DJM 450 sound quality at par with DJM 900nxs2?

There are slight variations between the specs of the two units, the D/A converters (32bit 900NXS2 vs 24bit 450) for example. However, seeing as how there's a significant price difference between between the two models so there are bound to be internal differences. That said, the DJM450 is great unit for the price.

Hi, thanks for your answer. I've listened to the DJM 900nxs2, and from the headphone jack it sounds better than an iPhone 6 but not as good as my $1,000 portable music player.

I went to the DJ store with: the Chord Hugo portable DAC ($2,000); the Chord Mojo portable DAC ($600); the Cowon P1 portable music player ($1,000) and my iPhone 6. The DJM 900nxs2 was fed digitally by a CDJ 2000nxs2. I listened to the same lossless tracks with my custom in-ear monitors. 

The Hugo and Mojo destroyed the DJM 900nxs2. Much more transparency, punchier dynamics, better sense of rhythm and musicality. It was a closer call with the Cowon P1 - but the Cowon sounded more balanced and refined. However the DJM 900nxs2 sounded better than the iPhone: obviously more power, but also more authoritative bass, and slightly more refined treble.

Overall the DJM 900nxs2 is a decent (not great) sounding table, with a clear signal, solid sound and good dynamics, though not audiophile-grade. It is a big step-up from the previous generation, which sounded terrible.

Interestingly, when fed with a XDJ 1000mk2 with analog cables (that player does not have a digital output) the DJM 900nxs2 sounded notably thinner. This does suggest that Pioneer is using lower audio components on mid-end products.

Adrien

@Adrien

Thanks for the detailed review.  Were you able to check the actual master out rather than the headphone jack? I presume the signal path for the headphones isn't as pure as the master? Hopefully the master output sounds better.  I've never played on a NXS2, but the original DJM900 does sound worse than say a Xone 92. From what I've heard the NXS2 is a huge leap up..?

Also, you mentioned your XDJ 1000 mk2 doesn't have digital outs. It actually does, perhaps you were using the original XDJ? 

@Henry J

I only tried the jack output. It would be a shame if it is inferior to the master as many DJs have their earphones on most of the time. The jack output of the NXS2 sounded much better than that of the DJM900.

I did try the original XDJ. Since the XDJ MK2 has digital out it probably will sound better via optical than via analog connections since its internal DAC will  be bypassed. There is actually no reasons why it would sound less good than a CDJ 2000 connected via optical actually!