Drinkyoghurt
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2011
- Posts
- 32
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- 22
I usually don't like to write reviews/impression threads on gear since usually others have much more extensive write-ups than what I can usually provide. However when doing research on these cans I couldn't come up with much info, and the reviews that were out there looked dodgy at best.
A little background info on myself. I'd like to consider myself a budget audiophile, in that I don't think that $$$ dictates whether something sounds good or is good in general, especially in the world of audio where snake oil is sold by the barrel and everyone has their own reference on what's a "good" sound. My main set of headphones are a pair of modded Beyerdynamics DT990 Pro 250 Ohm with worn pads (to reduce the spiky treble). I tried around 30 headphones side by side before settling on that, but also found the HD600s really amazing. In DJ settings I'm used to the Sennheiser HD25, basically the most used DJ headphones worldwide.
First impressions
I got my pair used on eBay and it came in the original box. Well packaged with plenty of accessories. It comes with a hardcase , a rubber coiled cable (4-pin mini-XLR), a woven straight cable (4-pin mini-XLR) and a 3,5mm to 1/4" TRS adapter. The headphones themselves feel really well built with nice magnesium hinges and general use of magnesium throughout the headphones. There are no loose wires that could get snagged anywhere. The headband and earcups are pleather, but soft. I'm not the biggest fan of the earpads but more on that later.
Sound
I like a relatively flat to slightly bright sound signature and don't shy away from bass, but the bass needs to be clean, not muddy. These do well in both aspects. Bright, but not as much as my DT990 and really clean bass that goes down to around 40~45Hz before rolling off. Sound stage is oddly wide for a closed back headphone, probably the widest I've heard so far and it takes some getting used to. They're not as detailed as the DT990 Pro and sound a bit warmer, but still much cleaner than the HD25 which sound somewhat muffled in comparison. Overall I'd recommend these for listening to electronic music, other genres don't fare too well. However, keep in mind that these are DJ headphones, and as a DJ I'm mostly listening to the kick drum (bass) and hihats (highs) to beatmatch and in a loud environment like a nightclub that's exactly what you want to hear over the rest of the sounds. I've also compared the X5 and the X7 to the X10 side-by-side and found the X5 to be pretty bad, more like an ATH M50x (which is one of the most overhyped headphone imho). The X7 sound more similar to the X10 and are a huge upgrade over the X5, but still not quite as refined as the X10. I feel like most DJs/reviewers are just used to bloated and muddy bass that you get from the majority of budget headphones and because this is more flat and musical they think it's not as bass heavy. Sure, it doesn't extend all the way down, but there's definitely no lack of bass.
Comfort
This one is a bit tricky. I have big ears and have some issues with pressure points on one ear. The pads are super soft, but because they're made out of pleather your ears will get toasty. I feel like the pressure points could be mitigated by letting the earcups have some slight swivel in the other direction as well. The headband is also a bit painful on my bald head, but super comfortable when I'm wearing a cap unlike most other headphones. However, compared to the HD25 I find them more comfortable, but they just can't beat the DT990 or HD600 with their much bigger earcups. Clamping force is also high, which is a plus for DJ use
DJ usability
The main reason these exist and why I purchased them. Reading the above you might think that these aren't really that great, but they absolutely excel when it comes to DJing. I'm a one cup on, one cup off kind of guy with the headband usually more forward on my head. The swivel mechanism in the earcups makes it effortless to move it around and the high clamping force makes sure it doesn't fall off my head when I'm moving around. You don't want your headphones falling on your turntable, trust me. They isolate really well, unlike any other headphone I've tried so far and this means I can keep the monitoring volumes low, saving my ears. Honestly, for Djing these are probably one of the best, if not the best headphones I've tried.
Downsides/Gripes
Despite liking these a lot, there are some issues/gripes I have with them which I think they could improve upon with their next iteration:
- Earcups: Make them oval or slightly bigger, the current size is somewhere between over ear and on ear.
