PIONEER CDJ-3000

When Pioneer DJ launched the original CDJ-1000, it was a huge leap forward for DJs and helped the company to elbow out Technics from the DJ booth after its Technics brand of CD player failed to hit the mark. Steady updates followed until another huge leap forward came with the CDJ-2000 in 2009. With a new flagship CDJ finally arriving more than 10 years later, are we facing an evolution or a revolution?

Updating a global industry-standard product is always going to require a careful balancing act. DJs will always want the familiarity and workflow they’ve become accustomed to. But with Denon nipping at Pioneer’s heels with groundbreaking features and engineering, Pioneer has to keep an eye on tomorrow, and the kinds of features that the modern DJ expects too.

A notable omission, despite retaining the CDJ branding,