DJ monitors

[aki]

Hey, I am looking /thinking for months which and what kind of DJ monitors I should take. My budget maximum is 300 euro, but if that's the price, it needs to be justified to be double the price of the ones I currently am thinking about.

The important factors for me are:

- Sound quality: I also would like to use them for casual listening, so I look for the best sound possible within the budget. Clear treble and mids are the most important, the bass should also be felt, but not overpowering the mids/treble

-Isolation, I need to hear the music well without damaging my ears.

- Cable Durability, preferably a spiral cable.

- Main unit durability, I don't want them to break easily

Loudness is not really of importance, as I hurt my ears already on low headphone volume in my mixer..

First In ears:

I thought about the IE8's, but they tend to not fit very well and isolate very little, so I've heard.

Can anyone tell anything about the Westone UM3(x), and the difference between the x?

Phonak PFE & Sleekaudio SA6 were also options but they are a class too low I think?

Headphones

So far I heard the Allen & Heath Xone XD53 has the best sound quality of all DJ headphones, and can also be used for in the studio. It has a frequency response, according to the data sheet, well over(and under!!) the limits of human hearing, and the isolation also seems good. I hope somebody has experiences with these?

However, I didn't hear those live. I heard the Sennheiser HD25 live, and it is very durable according to the guy I spoke to, he has them for over 5 years and nothing broke.. I was amazed by the noise cancellation, I wonder is it natural or is it sending opposing sound waves through the drivers so there seems to be less sound?

I looked around a bit, and there are many versions, and I have no clue whats the difference between them, also I heard the cable that comes with the HD25 is bad, it is not a spiral cable so it goes everywhere, and it is from steel which gives worse sound than copper(read that somewhere, not sure)? And a spiral cable costs 50€ I saw in a shop..

I also hear some things about Beyer Dynamic, do their headphones give better sound than the above 2 ?

Any comments are welcome

[CrowdAds]

[dfkt]

Senn HD25-1 II (not SP or any cheaper version) or Beyer DT770/80 are among the best and most durable closed cans. I prefer the DT770, comfort- and sound-wise. They're circumaural while the HD25 are supraaural. You can get spare cables for the HD25, coiled or straight. The steel vs. copper quote is baseless audiophile bullshit. IEMs are unusable for DJing in my experience.

[pseudohippy]

Ok, I dont have a lot of experience in this are but I do own some ATH M50. I would not get these for DJ, just to let you know in case others recommend them somewhere else. They actually are a steal for the price but the bass is too much. When I got my M50 however a friend of mine bought the Shure SRH750DJ. I would think those would be awesome for your use. They sound terrific and to me are very balanced, clear and portable. Plus they look great. But I guess defer to dfkt since he is the guru and not me.

[dfkt]

I assume the M50 should be great sounding phones - but same as my personal favorite closed cans, the Ultrasone HFI-780, they don't look as solidly built and durable as the Senn and Beyer models. I wouldn't recommend the Ultrasone for real DJing "abuse". Personally, I take care of my stuff, but you never know with other people.

[aki]

Thanks for the replies,

About the HD25.. I also see a Sennheiser HD 25-13-ll SVS, next to the HD25-1, the 13 is 60 euro more expensive, what would the difference be?

I also looked at the Shures, they seem pretty cool, but urgh, all reviews over the place say a different thing, so it is still hard for me to choose between those headphones. I know I can't go wrong with the HD25 and the XD53, haven't read a very negative thing about them anywhere. I like over ear better than on ear though, so the XD53 has a plus, along with the spiral cable.
the HD25 I could use also for activities other than DJing though.

dfkt, you said you are a basshead, is this also the reason you like the Beyer Dynamics?
I read all negative things here except for the bass, and the bass is the thing I care the least about:
http://www.headphonereviews.org/head...namic/DT770-80
But I don't know how thrustable this source is

If I limit myself to the HD25 and the XD53, I get the following pro's and cons if I understood things correctly:

HD25
+ portable, for casual listening too
+ very durable
+ good isolation
+ modular, if something breaks you can replace it
? on ear, when will it start hurting
- standard cable is annoying, long, have to spend an extra 50€

XD53
+ Many people say they think the sound is among the best of the DJ headphones, it is even compared to the Pioneer HDJ2000
+ good cable
+ over the ear,
? But does this mean it isolates as good or better as the HD25
- not portable, limited use

I have another question about the HD 25, is the frequency response flat enough to use them for studio monitoring?

[dfkt]

The "13" are the 600 Ohm studio version which need a dedicated amp. The standard 70 Ohm version is what you want with DJ mixers and MP3 players.

