Tonium Pacemaker review (60GB)

Don't call it an MP3 player. The Pacemaker is a handheld, four-channel DJ system with enough processing power to make the iPod cower with insignificance.

One feature unique to the Pacemaker is its capability to record and save mixes. To accomplish this feat, Tonium could have simply resampled the Pacemaker's playback output into a new audio file and called it a day. Instead, the Pacemaker records mixes by tracking the adjustments made during your mix (track volume, crossfade amount, EQ changes, pitch adjustment, etc.) and associates that data with your song files. Later, when you connect the Pacemaker to your Mac or PC, special Pacemaker software lets you play back these mix files, make adjustments, save the results, and legally share the mix on the Pacemaker Web site. The latest version of the Pacemaker software (version 2.0) also lets you export your mixes as a single audio file, saved to your computer in the Ogg format. This was a feature we wanted desperately in the original version of the software, since it lets you archive all your hard work, and also gives you a way to reimport your mixes back to the Pacemaker hardware.

Unfortunately, you can't shrink a carload of DJ gear into your pocket without losing something along the way. From the perspective of a conventional DJ setup, the biggest practical drawbacks to the Pacemaker is the inability to modify two or more controls simultaneously, a challenge that is intrinsic to the device's compact, multipurpose design.

Tonium's free Mac and PC software helps you refine mixes created on the Pacemaker, which can be saved or legally shared on Pacemaker's Web site. It's also a required install for transferring songs from your computer to the Pacemaker.

Performance
The Pacemaker's touch pad and button controls respond with a lightning quickness that makes even the iPhone feel slow. Handling multichannel audio along with layers of EQ and DSP effects is enough to make some laptops choke, but the Pacemaker handles the load with ease.

The inclusion of separate 3.5 millimeter headphone and line-output jacks lets DJs hear their own personal cue mix, separate from the mix playing out to the house. In this latest model of the Pacemaker, users can now apply separate three-band EQ settings for both the headphone mix and line-out mix, as a way to compensate for crappy sound systems or unfamiliar headphones. Audio quality is right in line with what you'd expect from a piece of pro-audio DJ gear, helped along by the Pacemaker's support for high-resolution MP3 (up to 320Kbps), AAC (unprotected), AIFF, FLAC, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, and SND audio formats. Bass, mid, and treble EQ controls on each deck allow for +6dB boost or -26dB cut in each range without clipping the output or coloring the sound in an unflattering way.

Battery life for the Pacemaker is limited to 5 hours of active mixing and 18 hours of playback-only operation. The Pacemaker charges in about 4 hours with the Mini-USB connection.