Hot! Used this unit for the first time at a gig this past weekend. These units are off the chain! The touch sensitive jog wheel gives you a better "grip" and feel than the CDJ 1000 plus the effects are a whole lot easier to access. I've been in this game since the "block party days" of '78 in NYC. Numark has really done it this time. I strongly recommend the axis 9. This machine will make even the most dedicated vinyl-dj (I was one of them) want to convert!

It has taken me many months to decide on the deck for me. Everywhere I went they all said to get the pioneer cdj800. But I wanted something different. I finally ordered a pair of these. Stunning. The best deck I have used in 6 years. Simple effective layout. Denon series are overcomplex, and great FX. The touch sensitive wheel is pure genius. The vinyls are relegated to the corner. These are just sweet.

The Axis-9's are wonderful players. They're light, narrow, and have every possible feature you could dream of. It has two automatic, adjustable loops, loads of effects, 100% pitch, bpm, and even dump (like a bleep for explicit lyrics). However, I have three contentions with this player, which drop the overall value:1) the screen- they don't make these players in blue anymore. Instead, they're a light red with dark red text. This REALLY strains your eyes, you have to look at it for a while, and it has this glaring effect. One of those things you have to see. People that I've used it with have said the same thing.2) the design- this player looks very simple, but does so much. The fact that half of functions, like changing pitch range, loop end points, and modes are associated with the program button is a little time consuming and tedious. Numark created a lot of empty space on this player, and jammed a lot of important buttons into the upper corners, which is inconvenient. A more spread out design would be easier- think of this like a CDN-90 with slightly larger buttons and spread out over an enormous area.3) cue setup- most players have a play and cue button- with pushing play pausing the player. The Axis 9's have a cue, a pause, and a play. What makes this difficult to transition to is the fact that pausing the player and hitting play again creates a new cue point. Unless I've been using them wrong, it seems that the only way to "temporarily" pause is to go to scratch mode and stop the music manually. All in all, these are great players. They do everything- they have multiple loops, have decent scratching, tons of effects, master tempo, loop adjustment, cue point storage, and more. However, my greatest recommendation would be to buy them online (for a free shipping deal and no tax), but go to a Guitar Center or music store in your area to really try them out. Many are satisfied by their design, and many hate them. I actually didn't buy them because of their design, but that doesn't mean that they're bad players. Read the reviews, but get a personal feel for them and see if they're right for you!