Magix Digital DJ2 review

Version 2 of Digital DJ - a cut-down edition of Image-Line's acclaimed Deckadance - doesn't introduce a huge number of new features, but it nonetheless maintains its position as arguably the best software DJ system in its price bracket.

What's more, the handful of additions should still be enough to entice existing users to upgrade.

All the fundamental things that we loved about Digital DJ the first time round are still in place, of course - the excellent auto beat-matching, the three-band EQ, the X/Y pad-controlled effects, the Relooper and so on are all still present and correct. And functionally, throwing together perfectly synced mixes with the mouse is as straightforward as it ever was. It wasn't broke, so Magix and Image-Line haven't fixed it - and we're happy about that.

Of the new features, the support for a wide range of DJ controllers from the likes of Allen & Heath, Numark, Behringer et al (the full list is on the Magix site) has to be the biggest. It brings authentic hands-on control to the party and genuinely elevates the software to 'pro' status.

Editable GM controller support still requires upgrading to Deckadance, which smarts a little, but at least owners of many dedicated DJ control surfaces are now catered for.

The new Snap buttons simply snap loops and cue point positions to the beat, which is every bit as useful as it sounds. Meanwhile, the new Quant function enables seamless jumping between cue points.

Finally, the new Song Manager remakes the previous rather button-heavy playlist and track management system as a proper databased browser. And the number of samples available in the sampler has been doubled to 128, although you still can't import your own.