I’ve DJed on mixers worth thousands — but this super-cheap DJ controller is my Christmas pick for music lovers

As one of TechRadar’s resident electronic music nerds and a producer and DJ in my spare time, I’ve always loved showing people the ropes of DJing. The fundamentals of track selection and mixing are really quite simple, which ostensibly makes it one of the more accessible ways to enhance your music experience in a way even the best speakers and best headphones can’t offer on their own.

The problem is that DJ equipment – especially the pro-grade stuff we see in nightclub booths and on festival stages – costs a lot of money. We’re talking about five figure sums in either dollars or pounds for a set of industry-standard players and an accompanying DJ mixer, which is a touch beyond the scope of our audio buying guides.

Take a look at any DJ booth and you’re more than likely to spot the logo of Pioneer DJ, now known as AlphaTheta. But while AlphaTheta is best known for its professional kit, it also makes one of the best cheap DJ devices I’ve ever used, which has now earned a place on my list of Christmas gift recommendations.

Enter the DDJ-FLX2, the cheapest, smallest, and simplest DJ controller from AlphaTheta. Inspired by the layout of the company’s CDJ media players and DJM DJ mixers, the DDJ-FLX2 takes a handful of essential dials and faders, as well as some neat assistive features for newcomers and wild effects controls, and puts it all on a faceplate not much bigger than a sheet of paper.