Reply to Should I make the switch to CDJs?

Hi everyone,

First off I'd like to say that for the past 2 years I've been strictly a controllerist DJ. While I feel that I've gotten pretty good with using just a controller, I feel limited by how compact it is. All of the controllers I've used/tried out, even the bigger ones like the DDJ-T1 and the Numark NS7 seem like they're jus too cramped to accommodate what I want to do.

I like playing on more than just 2 decks at once, so a 4 channel setup is what I'm leaning towards. Controllers don't really offer the tactile feedback and capabilities that 4 CDJs do. This brings me to my questions:

Which CDJs should I get (if I should even switch)? Its a huge step up in my budget (from only a few hundred to easily a few thousand) so I'm believeing that I may want to start small.

I found online that I can buy refurbished CDJ-850s for only around $550 a piece, whereas is I want 900s they'll cost around $850 refurbished. I'd rather have to spend only $2200 than $3400, but if someone here can convince me to spend the extra thousand I'll do it. Are there any huge differences between the two players? Obviously the 900 has slip mode and the link port but I don't really feel I'd use slip that much and is the link necessary? My only real concerns are with the main playing controls and media options. Also, I'd like a player that will be backwards compatible with Traktor so I can continue to use that library rather than having to put my music on a flash drive and browse on the player.

If you've gotten this far in the post thanks for taking the time to read it! Hopefully I get the answer I'm looking for and I can get started with CDJs.