Denon DJ just signalled its unmistakeable intent for its new Prime series of pro DJ gear on global launch day, by announcing the brand’s latest endorser, one of the biggest DJs in the world: Tiësto. The superstar dance music icon has “changed his rider” to include the SC5000 Prime media player and the X1800 Prime mixer, both of which come from the brand new flagship Prime Series from Denon DJ, that today goes on sale worldwide.
On the Prime Series, Tiësto said: “I knew right away that with the intuitive interface and creative feature set of the Denon DJ Prime gear, I could set myself apart as an individual performer and really advance my creativity in my live DJ sets.”
In turn Paul Dakeyne, Denon DJ Brand Manager, said: “After four years of intensive hardware and software development, we are proud that Tiësto instantly recognised what the Prime Series will do for him: it will enable him to perform even more creative and exciting shows for his audiences worldwide.”
Our thoughts…
First Laidback Luke, then Oliver Heldens and Paul Oakenfold, and now Tïesto… looks like Denon DJ is pulling out all the stops in its quest to conquer DJ booths. At the moment, Denon DJ (now under the massive inMusic umbrella of companies) is the top contender to Pioneer DJ‘s status as DJ booth champion – both the SC5000 Prime and X1800 Prime are serious pieces of kit that pack more innovation than last year’s CDJ-2000NXS2 and DJM-900NXS2, which are Pioneer DJ’s latest club and pro DJ offerings.
It’s always good to have more than one major player in the industry; a monopoly, like that which Pioneer DJ has been enjoying these past few years, tends to slow down creative innovation and keeps pricing non-competitive (ie gear stays expensive). With Denon DJ having issued a clear and strong challenge thanks to the Prime Series and its growing list of high-profile endorsers, it’s hard not to imagine the folks at Pioneer DJ working day in and day out brainstorming their comeback.
With two big boys now duking it out for “king of the DJ booths” status, the ones who’ll be benefitting the most from their tussle will be us DJs who will have more gear choice in the end. Watch out for our imminent review of the Denon DJ SC5000 Prime and X1800 Prime.
• The Denon DJ SC5000 Prime and X1800 Prime are now available for US$1899 each. Check the Denon DJ website for more details.
What do you think about Tiësto joining the ranks of the Denon DJ faithful? Do you think these new bits of kit will change DJing? Will they halt Pioneer DJ’s dominance of the DJ booth? Or do you think they’re not enough to make other DJs switch? Share your thoughts below…
Joey Santos
