Pioneer Introduces TOUR1 Models For CDJ & DJM Units
For many years, Pioneer has been the industry standard in equipment for the world’s top DJs. They have now really entered a league of their own with the introduction of their new TOUR1 models of their flagship CDJ player and DJM mixer.
The equipment remains largely the same in terms of the actual player and mixer components, save for one glaring difference. Pioneer has introduced 13-inch, full-color touch screens onto each unit, each with a built-in CPU to provide numerous extra capabilities to units that were arguably the most powerful available on the market. The screens allow the DJ to browse their track collection more easily, and can see the waveforms from all four channels side-by-side on the mixer’s display.
There is a huge emphasis placed on the sound quality of these units, as they boast an ESS Technology 32-bit D/A converter which Pioneer says will “eliminate low noise and distortion and give a clear, crisp sound at scale”. The mixer is also the first to have a pro audio grade AES/EBU digital output, which eliminates distortion and quality loss when connecting to front of house speaker systems. The DJM-TOUR1 also makes back-to-back mixing easier by including two independent headphone jacks, allowing each DJ to cue up a separate channel in his or her headphones.
Judging by the price tag on these products, the target audience is definitely not the casual DJ. The CDJ-TOUR1 and DJM-TOUR1 will be available starting in July 2016, running at prices of $4,999 (€4486.43) and $5,999 (€5383.89) respectively. The price point, combined with the perceived inconvenience of the extra screen, limit the kind of buyers who might be interested in the product to club owners and equipment rental companies. Another potential issue with these units is the fact that it will be difficult for the DJ to see the crowd, and vice versa. With these screens, DJ-to-crowd interaction could just about disappear.
Take a peek at this gallery of images to get a little more familiar with the new equipment.
Photos via PioneerDJ.com.
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