We all know that Pioneer has a legendary status in the land of the DJ. The industry standard for many club booths are the CDJ 1000′s and DJM Mixer series. But what about at home? What brand of CD decks takes place in our studio space for our own personal use? We all sought after the best and the Pioneer brand is without doubt the most popular DJ technology brand out there right now.

However, the best comes at a cost, a cost some of us can’t afford. So if your a bit cash strapped and your looking for some CD decks for Christmas up there with the Pioneer technology you might want to check out the Stanton C.324′s as an alternate. Read this honest comparison review to help make your decision…

I will be taking a look at the Pioneer CDJ 800 Mk2 as the most popular home studio CD Deck that Pioneer offers being it is the most affordable Pioneer CD technology out there. If you can work these then you can certainly work the CDJ 1000′s in a club. In contrast I will give you an honest overview on the Stanton C.324 CD Deck as an alternate choice.

Pioneer CDJ 800 Mk2′s

Firstly the Pioneer CDJ 800 Mk2′s come with an image of being industry standard technology. Just like Technics 1210′s were to the club industry before CD’s came along. So simply put if your looking to play out and perform in a club you will 99.9% of the time find Pioneer CD decks in the DJ booth. This gives Pioneer the advantage of pushing the decision towards their own brand of CDJ decks when home buyers are looking to purchase.

This fact alone is probably the biggest selling point as everyone wants the industry standard – the most professional and iconic technology out there. But apart from that fact the CDJ’s do live up to this ‘pioneering’ technology with features such as the legendary Pioneer Jog Wheel apparently built on ball bearings with non slip feel and a digital display built in for visual cueing assistance.
Everything else about the Pioneer deck are simple CD deck standards like the loop feature, 100% pitch, vinyl mode, mp3 disc readability etc – but Pioneer set the standard. If there are any requests from Santa this Christmas from any DJ out there it would be a pair of CDJ’s from Pioneer.

Stanton C.324 CD Deck

In comparison to the CDJ range, and going for almost half the price (that’s at least £300 below the £1,000 mark for the cheapest pair of Pioneers) are Stantons newest CD Deck – the C.324.
Packed with all the standardised features of a CD deck nowadays such as a large Jog Wheel, 100% pitch, loop features, MP3 playability, vinyl and scratch modes and multiple cue points.

Now these decks don’t have the iconic status of the Pioneer’s or the legendary Jog Wheel, but what they do have in comparison is something that does exactly the same job, with a bundle of extra creative features at almost half the price of a CDJ.
Stanton produce some excellent professional equipment used by a lot of top jocks out there in the world. The ST150 Turntables are the closest thing (if not better torque wise) to a Technics 1210. The new midi controllers such as the SCS.3d DaScratch and the SCS.1d/2d on the horizon just show the quality and professionalism of this brand.

This C.324 CD deck is right up there with the quality they are producing at the moment. On top of all the standard features the Pioneers have, there are a few things this CD deck has that the CDJ 800 MK2′s do not -

• Jog Wheel Sensitivity can be adjusted to the point where play stops without you touching the platter (just hover your hand over and see)

• 4 Trigger pads for cue’s, loops and sampling

• 6 built in FX all beat synchronised (Filter, Echo, Pan, Phase, Flanger, Trans) Can also be controlled with Outer Jog Wheel.

• 4 Cell Sampler

• Beat Synchronised Looping

• Realtime Pattern Sequencer for Samples and Loops

So, if you can’t afford the Pioneer CDJ’s then there is something out there that actually offers a whole lote more at a much more affordable price. I have tried both out here in the showroom and apart from the fact that the Pioneer CDJ’s have a much better feel for scratching with their advanced Jog Wheel, the Stanton C.324′s simply offer the same standards and a lot more extra features. Check the Stanton C.324′s out here:

To conclude this comparison review, I can safely say if you have the money and can afford the Pioneer brand of CD decks either the CDJ 800′s or CDJ 1000′s then take the plunge. If you can’t then the next best thing to these with an abundance of features on top at half the price are the Stanton C.324′s.

The current price of the two cd decks at time of writing:
Pioneer CDJ 1000 Mk3 @ Soundware – £772.21 [Order from Soundware]
Pioneer CDJ 800 Mk2 @ Soundware – £527.83 [Order from Soundware]
Stanton C.324 CD Deck @ Soundware – £381.65 [Order from Soundware]

It all boils down to peer pressure, personal preference and finances.

**Photos included courtesy of Gizmo over on Skratchworx.com**