Having the option to load up some digital media on some sort of USB mass-storage device and plug it directly into a controller to start a gig certainly has its merits. As much as I love my DJ software of choice (and I do), computers occasionally have issues, and it is just one more thing to lug around gig to gig. These DJ controllers are designed for party life without a laptop - a time, quite frankly, I never thought I’d see (but am happy to do so). Whether you call them “all-in-one” or “standalone” controllers, they’re sort of the rage these days. I recently had a chance to spend a couple of weeks with a review unit, and I’m happy to report that Pioneer DJ has still got it going on - should anyone have had any doubts. From entry level to midrange to the stuff of pros, we are all (as the Brits would say) spoiled for choice.Īt the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, Calif., this past January, Pioneer DJ showed off its latest entry, an all-in-one controller dubbed XDJ-XZ. There are so many ways to perform now - so much gear, supporting so many different approaches and styles - I can’t help but feel great about the state of the DJ universe (well, other than the lingering impacts of a global pandemic, anyway). What do you think of this? Are you lucky enough to have found one? Or are you waiting? Let us know your thoughts below.It feels as if I’ve said this a lot in recent years, but as I survey the DJ hardware and software landscape, I continue to feel like there’s no better time to be a DJ. Read our full review of the Pioneer DJ XDJ-XZ.If you want the “Pioneer experience”, then, the XDJ-XZ is a great bet… if you can find one. In this case, the price, the look and feel, and the favourable comparison with pro gear seem to have won the day. I think this proves that while there’s room for the latest tech in DJ gear, there’s also room for workhorse kit that achieves something other than simply pushing the technology forward. So does all new gear have to be cutting edge? Pioneer-loving DJs kind of know this, as it’s part of the brand identity I’ll bet that in 10 years time, the Pioneer gear in pro booths will look and feel pretty similar to this. Pioneer DJ is likely to tread very carefully when upgrading and changing the look and feel of its kit. Despite not being “cutting edge” tech, it is kind-of future proof – Why? Because in truth, DJ gear hasn’t changed much in years in the pro booth, and isn’t likely to (pro DJs hate change, they just want stuff to work as it’s always done).If you really want all the bells and whistles of a four-channel controller, they’re there – you just have to plug in your laptop and use Rekordbox DJ (and now, Virtual DJ 2020 too – with Serato DJ Pro due soon).And it’s just fun! Who wouldn’t want to know their gear felt just like doing it in the best clubs in the world? The unit may be technically under-powered, but it sure feels and acts like the “real thing” It helps for when you get as chance to play on “pro” gear yourself. Hobbyists want gear that is similar to play on to that found in DJ booths. It looks and feels exactly like pro gear – This can’t be underestimated.To the people buying this, that simply isn’t a disadvantage You can’t use four decks with two CDJs, either, and never have been able to. It pretty much does everything a pair of CDJ-2000NXS2 units plus a DJM-900NXS2 mixer do, but for a fraction of the price – Sure it only has one small screen instead of two, but the look, feel and overall functionality is there or thereabouts.By all accounts, it’s been a huge success. One of the things our community is telling us over and over again is that they simply can’t lay their hands on a unit. This is what people didn’t like, feeling Pioneer DJ was letting its rivals steal a lead. Truth is, this was the same tech as in the years-old XDJ-RX2 and XDJ-RR units, meaning while it had standalone mixer capabilities, all the hardware FX of the pro gear, and the look and feel of CDJ-2000NXS2 units, it was basically the XDJ-RX2 shoved in grown-up clothing. But four standalone channels for DJing from USB? Erm… A mixer virtually indistinguishable from the pro DJM-900NXS2? Yes. Decks that looked and felt like Pioneer pro CDJs? Yes. With Denon DJ recently consistently releasing unarguably next-gen kit (it’s Prime 4 for instance), many were hoping that Pioneer DJ would match that with a four-channel standalone DJ system of its own. When the Pioneer DJ XDJ-XZ was released at the end of 2019, many expressed disappointment.
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