Pioneer DJ has announced a new professional gig mixer for gear-heads that want more control over how mixes and tracks sound while performing. Called the DJM-V10, it sports six channels (in comparison to the usual four), dual headphone jacks to seamlessly play back-to-back with other DJs, and the ability to EQ the master output.

The release confirms circulating rumors about the mixer, which have been repeatedly popping up on Facebook and Reddit over the past 24 hours. While some excitement over Pioneer DJ rumors is to be expected, it’s rare to have this much hyped-up chatter in advance of a new product from the company. But, the DJM-V10 isn’t a simple update; it’s a drastic form and function departure from Pioneer DJ’s established line of club mixers.

Here’s the thing: Pioneer DJ owns the majority of the professional club DJ market. It has thusly defined, to a degree, how people DJ. Chances are, when an artist submits their rider to a club, there’s going to be Pioneer DJ equipment listed. It’s what most people are used to playing on, and so, most clubs carry it.

But over the past few years, competing mixers have tapped into a specific sub-market Pioneer DJ didn’t have a product for: techno and tech house DJs. These artists have a penchant for incorporating more live gear; bringing their own effects boxes and drum machines to gigs in order to tweak, transform, and stack audio in myriads of ways.

This is where the Allen & Heath Xone:96 and Model 1 have carved a niche. These mixers have features to specifically appeal to DJs in these genres, and their more intricate setups. They have extra channels, MIDI I/O for talking with connected gear, and other ways to affect tracks directly on the mixer itself (in the Model 1’s case, there’s an “overdrive” option on every channel).

Pioneer DJ’s DJM-V10 is the company’s response to these genres’ desires for a more hands-on mixer that can layer and sculpt sound. There’s a laundry list of new features with a few highlights. Notably, each channel now has a four-band EQ instead of the usual three, along with a compressor for beefing up older or unfinished tracks. (Pioneer DJ says the compressor will have “minimal effect on mastered music.”)

Equally exciting is the expanded send/return section on the DJM-V10, so you can route audio to one of four built-in FX and up to two pieces of external equipment, like synths, guitar pedals, or sequencers. Not only does this apply to traditional hardware pieces, but selected smartphone apps by connecting your device with MULTI I/O. And, the 5-pin MIDI port has returned.

The filter function also got a major upgrade. It now allows you to switch between a high or low pass filter, and then apply resonance control to add additional nuance or intensity.

In addition, there’s a new shimmer effect (shimmer is a type of reverb made by layering a reverb tail that’s pitched up on top of an original dry signal), a three-band EQ for the master output, and for the particularly picky, an additional EQ to adjust the audio that comes through booth monitors (also seen in the Xone:96 and Model 1).

There’s loads more to pick apart but on paper, this is an extremely robust 6-channel club mixer that isn’t for the average jockey mixing between two songs. It’s a specific product by Pioneer DJ that caters to a specific crowd interested in building complex, layered sets using multiple audio sources. It’s also a bold move by the segment’s market leader to go after a more demanding breed of DJs. Whether artists who have already been plied by the Xone:96 and Model 1 will give this a shot remains to be seen, but it certainly looks like Pioneer DJ has been studying and taking notes.

Pioneer DJ’s DJM-V10 will be available from early February 2020, priced at $3,199. Find out more on Pioneer DJ’s website.