Numark Announces NS6II 4-Channel Serato DJ Controller

Numark just revealed the Numark NS6II, a revamped version of its much-loved original NS6 (review here) from way back in 2011. The NS6II comes with a whole host of desirable features, such as dual laptop use, two high-res in-jog displays and touch-sensitive knobs for more expressive DJing.

The standout features for us are the two USB inputs and the built-in 2in high-res display screens on the platters. The former allows you to hook up two laptops simultaneously, enabling seamless back-to-back performances and changeovers between DJs in the booth – something unknown at this price point. The latter allows you to monitor BPM, platter position, time remaining, pitch adjustment and keylock, keeping you focused on the job at hand and minimising the risk of contracting the dreaded “Facebook face” mid-set.

Numark claims further improvement on its “intelligent and self-correcting” platters, designed to offer good performance in all environments (a bugbear with touch-sensitive platters is that their sensitivity can vary, rendering them harder to use in certain circumstances). Moreover, Numark’s touch technology has been added to the NS6II’s EQ and FX knobs, allowing for spontaneous usage of effects and the ability to kill an EQ band with touch; a pretty neat feature, we think.

The MPC performance pads gives you quick access to hot cues, loop functions, a sampler and a slicer. Each function doubles-up with sub functions, giving you 16 velocity-sensitive pads to get creative with.

The NS6II also functions as a standalone mixer and each of the NS6II’s four channels is served by its own filter and effects knob, pushing out 24-bit quality sound, and is Serato DVS ready. On the front, the controller has: two dedicated mic inputs (good for mobile DJs of course), an always-appreciated split cue function for the headphones, with balanced XLR outputs and RCA booth and master outputs at the rear.

The Pioneer DJ DDJ-SX and lately the DDJ-SX2 have bossed this part of the market in recent years, but the high spec, seemingly great build quality, and genuinely useful innovations (dual USB is a big one, we feel) of the NS6II will certainly provide food for thought for those on the lookout for a four-channel Serato controller this year.

Promo video

• The NS6II will be released in Summer 2017, retailing at US$799 (the earlier $699 price was a Numark PR error). We’ll bring you a review as soon as we can, but in the meantime, find out more on the Numark website.

Are you excited by the NS6II’s new features? Would you consider replacing your controller with the NS6II? Let us know your thoughts in the comments…