Pioneer DJM-850 - WTF?

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   Ok, just got one of these gems on the workbench. The owner reckons that it never worked properly from new -  so why he never returned it to the supplier is beyond me, but he does have/run several venues, so there ya go...   

What I noticed immediately is that the XLR outs are not working properly - PIN 2, supposedly hot, is not giving anything, while PIN 3 is severely limited (to about 0,5v) and distorts badly on the positive cycle when pushed (same on both channels). Meanwhile, all the other outs work fine. I found the schematics and am working through the circuit - but the friggin´ sms devices are driving me mad.

Anyway - what really got me posting this, was that the desk seems to have some serious phasing problems. I wanted to check whether PIN 3 really was cold, so plugged in a signal generator and compared the input and output. To my surprise, varying the frequency showed some serious phasing problems. Is that normal? Are these desks a piece of shit? Am I wasting my time and destroying my eyesight for nothing?

Any comments?

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Earplug Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 03 January 2012 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 7216	Post Options Post Reply Quote Earplug Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Pioneer DJM-850 - WTF? Posted: 01 October 2014 at 7:10pm
	Ok, just got one of these gems on the workbench. The owner reckons that it never worked properly from new - so why he never returned it to the supplier is beyond me, but he does have/run several venues, so there ya go... What I noticed immediately is that the XLR outs are not working properly - PIN 2, supposedly hot, is not giving anything, while PIN 3 is severely limited (to about 0,5v) and distorts badly on the positive cycle when pushed (same on both channels). Meanwhile, all the other outs work fine. I found the schematics and am working through the circuit - but the friggin´ sms devices are driving me mad. Anyway - what really got me posting this, was that the desk seems to have some serious phasing problems. I wanted to check whether PIN 3 really was cold, so plugged in a signal generator and compared the input and output. To my surprise, varying the frequency showed some serious phasing problems. Is that normal? Are these desks a piece of shit? Am I wasting my time and destroying my eyesight for nothing? Any comments?
	Earplugs Are For Wimps!

geoSal Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 05 July 2011 Location: THESSALONIKI Status: Offline Points: 338	Post Options Post Reply Quote geoSal Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 October 2014 at 9:57pm
	my guess is that perhaps someone ran 48volts phantom into its xlr outputs and fried them.Xlr are the only outs on the mixer that phantom can pass through. We had a similar problem with a pioneer 600 which is indeed a piece of shit.Same with and A&H 92 which distorts before even clipping on the outputs.Usually someone plugs mixers in a small desk which carries some active di's or mics that need phantom power.Without notice the mixer sends 48v to all the mic inputs and there you go.. As I said that is just my guess.

kedwardsleisure Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 20 January 2009 Location: Staffordshire Status: Offline Points: 4946	Post Options Post Reply Quote kedwardsleisure Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 October 2014 at 10:50pm
	the djm is a digital desk isn't it so I suppose you're going to get some minor latency when scoping in and out. It's a pretty standard club mixer in these parts and I've never noticed any problems on the bench or in use, and I've had quite a few beered and blown. But it's complicated so I guess you could get some pretty weird faults given the signal paths. Edited by kedwardsleisure - 01 October 2014 at 10:51pm
	Kevin North Staffordshire

Earplug Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 03 January 2012 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 7216	Post Options Post Reply Quote Earplug Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 October 2014 at 9:55am
	Yes, I suppose latency could explain some of that, but all the shifting about seemed extreme. It did make me wonder if there wasn´t something (fundamentally) wrong further down the line than just the XLR output circuitry.
	Earplugs Are For Wimps!

Tarkovsky Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Young Croc Joined: 30 June 2011 Location: Limehouse (LDN) Status: Offline Points: 513	Post Options Post Reply Quote Tarkovsky Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 October 2014 at 11:14am
	I can confirm that the DJM800, DJM850 and the DJM900 'don't have it'. I was really dissapointed by the DJM-900 as I had been considering getting one on stock, as DJs do ask for them. I'd hoped, perhaps foolishly, that pioneer might've upped their game a bit. I've yet to hear a 2000, but I'm presuming much the same. Basically they're a big box of blinking lights designed to amuse the user more than the crowd, because it's not the listeners who buy them. AH have a laughable reputation for sounding better amoungst DJs. On experience they're just as bad, if a bit harder to clip. They all belong in toys r us, or a skip.