[MS1605]

I have been using these to DJ with since they came out and love them. The only problem is, I got used to the big, heavy, solid build quality and it ruined me I think. Last week I specked out a completely decked out pair of TMA-2s fro aiaiai. They got delivered today, I listened to 1 so song, disassembled them and out them up for sale in the marketplace. They feel like toys compared to the X10s. I guess since it wasn't broke, I shouldn't have tried to fix it. Just be aware if you use the X10s for a while, your taste might start heavily leaning towards big boy cans...

 

[Sauerteig]

I demoed this yesterday and bought them. I like the MSR7Bs but was left wanting. These are better. Not sure why there is not more discussion of these.

 

[RPMDJ]

An old thread, but still quite relevant. True, most of the reviews about the Pioneer HDJ-X10 are from club DJs. While I am a DJ (radio, mobile and the occasional club gig), I am also a consultant, producer, and audio engineer. My daily drivers are the Sennheiser HD650 and AKG K702 for mixing, Beyerdynamic DT770 and DT100 for tracking, and the Pioneer HDJ-X10 for DJ stuff.

Online reviews of the HDJ-X10 illustrate the emerging uselessness of the internet. There’s a review for every opinion. If you like these headphones, there are reviews about how good they are. If you don’t like them, well there are reviews for that as well. And some of the reviews are obviously not genuine first-hand accounts, but compiled from other reviews simply to populate websites. I have seen this comment more than once: the HDJ-X10s are too good for DJ work. But this raises an obvious question: what sound quality do they normally blast at their clients? It’s like saying a BMW M5 is too good to drive on public roads. That said, here are my thoughts on the Pioneer HDJ-X10.

Sound
The sound of the HDJ-X10 is about as good as it gets for DJ work both on the radio and on the road. Looking at the graph in SoundID Reference, they measure a 3db bump between 50-300htz, then slope gradually down to minus 6db at 5k, and back up to within 3db of flat from 8k up. Pioneer DJ did an exceptional job tuning these headphones for DJ/producers. They are rated at 3.5 watts max, which means they have lots of headroom and should stay clean well past eardrum destroying levels. As others have noted, the isolation is excellent: a primary requirement for loud DJ shows.

The HDJ-X10’s party piece is the soundstage. The soundstage is quite wide. Most people on here will know this, but if you don’t, the wider or bigger the soundstage, the more it sounds like you’re listening to speakers in a room. For comparison, the K702 mostly achieves this effect, the HDJ-X10 not quite, but it’s close. The HDJ-X10 has the widest soundstage of any closed back headphone I have used. The soundstage, combined with the recessed hi-mid / low treble, makes them non-fatiguing and excellent for long radio shows, live DJ work, tracking and casual listening.

In the final analysis, the bass is a bit embellished, and the low treble is slightly backed off, but they are flat enough for many applications other than beat mixing. Pioneer has made a good compromise in tuning the HDJ-X10: kind of halfway between a traditional DJ headphone and a modern audiophile/studio headphone.

Durability
The HDJ-X10 are made almost entirely of aluminum, pleather and steel. Again, many online reviews say, “mostly plastic build.” Clearly, they have never had these headphones in hand, but rather copied misinformation from other reviews. The only visible plastic parts are the housing covers on the back of the aluminum yolks and steel headband adjusters. And the milled aluminum ear cups have nice rubber grips and bumpers. There is a video review of the X10s durability called “Destroying DJ Headphones - PIONEER DJ HDJ-X10,” if you’re interested. Overall, a great build, not DT100 durable, and you can’t replace the parts, but still very good.

Comfort
The pads are 90mm (DT770=100mm, K702=110mm, etc.): my ears just barely fit. Inside the pads, my lobes brush up against the nylon covered driver housings, which is a bit annoying. However, I can wear them for a few hours without needing a break. Again, online reviews vary from award winning comfort to extremely painful. This may because they are much more comfortable than a typical high-clamp on-ear DJ headphone, but not as comfortable as some other over-ear headphones. I would rate the comfort as good as long as you don’t have big ears.

Conclusion
The HDJ-X10s are excellent headphones, but are they $350 USD excellent? With the great build, nice case, and superb sound quality for the intended purpose… yes, and even better if you can find them on sale.

