Honestly - DDJS1 vs CDJ900+DJM700

I recently downgrade (upgrade?) from CDJ-900 + DJM-700 to DDJ-T1. The cash that I got from selling them I use it to buy DDJ-T1 + Dell XPS 15 (Highend spec, Core i7, 8gb ram, fullhd display etc). T1 uses Traktor (not Serato as with S1). But you'll get the idea.

1) I never used CDs ever since I bought the CDJs. Been only using MP3 with external HDD via rekordbox. Traktor mainly uses MP3 but there's always the laptop dvd drive if you need to use cd.

2) CDJ + DJM are cumbersome for travelling (I don't have a flightcase and they are expensive). DDJ + laptop is super portable. Great for house parties.

3) After selling off my cdj and djm, i now have a DDJ and a supercool laptop which i can use for other purposes other than djing.

4) Traktor has abundance of effects. Potentially more with software updates.

5) Waveforms looks cooler on traktor than on cdj.

6) Traktor can be customised/configured to your likings.

7) Snap and quantize features works great (for newbies), proud professional DJs must stay away from this features.

It's heart breaking for me to migrate from cdj to ddj. I always thought that its cool to have CDJs at your home to impress your friends compare to having a controller and a laptop. But i got over it and i have no regrets since. Hope this'll give you some idea.

@Pete > Quite simple, you want to use a turntable, you'll need to go with the CDJ/DJM option; the S1 doesn't have a phono pre-amp and its auxiliary input can't be monitored as a proper third source (think of it more as a "thru").

Thanks for your comments guys

@sa daniel - Thanks very much for that info and context. I'm in a similar position re: feeling I need to have CDJs cause that's all I've used most of my life, and going to a controller feels like a downgrade - EVEN though I know how amazing the controllers are these days.

I'm going into store to have a last play with both and will hopefully ultimately decide. I already have a laptop (Macbook)

@Pulse, I'm basically trying to work out if I would even need a turn table - if the DDJS1 is good enough, maybe I could decommission it :)

Do you guys feel there is something I COULDN'T do on the controller that I can do on the 900s? as in effects, savings loops, spinning etc?

in my opinion, other than a bigger jog dial on the 900s, ddj beats it in every way. more (better) effects, loop recorder, better song browser, customize waveforms, etc. also you need to understand that ddj controls the software on your computer. it didn't actually "process" it. so any actions will involve the controller communicating with the computer. Look up for any discussion regarding "latency" in the forum.