The idea of an ultra portable, minimalist all-in-one DJ setup is not a new one. Way back when, we had the now classic piece of a esoteric DJ gear, the Pacemaker, as well as the JD Sound PDJ (AKA the Monster GO-DJ). Both were ahead of their times, with the PDJ suffering from underdeveloped UI and the Pacemaker just offering a concept beyond what users were ready for.
Now, a company called Drift has a new idea coming to life in the Zero, a tiny all-in-one DJ controller that looks to be a mixing equivalent of a portablist turntable. The device has a small OLED screen, basic mixer section, and a single jog wheel style encoder, as well as some minimalist buttons for stuff like transport. There isn’t even any markings on the controls.
You can read the specs straight from their website here:
Playback Signal Path
- Channel Gain +24dB / -∞dB
- Cue Mute
- Cue Gain +24dB
- 3-Band EQ +12dB / -∞dB Per Band
- Effects (Delay/Reverb/Flange)
Digital Audio Data Rates
- Input/ADC: 24-bit Integer/44.1kHz
- Internal DSP Path: 64-bit Double-Precision/2-4x upsample
- Analog Output: 16-bit Dithered (@DACs)/44.1kHz
- USB Class-Compliant Audio I/O: 16-bit/44.1kHz
- Internal Recorder: 16-bit/44.1kHz
Audio Output
- 2 Stereo Outputs/4 Mono Outputs
- Switchable Line/Headphone Signal Strength
- SNR: 112dB
Audio Input
- 2 Stereo Inputs/4 Mono Inputs
- Input gain: -12dB / +32dB
- SNR: 110dB
- Min/Max Voltage: -1.7V – +5V
Clock I/O
- DIN Sync In+Out (via MIDI/DIN Sync adapter)
- Configurable PPQN Steady-State Signal
- Configurable Note-Value Trigger Pulse (1/16, 1/16T, 1/8, etc.)
USB-C
- Battery Charge Input
- USB Mass Storage Device
- USB Serial TTY Port
- LLDB Debug Port
- USB-C capability specs will grow over Zero’s lifetime
Display
- 128×64 pixel sunlight-readable OLED
- 60 Hz refresh rate
Hardware+OS
- 32GB eMMC drive
- 256 MB DDR3L RAM
- Linux 6 kernel
Power
- Target Capacity: ~3000 mAh
- Final LiPoly battery specs pending CE certificatio
Form-factor
- 6.2” x 3.2” x 1.43”
- 0.234 kg
- 8.2 oz
- ABS high-impact enclosure, knobs, fader caps
- Weight/dimension specs may vary slightly before launch
My thoughts
At first glance, I thought $125 for something like this was a great approachable value, but then realised it’s just the initial deposit. The actual $500 price tag is just… ouch. Unfortunately it’s the main thing that jumps out at you. That’s a big lump to dish out, and there’s a lot of limitations on the hardware for the price. It’s a low resolution OLED screen, and only has one deck of transport controls. The manufacturer, Drift DJ Industries, has clearly gone for the Teenage Engineering design aesthetic, and the device wouldn’t be out of place in some cool Scandinavian design store.
The Drift Zero is designed to be portable, with a built in battery, but requires an external speaker to be able to play music out loud. You could probably plug your headphones into the output jack… the lack of tempo adjust slider and external clock input would suggest there’s some form of sync built in.
The device having internal recording is neat. You can also play back the mixes as any other file so this can double up as a [bulky] MP3 player. I have to admit I’ve recently been fantasising about ways to be less reliant on an internet connection for my music consumption. I’ve even been idly browsing portable MiniDisc player-recorders. I utterly adored the one I had in the early 00s, with the tactile feeling of loading a cassette and the benefits of digital formats. This sort of thing partially scratches that itch.
There’s no mention of file formats, but being Linux based, I’d imagine it could play most anything you throw at it. It’d be fun to see if it’ll play MOD files, or other esoteric formats.
I think a two deck version of this would be far more interesting, with a built in stereo speaker setup, and the same $500 price tag. The extra space could be used for a larger battery, maybe some extra connectivity.
In any case, like so many of these projects, there’s a lot of interesting ideas, which will never really have a fair shake due to scalability and appeal. The DJ technology industry has been in such a bad place for the last few years that it’s desperate for some originality. The Drift Zero is trying something compelling which I can totally respect. I do wonder if this would have flourished during the COVID lockdowns, when people were looking for new pastimes.
So what’s the answer to the industry’s creative slump? Is it an inevitable symptom of an industry maturing past its moment of innovation, or are is it just a victim of hegemony stifling any sort of creativity?
Your thoughts
Would you be interested in the Drift Zero? What portable music equipment have you used in your life? What does the industry need to do to revitalise ingenuity?
Preorder a Drift Zero with a $125 deposit. Full units will cost $500.
