How To Choose A Great Pair Of Headphones For DJing

Choosing a great pair of headphones for DJing will help you build a better mix by letting you hear the mix in a better quality sound and by cutting out interruptions from all the sounds around you.

Using a small pair of headphones you get from Ipods are definitely not what you’ll want to DJ with. In fact, most headphones you’re able to buy at the local stores aren’t all that great.

For DJs, headphones need to be very robust, provide great quality sound and need to be very comfortable, this is why there are headphones made specifically for DJing.

In this post, we’ll look at some of the things you should consider when buying a pair of DJ headphones without burning a hole in your pocket.

A quick overview

DJ headphones are very similar in design to most headphones but they do exhibit a few different features:

• Much more durable
• Higher end audio
• Flexible design
• Comfortability

These features can generally be found in high end audiophile headphones but you would never want to use these for DJing because of the costs and damage you can cause to them from the extreme amounts of sound you’re pumping through ‘em.

So, let’s take a look at some of these features in depth.

Durability

Durability, in relation to DJ headphones, doesn’t simply mean how much you could toss them around and step on them, it also means how durable the components of the headphones and connections used with them.

These additional components, such as the headphone speakers and the headphone chord, need to be very durable because you will find yourself pushing your headphones to extreme sound levels.

When you are pumping massive bass through your headphones, keeping them at such a high level during your mix, will eventually start to destroy the speakers. DJ headphones are designed in a way which allows them to take these high levels of audio for an extended period of time without damaging the components.

The headphone chords on DJ headphones are generally much thicker than generic headphones, usually 1/4′ cabling. If you were to run a standard 1/8′ speaker chord to your mixer, one sharp turn could slap your wire.

Finally, the actual structural durability is also very important. From all the traveling you may be doing, you’ll want a pair of headphones which can take the abuse of being tossed around in your DJ bag or getting dropped in a dark room.

High-End Audio

Many people listen to music through very cheap sound systems because it’s all they can find at retailers. The loudness war has been going for quite some time; the music industry continues to push the loudness of music, destroying its dynamic range.

Because so many headphones on the market are very cheap and the combination of horrid mixing from music labels, they don’t give you a correct representation of the music. These cheap headphones do not offer the same low and high end as many DJ headphones.

DJ headphones should have a large dynamic range (at least 20hz – 20khz) which will allow you to listen to the deep frequencies of bass and the high sounds of snares and other high pitched instruments.

When headphones have this dynamic range you can hear the music how it actually sounds so you can monitor it correctly to build your mix.

Flexibility

One of the main aspects of DJ headphones which most normal headphones lack is flexibility.

You’ve seen it done by every DJ, half of the headphone on, half of it off. The reason why DJs go half and half is so they can listen to the mixing in one ear while monitoring the mix as it sounds over the system.

Good DJ headphones should be flexible so you can bend them around your head without snapping.

Comfortability

When you are mixing for hours on end, you’ll definitely begin to curse yourself for purchasing a cheap pair of headphones.

Comfortable headphones are a must for DJs.

Comfortable headphones should sit on your ears without placing too much pressure to cause discomfort.

DJ headphones are generally closed ear headphones so they wrap completely around your ears. This form will be very comfortable while wearing but will also allow you to block out a lot of sound so you can concentrate on your mixing.

Bonus: Get what sounds right

With all of the above suggestions aside, you should get DJ headphones which fit your personal style and expectations.

You could purchase $300 headphones that have amazing dynamic range but if you have ear damage, it kind of makes that extra money you’ve invested a bit pointless.

Don’t necessarily aim for the cheapest pair but don’t spend an arm and a leg for a pair that is going to break the bank. Visit shops which allow you to wear a pair before hand to get a feel of how you like them before purchasing them.

Hopefully this post has helped you in deciding which type of DJ headphones to pick up. These 4 suggestions will help you save some extra cash so you don’t waste money on sub par headphones. Headphones should feel like an extension of your body, nothing is quite like being wrapped up in your own world while listening to music.

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