There’s nothing that seems to get the DJing community talking more than the release of a new model of decks and over the weekend one of the leaders of the scene, Pioneer, lifted the lid on their latest creation, the CDJ-850.

Set for release this August, the CDJ-850 will supersede the previous package, the CDJ-800, with Pioneer stepping things up to bring it in line with their beloved recent additions to the family, the CDJ-2000 and CDJ-900 and their technological advancements like USB integration and the patented rekordbox tools.

But what Pioneer are really stressing with the 850 is the model’s strength as an intermediate set of decks for aspiring DJs not quite ready to make the move to playing in clubs just yet.

“The CDJ-850 is a great option for DJs wanting to familiarise themselves in home set-ups along with the infinite possibilities digital DJing developments are bringing to the artform,” the press release quoted. “We wanted the 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. This we’ve achieved, while still bringing the system in at an affordable price.”

That affordable price is £799 – or around $1,370 AUD – and will start shipping internationally from next month.

But we reckon you still have one lingering question; is it sexy? Hells yes it is. See for yourself in the gallery lineup below and check out the specifications as well.

> 1st Images of Pioneer’s CDJ-850

Main features
– 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