We’ve heard great reports, so just how versatile is the Denon DJ LC6000 Prime? Let’s dig deep!
But before all that, last year – in January of 2021 – there were a lot of crazy things happening. The nation’s capital was hit by a bunch of crazy people, the pandemic was getting ready for round 2, and things were looking crazier around the world than ever before.
Yes, 2021 had brought out a lot of craziness our way, with much of it not being super great.
However, something that was good (at least in this small corner of the world) was the unwitting reveal of a special set of plug-and-play media players in full and complete action.
And while they had been leaked out as a somewhat mysterious Denon-branded DJ controller setup in the past (showing up in background Instagram images but never outright talked about) it was only in January that we were able to properly see them for what they were.
Is the L600 Prime from Denon DJ any Good?
Long story short, if you’re starting out, you’ll want to look at something else. The price you’re paying and what you’re getting may be a bit too lopsided, especially for those just beginning their DJ quest. That said, if you’re someone that already knows what they want, has been in the DJ space for a while, and wants to save money on a smaller plug-and-play DJ controller over a larger player or a full-blown SC6000, there is a lot to love with Denon’s LC6000 Prime.
Overview
Still, even though these mysterious Denon DJ plug-and-play Media Players were more visible, that only added further interest and speculation. These media players hadn’t been put on sale yet, nor were they technically or officially presented to the world.
It was only in the mid-part of 2021 that we got a name, a release, and a chance to fully look over this versatile DJ controller.
Denon DJ’s controllers have always had a uniqueness to them; their most significant selling point is their dual-layer functionality.
This ability allows a single deck the ability to mix two tracks together. As a result, more so than most other DJ controllers out there, the Denon DJs are considerably more cost-effective than other units and can be used on their own to host an entire DJ session, something that was only possible for laptop-based DJ workflows over the past few years.
Now, at a time when people are DJing with CDJs, and all-in-one setups, the Denon DJ LC6000 Prime has come along and is looking to take us back to the early basics with the modular platter DJ controllers. Is it worth the incredible hype or has it become way too grandiose?
Is the modular platter an untapped well of potential or are we better off today than we were in yesteryear?
In this review, we’ll go over all relevant information, pros, cons, and all of the characteristics of the LC6000 Prime and ultimately if it is something worth it for you and your DJing needs.
First Impressions – The Physical Build
In terms of first impressions, coming with fresh eyes right out of the box, there isn’t much to complain about for the LC6000 media players.
On the whole, the navigation control feels and functions incredibly well, especially if you were a previous fan of Denon’s SC6000 Prime.
Physical Structure
In fact, there’s a lot about the LC6000 Prime that comes across as the SC6000 Prime’s identical twin brother.
From a physical design layout perspective, there isn’t much that’s really different.
The two DJ controllers are virtually carbon copies of one another. They share the same 8.5-inch platter size, the same capacitive touch jog wheels, and the same circular screen color display setup that can display track info and even a custom DJ logo.
At the center of the LC6000 PRIME is a full-size 8.5”, capacitive touch jog wheel that features a high-definition central display. This capacitive touch jog wheel color display shows track artwork or a custom DJ logo, track artwork, combined with play head position, and other essential DJ performance-relevant information.
Build Design Quality
In terms of the quality LC6000 Prime’s build, that similarly benefits much from the SC6000 Prime look. It feels extremely well put together, to the point that it easily could be compared with many of Denon DJ Prime’s other media players.
Bringing a professional club-style layout its outer chassis is made from a plastic core with a metallic faceplate.
Its metal has a finely brushed texture while the plastic feels properly rubberized while still having a slight grip to it (And if you were wondering, yes, this is almost exactly the same as the SC6000 Prime’s physical design as well).
As for its overall size and weight, here’s where it gets interesting. Despite being quite resilient and durable, the LC6000 is much lighter than you’d expect at first glance.
In fact, one could argue that, at first glance, the DJ controller is perhaps a bit “too” light, especially considering it does everything it does at a whopping 6 lbs.
The reality is that much of its lightness is thanks to the lack of a screen as well as any big electronic setup.
Despite this, the lightness, for many, will be potentially too much of a turnoff, as, while this is meant to be a near replica of the SC6000, the LC6000 Prime is undoubtedly the smaller and lighter of the two, easily resulting in people feeling like its malnourished and easily breakable despite that being the furthest from the truth.
Connection Options
Since the LC6000 Prime is more or less just a MIDI controller, don’t expect it to come jam-packed with a bunch of port options.
