REVIEW: The Future with Phase

REVIEW: The Future with Phase

Phase has been a HUGE advancement in the DJ community since it finally came out in 2019.

There are plenty of benefits to mixing on your turntables without needles, but as with everything, there are some setbacks as well. I've been using the Phase since it came out and I've got some thoughts on it now 4 years later.

The most common way to purchase the Phase is the Phase Essential bundle which comes with two remotes, a receiver, a few magnetic strips, RCA Cables and a USB cable. Phase also now sells remotes individually (although you won't get too far without that receiver!) and a carrying case that is pretty important with keeping your Phase unit safe. Just to start out, let me explain what each does and why it's important to one another. The remotes are what you put on the platters and records using those magnetic strips. They magnetize to the record allowing to stick in place when your scratching and mixing. The remotes are what reads the record's position and relays that back to receiver which then transmits it into the computer to tell your DJ program where the track should be in relation to the remote. This is what gives that feel of using needles and has great feedback between one another with very little latency in between the two (unlike some DVS Setups running with needles).

Setting up the Phase is very simple too. Once it's unboxed, all you need to do is place the remotes inside of the receiver, plug the USB into your computer and the receiver and it'll ask you to install Phase Manager. Phase Manager is your one-stop shop for keeping everything up-to-date with the pieces of the Phase. It will allow you to update each piece of hardware so it's always the best it can be and you can even change the colors of the remotes and receiver to match your own aesthetic. The program is really simple to navigate but has a ton of stuff to look at to really dive in and set everything to your liking. After that's setup, you can plug in the RCA's to your Phono/Line Inputs in your mixer and then plug them into the back of the receiver (although if you're using an updated version of Serato DJ Pro, you can now use the Phase without needing to plug any RCA's in at all! Just plug the USB in and plug your power cable of your turntables in and you're good to go!).

Some of the negatives I've seen during my time with the Phase is that sometimes the units can be very finnicky. There are times that I've plugged my Phase in to charge before a gig, only to realize later that I didn't set the remotes in right leading to the lights being on but not really charging.So I'll show up to my 6 hour gig with only 20% left on my battery life. Luckily the units charge pretty quickly but it can be a bit stressful to balance the using the Phase and letting them charge when you're actively at a gig. Another issue I've ran into a few times is that the remotes will sometimes fault out and not read the position of the record. You'll notice it by the remote changing from whatever color you set to a white color. That means the connection has been lost and you need to put it back in the receiver and reset it. If you're familiar with the Phase Manager, it can be a quick fix but if this is only your 4th or 5th time with it and it happens it can be very nerve-wracking as now you're down to one platter if you don't know how to fix it.

As I mentioned before, those negatives are definitely fixable once you get comfortable with your Phase. The positives definitely outweigh those negatives though. There are so many ways that the Phase has helped make everything easier as a DJ who's out on the road doing events all over the place. I'm not worried as much about my needles getting moved incorrectly in my bag or that random debris from the wind blowing stuff onto my needles and ruining my set. I just charge the Phase beforehand (which the battery lasts about 10 hours and 2 hours to fully charge from it being dead) and I'm good to rock and roll! I've been able to perform in terrible weather conditions and not worry about anything. One time, it was too windy for my records to be on the turntables without flying off and I put the phase directly onto the platters and it still worked! So many ways to be creative and not be limited to the past. The set up is incredibly easy and I get probably the closest feel of DJing on true vinyl with no latency using the Phase in wireless mode on Serato DJ Pro

Too many great things to say about the Phase honestly. I've had a great experience using it and any problems I run into is just a simple tutorial away for me to fix it. Like any product, it is a benefit to actually sit and read the material that comes with your product so that way you can learn all the in's and out's. Phase has made it very easy for DJ's to get up and running for any event and on any turntable set up!

 

Check out the Phase on the Astro Website and come into the shop to demo it!