Alternatives
As of posting, I can’t think of any direct competition. The HD25, M50X and TMA-2 are not in the same league. As one post noted, if you get the HDJ-X10s, you will be spoiled. The K371 is closer, but lack of soundstage and boosted treble make the AKGs more for suitable for tracking. The V-Moda M100 Master are quite durable, but have an old school DJ sound profile and useless cables (FYI: if you do buy the coiled cable, it doesn’t fit in the case). The V-Moda is more a DJ culture headphone, whereas the HDJ-X10 is more a professional DJ headphone.

HDJ-X7 vs HDJ-X10 Comparison
In pictures these two headphones look very similar, but in hand the X10s have a more robust build all around. Aside from the headband, which appears to be identical on both except for the nano coating, every part on the X10 is more substantial. The X7 sounds great, but has the classic Pioneer DJ sound profile: accentuated bass and a treble spike at 10K (booming lows and loud hats). So, if you’re a club DJ, perhaps the X7 is a better choice as they are more like the HDJ-2000 MK2 they replaced.

Cheers.

 

[Sauerteig]

An old thread, but still quite relevant. True, most of the reviews about the Pioneer HDJ-X10 are from club DJs. While I am a DJ (radio, mobile and the occasional club gig), I am also a consultant, producer, and audio engineer. My daily drivers are the Sennheiser HD650 and AKG K702 for mixing, Beyerdynamic DT770 and DT100 for tracking, and the Pioneer HDJ-X10 for DJ stuff.

Online reviews of the HDJ-X10 illustrate the emerging uselessness of the internet. There’s a review for every opinion. If you like these headphones, there are reviews about how good they are. If you don’t like them, well there are reviews for that as well. And some of the reviews are obviously not genuine first-hand accounts, but compiled from other reviews simply to populate websites. I have seen this comment more than once: the HDJ-X10s are too good for DJ work. But this raises an obvious question: what sound quality do they normally blast at their clients? It’s like saying a BMW M5 is too good to drive on public roads. That said, here are my thoughts on the Pioneer HDJ-X10.

Sound
The sound of the HDJ-X10 is as good as it gets for DJ shows both on the radio and on the road. Looking at the graph in SoundID Reference, they measure a 3db bump between 50-300htz, then slope gradually down to minus 6db at 5k, and back up to within 3db of flat from 8k up. Pioneer DJ did an exceptional job tuning these headphones for DJ/producers. They are rated at 3.5 watts max, which means they should stay clean well past eardrum destroying levels. However, I can’t corroborate this particular fact.

The HDJ-X10’s party piece is the soundstage. The soundstage is quite wide. Most people on here will know this, but if you don’t, the wider or bigger the soundstage, the more it sounds like you’re listening to speakers in a room. For comparison, the K702 mostly achieves this effect, the HDJ-X10 not quite, but it’s close. The HDJ-X10 has the widest soundstage of any closed back headphone I have ever used. The soundstage, combined with the recessed hi-mid / low treble, makes them non-fatiguing and excellent for long radio shows, live DJ work, tracking and casual listening.

In the final analysis, the bass is a bit embellished, and the low treble is slightly backed off, but they are flat enough for many applications other than beat mixing. Pioneer has made a good compromise in tuning the HDJ-X10: kind of halfway between a traditional DJ headphone and a modern audiophile/studio headphone.

Durability
The HDJ-X10 are made almost entirely of aluminum, Pleather and steel. Again, many online reviews say, “mostly plastic build.” Clearly, they have never had these headphones in hand, but rather copied misinformation from other reviews. The only visible plastic parts are the housing covers on the back of the aluminum yolks and steel headband adjusters. And the milled aluminum ear cups have nice rubber grips and bumpers. There is a video review of the X10s durability called “Destroying DJ Headphones - PIONEER DJ HDJ-X10,” if you’re interested. Overall, a great build, not DT100 durable, and you can’t replace the parts, but still very good.

Comfort
The pads are 90mm (DT770=100mm, K702=110mm, etc.): my ears just barely fit. Inside the pads, my lobes brush up against the nylon covered driver housings, which is a bit annoying. However, I can wear them for a few hours without needing a break. Again, online reviews vary from award winning comfort to extremely painful. I would rate the comfort as acceptable as long as you don’t have big ears.

Conclusion
The HDJ-X10s are excellent headphones, but are they $350 USD excellent? With the great build, nice case, and superb sound quality for the intended purpose… yes, absolutely.

