Pioneer CDJ-850: Bedroom DJ kit goes pro

Pioneers have always been ubiquitous with DJ culture; from the early years of the digital mixing with their first CDJ 1000 and have been at the forefront of the CD mixing phenomenon since the death of Vinyl mixing over the last few years.

They are now ready to release a new line of CDJ that will bridge the divide between the bedroom DJ and a true professional.

Pioneer CDJ’s are common place in every club in the land and Pioneer aren’t resting on their laurels as they about to unload the rekordbox TM enabled CDJ 850 – it will incorporate many of the most exciting features from the CDJ-2000 and 900, offering major enhancements over the outgoing CDJ-800MK2.

No matter which CDJ you play on, the browsing logic is always the same and all the work put into customising rekordboxTM collections will be available on every player in the range. So wherever DJs play, it will always feel like home.

They have aimed the new CDJ 850 cleverly, by trying to get 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. They have certainly achieved this, while still bringing the system in at an more affordable price of £799.99.

Notable inclusions in the so-called budget ranged of CDJ are Wave display, which all you 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 rekordboxTM or use it again at the next gig.
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.

So if you looking to become a DJ or you have dreams of being the next Tiesto, then you can’t go wrong with the CDJ 850 – but remember you’ll need two CDJ’s and mixer, which is going to cost you at least £2000, which in anyone’s world is not a cheap for any bedroom DJ.

But Pioneer have set the industry standard for CDJ’s and we think that they will become more renowned than its predecessor the Technics MK 3’s – which will be discontinued by the end of the year according to reports circulating the internet. Rip Vinyl.

So if wondering whether to go for the so-called budget option you might want to see it’s main features and spec list below to make the right choice.

• 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