you may notice is that there isn’t a USB or SD port on the top face, after a few moments of searching, they seem to be under the front of the player, below the Denon DJ logo. This does free up some room on the surface, but may make DJing from USB out of a flight case difficult at best.

Another thing to note, is that the SC5000 looks quite shallow, not unlike the XDJ-700, so most likely this will need a stand (possibly included) to reach up to mixer height.

The most intriguing part of the image provided is the picture in the centre of the jog-wheel. I rejected it as a cheesy logo to start with, but it may well be another screen with track info – perhaps song or artist images.  [Edit: this was confirmed as artwork screens]

So the SC5000 looks like a formidable bit of kit, there are undoubtedly more details to come – this is just analysis of what is provided in the picture, but it looks feature packed and certainly brings something new to the table.

People stand to be optimistic that this will also be compatible with Serato and Traktor, but due to the Engine branding on the device itself, this may be Denon’s push for people to migrate to their software. Certainly, this may even be their downfall with the SC5000, as people are well aware that Engine does not yet stand up to Serato and Traktor, and with Rekordbox trying the same thing people spoiled for choice may choose the safest option. 

In the end, the two deciders will most likely be it’s competitive pricing, and compatibility with the “big two” DJ softwares. Failing those two points, we may as well stick with the industry standard .

Updates:

• This will be part of several new bits of gear from Denon, including a new pro mixer X1800, and new Engine software.
• The jog-wheels are confirmed to have artwork screens
• A second RCA-connectable deck is available on the player so it provides two performance layers.