Rane TTM-56s VS TTM-56

Submitted by shredjesse on Thu, 03/19/2015 - 23:10

This is a review of the Rane TTM56s, and will mostly contain information for those who are faced with the deciscion of seeing the differences between the original and the successor model. Some information is also available in sub pages of this review relating to maintenance and other aspects of the mixer.

Basic Technical differences:

The 56s is 3/4 of an inch wider. This matters... hardly at all. It does mean your setup isn't as compact, but it's a negligible amount for most people. The layout is changed for curve controls, but if you're like most scratch DJ's you're rarely adjusting the curves (more on this later). The only plus is that all of the inputs on the 56s can switch between phono and line which the original 56 cannot do. The audio quality on both remains excellent and crisp, everything on it is of the highest quality... usual rane excellence! Only bummer is the crossfader on the TTM56s requires fiddling with to get the cut off point just right. See the subpage concerning the dead zone.

Basic Consensus:

If you don't need 4x line inputs, there's absolutely no reason to switch to the 56s. Infact, I'd discourage it. The 56 was better made for scratching and worked better right out of the box and in general is better to have onstage. I'm selling the 56s more than likely in favor of the 56.

Pro's of the 56s over the 56:

4x line input options
1/8inch headphone input for when you forget/lose/break your 1/4" headphone adapter.

Whatever's of the 56s over the 56:

Revised layout some may prefer. I couldn't give a hoot and found a few cons of this later mentioned.
3/4" wider. Didn't affect me. You may not like.

Con's / Negatives of the 56s compared to the 56:

Fader reverse is confusing. Which one relates to which? I found myself reversing upfaders as often as I reverse the crossfader. The previous layout was way more distinct.
No light indicating the damn thing is even on.
Crossfader requires fidgeting with and DIY modification to dial in. This is not a good mixer right out of the box, and for the price, that's bullshit.