Pioneer Announces CDJ-850

By Pendulum, posted July 14, 2010

In what seems to be a barrage of new releases from Pioneer, comes the latest CD Turntable, the CDJ-850, a refined and enhanced predecessor to the CDJ-800.

It looks the goods too. Finally 0.02% pitch adjust, sleeker top panel, and the all new Recordbox software and integration - meaning you can browse your memory stick or external drive filled with your wavs or mp3s. There's a ne colour LCD screen, however it's flat rather than angled up like the bigger CDJ900 and 2000 models. Also worth mentioning is the new 24-bit audio, plus full MIDI and HID control! Yhe top USB slot accepts hard drives or memory sticks. However unlike the 900 and 2000, you need TWO thumb drives or hard drives if you are running 2 CDJs. No sharing, in other words. Have a read of the full press releases and features below:

The CDJ-2000s are quickly replacing the CDJ-1000Mk3 as the industry standard player in the world's biggest clubs, while the CDJ-900 takes root in regular clubs. The new CDJ-350 has now launched, offering the most affordable rekordboxTM compatible deck for the beginner DJ, but left a gap for semi-pro bedroom DJs and bars. Pioneer today announce the complete rekordboxTM enabled CDJ line-up with the new CDJ-850.

Intentionally designed to feel and function like other CDJ models further up the range, the CDJ-850 will give that all important reassurance when turning up to a gig with other CDJ models in the booth. And just as budding DJs practiced on the CDJ-800 at home in preparation for their club gigs on the CDJ-1000, the CDJ-850 is set to become the new training ground for DJs hoping to break it on the club circuit.



Mark Grotefeld, Head Of Marketing, Pioneer DJ Europe: "The CDJ-850 is a great option for DJs wanting to familiarise themselves in home set-ups along with the infinite possibilities digital DJing developments are bringing to the artform."

Apart from the ProDJ Link connection, the CDJ-850 inherits so many of the most exciting features from the CDJ-2000 and 900, offering major enhancements over the outgoing CDJ-800MK2.

The full-size 206mm jog wheel will be familiar to all existing professional CDJ users, giving the same performance and feel as the top range products. And no matter which CDJ you play on, the browsing logic is always the same and all the work put into customizing rekordbox collections will be available on every player in the range. So wherever DJs play, it will always feel like home.

Jason Pook, Product Development Manager, Pioneer DJ Europe, said: "We wanted the CDJ-850 to resemble the CDJ-2000 in as many ways as possible, so that the transition between using both is as smooth as possible. This we've achieved, while still bringing the system in at an affordable price."

The CDJ-850 features the same large rotary select dial as the CDJ-2000 and is the most affordable product in the range to feature the Wave display to see peaks and drops of the music. An intuitive Tag List feature allows DJs to think ahead 10, 20 or many more tracks by arranging temporary set lists on the fly. They can save this as a playlist and recall it later in rekordbox or use it again at the next gig. And what's more, it's the only player to feature Tag List editing, so you can add, remove and change the order of tracks in the list.

Adapting to all ways of working, the CDJ-850 plays music from CD, USB and PC. Despite the price point, it's capable of playing professional 24-bit Wav and Aiff, along with MP3 and AAC music files. It can be used as a Midi controller and 24-bit soundcard for music software, and with HID capability, software companies will be quick to announce Plug&Play support.

Main features

Retains most of the principal functions from the industry club-standard CDJ-2000, such as the 206mm jog dial and large screen for visual information.

Able to play all types of digital files, such as WAV, AIFF, MP3 etc.

Incorporates rekordboxTM, allowing the creation and editing of playlists pre-gig, and recalling cue and loop settings for more inventive DJing.

On-screen display allows for quick and easy music selection, and the wave display allows greater grasp of the dynamics of a track.

By connecting via the CDJ-850's special interface (USB HID), more complex DJ software can be used without using a control disk.

Tag list allows registering and itemising of tracks at the touch of a button.

Auto beat loop function, tempo variation, CD ‘resume' function and vibration-resistance are just some of the other additional features.

Main Specifications

Compatible Media: Music CDs, CD-R/RW, USB storage devices (such as flash memory, HDD, etc.)
Compatible Files: MP3/AAC/WAV/AIFF
USB storage compatible File Systems: FAT16, FAT32, HFS+
Frequency Performance: 4 Hz – 20 kHz
S/N Ratio: 115 dB or higher
Total Harmonic Distortion: 0.003% or less
USB Ports: USB A Port × 1, USB B Port × 1
Audio Output Terminals: AUDIO OUT (RCA)
Other Terminals: CONTROL (3.5 mm dia. mini-plug)
Audio Output Voltage: 2.0 V
Power Supply: 220-240V 50/60 HZ
Power Consumption: 21 W
Max External Dimensions: 305 mm (W) × 364.4 mm (D) × 105.5 mm (H)
Unit Weight: 3.3 kg
Included Music Management Software rekordboxTM
Compatible OS: Mac OS X (10.4.6 and later) - Windows® 7 Home Premium/Professional/Ultimate - Windows Vista® Home Basic/Home Premium/Ultimate/Business - Windows® XP Home Edition/Professional (SP2&later)
(Note: Is not compatible with Windows® XP Professional x64 edition)
Playable Files: MP3/AAC/WAV/AIFF

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