There are plenty of ways to DJ with a laptop and various controller setups. However, if you find hauling around an entire computer can be a bit much, you might like this lighter system from [Daniel Vučinović].
It’s called Pajoniiir, and it’s intended to replace a laptop in the DJ booth. In its place stands an ESP32-P4 microcontroller, hooked up to a 4.3-inch touchscreen display in an off-the-shelf combo from Guition. The ESP32’s twin USB interfaces are hooked up in turn to a Pioneer DDJ-FLX4 controller, and a USB stick carrying a Rekordbox music library. The microcontroller is then also hooked up to a PCM5102A DAC module for audio output.
The ESP32 reads and plays tracks in MP3, WAV, and FLAC formats, responds to commands from the DJ controller, and displays the waveforms and other controls on the touchscreen. It’s doing most of what a laptop would do in this case, only it costs $50 and won’t get stuck in a bootloop for a Windows update 10 minutes before you’re due to go on.
We’ve featured a few good DJ controller hacks over the years, like this Hercules rig that was modded for better scratching.