Pioneer XDJ RX2 Review

Welcome back, it’s AhmednagarDjs and today’s an exciting day. We’ve got the brand new XDJ-RX2 in the studio. But what we’re going to do today is review this product. Remember, we’ve just got this as well. I’ve put it through its paces as much as I can. I’m going to highlight some of its new features compared to the XDJ-RX, the first model. It was one of the fastest selling products, so we want to see if this really stands up to be worthy of an upgrade. I think about this product and where I think it stands in the market.

The 7-inch, touch sensitive full color screen provides a fast visual guide to mixes including Wave Zoom that shows track peaks and breakdowns in much greater detail. Navigate using the QWERTY keyboardPerform precise, smooth mixes with EQs and channel faders that feature curves equivalent to those on the DJM-900NXS2 professional club mixer. These include Sound Colour FX and Beat FX.The 7-inch, touch sensitive full colour screen gives you a quick visual reference during mixes, including Wave Zoom for detail on track peaks and breakdowns. Browse with the QWERTY keyboard, large rotary selector, Needle Search, Track Filter and Short Cut features.Get creative with 8 large multicoloured pads on each deck which enable you to use instantly use your hot cues plus other professional performance features like Beat Loop, Slip Loop and Beat Jump (singular or continuous) among others.Connect your computer directly via USB connection (Link Export) to export music from your laptop onto the XDJ-RX2. It will play these prepared tracks without requiring you to export them onto a USB device.To begin with simply connect this unit to your PC/Mac so as to unlock rekordbox performance features. Plus if you are subscribed under Creative plan use Cloud Library Sync for seamless library management across multiple devices and easily make custom versions of tracks in Edit mode.

Let’s look at the new features that have been added to the MK2 version from the previous XDJ-RX. There are loads of features taken from the CDJ and DJM Nexus 2 range from Pioneer. First up we now have a 7 inch touchscreen. This enables easy needle search throughout the track. There’s also a QWERTY keyboard which you can use right here on the touchscreen which makes searching through your music library much easier. The buttons around the browse pot are also taken from the Nexus 2 range with track filter and shortcut now implemented into this unit. You can edit the track filter options by holding this button.

You can choose parameters, for example I want to search through my USB for tracks that will match the master deck. within a 5% BPM range and that will work in key. Rekordbox then offers up results matching those parameters when you press track filter in any playlist. This is similar to the related track feature within the Rekordbox software on your laptop. The Performance pads have doubled in volume from 4 to 8 and are now multicoloured for Hot Cue colour coding within the Rekordbox software. Note that these are rubber pads, not plastic like the previous model and feel more like controller pads as they don’t have a click when you hit them. Still, they’re super responsive and easy to get used to. We still have Hot Cue mode as before with up to eight pads and we also have Auto Loop which has been renamed to Beat Loop.

You can choose parameters, for example I want to search through my USB for tracks that will match the master deck. within a 5% BPM range and that will work in key. Rekordbox then offers up results matching those parameters when you press track filter in any playlist. This is similar to the related track feature within the Rekordbox software on your laptop. The Performance pads have doubled in volume from 4 to 8 and are now multicoloured for Hot Cue colour coding within the Rekordbox software. Note that these are rubber pads, not plastic like the previous model and feel more like controller pads as they don’t have a click when you hit them. Still, they’re super responsive and easy to get used to. We still have Hot Cue mode as before with up to eight pads and we also have Auto Loop which has been renamed to Beat Loop.

The different parameters for Beat Loop go from a sixteenth of a beat right up to eight beats. The new pad modes added on the XDJ-RX2 are the Slip Loop which enables you to perform rolls with different beat lengths. Say for example if you hold down the pad it then loops that length until you release where the track jumps back to its current position. The parameters available are a sixteenth of a beat right up to two beats. The two white pads allow for third and three-quarter rolls. Next is the beat jump. It’s a common feature within all DJ softwares but now added to this all-in-one unit. This mode allows you to jump through the track in different beat lengths while mixing or setting up hot cues and loops.

