Pioneer VS Gemini
So I was looking to get new CDJs and I found the CDJ900 by Pioneer was exactly what I wanted.
But then I found the Gemini CDJ700 and it’s exactly what I want… and MORE! It also costs less!
So why do people prefer Pioneer over Gemini?
The general consensus seems to be that Gemini has less than stellar quality. I can’t confirm or deny that but it really haunts their name on multiple websites and keeps me from getting too attached to the 700 unfortunately.
Quality and name. The Gemini is a good deck. A VERY good deck…for the money. The Pioneer is built better, feels better and comes from a brand that has earned more trust over the years for having more proven time on the road.
As for comparing the two, the Gemini is built better than most Gemini gear I have played with in the past. It feels pretty solid, and the screen looks decent and has decent touch response. The effects however are not very good, and all in all it just feels less “premium”. The CDJ-900 has way less features, but the jog wheel does feel better, and it has Rekordbox for the analysis engine (and a dual player link so you can share drives between units. It should also have higher overall resale value.
Either should serve you well, just depends on what your expectations are. The Gemini feels like it costs less money than the Pioneer, but it also feels worth every penny (if that makes sense).
In a nutshell
Their DJ mixers had a tainted reliability record in the past and their price makes alot of people refuse to acknowledge that they are actually any good (bit like behringer).
Their CD players though are robust (less moving parts than a DJ mixer), and I mentioned in a previous thread their knock off CDJ500 was actually more reliable than pioneer.
I used to sell bundles of gemini gear until around 2002, nothing bad for the price and their failing was ALWAYS their pots and faders in mixers, rather than gear spontaneously dying or the sound quality -
*They were one of the first budget manufacturers ever to mass produce a dj mixer with three band EQ per channel.
I Think that was around 1997 - horrible screen, but everything else was on par with pioneer at the time.
Alright, so specifically.
Why is the Pioneer CDJ 900 better or worse than the Gemini CDJ 700?
The Pioneer has less features: worse
The Pioneer has a better screen, better jog wheel and Rekordbox librarian: better.
how so? i quite like the touch screen.
what about it is better? the gemini looks bigger, so it is more responsive or stable or something?
what’s so good about Rekordbox? I never really saw anything special about it.
Pioneer:
Screen = Wider, nicer looking and has scrolling waveforms as opposed to static on the gemini.
Jogwheel = Ring lit, Nicer feeling
Lan Connectivity between the units.
Recordbox allows you to manage your music either directly (over lag) or pre-prepared USB keys, set your loops and generally organize without using a third party DVS system.
You can then use the USB key in a CDJ unit anywhere - its very handy if you are playing out alot and will be encountering them at every gig.
Pioneer vs Gemini is akin to Mercedes vs Toyota - both will get you there with most of the same features but only one is a mercedes and you will notice the difference (however slight) when driving.
This is the first I’ve heard of Gemini’s CDJ700. Looks pretty good. £500 is more expensive than I’d expected to see it for, though…
Dude thats RRP and USD … current going rate on amazon is 500USD so 350GBP 
My rule of thumb is that if you’re looking to buy hardware based on a raw feature list, high end equipment will most likely escape you. Especially in the media player market, people tend to not focus on “what things does it do,” and instead look for “how is it in use?” Yes, they will both play music, and manipulate it in a way that media players have been established to, but it’s the useage over time that really starts to show a piece of hardware’s colours.
Pioneer: Professional grade equipment.
Gemini: Consumer Grade equipment.
It sounds like you really want us to tell you that the Gemini is as good as the Pioneer. We won’t because it isn’t true. The screen is better on the Pioneer (bigger, more useable information). The jog wheel has smoother travel. The buttons have a nicer click. As well, the Gemini cannot share collections between two players from one drive, making you double up your collection. It has effects, but the effects are not very good.
If you get the Gemini you will enjoy it, but it is not in the same class as the Pioneer. That said, I have to ask-why not get a laptop based solution? You could get an S2 and a good laptop for the same money as a pair of the Gemini players (and a hell of a lot less than the Pioneer) and have way more functionality.
i have a laptop running traktor, and currently have the dj tech 101 series.
i want to get an S4, and then 4 CDJ700s. Probably a midi fighter too. But i’m still going to be running traktor.
That makes no sense to run them as time code. Your better off with S4 and leave it at that. maybe a footswitch. I doubt that you would be able to use all that gear at its full potential. Hell I can think off hand probably 30 people on the forum who could actually use that gear to capacity.
Especially coming from a DJ tech 101 your gonna get so damn confused using it. Really if your not using CDs dont do CDJ
Alright, well i hate tiny jog wheels and only having two play/pause buttons as well as two platters. hence, i want external CDJs for each deck. Also bigger jog wheels for scratching, and the cdj700 has slip mode which i really want.
so what would you recommend?
go with serato dont do cdj. If you want to scratch DVS serato.
Can you dj on 4 decks? Last time I checked I only had two arms.
S4 you use the foot switch as a layer toggle. pluss saves you a ton of money
i’m going with traktor because i like the layout better as well as it’s many effects, sample decks if i want to use them, remix decks if i want to use them, etc. mainly for the effects.
that’s why i’m getting the s4, for total control of traktor, not for control of serato.
when it comes down to it, the size of the jog wheel is the biggest factor when scratching for me, not the software. i don’t plan on scratching a lot, but when i do i want the big wheels.
also, i like having dedicated pieces of hardware for each deck.
each cdj controls one deck, while the s4 is the mixer. i plan on mapping the s4’s small jogwheels for effects, or just using the mapping from djtt.
You sir, are either an idiot, or have far too much spare money. and judging by the fact your looking at the gemini’s, the first option.
You would be doing well to DJ with three decks never mind four, i can only name a couple of DJs ive seen do four decks well, and they barely ever use the fourth at that.
part from echo freeze, (which you can kinda do) name any effects that you would use in traktor that are not available on a djm800.
For the money you want to spend on, really a pointless setup you could buy yourself a DJM800 (which also sounds better than an s4 and you dont need to carry a laptop everywhere) and two CDJ900s, maybe even an efx1000 if you get a good deal.
Or do as chrisw says and buy yourself a footswitch, maybe even get yourself a pair of 1200s if you want to ‘scratch’
Ever scratched on a CDJ900? its pretty nice. Not quite TTs but still very nice.
I’ve not long set fire to a pair of these…
