Rane System One review: Pretending to be a vinyl DJ shouldn’t feel this good£2,199 / $2,499 / €2,499, rane.com
The Rane System One broke cover at NAMM 2026 with a bold claim of being the world’s first motorised standalone DJ controller.
The problem with DJ technology ‘world firsts’ is that many end up in a graveyard of ideas that never become essential. Think mixers replacing crossfaders with touch strips or controllers built around iPod docks. I distinctly remember watching Mike Joyce from The Smiths perform a set with the latter clearly convinced it was the future. Heaven knows he’s miserable now.

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What perhaps makes the Rane System One different is its intent. A two-channel flagship DJ system built around motorised platters, running Engine DJ standalone with optional Serato DJ Pro support when connected. Add Wi-Fi streaming, internal storage options, a strong effects engine, stems workflows and lighting control, and you start to see the shape of something unapologetically maximalist.
It’s no secret that DJs are largely split into camps: vinyl traditionalists trusting torque and tactile feedback, and digital performers valuing portability, convenience and infinite library access. System One is sandwiched in the middle. It offers a turntable-style feel without tonearms, standalone freedom without CDJs, and software without laptops in the booth.
It’s worth clarifying that the Rane System One does not play vinyl. There are no tonearms or phono inputs here, and the platters exist purely for the performance feel. Nevertheless, the controller is clearly an impressive technological feat. But is merging vinyl-style physicality with all-in-one digital convenience a welcome bridge between two tribes, or a new niche nobody asked for?
Image: Press
Rane System One is built like a flagship
Rane signals its intention with the System One before you power it on. This is not a lightweight, travel-friendly controller trying to imitate club gear. It’s a dense, metal-built DJ system designed to feel anchored in place.
The centrepiece is a pair of 7.2-inch motorised platters. They spin with convincing torque, offer adjustable start and stop times, and switch between 33 and 45 RPM. Nudging feels physical rather than algorithmic. Cuts have resistance. There’s weight behind your movements in a way static jog wheels can’t replicate.
A 7-inch vertical HD touchscreen runs Denon DJ’s Engine DJ [Rane and Denon DJ are both part of InMusic] with crisp RGB waveforms and flexible views. Dedicated Browse encoders for each deck keep loading intuitive, while OLED displays above the performance pads provide immediate feedback without your eyes having to wander.
The System One’s build quality feels impressively robust — on par with similarly priced premium Pioneer DJ models, if not marginally better. Faders move with controlled resistance, knobs feel secure, notloose, and the mixer section has a solidity that inspires confidence. Nothing creaks or feels ornamental.
The trade-off is weight. Motorised platters add genuine heft, and at 13.3 kg, the Rane System One isn’t something you casually tuck under your arm. By comparison, Pioneer’s biggest two-channel controller, the XDJ-RX3, is dinky in comparison at 9.3 kg.
At first glance, the density of controls can feel intimidating. But unlike some feature-heavy gear, nothing feels gratuitous once your hands settle in.
Image: Press
Rane System One: Connected for the masses
Rane’s first standalone system with Engine DJ onboard means no laptop required, with music primarily played via USB, SD or an internally-installed 2.5-inch SATA drive (at additional cost).
Built-in Wi-Fi opens access to Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Beatport, Beatsource, SoundCloud Go+, and Tidal. Testing with Apple Music and a 45 Mbps connection, tracks downloaded with minimal lag. If playing out, however, relying on public networks or hotspots could be precarious.
OmniSource architecture allows inputs to coexist, moving between media, streaming libraries and connected sources without workflows grinding to a halt. This worked well when switching between streaming services and USB sources, aided by a clean user interface and dedicated controls for each channel.
The vertical touchscreen can also mercifully display horizontal waveforms, offering plenty of performance data alongside flexible layouts. Browsing is fast, filtering is deep, and playlist management is handled directly on the unit.
Tantalisingly, stem separation is built into the system, supported via Engine DJ’s desktop prep and onboard performance controls, where instant a capella and instrumental functions sit alongside more granular level adjustments.
Rane tells MusicTech the System One will perform onboard stem rendering from “early 2026”. At present, you have to pre-analyse tracks in Engine DJ on a laptop or desktop, which detracts from the instantaneous experience.
Engine DJ aside, the controller supports Serato DJ Pro with VirtualDJ and Algoriddim djay compatibility also coming “early 2026”. No such luck for Rekordbox or Traktor users, even if manual MIDI mapping is theoretically feasible. Engine DJ can, however, import Rekordbox or Traktor libraries.
Elsewhere, you’ll find true depth from effects routing to playlist banks and advanced filtering. Again, testament to an interface and layout where nothing ever feels cluttered.
Engine Lighting integration reinforces the System One’s all-in-one intent. Powered by SoundSwitch, it can drive compatible smart lighting directly from the unit, with beat grids and track energy feeding automated sequences.
Syncing with Nanoleaf bulbs wasn’t exactly my style, and it’s no replacement for full-size rigs, but for home studios and hybrid spaces, it’s a welcome extra-sensory addition.
Image: Press
Rane System One: Vinyl without the records
If the Rane System One has a defining moment, it’s the first time you drop your hand onto a spinning platter. I’m a digital DJ, so nudging a beat immediately feels far more physical. Backspins carry weight. Baby scratches have resistance. There’s a subtle drag that makes micro-adjustments feel deliberate.
Torque and braking can be dialled to taste, and that tuning matters. With higher torque settings, the platters feel assertive, suited to tighter scratch routines. Ease it back, and they loosen slightly, encouraging gentler manipulation. It’s not identical to vinyl — there’s no record weight or tonearm — but it’s enough to take me way out of my digital DJing comfort zone.
Slip mode enhances that illusion. Scratch, juggle or trigger cues, and the track continues silently beneath you. Release the platter, and playback resumes where it would have naturally progressed.
Audio quality keeps pace, too. The 24-bit, 44.1 kHz internal audio interface delivers clean and punchy output with plenty of headroom, and even with heavy effects and stem manipulation engaged, the signal stays controlled. Balanced XLR mains, RCA alternatives and a booth output with a 10-band parametric EQ provide serious routing flexibility, while dual mic inputs with EQ and anti-feedback broaden the appeal beyond club purists.
A notable mention for the Censor feature — a safety net with attitude for anyone wary of pre-watershed profanity. Hold it, and the track flips backwards; release, and it resumes exactly where it should be, not where you left it.
Image: Press
Should I buy a Rane System One?
The Rane System One might be sharing platters, but it’s more of an all-you-can-eat buffet. It’s heavy, expensive, and feature-rich in an era where many controllers chase portability and simplified workflows. But none of that is accidental.
As the world’s first motorised standalone DJ controller, it could easily have tipped into novelty. Instead, it delivers something surprisingly coherent: analogue joy from digital music. Laptop dependency is removed without sacrificing depth, and tactility replaces detachment.
Is it niche? Almost certainly. Many DJs are comfortable choosing sides, whereas the Rane System One is a chameleon sitting between those identities. It won’t replace turntables for die-hard vinyl heads, and it’s heavier than many digital DJs would prefer to transport.
For digital DJs curious about vinyl-style feel without committing to crates and cartridges, the System One gets closer to the real thing than jog-wheel emulation ever has, all while adding streaming access.
If the price point is off-putting, Hercules offers more affordable motorised platter alternatives, but you will forego the all-in-one loveliness of no laptop required. The System One is easily the most feature-rich and makes DJing feel more indulgent. With maximalism in fashion, why not spoil yourself?
As world firsts go, this one earns its spurs. As to whether it will end up in the DJ graveyard? Almost certainly, but it’ll go down spinning.
Image: Press
Key features

