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So let's talk about these new Pioneer HDJ-2000 cans for a moment. Having unleashed them last week as the only fresh product release at the BPM Show, all eyes and ears were on the striking yet über expensive offering. I had a go and came away with mixed feelings.

This is by no means a review - just a first impression from 5 minutes of bending, shaking and wearing these pre-production HDJs, so don't set too much stall by my opinion here as things might change.

You'll see from the picture above that the new HDJs are somewhat slicker that their older 1000 sibling, not just in looks, but also in construction. It's a matter of less is more, with the lines being smoothed off and everything being made simpler.



Much has been made of the use of metal in the construction of these HDJs, and there's a much better plastic to metal ratio in these. It's not without a fair amount of fiddly covers that hide the joint, but nothing that will fall off or generally annoy you into throwing them away and moaning on every DJ forum on the internet. I like the fact that they spring back into position. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has thrown headphones on the floor in frustration when I couldn't get them back on my head quickly.




Pioneer have also opted for a mini XLR cable connector as well, as found on AKG headphones. Held in place by a springy push button connector, it's sturdier than a regular screw-in mini jack, but I wonder how long it will be before the plastic knob becomes worn, requiring a replacement cable. Perhaps AKG owners would like to chip in at this point.



For me, DJ headphones live or die by the isolation they offer, and here the HDJs don't disappoint. The large memory foam endowed cups gently hug your head and do keep out a huge amount of noise - more than most I've used. This does of course allow you to appreciate the audio fidelity of the cans as well, rather than just cranking them up and hoping that you can hear something above what the crowd are swinging their pants to.

This is the point where I have mixed feelings about the audio quality of cans. In a quiet controlled environment like a studio or your living space, the audio quality of your chosen headgear will shine, and I'm quite sure that the HDJ-2000s will sound wonderful. But when you have gigawatts of ambient ear bleeding choons coming through the foam insulation and muddying the sound, the quality becomes a moot point. I would need to spend some time with a few sets of high quality headphones with the music turned up loud in the skratchlab before passing real judgement on the sound quality of these or any other cans.



There's no denying that the spangly new HDJ-2000s are really nice, like I really want to own a pair nice. But I really feel that Pioneer have pushed their premium price policy just a tad too far here. I can understand positioning yourself at the top end of the market, but Pioneer just redefined top end entirely with the new HDJs.

Essentially they've made almost sure (for nothing is guaranteed) that the joints won't break in a hurry and improved the isolation, which in turn improves the sound quality. But every other set of high end headphones comes in at least one third cheaper and offering all of these features. And the US $450 is an ludicrously hard pill to swallow. But even with the price tag, I have no doubt that Pioneer will shift scary numbers of the HDJ-2000s.

Bottom line - first impressions are that the HDJ-2000 headphones are a solid lump of the usual Pioneer quality, but it remains to be seen if they can live up to the crazy price tag. I am yet to be convinced of that. Here's looking forward to the review pair to see if they can win me over.