Alternatives
As of posting, I can’t think of any direct competition. The HD25, M50X and TMA-2 are not in the same league. As one post said, if you get these, you will be spoiled. The K371 is closer, but lack of soundstage and boosted treble make the AKGs more for suitable for tracking. The V-Moda M100 Master are quite durable, but have an old school DJ sound profile and useless cables (FYI: if you do buy the coiled cable, it doesn’t fit in the case).

HDJ-X7 vs HDJ-X10 Comparison
In pictures these two headphones look very similar, but in hand the X10s have a more robust build all around. Aside from the headband, which appears to be identical on both except for the nano coating, every part on the X10 is more substantial. The X7 sounds great, but has the classic DJ sound profile: accentuated bass and a treble spike at 10K (booming lows and loud hats). So, if you’re a club DJ, perhaps the X7s would be a better choice as they are much more like the HDJ-2000 MK2 they replaced.

Cheers.

Disclaimer. I am not a DJ. I have them paired with an Astell Kern alpha. I think I enjoy or indeed require dj headphones because of the need for natural sound isolation. Certain working environments I have been exposed to require an inpenetrable cube of autism that shields me from gum smacking or the most inane petty blather about vacuous celebrities and the like you can imagine. At the the gym too often times the musis is so loud that this level of headphone is required for music purposes.
For what it is worth I went to a specialty headphone store ( somewhat prominent one) and did a bakeoff. I liked these the best when factor other important considerations such as a detachable cord, utter aversion and hatred for bluetooth, as well as durability and portability for real life conditions in an urban, on the go condtions.

 

[BeatMachinery]

I'm looking for an excellent pair of headphones with very strong isolation. I've a couple of options but these are the ones that are the most appealing. I want them to play the drum set...
Yes , It sounds strange , but I mostly play electronic music on the acoustic drums and electronic pads , so these seem to be ideal if they offer a great isolation.
I have been looking for the number of DB they suppose to block , however , haven't found anything.
Any idea?
Thanks!

 

[plakat]

I'm looking for an excellent pair of headphones with very strong isolation. I've a couple of options but these are the ones that are the most appealing. I want them to play the drum set...
Yes , It sounds strange , but I mostly play electronic music on the acoustic drums and electronic pads , so these seem to be ideal if they offer a great isolation.
I have been looking for the number of DB they suppose to block , however , haven't found anything.
Any idea?
Thanks!

While unfortunately I can’t help with your question about isolation of the X10, Beyerdynamic offers a special version of their DT770, the DT770M, that is completely closed and has 35dB isolation. Might be worth a look for your use case.

 

[BeatMachinery]

While unfortunately I can’t help with your question about isolation of the X10, Beyerdynamic offers a special version of their DT770, the DT770M, that is completely closed and has 35dB isolation. Might be worth a look for your use case.

Hello!
Yeah , I've heard about those but they have mixed reviews , specially talking about the sound quality.
These , on the other hand , seem to have a much better quality sound.
I am curious about the isolation though

 

[plakat]

Hello!
Yeah , I've heard about those but they have mixed reviews , specially talking about the sound quality.
These , on the other hand , seem to have a much better quality sound.
I am curious about the isolation though

Yes, the completely closed cups have adverse effects on sound quality. This is not much of a concern for pure monitoring for a drummer, but if you’re looking for sound quality the M version might not be what you need.
The 35dB would be about the maximum of isolation possible as far as I know (sound is not only perceived via the ears after all). So the X10 will most probably have quite a bit less…
Another option might be custom in-ears. Shure in-ears also tend to offer high isolation btw.

 

[RPMDJ]

If you do not want to read a long headphone review, skip to the end for the concluding statement. That said…

I have both the DT770 (not M) and the HDJ-X10. As far as I understand it, the differences between the DT770 and DT770M are the headband, pads and cable. The DT770M headband clamp is tighter, the pads are leather/pleather, and the cable has an inline volume control. So, basically a drummer’s DT770. While I have not had the M, I have had leather pads on the DT770 and they sounded fine.

Between the HDJ-X10 and DT770, build quality and durability is similar. The HDJ-X10 may have a slight edge, but you can replace all the parts of a DT770. I have dropped them both in the studio and at gigs and never had a concern about breaking them. I do trust the DT770s not to break more, but that’s likely because I have had them for over 20 years.

