Ask me anything: X1 MK3

Wow thats a lot of questions, let me try to get into it one by one.

• We chose 4 cue points as our research has show that 4 or less hotcues are most commonly used by our users. But we added options to access cuepoints 5-8 on the shift layer. That said, we want to listen to our users on this and see if there are any patterns how DJs would like to customize their X1 MK3 and then add these customization options to be easily accessible in the new X1 MK3 preferences.
• We tweaked the contrast between dim and on state to a maximum here exactly for this daylight usecase. With some controllers it is difficult to differentiate if a button is on or off in daylight. Here we tried to keep the dim state dark but readible enough and the on state as bright as possible. Also the black buttons help here as they do not catch the light as much as a bright button and the black surface gives more contrast to a brightly backlit surface.
• Daylight mode for the displays is not part of the initial release but if it turns out to be a highly requested feature, i would not rule it out to come to the X1 at some point.
• We decided for multiple small screens to allow us to give contextual information as close to the actual controls as possible.
• So far you will be able to see the track infos, track progress, assigned deck, loop size, and remaining time on the track displays. If you prefer to see elapsed time instead of remaining or if you prefer to see a big loop size and just have the progress bar as track position indicator, you can easily tweak this from the new preferences. As with the points above, nothing is holding us back from offering more options here over time if the community will as for it. What kind of information would be most important for you to see?
• The aluminum stands have been discontinued for a while because we got the feedback that users didnt like them too much as they added significant weight (and sharp corners) to the product when transporting. The bag in the video was an early prototype so the stability has been further improved on that one and we hope to be able to release it soon as well.
• We call controllers like the X1, F1 and Z1 modular as you can assemble them like modules to build your complete setup or to add a module like the X1 to an already existing setup in between mixer and turntables or CDJs.
• The mixer mode has been integrated based on user feedback. In research we have learned, that a lot of users are downloading mixer layouts for their X1 MK1s and MK2s. To make this more accessible to everybody without the need to understand how our controller manager works, we added this mapping to be part of the default mapping. As with all points above, nothing stops us on further developing these mappings and adding controls if needed.
• An audio interface has not been added due to the fact that X1 is mainly used in setups where an audio interface is already in place and the X1 MK1 and MK2 mixer mapping scenarios that we have seen have more been in the context of a fun afterhour or casually listening to music in a park. Here the main audio would be coming out of the laptop or speakers connected to the laptop without the need to prelisten. Another scenario was was set preparation scenario on the go where DJs want to test some mixes while e.g. on the train. Here there is also no audio interface needed as the DJ would only have headphones connected for listening to their testmixes. And the last reason was cost. We didnt want to have all users of the X1 MK3 to pay for a feature which only a small fraction of users will be making use off as the X1 mixer usecase is afteral still a small side usecase compared to its main Playback, Browse and FX focus.
• USB hub is 2.0