Here, you’re pretty much getting a USB-B port as well as a DC jack. The USB cable port is to connect with any of the different options (more on that later) while the DC jack is used to connect it to a power bank.
Because this add controller is USB bus-powered, the power cable is almost entirely optional and really only needed if you plan on using an unpowered hub for your USB.
The good news is that most MIDI controllers don’t need a lot of energy anyway, so you shouldn’t have much of an issue regardless.
Connection Compatibility
One of the LC6000 Prime’s biggest and most impressive leaps forward, especially compared to other HID controllers, is its impressive range of compatibility, particularly with other Denon DJ devices.
In the past, these types of HID DJ controllers were almost solely relegated to being used on the laptop, especially Traktor DJ software.
That isn’t the case today. The LC6000 Prime has multiple control and compatibility options. These deals largely with the second layer of most Denon DJ Media Players.
This is especially true for DJ software on laptops, tablets, and phones. You can use a standard USB-B jack to connect them or a USB-powered system to power them up.
Its standalone feature allows the LC6000 Prime to connect with up to three USB-powered ports so long as they are media music drives for a Denon DJ Prime music player.
As stated, the LC6000 Prime works for the second layer for a player.
This means that you can use it as an add-on controller in conjunction with either another LC6000 Prime or with a Denon DJ Media Player. You can also use them together with a couple of other players if you want a more complete 4-deck music experience.
Software Compatibility
Denon DJ’s Engine Prime DJ software is utterly exciting and keeps going from strength to strength. Dual Layer on Engine has been a stand-out feature of the SC5000 and SC6000 players, it allows a built-in processor able to handle playing two tracks simultaneously and the high-definition central display shows both layers including the play head position.
These players can also output the second layer via separate outputs too!
If you are new to the Engine DJ software check out our 4 reasons why you should be using Engine Prime DJ software here!
The LC6000 Prime also works with the Virtual DJ, Serato DJ Pro, and the Algoriddim djay pro AI DJ software types. While these are the official options, the DJ controller may also work with the Traktor Pro 3, though this isn’t officially listed as an option.
Still, Traktor DJ software is fairly open-natured, so I imagine there will eventually be someone that maps it out for the LC6000.
The only weird option that isn’t included in Rekordbox.
Unlike Serato DJ Pro and Virtual DJ, Pioneer DJ doesn’t allow customized mapping. This means Rekordbox simply isn’t able to run right with a Denon DJ device.
How Does It Feel?
In a word, the Denon DJ LC6000 Prime navigation control is amazing. If you are a fan of the SC6000 setup, you’re pretty much going to love what the Denon LC6000 has going for it.
As mentioned earlier, the LC6000 has a rubbery setup with its buttons, ensuring that all of them have a tighter and more firm grip to them.
The only exception to this is the Shift, the Back, and the Forward buttons, all of which have the more rigid and plasticky feeling reminiscent of the SC5000.
When pressed, the buttons all feel incredibly pleasing to the touch. Their rubbery material doesn’t seem to get in the way of any immediate response so you’re getting the best of both worlds.
Meanwhile, the few plastic buttons all still have that “clicky” feel when pressing on them.
The knobs and faders, while few, all feel relatively fine. The encoders are all metal-stemmed. This results in each having a fairly decent sense of chunkiness to them.
Meanwhile, the pitch fader has a fantastic feel to it, coming across as incredibly smooth and satisfying, while also having just enough resistance that you’ll know what you’re doing when using it.
L6000 Denon Pime: A Deep Dive
Now that we’ve had a chance to look over the different aspects of the Denon DJ LC6000 Prime’s physical build and structure, let’s now take a deeper look at some of its different pros and cons to see whether it’s actually worth your time and energy.
The Pros
Super Cost-Effective
Considering it has an MSRP that is under $700, you’re getting much more of a value with the Denon DJ LC6000 than pretty much any other player option out there. Instead of getting two players, you could instead get an LC6000 and an SC6000 for two-thirds the price.
Similarly, you could also invest in a complete four-deck setup, which would also be much more cost-effective based on what you were looking for.
Very Flexible & Very Versatile
In addition to being super cost-effective, the LC6000 is also surprisingly quite versatile as a unit. As we’ve already gone over, the DJ controller works with just about any Denon DJ Prime media player and can be set up as a part of a two-deck playing system.
Adding a pair of DJ controllers to an existing set will give you a complete four-deck setup while adding a second LC6000 can help create a platter set for mixing or using your laptop.
They can even be connected to a four-channel DJ controller for even more platters to play with.