- Earpads: Cloth or real leather pads would be nice to have. I already saw the pads getting super worn out in stores. These do supposedly have an anti-sweat nano coating which is great for my bald oily head, but they don't feel amazing and are expensive to replace
- Earcup articulation: Like I mentioned before, these tilt and swivel, but they only swivel in one direction which is great for DJing, but doesn't articulate well when you have both cups on your ears. This causes pressure points with me which dissappear when I flip the headphones around.
And honestly, that's pretty much all I have to complain about. These are pretty decent in all other aspects which they should be given their current €290 price tag. I got lucky and snagged mine for only €50 and I'd be happy to pay up to €200 for these, but €290 is steep. I'm guessing that the magnesium build has a lot to do with it.
Comparison to other headphones
A quick comparison to other DJ headphones:
- Austrian Audio Hi-X50: These just sound muddy and unclear compared to the HDJ X10, which is actually going to be true for most headphones on this list
- Sennheiser HD25: Industry standard, light weight and on-ear design. Much cheaper, more neutral/warm sound but also has a muddy bass. Comfort/feel is personal, but I find the the X10s more comfortable to use.
- Audio Technica ATH-M50x: I honestly don't understand the hype. These sound like €50 headphones to me with little detail and an over-exaggerated and muddy bass
- Pioneer HDJ X5: Entry level, not great sounding to be honest and a plastic build. Despite looking very similar to the X10 they don't have much in common.
- Pioneer HDJ X7: Closer to the X10, but still a very plastic build and unrefined sound. Not sure if their price is justified.
- Pioneer HDJ Cue1: Not great, not bad. Entry level, pretty similar to the ATH-M50x and the HDJ X5 but slightly smaller
- Pioneer HDJ-CX: Very similar to the Sennheiser HD25, they sound ok for the price but I'd honestly pick the HD25 over them due to them just being everywhere as well as being more repairable.
- Technics EAH-DJ1200: I really wanted to like these, but their sound is just bad compared to both the HD25 and the HDJ CX. The plastic build also doesn't really inspire confidence.
Anyway, that's my quick overview of these headphones. Would I buy them again if they would break? That's a hard maybe. If I'm strapped for cash then I'd probably go with the Sennheiser HD25, but if I had money to spend I'd get the HDJ X10 without thinking twice about it. Would I use these to produce with or listen casually? Probably not, but for their intended use, which is DJing, these are nearly perfect.
A little background info on myself. I'd like to consider myself a budget audiophile, in that I don't think that $$$ dictates whether something sounds good or is good in general, especially in the world of audio where snake oil is sold by the barrel and everyone has their own reference on what's a "good" sound. My main set of headphones are a pair of modded Beyerdynamics DT990 Pro 250 Ohm with worn pads (to reduce the spiky treble). I tried around 30 headphones side by side before settling on that, but also found the HD600s really amazing. In DJ settings I'm used to the Sennheiser HD25, basically the most used DJ headphones worldwide.
First impressions
I got my pair used on eBay and it came in the original box. Well packaged with plenty of accessories. It comes with a hardcase , a rubber coiled cable (4-pin mini-XLR), a woven straight cable (4-pin mini-XLR) and a 3,5mm to 1/4" TRS adapter. The headphones themselves feel really well built with nice magnesium hinges and general use of magnesium throughout the headphones. There are no loose wires that could get snagged anywhere. The headband and earcups are pleather, but soft. I'm not the biggest fan of the earpads but more on that later.
Sound
I like a relatively flat to slightly bright sound signature and don't shy away from bass, but the bass needs to be clean, not muddy. These do well in both aspects. Bright, but not as much as my DT990 and really clean bass that goes down to around 40~45Hz before rolling off. Sound stage is oddly wide for a closed back headphone, probably the widest I've heard so far and it takes some getting used to. They're not as detailed as the DT990 Pro and sound a bit warmer, but still much cleaner than the HD25 which sound somewhat muffled in comparison. Overall I'd recommend these for listening to electronic music, other genres don't fare too well. However, keep in mind that these are DJ headphones, and as a DJ I'm mostly listening to the kick drum (bass) and hihats (highs) to beatmatch and in a loud environment like a nightclub that's exactly what you want to hear over the rest of the sounds. I've also compared the X5 and the X7 to the X10 side-by-side and found the X5 to be pretty bad, more like an ATH M50x (which is one of the most overhyped headphone imho). The X7 sound more similar to the X10 and are a huge upgrade over the X5, but still not quite as refined as the X10. I feel like most DJs/reviewers are just used to bloated and muddy bass that you get from the majority of budget headphones and because this is more flat and musical they think it's not as bass heavy. Sure, it doesn't extend all the way down, but there's definitely no lack of bass.
