What will Pioneer DJ release at NAMM 2020 – a new CDJ, or a new turntable?

We’ve seen the beginnings of NAMM 2020 DJ gear news this week. In our email inboxes and around the web we’ve seen a lot of people asking the same question: what will Pioneer DJ release at NAMM 2020?

Let’s think back to NAMM 2019 when the answer to the same question was: absolutely nothing. There was no new DJ gear on the floor from the Japan-based DJ gear manufacturer, and aside from a few incremental updates like the DDJ-1000SRT and XDJ-XZ there wasn’t much the rest of the year. It feels like the chance for Pioneer DJ to flex is next week’s NAMM show. Keep reading for my thoughts.

A new CDJ/XDJ-2000 NXS3: this could be the year!

Denon DJ is currently sweeping the legs out from under Pioneer DJ in terms of feature set available on media players. Built-in Wi-Fi and streaming services? Dual layer players? Massive new touchscreens on the SC6000s with an ultra-modern interface? The time for Pioneer DJ to fire back is now.

CDJ-2000NXS2s were released in 2016, CDJ-2000NXS in 2012, and original CDJ-2000s in 2009 – so we’re nearly a year overdue for the next top-of-line player.

Let’s take bets in the comments below – will a new Pioneer DJ player have a CD drive, or is it time to give it up?

PLX-2000 or something vinyl related is almost guaranteed

If you aren’t closely watching Pioneer DJ’s social media, this prediction might be confusing. But take one look at the last four videos they’ve uploaded to their YouTube channel it’s clear: Pioneer is trying to hype how amazing vinyl collections and vinyl DJs are, and they’re spending marketing dollars to tell this story.

The PLX-1000 came out in 2014, so an update to the classic vinyl player might be in order, but it’s not really groundbreaking. Perhaps a better fit might be if a competitor to the Rane Twelves was released, something with a vinyl feel but that fuels the Rekordbox ecosystem?

A New Battle Mixer or DJM-S9MK2

With the Rane Seventy-Two having entered the ring as the challenger to the battle mixer standard that the DJM-S9 has become, it seems like an update to the S9 could be in order to keep the product fresh and relevant.

Something else?

There’s plenty of other potential contenders that we could imagine in the mix. An update to the long-forgotten DJM-2000 line? The white whale of a standalone four channel XDJ-RZ? An update to Rekordbox Lighting?

Share your thoughts about what else Pioneer DJ might be likely to release in the comments below.