That Headphonereviews site is unreliable in general. I didn't know it's still around, but it sure looks to be abandoned and not recently updated. Anyways, what you read there are no professional reviews, just opinions by random people. Anyone can have his opinion posted there. That site does more damage than good, as I see it.

The DT770 sound great, pretty similar to my Ultrasone. It's a good resolving phone across the whole audible range, with excellent soundstage. As I said, I prefer it to the HD25, not only because of much better wearing comfort.

[aki]

Ok, thanks, the 13(and HP reviews site) will fall off then :P
By the way a DJ forum doesn't say IEM's are bad for this purpose, good ones should isolate better, but still I will start with a headphone then. Unfortunately I can't really choose still between the DT770, HD25 and XD53, I am leaning towards the XD53 though. I will go to a shop I think to review them.

So, If I were going to use In ears later, which ones would you advice for a punchy bass (not strong, punchy, preferably feelable too), strong isolation and a clear treble?

[dfkt]

IEMs are an incredible hassle for DJing, at least for me - but I don't know any other DJ that keeps the phones on their ears all the time - which would be the only way IEMs would work in this aspect. All of my musician/DJ friends would not even think about something as silly as IEMs for this purpose - it's perfectly logical that they're not made for these purposes, anyone with a bit of smarts can realize that. I've used IEMs for DJing a few times, simply because no other phones were there in the club and I had to fill in for another DJ and such.. and it was always a nuisance.

With full-sized phones you leave them hanging around your neck when you listen to the room mix, then you simply put them on to listen to the cue. With IEMs you have to find a place to put them, and then it's a hassle getting a decent seal in a short time. The cable on IEMs is generally too short for DJing, you'd need an extension cord - not to mention too flimsy too, compared to real phones like the Beyers and Senns. The marginally better noise isolation with a few quality IEMs is not worth all the huge disadvantages compared to big cans. Not to mention most IEMs don't isolate any better than the HD25 or DT770 anyways - and if they do, only with foamies (which take a much longer time to expand in one's ears, thus making them even more useless for DJing). It's not about perfect isolation anyways, separating cue and room mix that much isn't possible. And for pre-listening records the isolation of the HD25 and DT770 is perfectly fine, even at 110dB in a club.

[aki]

One of the famous Dutch DJ's, Laidback Luke does use IEM's as monitors though.

I am sure there are more around there. The only reasons not to take them I can think of are the cable hassle, and random sound peaks from the mixer going in the in ears, which would kill your ears in an instant, because of the nihil distance to the eardrum..

[dfkt]

Sure, for cool hipsters it's a fashion statement. QBert sometimes mixes with custom IEMs too... doesn't mean it has any advantages over full-sized phones, or is even on the same level of usability. But the DJ doesn't have to worry about his pretty hairdo getting messed up.

[Orange]

I also looked at the Shures, they seem pretty cool, but urgh, all reviews over the place say a different thing, so it is still hard for me to choose between those headphones.

+1 for the Shures. On the 440 - Excellent SQ all around, neutral sound signature, tight bass, excellent build quality, great comfort. The 840 has better extension and more comfort but I thought the 440s were good enough for the price so I got those.

I can't say Ive heard many fullsizes though, outside of a few $100-200 senns, ultrasones, and grados.

[aki]

Hmm more good phones but they are making the final choice even harder..
HD25, Beyer DT770, Beyer DT780, Shure DT750, A&H XD53, Senn HD25, on another forum a DJ adviced me Ultrasone PRO 750.. They look pretty good and have a frequency response of 8-35000 hz, but the driver size is only 40mm..

Do you have anything to say, and what should I do, except for going to a shop to test them all?

[pseudohippy]

This isnt HP advice but the good news is in the end all of those are good phones and I bet you will like or even love whichever you choose. I agonize over this stuff doing research also but in the end none of these are bad choices. I recommend just buying them all :-)

[aki]

Will you give me the money then to buy them all
I heard the Beyer headphones have a muddy bass, compared to the others. What can you say about this, DFKT, does the bass sound punchy, good to beatmatch? And how does this compare with the HD25, which is supposed to have a punchy bass?

Is this the good HD25 to buy:
http://www.redcoon.de/index.php/cmd/...D_25_1_ll_SVS/
It says 600ohm impedance though, isn't that strange?
What does the SVS mean?

[aki]

Hi again, I bought the Sennheiser HD25 C II.
I am quite happy with it, but I am not sure which pads I should put around the cups.
If comfort was totally the same, which one would be the best?
I think the black velour, plushy ones accumulate more sweat, and they have a smaller opening, which is worse for the sound I think. Can I be right? Is there a difference in isolation for the two, you think?