In a world where CD's are used less and less, DJ's are relying on playlists exported to USB sticks and software interfaces. Pioneer acknowledged this and crafted the XDJ-1000MK2, a multimedia player very similar to their CDJ range only with no CD transport. For just £1129.00, you can use your USB loaded with rekordbox analysed libraries as you would on a nexus player. Main features include a Full-sized jog wheel, full-colour touch screen, FLAC file support and Pro DJ Link. If you are after a very top level Pioneer setup for half the cost, look no further. Available in our showroom or
on our website!
XDJ-1000MK2: For the Digital Age
The design of the 1000mk2 is instantly recognisable amongst DJs. It takes more than a passing glance to distinguish it from a Nexus player, due to the large jog and colour display. There is a lot to be said for the up to date technology on board, such as the full-colour touch screen rather than the dot matrix display found on the more 'budget' players.
Pioneer focussed a lot of the design around an often overlooked (but essential) element -
Audio quality. As well as supporting the popular sound formats like MP3 and WAV, the 1000's also support lossless formats like FLAC and ALAC (apple lossless). There is also a digital output, for going into mixers with a built-in DAC (digital to analogue converter) such as the RANE MP2015. The cherry on top is the power supply, which is placed so that the analogue audio is not close to the digital processors, which would otherwise lead to more unwanted noise.
Music at your Fingertips
Due to the 1000's seamless integration with the rekordbox software, navigating your library and playlists is a breeze. The rotary selection knob is in the usual spot. For quick searching, the QWERTY touch keyboard is a clever new feature. Hot cues are accessible as well, so your customised track points are ready to go. If you have analysed the track beforehand, the quantise feature will make sure your loops are in time with the beat.
On a Smaller Scale
If the idea of a fully digital deck from Pioneer is attractive, but you need something smaller (or cheaper), look no further than the XDJ-700. It shares the same touch screen as the 1000MK2, but the jogs are not the usual large size. In order to sacrifice on cost (the 700 comes in at £599.00) it doesn't have the ability to play lossless files such as FLAC. WAV files still work perfectly, though!
The Future
CDJ's have been the go-to media player for bars and clubs since the CDJ-1000 back in 2001. There were CD players for DJ's before this (the CDJ-500 from 1994 for example). That means it has been 25 years since this technology was born, which is a
very long time in the current technological market. We still see DJ's whip out their CD wallet with hundreds of self-burned discs. You can probably fit around ten tracks on these discs (if I remember rightly from my early mobile DJ days) and there is always a chance they can fail. Now that software can store vast amounts of information on your USB stick, such as playlists and hot cues, it won't be long until the CD transport is a memory. Will CD's have a revival such as the one Vinyl had in the last few years? I doubt it.
Both the XDJ-1000MK2 and XDJ-700 are available in our showroom, or on our website!