Isolation is similar. However, the pad circumference on the HDJ-X10 is 10mm smaller: 90mm vs 100mm for the DT770. And the HDJ-X10 pads are lower too, so your ears may touch the driver housings. If you have big ears, the DT770s may be a better choice.

I like the HDJ-X10s for the soundstage and smooth treble (high-mid/low-treble dip). But that is subjective. In the studio, subjectivity becomes irrelevant (aside from the occasional Diva). In the studio, a flat EQ profile is preferred.

With that in mind, the K371 is better for tracking and the HD650 is much better for mixing. The K371 has slowly replaced the DT770 in my studio for tracking. However, I still use the Beyers to check and adjust the low end when mixing. DT770s translate very well; they became, and still are an industry standard for this reason.

So, for studio work, the DT770M or K371 would be a good choice. For practice and live, the Roland VMH-D1 or the HDJ-X10 would both work well and both have massive amounts of headroom: your ears will melt and catch on fire before breakup.

However, all the drummers I know use IEMs.

Cheers.

 

[plakat]

In addition to the differences mentioned by @RPMDJ between the regular and the M version DT770 there’s one crucial thing to mention: the cups of the DT770M are completely closed, providing additional isolation but a less coherent sound.

 

[RPMDJ]

In addition to the differences mentioned by @RPMDJ between the regular and the M version DT770 there’s one crucial thing to mention: the cups of the DT770M are completely closed, providing additional isolation but a less coherent sound.

Perhaps you are thinking of the DT880 or DT990? The cups on the DT770 are completely closed.

 

[plakat]

Perhaps you are thinking of the DT880 or DT990? The cups on the DT770 are completely closed.

Not quite… take a look near where the gimbals are meeting the cups, on the side near the back or your ears. The normal DT770 has a small hole there, the M version does not have that hole.

Sorry I don’t have a DT770 on hand to post a photo of what I mean.

 

[RPMDJ]

Not quite… take a look near where the gimbals are meeting the cups, on the side near the back or your ears. The normal DT770 has a small hole there, the M version does not have that hole.

Sorry I don’t have a DT770 on hand to post a photo of what I mean.

Indeed. The little tuning ports. From an engineering perspective, the clamp is standard on the DT770, and the pads are velour, so the small, screened ports help to balance the driver. On the DT770M, the clamp is tighter, the pads are leather, and they are designed for isolation, so no ports.

The pads cause the most notable difference in the sound: a 6db bump at 200Hz. This also happens to some extent on the DT770 with the leather M pads installed. Boomy is a good word for it. The boomy sound is deliberate, meant to suppress the 200Hz snare drum peaks. I put the M pads on the DT770s to suppress on-stage bass wash from FOH subs. It worked well. Note: while the no-port design on the M does improve isolation, it also limits low bass extension. Which I believe is the point plakat was trying to make.

The HDJ-X10 also has balance ports. On the HDJ-X10, they are small holes on the top of the cup surround hidden behind the yolks.

Perhaps of more use… the FR graphs for the DT770, DT770M and HDJ-X10.




But, again, all the drummers I know use IEMs.
Cheers.

 

[RPMDJ]

Thinking about the DT770M has reminded me about a characteristic of the HDJ-X10. Several reviews about the HDJ-X10 from working DJs note the lack of bass. I have been using the headphones for a few years now, and understand this perspective. On stages with heavy FOH backwash, it’s sometimes difficult to hear the bass clearly in the HDJ-X10. While the isolation is good, the loud sub frequencies just travel through everything. I keep a pair of earplugs in the case for these situations, so I can turn up the HDJ-X10s without damaging my ears. That said, the HDJ-X10s are tuned very well for multitasking DJ/Producer/Audiophile types. Cheers.

 

[Sauerteig]

everal reviews about the HDJ-X10 from working DJs note the lack of bass.

Other derogatory comments claim that they do not have enough bass.

I suppose it all depends on what sort of music one favors. I have to say I detest rap and while some of the electronic, industrail, aggrotech does feature some bass, probably not as much.

It has been a couple years since I went to the store and did the bakeoff, but I found the x10s to offer an all around excellent experience both in detail and soundscape. I loved the audio technica M50s, I still think a lot of the criticism is ridiculous, but they do offer less soundscape than the 10s.

Incidentally, I have been participating in r/headphone advice, and a couple people keep downvoting my recommendation for these, or the limited edition Beyerdynamic 770s with a detachable cord.If those who balk at these could at least explain their position it would be so grating. Ugh.