COMETA M2 ROTARY MIXER LAUNCHES IN LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles-based audio design house Cometa has announced the release of its debut product, the Cometa M2 rotary mixer.
Combining Swiss industrial design with Californian engineering, the M2 is intended for DJs, producers, record collectors, and HiFi enthusiasts. It is designed as both a professional audio tool and a hand-built listening device for home systems.
COMETA M2 ROTARY MIXER
Rotary mixers occupy a special place in both club and HiFi history. Unlike fader-based mixers, rotary designs encourage slower, more deliberate mixing, often preferred by DJs playing vinyl in extended sets. Their sonic signature is prized in audiophile listening rooms as well as in nightclubs.
The Cometa M2 draws directly from this tradition. Its development was shaped by conversations between the Cometa team and the late Barry Bialos, a respected audiophile and systems designer for David Mancuso’s Loft parties. Bialos believed rotary gain circuits could be refined further for greater sonic performance. The Cometa M2 seeks to realise that idea by reimagining the rotary mixer for today’s listeners.
DESIGN AND ENGINEERING BEHIND THE COMETA M2
Swiss-born designer Tobias Brunner, trained at ÉCAL, shaped the external form of the Cometa M2. The chassis has been designed not only for aesthetics but also to display the craftsmanship within, opening on a hinge to reveal the hand-built analogue circuits.
Internally, Grammy-winning engineer Ian MacGregor led the design. With two decades of experience in recording studios, MacGregor brought knowledge of analogue circuitry to the project. His input helped ensure that the Cometa M2’s signal path and control layout reflect both professional studio standards and HiFi expectations.
COMPONENTS AND CIRCUITRY
The Cometa M2 employs Class-A discrete analogue circuitry, developed from scratch for this project. Its components include Cinemag transformers and WIMA film capacitors, chosen for their stability and sonic character. The intention is to provide a low-noise floor, generous headroom, and a sound that is both warm and transparent.
For DJs and listeners, this design approach seeks to combine professional reliability with audiophile refinement, allowing the Cometa M2 to integrate into a wide range of systems.
VU METER AND CONTROLS
The mixer features a proprietary VU meter with 390 LEDs, giving fast, detailed visual feedback across all inputs and outputs. This high-resolution display is intended to make precise level monitoring straightforward in both club and domestic settings.
The rotary knobs, machined from aluminium, include tactile orientation cues to support eyes-free use. This detail reflects the mixer’s human-centred design, encouraging a physical and intuitive relationship with music playback.
CONNECTIVITY AND FLEXIBILITY OF THE COMETA M2
Inputs and outputs cover Class A phono and line preamps, transformer-balanced outputs, and switchable microphone and headphone routing. Auxiliary sends are also provided, enabling integration with outboard processors.
These features allow the Cometa M2 to be used across a variety of environments, from professional DJ booths to recording studios and home HiFi systems.
COMETA M2 POSITIONED AS CULTURAL OBJECT
Cometa frames the M2 not only as an audio tool but as a cultural object. It reflects the heritage of early rotary mixers, once central to underground club culture and extended listening sessions, while aiming to set a new standard for future DJs, engineers, and collectors.
This perspective resonates with us at HiFi PiG. Our editor Stuart is a DJ and uses rotary mixers as part of his own set-up. At HiFi PiG Towers, the DJ system is integrated into the main high-end HiFi, demonstrating how the boundaries between professional club equipment and domestic listening are increasingly blurred. Products such as the Cometa M2 illustrate how rotary designs can bridge both worlds.
ROTARY MIXERS IN HIFI AND CLUB CULTURE
The rotary mixer tradition stretches back to the early days of New York loft parties and discotheques, where mixers from Bozak set the template for smooth, flowing mixes. Their warm analogue circuits and ergonomic rotary knobs created a distinct style of mixing and listening.
Over the years, rotary mixers have remained a niche but enduring choice for DJs seeking a more tactile, deliberate mixing style. For HiFi enthusiasts, they provide a way to introduce professional-grade preamplification and source control into domestic systems. The Cometa M2 enters this landscape at a time when interest in tactile, analogue equipment is resurging among both DJs and home listeners.
COMETA M2 ROTARY MIXER PRICING AND AVAILABILITY
The Cometa M2 Founder’s Edition is available now. Each Founder’s Edition comes with a numbered nameplate. Pricing is set at $9,999 for the Founder’s Edition, with later editions to be released at $12,999.
HiFi PiG Says: We love that the lines between Pro DJ equipment and home HiFi are becoming more blurred, and that more home DJs are joining us and listening on high-end gear!
