Just read this post after my purchase of the Prime Go a couple of weeks ago…I come from an era of 2 technics turntables and a mixer - no fx!!! The art of DJing is all about the music and the way you mix music…The Prime Go is an AMAZING piece of kit and is definitely not an entry level unit. If all you care about is different FX features then just get a sound board man…but if you’re serious about being a DJ, focus on the music. Problem with a lot of today’s era of DJs is that they cover up their inability of being a good DJ by throwing FX’s all over their sets! Mix and blend!!
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Anyone remember in the Jurassic Park movie, there were those red flashing lights at the tops of the fences and an alarm klaxon 
I’m just glad he didn’t say “all”, just “a lot”
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OP sounds like they bought a device for ~900€ or maybe even more without spending more than 1 minute to learn about what it can and can’t do. It’s not a bad device. You say it’s bad, but in reality you just bought the wrong thing and now you kinda blame it on Denon. I don’t think Denon ever misrepresented the Prime Go or advertised it as something that it’s not.
I’m new to DJing but I have toyed around with it in the past - DDJ-400, Djay Pro, etc. Most of my music time are invested in Digitakt, OP-1, MPC, etc
For me, Prime Go may be an “entry level” in the scheme of Denon DJ’s lineup, but it is a “prosumer” device. It isn’t cheaper than a DDJ-400 but you’d need a laptop if one is starting from scratch. So for $999 it isn’t that expensive for a standalone device.
There has been this shift seen in the music gear world. Manufacturers are now coming out with standalone groove boxes when in the past most of it were controllers paired with a laptop - Maschine+ and MPC Live/One comes to mind. It may not be for everyone, and I read somewhere Denon DJ did come out with something that’s quite unique and has established a new category in the DJ gear world with this box. I love the immediacy of it with just enough knobs and sliders to start DJing. I picked up basic DJing in 1 day when it took longer for me on the DDJ. From what I have read so far, even for the pros this machine has enough chops to gig live.
There are some things that I know is annoying - even for a novice like me, but I think before one buys this box one need to figure out what they want to achieve with their DJing. It has ticked all the boxes for me so far, and once I outgrow this I’d probably move up to Prime 2/4.
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There is a misunderstanding that the Prime GO is a “toy-controller”. It’s not, it’s a “semi-professional” controller. You can do perform a gig on it but you will miss some functions that is available on P2/ P4 or X1800/1850 SC5000/ 6000, but you can feed any PA without any problems as there is XLR’s to feed them with a very good sounding signal. And it’s not an entry level stand alone controller. Go for the P2 instead.
I think it’s not a controller at all, since it can’t be used to control a computer. Instead i think it’s a professional, portable All-In-One DJ system. Basically everything about the Prime Go is built in a way to allow the best possible performance given the portablity of the unit, including professional audio I/O in the form of XLRs and balanced jacks. No party lights or sound effects on the device. Therefore i think this is on a professional level, even if it doesn’t look like much.
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I just bought the Denon Prime Go to use at Burning Man. I DJ ‘d there last year, and my laptop and primary gear was not happy in the desert heat. I bought this unit as a work around to not have to rely on my laptop and it was a much more affordable standalone compared to other brands. So far, super happy with this compact version, and think it will be able to supply all my needs.
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The Prime GO is still my go to for a simple gig in a small venue. As much as I love my Prime 4 there are times even at home when I’d rather just pull out the GO and and sit anywhere in the house and do a quick and dirty set. Truly amazing and with the professional ins and outs, as a back up it ticks every box (for me). Also with all the firmware updates, with touch fx, sample banks etc the beast just gets bigger internally while staying the same size externally. Love it.
My Prime Go has been with me for the past two and half years maybe a little longer the only issue I had was bass knob broke and needing replacing which probably my fault for jot having a deck saver to cover it whilst transporting in the bag. I use it for small gigs and house parties. It is unique piece of gear and whilst the Numark Mixtream Pro Go is its arguable successor I would still take the Go over the Numark simply for the fact i can fit it in a bag.
I wouldn’t say the Numark is it’s successor as the Go has more performance features, inputs and outputs as well as the pro build quality which is also reflected in the price.
The mixstream go does have that built in speaker though but not something that I personally need or want.
Throwing my opinion in here! The Go is a great device with some (quite well known) limitations. I researched and knew these before I bought it! It was my main controller for over a year and I loved it - it traveled everywhere with me and never let me down.
I am clear that I knew the limitations before I bought and accepted them - the limitations actually drive creativity (think back to the days when you could not record more than 2/3 seconds of sampled sound OR you were limited to single inputs and layering!) electronic music was born out of those.
I added drum machines/synths via aux and it was fine. Could I EQ them - No. but I already knew that. It did 100% of what I needed 95% of the time! That was good enough for me! I know everyone can have their own option but I truly loved my go! (And it’s quirks!!) Think about the peripheral things you talk about and how important they are to you! If they are essential find a different player but if they are “nice to have” then you can’t go wrong!!
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I think there has been a change of direction for the Go with the mixstream pro go being aimed as a beginner unit, if there was a Prime Go2 it would not make much sense as there would be two units offering similar features.