Headliner R2 Rotary Mixer

As someone who’s been a DJ for 25+ years, hosts a live weekly 2 hour mix show on a well-known internet radio station for the past 23 years from my home studio, and has 100’s of live club gigs under my belt I’ve played on every mixer imaginable. My tried and true 14 year old home studio mixer started giving me some issues in the recent weeks and I was in the market for a replacement. I’ve never owned but always wanted an analog rotary mixer however I wasn’t too keen on dropping well over $1000 for an entry level Ecler. This popped up on my radar and I watched a ton of YouTube vids and read as much as I could find on this unit. It checked all the boxes so I made the purchase. I did my first live show with the mixer this past Saturday and the sound quality blew me away. Room filling warmth that a standard club mixer just can’t duplicate. The build quality on this thing is a solid B+ but that’s to be expected with a unit at this price point. The precision of the eq knobs is stellar and you can really tune the highs mids and lows while mixing 2 tracks to create a seamless transition. The filter does make a slight “pop” when you engage but this is mentioned in every review I read or watched online. Its doesn’t bother me because I don’t use the filter anyways. The only gripe I have is that you cannot turn off the filter led lights when it’s not in use - they are very bright and I actually covered them with small pieces of tape because tbh they’re kind of blinding. That being said, I have to mention the sound quality again - it’s the best sounding mixer I’ve ever used outside of some top of the line club gear that costs thousands more. I would recommend this mixer to any DJ out there who’s looking for that warm analog sound. It really brings out elements of your tracks that you normally wouldn’t hear on any comparable club style mixer. I’m very happy with my purchase.

Hasta ahora lo he usado una semana y debo decir que un mixer rotatorio por ese precio hace su trabajo muy muy bien claro no es un bozak o master sound o ECLER pero realmente no le envidiaría nada a esos los terminados son buenos las perillas funcionan bn los preamps con tornamesas funcionan de maravilla. Lo recomiendo

This is a pretty machine- but there were clearly corners cut when assembling this unit. The audio quality also isn’t great. The hi/low filter makes a popping sound when engaged. Totally defeats the purpose of live mixing when the audio quality is diminished when adding fx. Additionally, the knobs don’t all align *centered* in the same place. Some slightly to right and left of center. The button toggle for the filter also fell off after one month of use. Overall, it’s an introduction to rotary mixers, but for the price, not sure I’d buy again. I am looking for a better unit to replace this one in my live setup. Buyers beware.

Alright, so I've been running the Headliner R2 for a few months now and figured I'd drop some thoughts for anyone considering this thing. The Good Stuff: This mixer sounds *clean*. Like seriously, the audio quality is exactly what you want from a rotary - warm, transparent, no weird coloration. The rotary knobs feel smooth and responsive, which makes blending tracks legitimately fun. There's something about that tactile control that just hits different compared to faders, you know? The whole unit has this nice simplicity to it - nothing over-engineered, just what you need and nothing you don't. Build quality is solid. Small footprint too, which is clutch if you're not working with a massive booth setup. I've got limited space and this thing fits perfectly without feeling cramped. Output options are genuinely pro-level. You've got XLR for both master and booth, plus RCA record outs. No complaints there whatsoever - it's nice when a company doesn't cheap out on the I/O. The Not So Good: No crossfader, but honestly I knew that going in. It's a rotary mixer, that's the whole point. Not listing this as a real negative since it's by design, but worth mentioning for anyone who absolutely needs a crossfader for their workflow. The blue LEDs are stupid bright. Like retina-searing bright. I've literally put tape over some of them because they're genuinely distracting in a dark booth. Minor gripe but yeah, whoever approved that brightness setting needs to chill. The Dealbreaker That Knocked Off A Star: Here's the real problem: the HPF and LPF switches both produce an audible *pop* when you toggle them on or off. And I'm not talking about a subtle click you can hide in a breakdown - this is a full-on pop that cuts through the mix. It's basically impossible to use these filters smoothly during a live set without that pop bleeding through. This drives me absolutely nuts because the filters themselves sound great when they're engaged. But that pop makes them risky to use in any situation where you can't perfectly time it with a kick drum or something. I've tried every workaround - toggling during loud sections, pre-engaging before a track starts, whatever - and it's still always there. If Headliner fixed this with a v2 hardware revision, this would easily be a 5-star mixer. The pop issue is the only thing preventing this from being genuinely perfect for the price point. Bottom Line: If you're cool with the rotary workflow and can work around the filter pop (or just don't plan on using the filters much), this is a killer mixer for the money. Sounds great, feels great, looks great (minus those LEDs). But that filter issue is a legitimate design flaw that keeps this from reaching its full potential. Really hoping Headliner addresses it because everything else about this unit is spot-on. Would I buy it again? Yeah, probably as there isn't really much competition in this price range. But I'd be way more hyped about it if they'd just fix that damn pop.

Sounds great so far. Fun to mix with. Nice and warm.

Do not be fooled by the price and looks of this mixer. The knobs were totally off and I found it very frustrating to use. The basic expectations of a rotary DJ mixer is the knobs to click into place at 0db gain on the EQ. This mixer had not 1 , not 2 but 4 knobs out of alignment with unity. Something i was thinking wouldn’t be a problem but the dynamics of the eq meant that with the knobs placed within the click (0db) the eq was drastically different than when they actually at 0db (not in the click). Something that is extremely noticeable at louder volumes. I returned the mixer after 2 weeks, well within the amazon return window. I used it for a couple of hours each weekend so it had very minimal use and I returned in the packaging with everything as close to “unboxing” presentation as I could get. I was hoping they would expect the issue I had with the product and wished them every chance to resell after fixing the knobs. I was then CHARGED $40 from the seller/manufacturer for a “restocking fee”. For a faulty product that was returned in excellent condition within their return window. Ive never seen anything like this from a retailer or Amazon in general and very frustrated I am being penalised for their poor build quality and lack of communication around returns and additional fees. I hope the manufacturer makes corrections to their build quality for all future customers.

For a rotary mixer with great analogue sound- the $400 price tage is great. But here is how it makes you pay: -Filter changes sound with a slight pop everytime you kick it on. Sounds kind of cheap. -SUPER DUPER RIDICULOUSLY bright LED's that blind you while you are mixing.

Don't cheap out, save up and get a mixer thats built better. Mine had knobs that weren't aligned correctly, the filter always pops when it's engaged. I wish I could but I can't genuinely recommend this mixer, its great in a sense its an affordable rotary, but you really get what you pay for. I'll more than likely be selling it.