“Using the Mixtour Pro was straightforward enough for basic functions, as for the most part, things are placed and labeled as one might expect.”
When I first heard about the new Mixtour Pro from Germany’s Reloop, I was intrigued; the promise of pro-grade DJing with hardware that would fit in a small backpack or courier bag certainly has its appeal. But I was also a bit skeptical, as this isn’t my first rodeo with controllers designed with mobile phones or tablets in mind, and the experience so far had left me wanting.
The price point for the Mixtour Pro, roughly $500 on the street, sets somewhat of an expectation for this unit as something above and beyond the sort of entry-level unit I would generally expect for a smartphone or tablet DJ platform. Unboxing the unit reinforces that impression, with a controller that, while compact, still has a rugged, almost beefy feel to it despite tipping the scales right at the 2-pound mark. Add in the fact that Reloop makes a lot out of the collaboration with Laidback Luke that reportedly led to the Mixtour Pro, and I was pretty excited to dig in.
Before I continue, I should clarify that the Mixtour Pro isn’t designed solely for mobile and tablet; Algoriddim djay software, with which the unit is tightly bound, is available for both macOS and Windows as well, and the Mixtour Pro works with all the versions. But the marketing materials clearly make mobile and tablet use the focus of the product, and accordingly, was my focus as I reviewed it — in my case, with an iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Getting the Mixtour Pro going on my iPhone was straightforward enough, but the first hurdle was providing sufficient power to the controller, given that it doesn’t include any sort of AC adapter. For a product at this price point, I think that’s an oversight given its requirement for an 85 W, PD-grade, USB-C power source.
[From Reloop: The Mixtour Pro has a maximum self-consumption of 15 W. Therefore, any USB-C power supply rated at 20 W or more – commonly used for charging smartphones or tablets – provides sufficient power to both run the Mixtour Pro and charge the connected device. The “PD 85 W” specification simply indicates that the device supports pass-through power of up to 85 W, which is typically only needed for high-power devices such as the MacBook Pro. Additionally, a 20 W rating is noted next to the power input port on the rear panel. The Mixtour Pro can also operate using bus power from a USB-C device, emphasizing its low power requirement. These connection options are detailed in the manual and on the product page – please scroll to the bottom.]
For this review, I dug out a spare Apple MacBook AC adapter to power up completely, and connecting to my iPhone was a simple matter of connecting the included USB-C cable between it and the Mixtour Pro, then downloading Algoriddim djay from the Apple App Store.
It should be noted, however, that the Mixtour Pro comes with no unlock for the full version of Algoriddim djay, either limited-time or long-term, meaning that both the software and the hardware are limited in functionality without paying for an Algoriddim djay subscription, which runs $50 per year. (For those keeping score at home, we’re now up to $550 before taxes or shipping to get started with full functionality, along with that recurring annual fee in future years.)
[From Reloop: It’s technically correct that the unit comes with no unlock for the full version of djay. The app’s functionality may vary depending on the platform used. Only Pro functions that can be operated with the controller are activated without a subscription. This means that every control on the controller can be used repeatedly without a subscription. Or on the other way: Only Looper and Video mode require a subscription, while others are unlocked with the device connected. Although djay initially prompts you to subscribe during the first connection, this can be bypassed by clicking the “X” in the top left corner. We are collaborating with djay to improve the onboarding process, although certain Apple conditions make this challenging. More details can be found here.]
On the plus side, Algoriddim djay provides a wide range of options for music material, including support for Apple Music. Traditionally, Tidal had been the only major streaming service to provide access to DJ platforms. The djay app supports Tidal, too… however, along with Beatport and Beatsource, which is appealing for EDM DJs.
Personally, I appreciate the Apple Music availability, as while not always being very vocal about it, Apple has made it remarkably easy to add music files (like MP3s) to your Apple Music library; they can simply be dragged-and-dropped into the Songs collection in Apple Music on a Mac, where they are uploaded to the cloud, and can then be played in the Apple Music app on your devices — or, as I discovered, within the djay app just as easily. This simple integration between the streaming music library and one’s own legacy music library offers real benefits.
[Editor’s Note: At presstime, Apple announced that it had introduced DJ with Apple Music, which integrates with leading hardware and software platforms, including Algoriddim’s djay Pro.]
Lastly, audio connections. This, too, seems to reveal the focus of the product, given that there are no physical inputs (mic, aux, etc.), and only two outputs: stereo RCA connectors on the back for the main mix, and a 1/8-inch headphone jack on the front for monitoring.
Mixtour Pro in Use
Using the Mixtour Pro was straightforward enough for basic functions, as for the most part, things are placed and labeled as one might expect. There are dedicated filter knobs and the usual 3-band EQ knobs. There are multi-colored pads, deck faders and a crossfader, various level and gain knobs of course, and a range of buttons.
Speaking of knobs, one immediate observation with the Mixtour Pro is that the knobs and faders are not as solid-feeling as I would have expected at this price point, with a fair amount of lateral “play” that wasn’t confidence-inducing.
As is immediately apparent, the unit has no jog wheels for manually aligning beats between tracks or for scratching, highlighting a dependency on automatic beat matching for the former, and using the unit’s paddles with a button combination for a twist on the latter.
That need for a button combination highlights an issue with the Mixtour Pro: There are so many button combinations to access specific features that it’s overwhelming to keep track of what does what, and Reloop’s documentation won’t help you much in this department. In fact, watching a Laidback Luke video highlighting the DJ’s contributions to the project drives this fact home, simply trying to keep track of the ones he demonstrates. In the video, Luke himself says, “I know it’s tricky with all the key combinations and everything,” but that strikes me as an understatement.
[From Reloop: It is important to note that these additional features do not block access to the main controls, which are available on both the first and second layers. Users can choose to use only the primary functions for the compact design of the Mixtour Pro, or they can explore the extra options if they wish. More information is available in this document, which is also linked in the manual and on the product page.]
Nevertheless, the flip side of that drawback is that Reloop has jammed a lot of capabilities into the hardware, including direct support for Algoriddim’s Neural Mix capabilities — their name for stem separation. By doubling up the functions of the EQ knobs, you can easily and quickly isolate beats with the bass EQ knob, melodic context with the midrange EQ knob, and vocal content with the high EQ knob. It’s a clever way to control it, and Algoriddim’s feature works well, especially in more recent Apple hardware.
Conclusions
There’s no doubt that the Reloop Mixtour Pro is compact, capable, and fun to use. In addition, Algoriddim’s djay, which the hardware is tightly integrated with, has always been an interesting app that’s pushed the very limits of what’s possible on compact devices — and it continues to push those limits, years after its introduction.
But with a street price of around $500, and as mentioned earlier with the added costs of an Algoriddim djay subscription to unlock its full feature set pushing the all-in price toward the $550 mark, it’s hard for me not to end up with higher expectations than I believe the product actually delivers. For aspiring DJs there are less costly entry points, and for experienced ones, I remain unconvinced that the Mixtour Pro represents the ideal controller for most types of serious DJing. (Of course, if you see the well-versed, very professional Laidback Luke use it, you may become convinced.)
That being said, for an ultraportable set-up that’s light and easy to carry around, and doesn’t require a full-blown laptop? Well, that’s another matter; if that’s your goal, then you’d be hard-pressed to find a better solution. If you’d have asked me a decade ago, I’d have said we’d never see this level of capability for smartphones (or DJ controllers designed for them), and yet, here we are.
But for now? Speaking for myself, I’m just not sure that I’m ready to stop carrying a laptop to DJ gigs.