Source: Reloop / Reloop
Change is inevitable. For DJ’s, the switch from analog (think: heavy…very heavy vinyl) to digital mixing has been a godsend to everyone in their orbit—except their chiropractors.
However, high-end DJ equipment has always been known for lasting for years, which presents a problem when you have a cherished mixer you ain’t trying to give up. (My Technics mixer used to be top of the line, damn it). Enter the Reloop Flux which basically allows any OG mixer the ability to use Serato to your heart’s content. In tech speak, it’s the “next-generation USB-C interface for using Serato DJ Pro with turntables, CDJs or other media players.”
Source: aqua / Hip-Hop Wired
For background, this mission started when I was tasked with DJ’ing at my college reunion weekend (shout out to UVA’s Black Alumni Weekend, Wahoowa!) and figured it would behoove me to get really acquainted with Serato in advance. Since my essential retirement from DJ’ing (more years than I’ll admit) years ago, I was always curious about that little device you would see connected to the back of mixers that connected to a laptop and pretty much deaded the necessity to lug around crates filled with records. Any skepticism of this new DJ paradigm was eventually and essentially dismissed when the great DJ Jazzy Jeff embraced the tech that made telling the difference between a DJ rocking a party with vinyl versus digital music files an impossibility.
But doing my Googles to see what was available to get back in the DJ saddle quickly turned into information overload. There are what seems like hundreds of products on the market that include mixers, turntables, CDJs and all types of hardware that make the old “two turntables and a mic” (and a mixer) look like a history museum installation.
Source: aqua / Hip-Hop Wired
So with no desire to drop hundreds of dollars on one of those pricey, Serato-ready mixers—for now—I figured that mixer thing-a-ma-jig (called an interface) that connected to a laptop would be easy, right? Not really. It turns out all the previous models (the RANE SL range, the Denon DS1, etc.) have gone the way of the Dodo bird and were discontinued. But, what is still on the market—and is actually relatively new since it was only released in 2023—is the Reloop Flux, and it makes for a clutch hub for a Digital Vinyl System (DVS) interface.
The good folks at Reloop were kind enough to provide a review model to Hip-Hop Wired, and the Flux checks all the boxes needed to get an old DJ back in the mix. Installation was relatively simple, and if you know your way around phono, line jacks and RCA chords, getting connected is a breeze. And even if you don’t, the instructions are right there on YouTube.
Once you’re set up and Serato DJ Pro is running, the intuitiveness of the hardware and software combo is evident. The hardware is bus-powered, so once you plug it into your laptop, it lights up—there are signal flow LEDs for all inputs and outputs as well as a thru status indicator. It also has an AUX outlet to let you record your mixes, and there are three stereo inputs and outlets, which let you run a third turntable or media player if you’re nice like that. And if you want to get extra technical, it features 24-bit/96 kHz, high-quality digital/analog converters and ultra-low latency, which makes for club-quality sound.
Source: aqua / Hip-Hop Wired
The true beauty of the product is that after it’s plugged in, you can forget about it since it’s doing everything it needs to do. If your music collection is legit, you now have access to all your tunes via Serato DJ Pro, without having to rifle through your crates to get to that piece of wax; a simple search will suffice. And even if you don’t have that deep cut on MP3, you can click a passthrough button on the Flux that will let you play your conventional vinyl as well. Or, if you have a Tidal account, Serato lets you access the app’s entire music library—that’s just cheating.
With that in mind, the Reloop Flux is buttery smooth gateway for anyone trying to dip back into the DJ waters without breaking the bank. It retails for $449 and is a worthy investment that bridges the gap between the past and the future for you to get busy right now.