The Pioneer CDJ's 350 and 400

CDJ350

CDJ400

Fundamentally, these are the exact same players. The CDJ350 looks fly as hell, and the CDJ400 looks much more electropunk and covered in flashy lights. But having done some moderate research, I'm surprised to find that, despite these players having usually the same price tag, they're actually not entirely equal at all.

The CDJ350 seems to me to quite literally be an upgrade from the CDJ400. It can play more specific filetypes (CDJ400; MP3, CDR and CD Audio, CDJ350: MP3, Wav, AIFF, AAC), it is a purposed MIDI controller, it can sync with another CDJ350 and it is compatible with Rekordbox, Pioneer's accompanying software that allows DJ's to analyze and beatgrid music on players.

Despite being released in 2007, the CDJ400 is already going madly out of style. The CDJ350 has been made to appeal to both bedroom DJ's and more professional DJ's (who may, however, only station them in smaller clubs or in high-class bars and lounges). There is little that can be said about the CDJ400 alone, other than that it's a more compact version of its larger counterparts, apparently designed to be just that. Both systems look kind of detailed, but are actually somewhat nondescript in the way they operate. They're massively straight forward, and their gimmicks are generally all business. They're not loaded up with fancy effects, maybe except for the beatcutter, and don't seem to have the same fun factor as their older brothers, perhaps due to their more economic intentionality.

The CDJ400 seems to have emerged from the last generation of the Pioneer CDJ family, as if a response to the CDJ1000 and 800, designed specifically for more practical application and bedroom use in particular. The CDJ350 seems to do exactly the same thing, only with a bit more enthusiasm. It brings the CDJ into the "New Species" of Pioneer players, particularly in the way it boasts a very minimalist and fine design and specified features, such as the big, practically self-explanatory format and BPM lock buttons.

I can easily imagine both players in either a bedroom or a club, but the CDJ350 is, it seems, a necessary upgrade from the 400. The CDJ350 is compatible with a specialized program, it can link to other players, it looks arguably nicer, and it seems to make obvious the features that made the 400 so revolutionary for its time, adding on its own new features as an act of progress.

I would suggest that the CDJ350 has earned its place in this world, and I'm quite remorseful in believing that the 400 was unfortunately short lived. Of course, knowing Pioneer, the CDJ350 will most likely be tossed aside just as quickly - or maybe Pioneer has made some wiser plans? Either way, technology must be often upgraded, and I can tell you at least one company who embraces this fact, regardless of whether or not you must sell your house in order to afford their equipment.

Anyway, I would sooner buy the 350 than the 400 at this point, and I just might do it, too. In fact, I could imagine buying a pair of CDJ350's, and maybe the DJM350 as well, to carry around as a mobile DJ. Of course, there are more minimal solutions, but it would make me feel particularly warm and fuzzy inside knowing that I had a complete DJ system at my disposal. At this point, CDJ400 prices are starting to go down, but this will only last for a while. I'm confident in saying the 350 will replace it entirely one day.