I have to say I was a bit skeptical purchasing any DVS system as, tried, trusted and true vinyl records always performed as expected without issue. And with a couple of Shure M44-7 needles, needle skipping was a non-issue.
That said, after a few calibration issues with Reloop Spin2+, after a reinstall, I am impressed. I had Reloop running on a desktop, Vista Home Premium, 2GB RAM, and it was flawless, but that was to be expected. Before running out and getting a new laptop, I was just curious, and ressurected an old Dell laptop running XP with 384MB of RAM. I have to honestly report that there is zero latency and Reloop has been running glitch free.
All faderless scratches are on point, and the sound is almost like the real thing. At low volumes there is the constant whine of the time code signal, but all that really signifies to me is that it is working as it should. Hell, it is a great scratch sample.
The initial configuration was an issue. Turntable 2 had 100% timecode signal but no response from the virtual deck. It seemed as though the output port from the 4x4 Reloop Midi/soundcard was not working. No matter what I did, I only got a response from Turnatble 1. Uninstalled and reinstalled, and it worked right away the second time around. Oddly enough, it worked immediately on the old Dell. Go figure.
For a live performance though I wouldn't put any trust in the somewhat overheated and probably soon to die Dell, but as far as the Reloop software performance goes, there are no complaints.
System Spec
2 X Citronic PD-45 Ultima Turntables (4.8 Kg start up torque - whatever it really is, it is strong)
1 X Reloop IQ2+ Mixer
1 X Reloop Spin 2+
Laptop (XP)/Desktop(Vista Home Premium)
The Reloop IQ2+ Mixer is great, except for the digital artifacts that is painfully apparent when using the 3 crossfader effects. When the fader cuts in, there is a very audible pop/click/feedback from the speakers. There doesn't seem to be any way around this as it has nothing to do with the tables or the speakers. It is the only noice introduced by the mixer. I will play around with it some more, but it seems as though it is a 'bleed in' of the other track. This is not an issue however on orbits and crab scratches as full audio is expected on a slight cut in, and in any case I am scratching vocals/samples. There is no noise introduced anyway, so it has to be an issue with the digital processor manipulating the signal to achieve the effect and introducing the only flaw I have noticed.
Well done Reloop Crew.
Dj Leroy West
NYC, USA / Malmo, Sweden
