Manufacturer: Pioneer
Cost: $1899.00

Pioneer’s motto for the CDJ-1000 should be “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Rather than rest on their laurels, they’ve listened to DJs of all levels and added a few more useful improvements to one of the most widely used CD units found in clubs worldwide.

Improved Jog Dial Feel
Building on the success of the original CDJ-1000 and its revision, the MK3, the third revision of the CDJ-1000 has kept its static 7” jog dial, but improved it by utilising a metallic ‘non-slip’ finish, as well as the ability to change its resistance from heavy (CDJ-1000 Mk2) to light (CDJ-800) and any point in between. Also improved is the Central Jog Display, which has been brought closer to the surface for enhanced viewing at angles and 45° markers for further visual-cueing assistance.

Added MP3 Support
Thanks to the age of digital downloads, Pioneer has included MP3 support, allowing both CBR and VBR (up to 320kbps) to be played back by this unit on either CD-R or CD-RW. Obviously, it’s not going to touch the likes of Torq, Serato Scratch Live nor Final Scratch Open to be rid of the Chiropractor… but it’s sure going to help get the bills down, at least!

Upgradeable Firmware
What also seems to be following in the footsteps of other CDJ manufacturers as well, or, as PR would like to proclaim, “consumer demand”, is the added facility for user upgradeable firmware. Already this has proved useful for owners of the earlier MK3s, with a firmware update yielding improved Master Tempo quality and readability of dirty or scratch discs.

Other Enhancements
In addition to these major improvements, smaller refinements have been made to existing features to make the unit more powerful for the user while retaining the ease of use that DJs have become accustomed to with the player.

Track Data Display has been brought closer to the surface as well, for increased visibility at angles. Increases in the Wave Display resolution have allowed an entire track to be shown as opposed to showing it in segments as was on the original and MK2 version of the player. The display can also show ID3 tags, thanks to the MP3 support. Other options available for standard audio CDs is CD TEXT, which can show track, artist and album information if available.

In keeping with tradition of previous CDJ-1000 models, there’s a separate Vinyl Speed Adjust which allows for the braking and release speed of the audio to be altered when the Jog Dial is pressed or released. The three Hot Cue buttons allow for the recording and instant return to a certain cue point. These can be used as a sampler-like function with vocals, breaks or even loops that can be called up at any time, no matter where it’s located on the CD.

Furthermore, to storing loops in the Hot Cue bank, you have the ability to set your own loop and alter it with the In/Out Loop Adjust buttons. Whilst exiting a loop is done with the Reloop/Exit button, pressing this down again will send your CDJ back into the loop, which can be handy if you were just a little slack in cueing up the next track.

Tempo range is ±6%, ±10%, ±16%, ±100%... with the ever popular Master Tempo which allows for the pitch to remain as usual, no matter what speed you change the track to. A Tempo Reset button is available, resetting the Tempo to 0% no matter where the slider is positioned.

Virtually unchanged is the memory storage thanks to the SD Card. Cue points and Wave Data can be stored on this, also having the ability to copy the card contents to other CDJ-1000 MK3s. Vinyl and CD Jog mode, CD Eject Lock, Fwd/Rev Direction Switch, Auto Cue On/Off, Front Slot-Loading CD drive and its oil-dampened floating suspension, Legato Link Sound Conversion Technology and the good ol’ forced ejection pin remain standard on this latest iteration of Pioneer’s legendary CDJ unit.

So where to from here…?
One could just nitpick and say, “well I’d like there to be M4A/AAC support for my stuff bought from iTunes”, or “using the ±100% range at it’s extremes I still get artefacts from the sound”, or “it doesn’t have an active platter like a real turntable…”, but with the digital output available to complement the DJM-800 and DJM-1000 mixers for cleanest sound, user upgradeable firmware functionality, improved display and added MP3 support, what more could Pioneer add to the CDJ-1000 to continue its reign as the most used CD unit throughout the world?