M-Audio Intros Torq Xponent DJ System; Brings Sexy Back

M-Audio Torq DJ controller

2007 Winter NAMM Show: M-Audio announced releasede the Torq Xponent integrated hardware/software DJ performance and production system.

The system brings traditional CD DJ-style control and mixing to the world of computer-based DJing, and looks like it will offer a nice combination of dj software and an good-looking dedicated control surface.

Here are the details….


The Xponent is both an advanced MIDI control surface for Torq DJ software and a four-output USB audio interface—including two stereo RCA outputs and a standard 1/4″ headphone output with cueing. The controls on Xponent are designed to provide the same rugged feel as traditional DJ hardware.

The Xponent’s array of tactile controls let DJs perform a variety of tasks from a single surface, eliminating the need to adjust most onscreen parameters with a touchpad or keyboard. For DJ CD player-style control, Xponent includes two touch-sensitive scratch wheels for scratching, speeding up and slowing down the playback of digital files. For in-depth control over Torq, Xponent adds 64 assignable backlit buttons (including Play, Cue, Seek, Loop, Key and Sync controls), two volume sliders, eight assignable knobs for effect control and two 100mm pitch sliders. The built-in touchpad/assignable X/Y controller gives you control over the mouse or the effects in Torq, so you don’t need to take your hands off the unit in the middle of a performance. Level and progress LED meters round out all the pro features that DJs expect.

Torq DJ software for Mac and PC is designed to work with Xponent; every Xponent control is pre-mapped to its corresponding Torq function. All hardware controls are located where DJs expect them to be, making Torq Xponent easy and intuitive from the first use.

Torq Xponent provides much more than a transparent combination of hardware and software—it allows users to take DJing and live performance in wild new directions. VST effect compatibility and easily assignable hardware controls make it easy to turn plug-ins into expressive live performance tools. DJs can call up a flanger effect and layer on beat-synced LFOs—or mix in feedback loops from a delay effect and control it all from the assignable knobs on Xponent. The system also provides everything needed to loop, reorder and remix tracks on the fly. With built-in controls for looping as well as a 16-cell, tempo-synced performance sampler, Torq makes it possible to grab loops and one-shot samples and drop them wherever they’re desired, all while staying in perfect sync with the mix.

Torq DJ software lets users cue, beat-match and mix all the important digital audio file formats, including MP3, AIFF, WAV, WMA, Apple Lossless and AAC. Torq locates and catalogs all digital song files—including the user’s Apple iTunes library—into a searchable database that resides on the computer’s hard drive. This lets you pull up any track you want or change your set in an instant.

In addition, Torq can interface with any ReWire-compatible host application. This makes it easy to route the output of Torq to a program like Pro Tools M-Powered or Ableton Live. When ReWired to a host application, the tempo of Torq automatically locks to the current session tempo. Xponent also lets you control any software application that supports MIDI learn functionality.

Torq Xponent is currently expected to ship in early 2007 and carries an MSRP of $749.99.

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