[KickDrum]

Hello Head-Fi,

This is my first ever post, so go easy on me, I've come here looking for some advice from you audio pros!

I recently started DJing. I got some direct drive turntables run off what can only be described as a cowboy set up - an old cd changer with some pretty big speakers. Anyway sounds good, it works blah blah. Anyway, the problem I've got is my headphones. They're awful, cheap, plastic, garish, you name negatives its got them. The sound just isn't upto scratch I can't hear the music properly, when I'm mixing and queuing it just sounds like a mess of sounds and I can't distinguish between tracks, not only that but the audio from my external system bleeds through and It really doesn't help matters.

So I'm in the market for some good value for money/ good sound quality and noise cancelling cans. I'll try and portray to you exactly what I'm after with the few technical terms I know. I DJ techno and house so ideally want to hear some good pounding bass and kick drums, but if I lost those claps and high hats I'd be devastated (I always crank my 'high/treble') so I guess what I'm looking for is some closed phones with smaller soundstage so I don't lose any of the higher sounds and the bass doesn't drown them out, right? They don't have to be comfortable ,obviously, as they're on and off all the time. So what I've checked out, and am pretty convinced on, are Ultrasone DJ1s. They're aesthetically pleasing by the seem it, fully adjustable, have a better ear cup shape than their Pro counterpart and are a great price!

Thoughts from you experts?

Thanks kindly for your time!

P.S. If any of you wanted to check out exactly what kind of music I play check out these two tracks Karenn - Chaste Down and Kommune1 - Motus.

 

[obobskivich]

I'd get the Pro model - simply for the Pro kit they come with (the circular cups fit very well); I'll add that I've heard neither, but I have higher-up PROline cans and would suggest them simply for the hard-case and replaceable parts. It's a good setup.

EDIT

The Koss DJ100 are also pretty good, but they don't have a ton of bass slam - they're fully articulated (better than the Ultrasone headband), well built, come with a hard-case, don't cost a fortune, and have a good world-beating warranty behind them. I think they'd probably be a good candidate, as long as the lack of bass slam isn't a problem.

 

[KickDrum]

Thanks for the reply!

I was tempted by the Pros, but other reviews remarked on the lack of swivel and extreme discomfort even on short term listening whilst mixing, as well as the fact that the larger and 'O' shape cups make them move around your ear giving a wider soundstage and possible loss of sound? I mean I have no idea honestly I'm just bouncing what I've heard off of you.

Ill be sure to check those too!

 

[obobskivich]

Thanks for the reply!
I was tempted by the Pros, but other reviews remarked on the lack of swivel and extreme discomfort even on short term listening whilst mixing, as well as the fact that the larger and 'O' shape cups make them move around your ear giving a wider soundstage and possible loss of sound? I mean I have no idea honestly I'm just bouncing what I've heard off of you.
Ill be sure to check those too!

They have the same headband - all Ultrasones do (except the Edition 8 and 10). As far as the "move around on your ear giving a wider soundstage" - uh, what? I haven't tried an ovoid-shape Ultrasone in YEARS, but I've owned a few of the circular models fairly recently - they all clamp pretty well, and don't bounce around on my head that bad - I don't see why the DJ1-Pro would be any different (again, same headband and general mechanism). S-LOGIC will create a larger soundstage than without, but that isn't a bad thing.

The one thing Ultrasones will not do is put their cups 180* around (the Koss will), otherwise they are about equal in terms of how much articulation (Koss and Ultrasone) - both have pretty good headband mechanisms to be honest.

 

[KickDrum]

Bump

 

[obobskivich]

We don't bump threads after 20 minutes.

 

[Phoenix Jackson]

Everytime I read about Audio Technica ATH-PRO700 mark 2, there's a common theme.  Bass is very well appreciated (along with the rest of sound characteristics quality) but the comfort level is moaned and groaned.  Then on some replies, you'll read DJs saying "It's not meant for casual listening.  If it's used for anything other than DJ-ing, look elsewhere."
 
So might as well recommend it to someone who's gonna actually use it for what it's made for.

 

[Omshallom]

I've been DJing using  Technics RP-DJ1200 for over 10 years, and they still pound out the bass, and you can crank them as loud as hell, and the bass doesn't distort. The highs are clear as well, I've had no problems with lack of  bass or highs.
They are built pretty tough, they've been tossed around a lot, been to a few beach parties ( headphones meet sand ) , had beer and spirits spilt on them, lots of sweat, and whatever other numerous hazards could befall them behind the decks. 
 
They are also quite comfortable to wear, I've also never had a problem with clamping on my head.
 
 
 
I just read that you want noise canceling headphones, I don't think these are noise canceling headphones ( please excuse my lack of knowledge here ).

 

[wje]

Quote:

Bump

 
Quote:

We don't bump threads after 20 minutes.

 
Thank you.  I was about to say the same thing.  What's with the demanding posters lately?

 

[KickDrum]

Thanks again for the reply, again i'll be sure to check those out =]
 
 
 
 
As for bumping, lesson learnt, sorry.