Pioneer DJ Gear

Everytime market leader Pioneer releases a DJ player, we’re back into the same endless debates going back and forth... Well, I won’t feed that trend and try to give you my opinion, as neutral as possible

A DJ for the last 15 years, I’ve used many CD players in the past, from a big, 19” player (Audiophony CD 1220) to flat ones (Denon DNS-3500, then a CDJ-1000 Mk3 for the last… 6 to 8 years). I generally do 50 performances a year.

Let’s get into the context: a satisfied user of my CDJ-1000Mk3/Serato combination for years now, I couldn’t help being more than tempted by the CDJ-2000. Problem is, even with a rather important number of shows a year I couldn’t afford one of these at $1800 (a little lower now). Very disappointed by the CDJ-800 years ago, I wouldn’t even consider lower-end models from the same brand (CDJ-850 / CDJ-900), first because of their manufacturing quality, and also due to their features (I don’t care about an autoloop or loop divide, but hot cues can be useful :p).

Don’t even mention controllers, makes me want to puke: a big, low-end plasticky thing with a lot of controls and lit up as a Christmas tree with professional-looking features that you actually never use in a live situation

All in all, when I saw this model Pioneer had released I wasn’t deterred by the USB-only mode (other manufacturers had done that long before), especially since my CDF weren’t fed by much else than Serato timecoded CDs. A bit circumspect about the touchscreen, I thought “let’s buy one to try it, and resell it at a good price if something’s wrong” .

After a few weeks testing it in my living room, here’s my opinion on it: a real killer! Nothing to be critical of, I can’t compare with the CDJ-2000NXS’s USB part for I never used it but the software’s ergonomics seems quite close.
Touchscreen is very responsive, sound quality is flawless. Very satisfying! After thatn you have to get used to Rekordbox, which doesn’t work the same as Serato SL / DJ but hopefully I won’t have to keep the computer in front of me while mixing as all controls can directly be accessed on the player (thanks for that, Pioneer!).
Plus, getting back my loops and cues makes things easier!

OK, there are still a few cons:
- platter is not backlit
- no “pitch reset” control
- a lot of things can be done to the loops using the touchscreen, but to leave the loop jou have to use the “exit loop” control above the jog – so you tend to look everywhere for that control at the beginning :p
- the JOG’s resistance can’t be set (but it’s still rather soft)

As for its pros, value-for-money is quite good, even if Pioneer is making a nice margin and incites to use Rekordbox.

If you have a CDJ-2000 (either a Nexus or not), skip this one. If you’re still using a CDJ-800/1000 like I did, perhaps this one’s worth the investment!

As a semi pro DJ, I use this XDJ RX daily for training.

I’ve only had it for a few days, but this was enough to conquer me.

I have tried none of its competitors so far. (I mean, no standalone device!! Only Denon and Stanton offer equivalent products, but they’re a level under! Otherwise, I come from vinyl then CD mixing…)

>> What I like best about it :

.Ergonomics and setting of all functions similar to CDJ / DJM you can find in clubs, to me that’s its #1 asset

.Ease of use – coming from vinyl/CD mixing, I found my marks while I originally feared the XDJ RX would deliver feelings closer to a PC controller. It’s not the case, you really feel like playing on a good old CD player with the feelings and way to proceed Pioneer is known for.

.Rather good sound quality

.Very good screen

.Overall product quality

.Rekordbox, an excellent music library management software

.Of course, its #1 functionality : being useable in standalone with just a USB drive that went through Rekordbox, no need for a PC

."Slip mode" is nice

.Its effects



>> What I like less

.A third channel wouldn’t be too much, if only for mixing an external source (or even 4 channels). Now, I can live with 2 channels as I’m dynamic enough in the way I play, plus I knew it beforehand so this is not a problem at all for me.

.In spite of the great quality and response of the jogs, real CDJ-style jogs would have been much better.

.Otherwise, not much to say about it on the negative side… It’s a great product which I’d call semi-pro level, one step above the DDJ controller series as far as sound quality and building quality are concerned, and well above the CDJ350/400...

.I highly recommend this device for all who dislike software + controller interfaces as much as I do and don’t want to spend $6000 for a CDJ/DJM system, as well as for all who need to work their mixes at home before mixing in clubs… This standalone is a good investment with a excellent value for money, especially when compared with a full system!

[edit : I’ve had the XDJ RX for quite some time now. I can only confirm all that I wrote above, this device is very convincing (and I’m quite picky regarding gear), very easy to use and stable, I never got any problem with it. I very highly recommend it to either a beginner willing to learn the basis of “real” mixing or an experienced pro DJ who needs to train and doesn’t want to buy Pioneer’s Nexus series as this XDJ RX provides the same functionalities for one third of the price while being just as worthy. Getting from a XDJ RX to a pro club setup is seamless, so for all those waiting for an eventual 4 channel version all I can say is you’re missing something that goes to the very essence of mixing, with more natural and real feels than any controller, including Pioneer’s DDJ, all with a better sound quality.]