You can even beat jump an active loop which is a nice touch. The parameters available here are one, two, four and eight beats. We can jump forwards and backwards for each parameter. The colour effects have changed on this new XDJ-RX2. Compared to the previous model we now have dub echo, sweep, noise and the filter. All with a parameter knob which allows you to change the intensity of the sound colour effect. If you’re familiar already with the original XDJ-RX then the jog wheels, tempo adjust, mixer and effects all feel the same. Well built, responsive and industry standard. There are still two USB ports, either for easy change over between DJs or for recording your mixes. There is also an AUX input with its own trim so you can easily chain multiple DJ setups into one another. The other minute noticeable differences are slightly bigger colour effect knobs and a slightly chunkier crossfader cap. There is also still the option to link up CDJs or turntables if you choose with the line and phono inputs and the switches along the top of each channel. The XDJ-RX2 is also shipped with the Rekordbox DJ license key, so you can access the full performance mode of the software and have your laptop plugged in. You can also use Pro DJ Link mode through the USB, meaning export mode can become a huge USB device plugging straight into the back of the XDJ-RX2.

They have removed the LAN connection from the previous model, but the functionality is still there. Let’s have a look at some of the shortcomings I’ve found so far.

Firstly, when connected to Performance Mode, the mappings don’t correlate too well. Hot Cue is normal, but Beat Loop is PadFX 1, Slip Loop is Beat Jump, and Beat Jump is Sampler. This is obviously how Performance Mode has been set out from the start on controllers, but I’m sure if you wanted to remap it yourself on the XDJRX2, you could within the software. The effects channel is also mapped out in a strange way, so when it’s used in Performance Mode, the effects are mapped to within the software, they’re not the effects that are built into the XCJ-RX. The crossfader A and B on the channel select corresponds to channels one and two, and channels one and two on the effects channel correspond to decks three and four.

So it doesn’t really match up to what is on the actual unit, to what is on the screen. So you’ve seen it. First, I need to address one thing, and it is the biggest rumor that went around about the XCJ-RX Mark II before it was released, Everyone was hoping for a four-channel version of the XDJ-RX. We haven’t got a four-channel version. We’ve got a two-channel version. And I know there’s going to be lots and lots of people disappointed about that. And there’s going to be lots of uproar online about it. But think about it. As Pioneer is a company, if they were to make a four-channel version of the XDJ-RX unit, then they would start eliminating the higher market products like the CDJ-XDJ range, where there would be necessarily no need for them or

not as much need for them anyway. So as a business model, it wouldn’t work. As a product for DJs, we want it, and it’s unfortunate that we haven’t got it in this release. They might think about doing something in the future, but for now, we’re stuck with an upgraded version of the XDJ-RX. It’s still two channels, but we’ve got those extra features. They’ve brought this in line with their current industry standard setup. So the latest CDJ-DJM range that would be in most clubs, this kind of emulates that. with a few extra features in there. We’ve got the nice 8 pads just like a controller which I was looking forward to, they had to do that basically. It’s a bit weird going from the XDJ-RX to this, going from the plastic buttons if you’re used to that to then the rubber pads.

If you’re used to any controllers you’ll feel totally natural but if you’re making an upgrade from the XDJ-RX to this, it might feel a little bit weird to start with, losing that click. It’s something that was really nice about the XDJ-RX and quite unique to that as well. the other thing that’s really nice is, obviously, it’s got a touch screen now we don’t need a touch screen but the qwerty keyboard, especially if you’re working off USB, really speeds up the mixing process, allows you you know helps you to think on your feet and find new tracks. The next thing i’m a big fan of is the track filter. It was something i had a play with and i was quite impressed with on the cdj 2000 nexus 2 range when they got released, and i’m glad to see it on the xdj rx2 it definitely helps out when you’re in the moment, but a bit

you know, unsure of what track to play next, just offering up a few suggestions can sometimes really help. Now it’s priced ₹ 1,38,466.29. I haven’t actually looked what it is in dollars, I’m guessing it’s a few hundred more than that, but ₹ 1,38,466.29. It’s a bit more expensive than when they released the XDJ-RX, but remember that was the first of its kind and they didn’t know how well the product was going to do. Now they know, a lot of people like the product. So, A business being a business, they hiked the price up a little bit, added some more features, kept it in line with the rest of their products. But just remember, this is an all-in-one unit. This is a unique product to Pioneer. There’s no other Rekordbox unit that’s an all-in-one system where you get the DJM, CDJ feel and effects and just responsiveness and build than you do with this unit. So we’re kind of stuck in that limbo of this is your only option as an all-in-one Rekordbox unit. Obviously, I picked out a few shortcomings and they were kind of minor things and I wouldn’t worry too much. They are things that could easily be fixed in firmware and software updates and amended. It is still a very responsive unit. It works very well. It’s built very well and I’m very excited to continue playing on it. But I want to share the features, share what I’ve found so far, just so I know a lot of people are desperate to go out there and upgrade or buy this unit.