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Posted on Feb 15, 2005 - 11:15 AM by zmcnulty
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Here's a new CD player for DJs from Pioneer, packed with a bunch of features I'll likely never understand the importance of. I've never tried to be a DJ, nor do I think I ever will.
Still, it's 50,000 yen. Any DJs out there want to tell us if this is worth it or not?
Pioneer Corporation will release the "CDJ-200," a CD player for DJs that supports the playback of MP3 files recorded on CD-R/RW discs, in early April. The cost is Open Price, but estimates dictate it will cost around 50,000 yen.
This DJ-intended CD player can play MP3 files stored on CD-R/RW discs, and these MP3 files can be operated by a DJ in the same fashion as normal audio CDs. It has functions such as "Quick Start" and "Cue Sampler" as were included on the "CDJ-100S." Also available are loop setting functions that can be changed realtime why a song is playing.
The unit has dedicated buttons for "Loop Cutter," which when its button is pressed while a loop is playing, a loop of exactly half that particular length will automatically begin playback. Also available is a dedicated button for "Beat Loop," which will automatically detect the 4 beats immediately after the button was pushed...and loop these.
Also available is a "Digital Jog Brake," which applies "JET," "ZIP," and "WAH" effects by turning a jog dial. The usage of these effects can be confirmed with the display of icons on the unit's LCD, allowing for a higher degree of operability.
The frequency response is from 4 Hz ~ 20 kHz, and it has a S/N ratio of over 110db, as well as a treble wave distortion rate of 0.006%. It is furnished with an RCA audio output, coaxial digital output, and headphone output. The external dimensions are 216 x 292 x 99.5mm (W x D x H), and it weighs 3.2kg.
Inspired by:
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20050215/pioneer.htm
Press Release:
http://www.pioneer.co.jp/press/release479-j.html
Also in Audio/Video: | Also in Pioneer: |
| Comments (must be registered to post) | |
| Anonymous
15.02.05, 19:08 |
Yeah, that is actually a pretty fair price for what they are offering. I still prefer the feel of vinyl myself, but the ability to play with MP3s is pretty alluring. |
| zmcnulty
15.02.05, 21:21 |
It would be cool if some company made a device like this where you could "scratch" the CD like a record. This would require a pretty hefty electronic skip protection buffer (or I guess a cache, because you would need the sound from a few seconds ago to loop), and some fancy mechanism to detect resistance on the normal spinning of the disc motor, but it would be radical. |
| sar7501
15.02.05, 21:56 |
They do! Check out this demo movie: http://www.pioneer.co.jp/cdj/products/cdjplayer/moviemk2.swf |
| zmcnulty
15.02.05, 23:19 |
"oh my, he's on fire!" --NBA Jam |
| Anonymous
16.02.05, 00:28 |
This is actually the low-end product in their range, the CDJ-1000 mkII runs $1050 at retail. Numark, Denon and Technics make high-end scratch models too. I was skeptical until I saw folks like Shadow, Z-Trip and D-Sharp using them. I'm personally sticking with vinyl until they have USB or Firewire HD interfaces. there's some good videos at http://pioneerprodj.com [select the CDJ-1000 or mkII and go to media] |
| Anonymous
16.02.05, 09:08 |
I use the CDJ 1000 it's a nice machine, the addition of mp3s means that I would only have to carry about 10 cd's instead of 200 to 400 which is nice, although what I really want is an iJay with a hard drive and the abbility to cue up 3 or 4 songs in tandem mix between them whilst looping a bits as well... that would be nice. I'm assuming that this emulates vinyl as well as the cdj-1000 which does it quite well for scratching. |
| Anonymous
16.02.05, 09:40 |
You're being extremely optimistic about compression there, MP3 artifacts get a lot more apparent when they come out through a PA system. I'd say the best you could do realistically is 192 LAME encoding which averages 100-110 megs/hour. The CDJ-200 doesn't do scratching and without the center maker like on the 800/1000 it would be kind of pointless anyway, like the Denon S1000 people who use the time display to scratch. The design definitely looks neat though, I look ofrward to seeing this in lots of TV ads for alocolic sodas with scratching noises dubbed over. |
| Anonymous
16.02.05, 19:58 |
No matter what it doesn't sound like vinyl. You can scratch with cds, but it never sounds the same. Here's a test. 1. Get a sound system, any will do, even PC speakers. 2. Be somewhere you can play it loud. 3. Get a turntable and a CD player. 4. Get a copy of Pink Floyd's Dark side of the moon on vinyl and on CD 5. Compare. You will be blown away. The sound fills the room with the vinyl, and the CD sounds tinny afterward. |
| Anonymous
17.02.05, 01:12 |
If you really want to be blown away get the SACD version of Dark Side of the Moon! |
| Anonymous
17.02.05, 09:34 |
Eh, if you're smoking the vinyl crack you probably also buy those $500 cables... Same goes for SACD actually - they probably remixed that release so maybe it sounded better, but if you take the exact same digital file that they use to make a stereo SACD and convert it to CD quality instead it is mathematically, provably impossible that you'd hear any quality difference. Unless you both play it loud enough to seriously damage your hearing (quite possible) AND you live in an a fully soundproofed anechoic test chamber (not very likely). Or if you're a dog. 24-bit, 192 kHz audio is just another brand of hi-fi snake oil. Forget it. CD quality is as good as can be. On the actual topic (how many dance DJs regularly play dark side of the moon out anyhow?) the cdj-1000 videos look awesome, but for this 200, no scratching? Meh. |
| Anonymous
17.02.05, 09:55 |
Does anyone here know if there exists the sort of device that people mention above - something that has a harddrive that allows you to load all your songs onto it; you have two of them, just like you have two turntables or two cdjs, and you regularly update the harddrives the way I do my 40G Ipod. This idea seems so basic to me - does it exist and I'm missing it? The manufacturers could focus on making the 'job wheel' a true turntable - something the same size as vinyl, even, that always spins at a rate that corresponds with how fast the mp3 is playing, and that is as sensitive to manupulation as a turntable playing vinyl...... Any ideas? |
| Anonymous
17.02.05, 16:16 |
Check out "final scratch" re storing music on a hard drive. U store the music on ur hard drive and play them via turntables using only one record for each turntable. Research "Final Scratch for complete explanation |
| Anonymous
17.02.05, 18:15 |
I've heard a ton of downtempo and triphop dj's spin pink floyd. Come to think of it I remember a trance dj that used to do a sweet mix of Comfortably Numb. Back on topic. I've scratched with vinyl and I've scratched with CDs. I have yet to find a CD player that doesn't feel like a toy. When you scratch with vinyl you can feel the grooves in the record, with a cd you can't feel that, so it's really a different experience. Maybe it would be ok if you learned on one. z |
| Anonymous
17.02.05, 23:42 |
Scratch DJ's scratch... REAL DJ'S DON'T! |
| Anonymous
18.02.05, 09:46 |
good features, what about the regular sized jog wheel???? |
