Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. embraces the art of dance with the launch of STEEZ™, a new brand of portable entertainment products designed for the youthful, passionate and culturally diverse dance community. A first in the industry, STEEZ addresses all dance levels and styles offering products with exclusive features that help dancers practice and perfect their techniques. Offered in three models, the STZ-D10S-L “Solo,” STZ-D10T-G “Duo,” and STZ-D10Z-R “Crew,” STEEZ portable music systems incorporate mobility, durability, style and unique dance tools that make them a “must-have” for any dancer.
“In the ‘90s, Pioneer entered the professional DJ market and quickly became the industry leader with award winning Pro-DJ gear,” said Chris Walker, director AV marketing and product planning for the home entertainment division of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “In this same fashion, Pioneer is now expanding into the exponentially growing dance community with STEEZ. Our lineup of portable music systems gives any type of dancer a variety of ways to play back, control and change various aspects of their music to make practicing and competitive dance easier and more fun.”
Dance to the Beat
Each STEEZ music system, when used with a free PC software application1, incorporates features that make it possible for dancers to change music tempo, set choreographed cue points, battle with friends, create smart playlists and more, all seamlessly on-the-fly via the STEEZ unit.
- Tempo Control – All three music systems let users change the tempo of the music without changing the pitch. Song tracks can play at slower or faster speeds, enabling dancers to follow along with the pace of the music without distorting the song’s characteristics.
- 8-Beat Skip – Users can skip forward and back by eight counts with a push of a button.
- Dance Cue – Eliminating the need to find a particular point in a track, users can set cue points to make playback begin at a desired spot in a piece of music extremely fast and easy.
- Auto DJ Mode – Each player offers non-stop music mix playback based on the genre. An entire music library is automatically categorized and grouped creating a mix based on the style of dance picked by the user.
- Dance Boost – The Dance Boost feature emphasizes specific instruments in a track such as the hi-hat and bass drum to make the beats more pronounced and easier to hear. This is ideal for training or teaching when used at low volume levels or in noisy (outdoor) environments.
- Remote Control – Each player also comes with an ultra-thin credit card sized wireless remote that eliminates the need for users to run back and forth to the player.
STEEZ music systems also boast a cool Auto Battle Mode that enables users to automatically create a battle sequence, complete with a countdown timer on the player’s LCD screen and voice and tone prompts to signal when 10 seconds of music is left before switching to the next user.
Three STEEZ Models and Styles
STZ-D10S-L“Solo”
Available in light blue, Solo is ultra-compact and lightweight designed for the individual/beginner dancer at home or other indoor environments.
- MP3, WMA, AAC, LPCM support
- 4GB internal memory
- 2.4” LED QVGA screen
- Dock for iPod & iPhone
- Full range drivers (40mm x 2)
- 5 Watt power output
- 6-AA batteries or AC adapter
The STZ-D10S-L is available in November for a suggested price of $299.
STZ-D10T-G “Duo”
Offered in stylish neon green, Duo is the rugged, go-anywhere model. It’s designed for the intermediate dancer and small dance groups. And, its water resistant design allows for both indoor and outdoor use. The unit features:
- Sealed iPod & iPhone Enclosure
- MP3, WMA, AAC, LPCM support
- 4GB internal memory
- 2.4” LED QVGA screen
- Full range drivers (40mm x 2)
- 5 Watt power output
- 6-AA batteries or AC adapter
The STZ-D10T-G is available in November for a suggested price of $349.
STZ-D10Z-R “Crew”
The largest of the three models, Crew is designed for providing big sound in large or outdoor environments. Offered in flashy red, the unit provides more output and bigger bass performance, perfect for dance crews, instructors and choreographers. The unit features:
- Large 3.5” LED QVGA screen
- Tweeters (25mm x 2)
- Woofers (75mm x 2)
- Dedicated subwoofers (135mm x 2)
- 40 Watts total power output
- Sealed iPod & iPhone Enclosure
- MP3, WMA, AAC, LPCM support
- 4GB internal memory
- 10-D batteries or AC Adapter
It all began with a passion for music that Pioneer founder Nozomu Matsumoto hoped to share with the world. He started Pioneer in 1938 as a specialty speaker company, building products out of his garage. Today, Pioneer’s Home Entertainment and Business Solutions Group continues Matsumoto's enthusiasm, developing award-winning audio and video home theater products including A/V receivers, Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD players, and speakers. Long-standing partnerships and collaborations with the creative community have provided Pioneer unique insight in its quest to capture the purity of a movie or musical artist’s original vision into its broad range of home entertainment products. The company’s brands include Pioneer® and Elite®.