Gemini iTrax Mixing Console
by Chris Hafner | Published June 2007 | In the Mix Archives

Is it possible yet to mix club-quality music directly from your iPod? I understand that there are a few products in development, variously listed as months or years away, which will enable single iPod mixing. Whether or not these products ever make it to market (and many don't), we basically have two to pick from: Numark's iDJ and Gemini's iTrax Mixing Console.

The first thing in the Gemini's favor is the price. Originally marked at a few hundred dollars, the iTrax Mixer is now being sold for just under $100. That's a really good price for audio enthusiasts to test the waters. Of course, you also need two iPods to mix from, but in this case, the mixer is priced so low that the iPods might be the the more expensive part of the set-up.

The iTrax is designed with some attention to industrial aesthetics; it has a cool white and silver theme and blue LEDs. So basically, it looks like a giant iPod. In truth, I suspect this, along with the low price, is a clue to who Gemini had in mind as far as a target market. DJs might not yet feel at home mixing from dual iPods but for those getting started, this is a great system. Nevertheless, it also has a built-in depression on the bottom which enables the user to place the iTrax right on top of a turntable.

iTrax has two angled docking stations. The good part here is that with the angled screens, it's easy to both access each iPod's controls for flipping through your mp3s and read the screens even if they're not backlit. The bad part isn't really the fault of the mixer but the design of the iPod itself. The iPod is meant to be a handheld device, not something you push at like a console. As a result, it's somewhat harder to flip through the iPod than it seems.

The iTrax is surprisingly expandable. Each of the two iPod channels contain a line input which enables it to serve as something of a hub for regular CD players, turntables or the like, and on the back is an S-Video port. The crossfade pops out if you'd like to replace it with one of your choice. In addition, the iPods can be charged while actively playing (a useful trick for older iPod models) and the iTrax also has a USB socket so you can update or edit your music libraries directly from a laptop .

I played around with the iTrax (at this price, it hardly entails a major purchase) and found it fairly easy to mix from dual iPods. The cue is as good as any club-quality system. The one major drawback is the lack of a pitch control, so it's impossible to speed up or slow down music selections. Nevertheless, this would make a good pick-up for DJs that don't require a pitch control at their work setting, or a great gift for the home audiophile that has everything.

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