Ableton Live 12 vs AlphaTheta CDJ-1500X

Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side β€” with our verdict on which daw to buy.

DAW

Ableton Live 12

Ableton

9.2
Essential
DJ Hardware

AlphaTheta CDJ-1500X

AlphaTheta Β· MSRP not yet announced

8.4
Great

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Which should you buy?

On the Dubspot Score, Ableton Live 12 comes out ahead (9.2). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget β€” read both reviews before deciding.

Specs compared

Ableton Live 12AlphaTheta CDJ-1500X
Priceβ€”MSRP not yet announced
Dubspot Score9.28.4
FormatsVST2, VST3, Audio Unit v2 (AU), Audio Unit v3 (AUv3)Standalone hardware
EditionsThree: Intro, Standard, Suiteβ€”
Plugin format supportVST2, VST3, and Audio Unit v2 and v3β€”
Audio & MIDI tracksIntro: 16; Standard & Suite: Unlimitedβ€”
ScenesIntro: 16; Standard & Suite: Unlimitedβ€”
Software instrumentsIntro: 8; Standard: 12; Suite: 21β€”
Audio effectsIntro: 27; Standard: 36; Suite: 59β€”
Sound library sizeIntro: 5+ GB; Standard: 38+ GB; Suite: 71+ GBβ€”
Max for LiveIncluded in Suite edition onlyβ€”
Typeβ€”Standalone DJ multi player
Displayβ€”10.1-inch capacitive full-color touchscreen (dark/light modes)
Jog wheelβ€”Mid-size, rotation indicator, non-slip surface
Performanceβ€”8 Hot Cues, Beat Loop knob, Beat Sync, Beat Jump
USBβ€”USB Type-A x1; USB Type-C x2 (storage x1 / PC x1)
Supported formatsβ€”MP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF, Apple Lossless, FLAC
Streamingβ€”Apple Music, Beatport Streaming, TIDAL (StreamingDirectPlay)
Cloudβ€”rekordbox CloudDirectPlay (Dropbox, Google Drive)
Networkβ€”Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/n/ac), LAN x1 (PRO DJ LINK), NFC login
Audio outputβ€”RCA (AUDIO OUT L/R) x1 β€” analog only
S/N ratioβ€”105 dB
Frequency responseβ€”20 Hz – 20 kHz
Dimensionsβ€”252.1 x 374.7 x 116.5 mm
Weightβ€”3.6 kg (7.9 lb)
Launchβ€”Announced July 2, 2026; rekordbox update + CoBeat July 9, 2026

See the full plugin database for more comparisons.