A long time favourite amongst the mobile DJ community, Algoriddim’s fantastic DJay application (read our review here) is probably best known for its Spotify streaming integration. With Pioneer DJ not releasing the WeDJ on iPad yet, Algoriddim Djay will become the leading contender for using an iPad with the DDJ 200. A set up we enjoy due to the larger screen and magnetic stands currently available.

Pioneer DJ DDJ-200 First Look - DJ with Spotify and Beatport Pioneer DJ DDJ-200 First Look - DJ with Spotify and Beatport

It has a digital sampler that uses the controller’s 16 performance pads to trigger the sounds. My friends have hours and hours of fun mixing with the samplers. Two mixer channels are enough for many people and most of the time are certainly enough for beginner DJs however if you want to start off by building a future proof and extensible setup you might want to consider getting a 4-channel DJ controller from the slightly higher price point such as the DDJ-1000 or the DDJ-SZ. DJ Software integration.The Pioneer DDJ-200 offers a smart way top mix your music. Connect your smartphone, tablet or PC/Mac and start mixing your digital music. The DDJ-200 is compatible with a wide variety of software programmes and apps, including WeDJ for iPhone, WeDJ for Android, djay, edjing Mix and rekordbox. If you are tight on the budget you might be considering compensating for the DDJ-400 price by buying it used. Keep in mind that there are many risks that come along with getting used DJ equipment. DJs that are green behind the ears, with DJ technology and skills, can form their fundamental skills with the tutorial & “Pop-Hint” features in WeDJ. You get a rekordbox dj licence key bundled with this controller. Simply activate your licence key for the DJ software, connect the controller and start DJing. However, what is unique is that by using the computers mouse, you can access of Rekordbox’s extensive performance features. This means you can even use Keyboard mode with the DDJ 200 just by pressing on the pad modes on the screen. Very impressive stuff even if it doesn’t necessarily appeal to the beginners who will be buying this controller.

DDJ-200 vs. DDJ-400 (Which Is Better For You?) - djgear2k DDJ-200 vs. DDJ-400 (Which Is Better For You?) - djgear2k

The DDJ-200 is a unique controller to set up with speakers and headphones. As the controller has no audio connections, the speakers actually connect to the phone, tablet or computer. The included splitter cable allows for both the headphones and speakers to connect to just the one headphone port. Some phones will need a headphone adaptor to connect the splitter cable. The DDJ-200 also doesn’t feature channel gain control knobs (trim knobs) so you won’t be able to tweak and fine tune the gain of each mixer channel on the device itself. The LED channel level indicators are also not present on the DDJ-200 while the DDJ-400 has small channel level indicator lights for each mixer channel.The Pioneer DDJ 200 is the most entry-level model in the Pioneer DJ suite of controllers but offers some incredibly intelligent features that make it unique. It solves every problem a beginner DJ might encounter. It’s kind of a bummer that each mixing app doesn’t support all the streaming services. The corporate shills won’t let all the platforms cross over. You’ve got to select the DJing app that suits your flavor of streaming. You can override this if you need, but it works well, and we never felt the need to adjust it. The app will also analyse and set beat grids required for Sync. Especially with the new phrase sync mode, its essential these grids are correctly set, and we found ourselves having to adjust them on more than one occasion manually. Thankfully this is easy enough to do and takes little time thanks to the intuitive controls. All in all, this is a fantastic little app that brings the best out of the controller! DDJ 200 and WeDJ Application Algoriddim Djay Our dedicated Pioneer DDJ 200 course is our most comprehensive to date with lessons covering WeDJ on iPhone and Android, Algoriddim Djay on iPad and Rekordbox on a laptop!