Dual 7.2-inch high-torque motorised aluminium platters
Adjustable torque and start/stop time
Slip and Censor performance modes
7-inch vertical HD touchscreen (switchable waveform orientation)
Wi-Fi streaming (Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Beatport, Beatsource, SoundCloud Go+, TIDAL)
Stems control (desktop prep; onboard rendering coming early 2026)
16 performance pads with OLED displays
24-bit / 44.1 kHz internal audio interface
MAG FOUR crossfader with adjustable contour and reverse
10-band parametric booth EQ

The post Rane System One review: Pretending to be a vinyl DJ shouldn’t feel this good appeared first on MusicTech.

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New Aluminum-Based Catalyst Could De-Throne Platinum GroupPlatinum-group metals (PGMs) are great catalysts, but they’re also great investments — in the sense that they are very, very expensive. Just ask the guy nicking car exhausts in the Walmart parking lot. If one could replace PGMs with a more common element, like, say the aluminum that makes up over 8% the mass of this planet, it would be a boon to the chemical industry, and a bane to meth addicts. Researchers at King’s College, London have found a way to do just that, with a novel form of aluminum called cyclotrialumane.
The aluminum trimer is exactly what the ‘tri’ in the name makes it sound like: three aluminum atoms, bonded in a triangular structure that is just pointy and stick-outy enough to poke into other molecules and make chemistry happen. OK, not really — you can see from the diagram above it’s not nearly that simple — but the point is that the shape makes it a good catalyst. The trimer structure is useful in large part because it is very stable, allowing reactions to be catalyzed in a large variety of solutions.
The researchers specifically call out their trialuminum compound as effective at splitting H2 in to H+ ions, as well as ethene polymerization. Both of those are important industrial reactions, but that’s only a start for this trialuminum wonder catalyst, because the researchers claim it can catalyze totally new reactions and create previously-unknown chemicals.
If you never took chemistry, or it’s been too many years since you last slept through that class, we have a primer on catalysts here. By accelerating chemical reactions, catalysts have enabled some neat hacks, like anything involving platinum-cure silicone.
Thanks to [Lightislight] for the tip! Hacks do appear here on their own, but you can always use our tips line to catalyze the synthesis of a particular article.

