Denon DJ Prime 4+ Brings A Fresh Look (& A Mystery New Feature…)

Denon DJ has today announced the Prime 4+, a replacement for its popular Prime 4 standalone DJ controller. While it shares the same basic design and build as its predecessor, the Prime 4+ improves on it in lots of ways…with potentially the biggest feature of all hinted at, but currently under wraps.

What’s changed

The Prime 4+ is the same physical design as the original, with even the same paint job, although some glossy parts are now matt, the feet and some key knobs are now black not silver, and overall it has been “toned down” from the Prime 4, feeling more sober and grown up than its (some people felt) garish predecessor.

For instance, gone are the bright green and blue lights, to be replaced by the more modern white/blue/orange livery preferred by recent Engine DJ units like the Numark Mixstreams. Another change is it now has rubberised (but still “clicky”) play/pause and cue buttons, differing from the plastic ones on the Prime 4. And yet another is the jogwheels are just a little bit bigger on the top surface.

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When it comes to functions, the only change announced so far is that the unit works with Amazon’s music streaming service alongside Tidal, Beatport, Beatsource and SoundCloud. However, Denon DJ has strongly hinted at a big new feature, to be announced soon, that will ONLY come to the Prime 4+. This may well turn out to be the real story here, so watch this space for that!

Full features list

Here is a full list of the features on the Prime 4+, all of which are identical to the features of the original Prime 4:

• 4-Deck standalone DJ controller for computer-free DJ performances
• 10.1-inch HD multi-touch display
• Wi-Fi music streaming for access to millions of tracks from Amazon Music Unlimited, Tidal, Beatsource, Beatport, Soundcloud GO+, Dropbox
• Embedded sampler with 16 pad-triggered sample slots, volume control, and output routing
• Touch FX for interactive touchscreen audio manipulation
• 26 Main FX with OLED displays and parameter controls
• 4 dynamic, knob-controlled Sweep FX (can be combined with Main FX)
• Embedded lighting control for automatic and customised DMX, Philips Hue, and Nanoleaf light shows

• 4 USB and 1 SD media inputs for music playback
• Engine Remote Desktop for wireless access to computer-based music library
• On-board song analysis for streaming tracks and saved media
• 16 performance pads with Hot Cue, Saved Loop, Auto Loop, Roll, Sampler, Slicer, and Slicer Loop modes
• Rugged metal chassis and steel knob stems
• Dedicated XLR Zone output with EQ and volume control for sending playlists and tracks to a separate room
• Built-in 2.5-inch SATA drive bay to store music on-board
• 6-inch metal jog wheel with expanded touch surface, assignable colour, and centre HD displays for album art
• 4 assignable input channels for Line/Phono external media sources
• 2 dedicated 1⁄4″ XLR combination inputs for microphones with level, EQ, Talkover, and Echo controls

• Internal audio recorder for capturing live performances
• Fully customisable crossfader with curve control knob, channel assignment switches, and Fader Start
• StagelinQ connection for Event/Pro DJ lighting and video control
• Plays uncompressed audio formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV)
• Crisp 24-bit Denon DJ legacy audio
• USB keyboard support
• Computer Mode for use as a controller for Serato DJ Pro (hardware unlocks) and VirtualDJ (licence required)

Read this next: Engine DJ 3.1 Brings Touch FX, Smart Playlists & More…

The Denon DJ Prime 4+ will be available starting 29 June for $2199/€2599/£2299.