Cortex HDC-1000 MP3 player

Cortex HDC-1000

Sound

CORTEX HDC-1000 MP3 player

products, sound, january 2007, COMMENTS

Regular NIGHT readers will know that DJ technology is changing rapidly and led by mass-market buying trends. This has seen us churn through vinyl, onto CD and the next leap sees us move onto computers with MP3s. Or does it?

It’s all very well holding an entire music collection on a computer hard drive, USB memory stick, and even portable audio players, but DJs want to play the tunes with the least amount of bother and with maximum stability. Other than the select few who are either IT whizzes, or have the touch of god, there’s a fatal flaw in our current format leap - the computer!

Love them or hate them, they have been holding back the explosion of the MP3 format in the DJing circuit for a number of reasons. To be fair plenty of DJs are ably running laptop systems without a hitch, but Cortex are about to change everything.

NEW FORMAT

Until recently the computer was the only place to take advantage of the MP3 revolution. MP3 CD players are available, but they still lack the flexibility of hard drive technology and rely on a somewhat delicate medium.

In the same way hard drives removed the need to carry around stacks of CDs, Cortex’s new HDC-1000 is going to free our MP3s from the computer and the awkward CD format.

This puts the computer back in its place: connected to the net to download the latest tunes, cataloguing and organising your music collection, doing the accounts in Excel and playing computer games!

The HDC-1000 is aimed squarely at the club market and the professional mobile DJs. For clubs, it offers a single playback device that any DJ can use. Simply plug in your iPod, hard drive, or any USB memory device and you’re away. It will even work with a pair of DAE compatible CD/DVD ROM drives for those one-off moments. There’s no need to invest in an expensive laptop, worry about having the right software updates, or needing to learn a whole new way of mixing via a mouse and computer keyboard, because the Cortex is a simple and familiar dual CD style player.

DATA BASE

The cortex uses a database stored on each device to quickly identify tracks stored within. Tracks can be found without physically searching through all the raw data every time, it simply queries the database. And for iPod users, the Cortex is compatible with iTunes’ playlists too. Currently, music from iTunes’ Music Store isnot compatible with the Cortex, but an update should be available in January with all new units being compatible.

The Cortex gives the option to create its database when you first insert a device, though DJs can still locate and play tracks without doing so. For small devices, creating the database is pretty rapid, but for much larger collections we recommend downloading their free database creation software (available for Mac and PC). With a fully prep’d collection, the search function enables DJs to scroll through Genre, Album, Song, or simply browse a predefined folder structure. There’s also a String search feature to input even just small parts of a song name, or a selection of words to search for. However, this can be a little awkward as letters must be scrolled in with the jog wheel, which is fiddly and time consuming.

UP TO DATE

During our review a new Firmware was made available which added features to the HDC-1000. The update not only improved MP3 compatibility (with Variable Bit Rate support), it also added the Spanish language as an option and improved the play start time to the relatively low 15ms. Significantly, it also added support for computer keyboards.

We plugged in a wireless keyboard expecting to trip up the system but it worked fine and made searching for tracks a breeze. At any time, simply start typing and the Cortex is ready to search.

The keyboard can also control player features such as tabbing from left to right deck (active deck is indicated on the Cortex screen with a small ‘k’); menu direction pad and enter; pitch bend; accessing modes, menus and even cueing and playback. We put some luminous stickers on the keyboard to identify the features, which made it even easier to use.

One thing the update can't bring, which is one of the key advantages of using a computer is a bigger screen. The HDC-1000 has just four lines of text and there's about enough space (width-wise) for three to four weeks. The screen is also recessed so needs to be viewed straight-on to avoid cropping - at 45 degrees back and you're down to three lines so it needs be mounted correctly. Cunningly, Cortex have included 45 degree rack extension which tilts the unit back if your current racks are vertically aligned.

DJs aren't always sure of exactly what to play next and, similar to rifling through a case of CDs or vinyl, MP3 DJs have been used to browsing massive list of tracks on a computer screen. The Cortex is a little uninspiring in this department, as are other MP3 CD players, but this is the only price we pay for the improved convenience and stability that the unit offers.

IN THE MIX

Powering up the unit takes about eight seconds and then both screens beckon you to plug in some tunes. Up to four units can be used at once and accessed for playback at any given time.
There’s a USB plug on the front for quick access, but we also tried out the Cortex with a powered USB hub connected at the back and tried a combination of USB flash memory sticks, mini hard drives, iPods and full-on large capacity drives, which all worked fine.

Being a rack unit, the Cortex is designed to be installed, but the use of a USB hub can give easier access in an installation and multiple ports allow DJs to follow on from each other seamlessly because drives can be swapped during a set.

We half expected the jog wheels to be touch sensitive, but they are not. The HDC-1000 playback features are pretty bog standard in fact. There’s no looping, time stretching or effects. It’s simply a playback device with pitch control and that’s it.

But the few features available work exquisitely well. Most aspects of the unit can be fine tuned. Pitch range is adjustable between four and 24 percent. At the lowest setting the pitch is adjusted in fine increments of 0.05% and the non-indented pitch fader is smooth and well built.

Pitch bending has dedicated buttons with variable intensity. Pressing both at once activates or deactivates the pitch control entirely. The jog wheel also has different modes - for scanning through tracks and also bending the pitch.

As previously mentioned, the cue and start times were a little bit slower than other CD players, which was fixed with the update, but it could still do with a few more milliseconds being shaved off the start time.

Finding a cue point is easy and these can be stored to your disc, which is a significant advantage over CD decks as the info is stored with the music.

There’s the usual setting for viewing track elapsed or remaining time, single continuous and even random shuffle mode. But that just about covers it.

SOLID AS A ROCK

We’re not saying the Cortex is completely crash proof, though we’ve not experienced any glitches in our tests, but in our opinion, it’s far less likely to suffer from issues such as skipping CDs, or compact disc read errors. Solid state memory is far more convenient and rugged than discs.

There’s a big race on at the moment to build these types of players; with Numark and Denon set to launch versions early next year. Cortex have created a benchmark with the HDC-1000 for its unexpected mix of flexibility while still retaining simplicity and stability in a digital stage.

From: January 2007 Issue

Subscribe to NIGHT magazine

www.cortex-pro.com