Header image adapted from: Squire, I., de Vere-Tucker, M., Tritto, M. et al. A neutral cyclic aluminium (I) trimer. Nat Commun 17, 1732 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68432-1

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Take Pi for a Spin in this Orbital SimulatorIt’s Pi Day, and while we know that many of you celebrate privately, those that take a moment to put aside their contemplation of all things circular and join us on this mathematically-significant day will likely know the name [Cristiano Monteiro]. Since 2022 he’s made it a yearly tradition to put together a themed project every March 14th, and he’s just put the finishing touches on the 2026 edition.
Generally, [Cristiano] sends in some interesting hardware device that visualizes the calculation of pi, but this year he surprised us a bit by delivering a software project. His Orbital Pi Simulator allows you to see what would happen to an orbiting spacecraft if it’s navigation system suddenly believed the value of pi was something different.
In broad strokes, we can imagine what would happen. If you plug in something significantly higher than 3.14, the orbit becomes elliptical to the point that the craft can fly off into deep space. Drop the value down, and the orbit will intersect with the Earth — a guaranteed recipe for a bad time.
The Kerbal Space Program players in the audience will no doubt point out that in the absence of drag a spacecraft in a stable orbit would more or less stay on that same trajectory indefinitely and not need to manually adjust its velocity in the first place. Further, they would argue that said spacecraft suddenly firing its thrusters retrograde because a flipped bit in its computer resulted in the value of pi suddenly being 1.2 isn’t very realistic. Those people would be correct, but they would also be no fun at parties.
Fans of math and/or circles will no doubt be interested in the previous devices [Cristiano] has built to mark this date. Last year he put together a robotic hand that counted out pi with its 3D printed fingers, and in 2024 he used the Pepper’s Ghost illusion to great effect. For those wondering, not everything he does is pi-related. The portable GPS time server he sent out way in 2021 was a particularly slick piece of hardware.

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HISONG announce the AirStudio S1 Said to be the world’s first “all-in-one recording capsule” for musicians and content creators, the compact system combines a 'high-quality mic with a 'USB-C audio interface, and includes a 'pair of wireless IEM ear buds that can be neatly stored the mic’s body.

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Truly Wows the Moroccan Lounge, TrulyThis writer can remember when Seattle trio Truly's sophomore album, Fast Stories... from Kid Coma dropped in 1995. Happening upon it by accident, the opening tracks "Blue Flame Ford" kicked in like a buzzsaw--all fuzzy fury, drone and sludge, but blessed with poetic, incisive lyrics.

The knowledge that bassist Hiro Yamamoto was a founding member of Soundgarden came later, and it proved to be a nice little info-nugget. But Truly was an excellent stand-alone band, and that's still true following Truly's comeback.

That said, it was wonderful to see Yamamoto included when Soundgarden was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year. His contributions to the Ultramega OK and Louder Than Love albums certainly warranted the honor.

Truly's last album, Twilight Curtains, was released in 2000 (26 years ago, incredibly), and the criminally light crowd at the Moroccan Lounge suggests that they have some work to do to remind people of their existence. New material can't come soon enough.

For now, we'll have to enjoy the back catalog, and the band performed the old songs impeccably well in L.A. on a late-Winter Wednesday night. The only complaint was the brevity of the set. They started at 8 p.m. and played for less than an hour. One can only assume that they had to get on the road fast for the next gig.

But the aforementioned "Blue Flame Ford" and other tunes from that second album ("Hot Summer 1991," "Chlorine," "Hurricane Dance") went down beautifully. Frontman Robert Roth can still hold a smooth note, belting out vivid lyrics when required. And both Roth and Yamamoto were visibly thrilled to be briefly joined by keys-man Don Randi (Wrecking Crew, Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Were Made for Walking," much more).

A new song (we didn't catch a title) hinted at good days ahead. But it's just great to have them back. Truly.The post Truly Wows the Moroccan Lounge, Truly first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

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