So, as you can see, the LC6000 Prime has a lot of versatility going for it, something that other MIDI controllers just can’t say the same about.
Extremely Compatible When Used With Plug & Play
One of the biggest reasons most platter-based controllers never really sparked in the past was due to a lack of MIDI mapping for owners.
When you got it, you pretty much had to map things out yourself or hope and pray someone else already had.
This was obviously a huge problem for a lot of people (especially if you were playing with a locked program like Serato DJ Pro).
This isn’t the case with the Denon DJ LC6000 Prime. Here, you’re getting instant “plug and play” compatibility along with three of the main DJ software types.
In fact, you could potentially have a four-deck setup with LC6000, all of them using one of the different DJ software types. This is a convenience and functionality that simply can’t be understated.
Stacked Waveform View When Combining Two Decks
One of the more surprising benefits that came with the LC6000 Prime is its ability to stack waveforms when combined with another deck.
For example, if you were to play on a single LC6000 with an SC6000, before pairing them with two other players, you’ll notice the waveforms stacking with one another. It’s a subtle thing but a super cool feature all the same, especially since you can’t use the setup with a pair of players despite their higher price tag.
The Cons
The Platters
So, here’s the thing when it comes to the Denon DJ LC6000 Prime and its platters. Like the SC6000, they are a vast and observable improvement when compared to the SC5000 platters. Compared to those platters, which were annoyingly heavy with a fairly weak level of responsiveness (especially if you were a technical scratch DJ or simply liked to add scratching to your playstyle), the LC6000 and SC6000 were legitimately the better option.
Still, just because something is “better” doesn’t mean it’s automatically “good”. For example, fruit juice may not be “as bad” as soda, but that doesn’t mean it’s as “good” as water.
In this instance, the LC6000 and SC6000 both suffer from platters that are still not as responsive as they should be while still more than a bit heavier than one would hope.
Even on their lightest level of tension, they seem to be more on the heavier side, which is kind of annoying.
This becomes even more frustrating when you consider the Pioneer’s platters are incredibly smooth and responsive.
Not only are they not as responsive as they could be, but they also don’t have much going for them in terms of visuals.
For example, the LC6000 platter doesn’t have any screen to display information regarding the track’s information.
If you were hoping to see the track’s key or BPM, you’re going to be disappointed. Yeah, it’s not an essential thing since you can still get all of that information. That said, the fact that so many other controllers are adding that as a feature makes this a bit behind the times.
One thing they could add, on top of what’s already been mentioned, is a motorized spinning platter. Again, it’s not necessarily essential, but it would be a great option and wouldn’t do much to the overall price.
Price Is a Tad Too High
This may seem a bit odd, considering I just had this on the “cost-effective” side of things. That said, there is a reason.
While, yes, the LC 6000 and SC 6000 are great savings when compared to full-on player options, that doesn’t automatically mean they are reasonably priced as controllers.
A $700 price tag for one DJ controller that doesn’t have a screen can be more than a bit mind-boggling, especially when you remember that it’s a MIDI controller and doesn’t have any audio speaker or interface features.
Yes, getting a dual SC6000 would cost more, but that’s not saying a whole bunch if we’re being honest, since the price difference is much less drastic than the earlier “two-player” comparison.
The fact of the matter is, while it’s definitely got some good (even great) things going for it, the Denon DJ LC6000 is just a glorified MIDI add-on that can’t do a whole lot on its own or without a Denon DJ Media Player backing it up.
Is it good? Yes. Is it $700 good? That’s one to think about.
LC6000 Prime: The Verdict
If you’re just starting out, or you’re a Pioneer DJ fan, the Denon DJ LC6000 Prime might not be your thing.
Similarly, those that aren’t in love with the Denon DJ lineup or what the Denon DJ experience offers are also not going to be super fans of the LC6000 Prime. Hard nuts to crack!
And let’s remember, this unit can also be used with Serato DJ, Algoriddim djay pro ai, and Virtual DJ.
However, if you’re someone that is interested in a more elegant and intuitive standalone experience with a ton of compatibility and a wide array of different connectible aspects to it (all at a cheaper price than its bigger brother, the SC6000 Prime) then the Denon DJ LC6000 is definitely worth checking out.
No, of course, they aren’t the cheapest products in the world, and “affordability” can certainly be a nebulous term from person to person.
However, if you already are established, or currently want to expand your setup, the LC6000 Prime from Denon DJ is a great option that is still cheaper than all of its other contemporaries, which is certainly saying something.
Great job Denon DJ, onwards and upwards!
