Entered CNET Catalog: 01/15/2002
SKU: CDJ1000
Manufacturer: Pioneer North America
Product summary
The good: Works just like a record player; well built; sounds good.
The bad: Loud drive mechanism; professional price.
The bottom line: This CD player is the answer for vinyl-spinning DJs who want to use CDs just like they use records.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 01/17/2002
In nightclubs around the world, old-fashioned vinyl turntables are still the tools of the trade. But with its turntablelike interface and rock-solid performance, Pioneer's CDJ-1000 CD player deserves a spot alongside the record players in those DJ booths. Unfortunately, the player's professional price tag will keep many home DJs from owning it. Updated 3/6/02
In nightclubs around the world, old-fashioned vinyl turntables are still the tools of the trade. But with its turntablelike interface and rock-solid performance, Pioneer's CDJ-1000 CD player deserves a spot alongside the record players in those DJ booths. Unfortunately, the player's professional price tag will keep many home DJs from owning it.
The $1,299 (list price) CDJ-1000 is fairly large (12.5 by 14.5 by 4.2 inches and 9.26 pounds) and must rest on a tabletop because CDs load into a slot on the front edge. Around back, you'll find both analog and digital audio outputs. But all of the real action happens on top, where there's a touch-sensitive jog dial--roughly the size of a 45rpm record--made to look like a plastic turntable. To the right is a pitch-control slider used to speed up or slow down songs. A large, colorful LED display above the platter shows most of the necessary information. There are lots of buttons scattered across the top of the player, but because of its size, it never feels too crowded.
Inside, this player is quite unlike most consumer CD players. It has a 16X CD drive that reads CD and CD-R/RW data very quickly, and there's a large memory buffer, so you can scan flawlessly forward and backward through songs. You can hear the whir of that high-speed drive when you're using the player, but it doesn't degrade the final audio quality.
Just like a record
Record players have survived for so long in nightclubs because no DJ-oriented CD player has been able to truly mimic a turntable. But that's where Pioneer really gets it right. The CDJ-1000 has the same sort of tactile and visual interface as the much-vaunted Technics SL-1200MK2 turntable. Place your finger on the turntable, and the CD stops playing. Let go, and the music starts again. Two knobs allow you to fine-tune the player's stop and start response speed, making it behave even more like a record player. You can rotate the platter forward and backward, and the sound you hear is identical to that of cueing and scratching a record.
In our testing, the CDJ-1000 never stuttered or skipped no matter how fast we back-cued or how furiously we scratched. The LED in the center of the turntable appears to rotate, giving you a crucial visual aid when you're cueing up a song. In the larger display, you can quickly glance at a graphic representation of a tune to easily gauge how much time remains, where a break is, and other necessary visual cues that you're used to seeing on an LP.
The CDJ-1000 has quite a few tricks up its sleeve, too. The Reverse switch lets you instantly play your CDs backward and forward. You can easily repeat a portion of a song, thanks to the Loop function. And you can set the three Hot Cue buttons for instantaneous access to any point in your CD. The player lets you store cue points and loop points for up to 10 CDs in its memory so that you won't need to reset these every time you put the disc in the player. Insert a card into the MultiMedia Memory Card (MMC) slot, and you can store cue and loop data for up to 10,000 discs.
Does it sound like vinyl?
Audiophiles and vinyl addicts may never be completely satisfied with CD audio quality, but the CDJ-1000 sounds very good. It uses a 1-bit digital-to-analog converter and Legato Link Conversion, which Pioneer claims adds third- and fifth-order harmonics to the CD audio, extending the frequency response up to 40KHz (CD audio stops at 20KHz). The added frequency response is supposed to make CDs sound more like analog recordings. While we could hear a subtle difference between the CD and the LP versions of Jay Denes's Music and Wine, we didn't necessarily prefer one over the other. We were able to seamlessly mix records and CDs as long as we paid enough attention to the EQ settings on each source.
For those willing to shell out the dough, the CDJ-1000 opens up a whole new world of possibilities. Unlike previous DJ-oriented CD players that required a bit too much practice and patience to master, this player's learning curve is much shorter. We were able to create music on a PC, burn it to CD, and play it at a party that same night. And no record player we've seen has a built-in loop function.
Editor's note: The CDJ1000 carries a one-year warranty. However, be sure to check that you're buying from an authorized Pioneer retailer. The company will not honor the warranty on products purchased from unauthorized resellers.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36out of 36 user reviews
this product is amazing
Pros: This cd player is one if not the best dj-style cd-player it gives you the freedom to more possibilities.
Cons: It still not quite like the vinyl record feeling
out of 36 user reviews
best DJ turtable ever! Better then vinyl turntable
Pros: scratches exactly like vinyl turntable, a lot of special features
Cons: priced too high
out of 36 user reviews
the 1000s & the 1000mk2s are now the benchmark for quality pro-decks.
Pros: too many to list
Cons: a bit slow to load
out of 36 user reviews
Awesome CD turntable, period.
Pros: Great scratch reproduction, awesome start and brake features, super realtime que and loop functions, and pretty much anything you need to be a club DJ like myself.
Cons: Kind of costly... uhh anything else?
out of 36 user reviews
good, but cost a little too much
Pros: if you're a good dj you will make your money back.....
Cons: u got to pay the cost to be the boss
out of 36 user reviews
damn good cd player.. but expensive
Pros: looping is good - master tempo-
Cons: to expensive... makes you want to buy another set of 1200's with ortofons...
out of 36 user reviews
every headliner dj requires these
Pros: armin van buuren, mark farina, dj rap, tiesto, james zabiela and others all personally agreed this was the most reliable choice for a cd deck. Having used these for 2 years I fully agree its the most relibale solution.
Cons: pricey...but then again I made all the money back in rentals ;)
out of 36 user reviews
seriously impressive
Pros: I like the features on it along with the way thats its so easy to use and the whole cd mixing thing its going to be legendary
Cons: the expence is the only thing
out of 36 user reviews
A time saving utlity
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Any serious "cd"j must have
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THE BEST ONE YET...
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As Close As You Get to Vinyl
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Be in with technology!
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its the bomb.
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finally
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an upgrade...
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The greatest DJ invention the last 20 years
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Great features, built to last.
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PRICEY BUT WORTH IT
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Too Pricey
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Inertia
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out of 36 user reviews
Best CD turntable available.
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out of 36 user reviews
A must for any serious DJ
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Great players.
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Impressive and it works!
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The Hottest Toy for DJ!
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out of 36 user reviews
Sick as i see them
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out of 36 user reviews
Good addition for the mobile DJ
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out of 36 user reviews
WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY!!!!
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out of 36 user reviews
Be a real DJ? get real.
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out of 36 user reviews
The best thing since sliced bread.
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out of 36 user reviews
Wake up !!!!
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out of 36 user reviews
Just a cd player
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out of 36 user reviews
OK FOR DJ'S
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out of 36 user reviews
Be a REAL Dj, use TURNTABLES
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out of 36 user reviews
new "spin" on an old mix
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