Pioneer’s XDJ-700 – it’s time to get in touch…
I was lucky enough to get my hands on Pioneer’s XDJ-700 last week and was impressed by the latest addition to the XDJ range. If I’m honest the early models didn’t really float my boat, the R1 and the Aero left me feeling a little underwhelmed but I must say that since the XDJ-1000 was launched followed by the RX, and now the XDJ-700 the series is beginning to make sense.
It’s clear that the XDJ range has been designed to bridge the gap between controllers and Pioneer’s proprietary Rekordbox database management system and the XDJ-700 gives the clearest indication of Big Ps intentions. The 700 is compact, shipping with detachable feet which when left in the box allow the unit to sit nicely alongside a controller. Then there’s the jog wheel, which while smaller than those found in the pro CDJ and XDJ-1000 models is much closer to that which a controllerist is familiar. I should mention that with the feet in place the unit is the same height as standard CDJs.
Does size really matter?
While we’re on the subject of size you might be wondering how Pioneer have managed to shrink the footprint of the XDJ-700 while delivering a great rekordbox experience? This is where the full colour 7 inch touchscreen comes into it’s own, with multiple windows to take care of playback data, browsing and most importantly performance features – the controls which have been sacrificed from the physical domain (the reverse button for example) now live on this screen – in fact the only missing control from the XDJ-1000 is the vinyl speed adjust.
To further keep the size down Pioneer have supplied the XDJ-700 with a PSU to save the need for the transformer on board.
The missing link
Pro DJ link is, by far, my favourite inclusion on the XDJ-700. Allowing connection of up to four Rekordbox players this makes the XDJ-700 a serious consideration for current CDJ/XDJ-1000 owners who wish to add an extra deck. On top of this it brings a touchscreen, four deck rekordbox/DJM 900 Nexus system in well under ￡4K – for all those asking when a 4 deck XDJ-RX is coming, it’s already here!
In use, aside from the smaller jog wheel, the Pioneer XDJ-700 behaves as expected with all features inherited from the XDJ-1000 in pretty much the same place on the touchscreen, in fact anyone who has used the 1000 will feel right at home.
So are there any gripes? Just one – the touch screen doesn’t support multi touch so while there are five levels of zoom available for waveform views you can’t simply pinch or stretch the waveform as you can on Akai’s recently released MPC Touch.
To sum it up, the XDJ-700 is a great little media player, granted there’s no CD drive but if we’re all honest with ourselves the idea of turning up to a club with CDs is done now thanks to rekordbox. The smaller jog wheels won’t bother those progressing from most controllers and as an add on to an existing set up the level of control offered for this price is incredible. Sure there’s no multi-touch but honestly this is a minor gripe when you consider just how much tech you’re getting for a little over five hundred quid, less if you like to barter!