Today, Pioneer DJ is announcing a new, wallet-friendly standalone XDJ-RR. Think of it as a slimmed-down XDJ-RX2, with a $600 cheaper price tag to match. Pioneer DJ is clearly continuing to take aim at the budget market of DJs who are looking to practice on gear that gets them ready for the “industry-standard” club CDJ setup. Keep reading for all the details on the new XDJ-RR.
XDJ-RR
- Gear: XDJ-RR
- Price: $1,099
- Availability: September 2018 (Pre-order from the DJTT Shop)
While many in the industry might have thought that the next announcement in Pioneer DJ’s XDJ lineup would be a four-channel version of the popular XDJ-RX line (XDJ-RZ, anyone?), the company has instead gone the other direction. The XDJ-RR has lots of the same features as the XDJ-RX, but much of it is dialed back for cost (see the main differences section below).
DJs can still enjoy direct-to-USB recording, dual USB inputs, full NXS2 style display on the 7-inch display (no touch functionality, but that’s barely used on the RX2 anyway), performance pads with cues, beat loops, beat jump, and slip loops, and connectivity to Rekordbox DJ’s performance mode (a voucher is included to unlock the full thing) via a single USB-B port on the back of the unit.
Who’s Going To Buy It?
We’re not quite convinced that the market for an XDJ-RR really exists – if you’re looking to have a complete DJ workstation that mirrors a club setup, why not spend the extra couple of hundred dollars (or less if you buy used/refurb) and get all the same FX control that you’d have on a NXS mixer? Being familiar with how Pioneer DJ’s FX work is one of the best things about having an RX2, and you’ll have a much more limited experience on the XDJ-RR.
That said, Pioneer DJ certainly has done very well for themselves in their quest to rule the budget controller market with their DDJ-RB/SB products. Guiding those customers into their next purchase might make more sense at the ~$1,000 price point, and that’s likely where the company sees serious opportunity.
What Are The Main Differences Between The XDJ-RR and XDJ-RX2?
I’ve been a strong advocate for the XDJ-RX/RX2 for a while, encouraging many friends to consider these units for the ease of transitioning between them and club rigs. This new model adds additional points for DJs to consider when making a buying decision – so here’s the main differences as I see them:
- Fewer Beat FX and Color FX: On the XDJ-RR, you get three Beat FX (Echo, Reverb, Flanger) and four Sound Color FX (Filter, Noise, Dub Echo, Pitch). The XDJ-RX2 blows this away, with 8 Beat FX and four Color FX with frequency control. It’s a pretty sizable difference
Color Waveforms: The XDJ-RX2 is missing colored waveforms – despite having a lot of the other NXS2-style functions in the display, the newer XDJ-RR wins on out this point with the same waveforms that the CDJ-2000NXS2s have.(Correction: This was wrong, the XDJ-RX2 does have color waveforms already – but for some reason, all of their promo photos don’t show them)- No Touchscreen: As mentioned above, the XDJ-RR’s screen does not have touch capabilities. That said, there’s barely any reason to use touch on the XDJ-RX2, so this doesn’t have a bit impact.
- Fewer Performance Pads: The XDJ-RR is closer to the original XDJ-RX in that it only has four performance pads – and no color backlighting. The XDJ-RX2 has eight pads, making it more ideal for heavy cue point jugglers.
- Smaller and Lighter: The XDJ-RR is about 43% lighter than the RX2, and is a touch smaller in width and height (but a bit taller as well).
- No Booth Out: If you want to have independent control over the DJ booth’s output, you’re out of luck on the XDJ-RR – there’s no booth outs. You could use the XLR and RCA outputs to still output to a master system and monitors, but you won’t be able to adjust the volume on each independently.