Comfort
This one is a bit tricky. I have big ears and have some issues with pressure points on one ear. The pads are super soft, but because they're made out of pleather your ears will get toasty. I feel like the pressure points could be mitigated by letting the earcups have some slight swivel in the other direction as well. The headband is also a bit painful on my bald head, but super comfortable when I'm wearing a cap unlike most other headphones. However, compared to the HD25 I find them more comfortable, but they just can't beat the DT990 or HD600 with their much bigger earcups. Clamping force is also high, which is a plus for DJ use
DJ usability
The main reason these exist and why I purchased them. Reading the above you might think that these aren't really that great, but they absolutely excel when it comes to DJing. I'm a one cup on, one cup off kind of guy with the headband usually more forward on my head. The swivel mechanism in the earcups makes it effortless to move it around and the high clamping force makes sure it doesn't fall off my head when I'm moving around. You don't want your headphones falling on your turntable, trust me. They isolate really well, unlike any other headphone I've tried so far and this means I can keep the monitoring volumes low, saving my ears. Honestly, for Djing these are probably one of the best, if not the best headphones I've tried.
Downsides/Gripes
Despite liking these a lot, there are some issues/gripes I have with them which I think they could improve upon with their next iteration:
- Earcups: Make them oval or slightly bigger, the current size is somewhere between over ear and on ear.
- Earpads: Cloth or real leather pads would be nice to have. I already saw the pads getting super worn out in stores. These do supposedly have an anti-sweat nano coating which is great for my bald oily head, but they don't feel amazing and are expensive to replace
- Earcup articulation: Like I mentioned before, these tilt and swivel, but they only swivel in one direction which is great for DJing, but doesn't articulate well when you have both cups on your ears. This causes pressure points with me which dissappear when I flip the headphones around.
And honestly, that's pretty much all I have to complain about. These are pretty decent in all other aspects which they should be given their current €290 price tag. I got lucky and snagged mine for only €50 and I'd be happy to pay up to €200 for these, but €290 is steep. I'm guessing that the magnesium build has a lot to do with it.
Comparison to other headphones
A quick comparison to other DJ headphones:
- Austrian Audio Hi-X50: These just sound muddy and unclear compared to the HDJ X10, which is actually going to be true for most headphones on this list
- Sennheiser HD25: Industry standard, light weight and on-ear design. Much cheaper, more neutral/warm sound but also has a muddy bass. Comfort/feel is personal, but I find the the X10s more comfortable to use.
- Audio Technica ATH-M50x: I honestly don't understand the hype. These sound like €50 headphones to me with little detail and an over-exaggerated and muddy bass
- Pioneer HDJ X5: Entry level, not great sounding to be honest and a plastic build. Despite looking very similar to the X10 they don't have much in common.
- Pioneer HDJ X7: Closer to the X10, but still a very plastic build and unrefined sound. Not sure if their price is justified.
- Pioneer HDJ Cue1: Not great, not bad. Entry level, pretty similar to the ATH-M50x and the HDJ X5 but slightly smaller
- Pioneer HDJ-CX: Very similar to the Sennheiser HD25, they sound ok for the price but I'd honestly pick the HD25 over them due to them just being everywhere as well as being more repairable.
- Technics EAH-DJ1200: I really wanted to like these, but their sound is just bad compared to both the HD25 and the HDJ CX. The plastic build also doesn't really inspire confidence.
Anyway, that's my quick overview of these headphones. Would I buy them again if they would break? That's a hard maybe. If I'm strapped for cash then I'd probably go with the Sennheiser HD25, but if I had money to spend I'd get the HDJ X10 without thinking twice about it. Would I use these to produce with or listen casually? Probably not, but for their intended use, which is DJing, these are nearly perfect.
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