These two devices are among the best I have ever laid my eyes on. The DDJ-FLX10 which is essentially a successor of the late flagship DDJ-1000, and the OPUS QUAD – a new fully standalone DJ controller from Pioneer DJ. If you’re considering getting either one, you might be interested in the most important differences between them, and things that set them apart the most. If you’re considering either one, here are the differences that matter most.
Check out my full piece on the OPUS QUAD here: Pioneer DJ OPUS-QUAD Review – An Honest Take
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Pioneer DDJ-FLX10 vs. Pioneer DJ OPUS-QUAD – full specification comparison
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First, The Standalone Features
From the two DJ controllers we’re comparing here, only the OPUS QUAD is a standalone DJ controller. What’s even better, it’s fully standalone with all 4 channels available for mixing tracks without a laptop being connected to it, unlike the Pioneer XDJ-XZ.
The OPUS QUAD supports StreamingDirectPlay. Beatport Streaming and TIDAL tracks get automatic BPM and beat-grid analysis on the unit, and current firmware also adds Apple Music support.
For tracks in your own USB library, it’s still best to prepare and analyze them in Rekordbox before export so all the track data is ready to go.
The Pioneer DDJ-FLX10 needs a computer for deck control. Its mixer section can handle external audio inputs without software, but the FLX10 itself is not a standalone player.
3 vs. 2 Built-In Displays
Pioneer DJ OPUS QUAD features 3 displays in total. One 10.1-inch main touchscreen and two smaller deck displays above the jog wheels. The main screen is used for FX, settings, library browsing and waveforms. If you don’t want to rely on the touch interface, there is also a joystick and physical buttons next to it.
The two smaller deck displays are fairly simple compared with the main screen and keep key track information close to each deck. The jog wheels themselves use LED position indicators rather than full-color on-jog displays. Still, the OPUS QUAD wins when it comes to the amount of info it’s able to display – as expected of a standalone DJ controller.
The DDJ-FLX10 has two full-color on-jog displays which can show track information directly inside the platters.
Jog Wheels
Jog wheels on the Pioneer DJ OPUS QUAD are mechanical jog wheels about 8.12 in/206 mm in diameter, and the jogs on the DDJ-FLX10 are… the exact same size, with a little bit different design.
So, both controllers feature full-size mechanical jog wheels. What are the differences then? The main one here is that the OPUS QUAD doesn’t have full-color displays built into the jogs themselves – its two smaller deck displays sit above them instead.
The jog wheels of the Pioneer DDJ-FLX10 won me over not only with their feel and more CDJ-like design, but also by being able to display a surprising amount of track info including track BPM, key, active sync state, album art, mini track waveforms, pitch fader position and more!
Stem Mixing Capabilities
The Pioneer DDJ-FLX10 has dedicated controls for mixing with stem separation in Rekordbox and Serato DJ Pro. That may not be unique to the FLX10 across the wider controller market anymore, but it’s still a major advantage over the OPUS QUAD here.
The OPUS QUAD doesn’t have dedicated hardware stem controls, so the FLX10 is much more convenient if stem mixing is a big part of your workflow.
Now let’s move on to the audio FX.
The Audio FX
On the Pioneer DDJ-FLX10, you’ve got the classic set of Beat FX and Color FX which you can access in the very same way as you would on a traditional Pioneer DJM series mixer. Not really much to say here, except that on the FLX10 the audio FX are processed on the hardware, and you have access to 14 Beat FX and 6 Sound Color FX on the device.
The Pioneer DJ OPUS QUAD features a standalone hardware FX processor which gives you access to 6 Sound Color FX and 14 Beat FX just like the FLX10, and it has pretty much the same control set for them, except one thing.
On the OPUS QUAD you can use the built-in touchscreen to apply the effects to your tracks with the use of an X/Y pad. Moreover you can also control which channels are affected by the selected FX, and which effects are active, all with the aid of the main display.
So, on the DDJ-FLX10, all the FX controls are essentially placed in the mixer section, while on the OPUS QUAD, a large part of the live effects control is done with the touch screen. The general set of hardware FX on both devices is largely the same.
| Pioneer DDJ-FLX10 on Ebay: |
| Pioneer DJ OPUS QUAD on Ebay: |
Zone Output
Just like the Denon DJ Prime 4, the OPUS QUAD features a Zone Output, a neat feature that the DDJ-FLX10 doesn’t have.
The zone output allows you to send out sound completely separate from the main master output, which you can use for instance when you need music for a room separate from the main dancefloor. That’s about it when it comes to this one.
Software Compatibility
The Pioneer DJ OPUS QUAD and DDJ-FLX10 are both Hardware Unlock devices for Rekordbox, so they can control Performance mode without a paid Rekordbox subscription when connected to a computer. Both devices also unlock Serato DJ Pro when plugged in.
It’s important to note that the FLX10 might be a little bit easier to MIDI map from scratch with software like Traktor or Virtual DJ if you’d like to go this way, mainly due to not having to play around with the displays, and simply having more physical controls present on the device.
If software choice is part of your decision, I’ve compared Rekordbox vs. Serato DJ Pro in detail here: Rekordbox vs. Serato DJ Pro – Which One Is Better?
