Your headphones allow you to listen between tracks so you can cue them and make the transition which builds your mix. For this reason, you’ll want to invest in a great pair of headphones as they will be heavily used throughout your work.

This post will share the top five DJ headphones worth picking up. The best part, of it all, is that each of these can be purchased for under $150. Let’s take a look …

Pioneer HDJ-1000

The Pioneer HDJ-1000’s have a sleek and comfortable design made for DJ’s that will be putting in many long hours behind the decks. The dynamic range on these bad boy’s are right up there with audiophile headphones (5 – 30,000 Hz). For less than $150, these have quickly become one of the most widely used pair of headphones for DJ’s; it’s no wonder because they can handle anything you throw at them and still sound like you just bought them.

Check out: Pioneer HDJ-1000 reviews.

Sony MDR-V700DJ

The Sony MDR-V700DJ headphones are Sony’s equivalent to the HDJ-1000’s. In comparison, these headphones are nearly identical which includes the dynamic range, style, comfort and design but is a bit cheaper (currently around $90). These headphones have been around for ages but Sony keeps putting them out because they’ve stood the test of time. If you’re in the market for DJ headphones than the MDR-V700DJ’s are definitely worth checking out.

Check out: Sony MDR-V700DJ reviews.

Technics RP-DH1200

Technics has been synonymous with DJing (the 1200 turntables, duh). Although these headphones don’t look anything fancy they are well worth their buck (around $120). What makes the RP-DH1200’s great is the detachable cord (great if you forget you have them on and walk off) and that they handle high sound without distortion. These headphones are meant for heavy duty work.

Check out: Technics RP-DH1200 reviews.

Sennheiser HD-280

You wouldn’t immediately think Sennheiser HD-280 headphones are the ones to pick for DJing seeing that they’re market is mainly aimed at audiophiles and pure listening but these come at a high recommendation from many DJ’s. They have a lower dynamic range than the others listed here (8 – 25,000 Hz) but they can really take a beating and handles high DB like none other. Sennheiser always brings quality; you can bet these are well worth it.

Check out: Sennheiser HD-280 reviews.

Sony MDR-V6

The Sony MDR-V6’s are a classic choice for DJ headphones. Although these lean more towards monitoring your music (such as in production) they still hold their own when it comes to mixing. The specs on this pair are about the same as the others you will find on the list but they do come in as one of the cheapest pair here (around $80). These are tried and testing over years of production; great for anyone just starting or need a new pair.

Check out: Sony MDR-V6 reviews.

There are plenty of factors to look for when choosing a pair of DJ headphones; be sure that they fit your budget, feel comfortable, have a great dynamic range and will handle the stress of hours of music. For under $150, you can’t beat these.

If you don’t know now, DJ headphones are going to become your new best friend. That comforting hug they’ll give you around your head, the warm sensation as music pours from them; gah, it’s almost a fetish.

In this overview of DJ headphones, I want to tell you a few tips and tricks about buying headphones for super cheap, a parts overview and share some video reviews of various headphones.

Basic Rundown Of DJ Headphones

Let’s take a look at the various parts of DJ headphones:

A. Headband

The headband is what goes up and over your head or around your neck if you happen to be wearing them that way. A good pair of DJ headphones will have a headband with additional cushions so the plastic doesn’t rest right on your head.

B. Ear Adjustments

These bits are come and go with various sets of headphones. A lot of lower end models won’t have these and use the headband to help flex. Look for a good pair that gives you the additional adjustment to make sure they’re comfortable.

C. Ear Cushions

Shitty DJ headphones won’t have these and should be avoided like the plague.  When headphones don’t have ear cushions, your going to have a lot of discomfort as they rest on your ears.

D. Speakers

The small headphone speakers are what gives them the sound. Look for a pair which offers a wide dynamic range to make sure you can hear all of your tracks for when you’re EQing.

E. Headphone Cord

This chord often comes in 1/4′ and is very durable. Don’t buy headphones that us the standard 1/8′ because one step on them and *snap*, headphones ruined.

Check out this interesting post about the inner workings of headphones.

The Importance Of Choosing Great Headphones

In a previous post titled ‘How To Choose A Great Pair Of DJ Headphones‘ I give a complete explination of the tips and suggestions of choosing your first pair but for the sake of this post, let’s do a quick rundown.

Qualities of great DJ headphones

When choosing a great pair of DJ headphones you’ll need to look for 3 main qualities:

• Sound quality
• Durability
• Comfortability

The sound quality is the most important aspect of your DJ headphones. If you can’t hear every little detail of your music, you may end up mixing your tracks incorrectly using the EQs. Choosing a pair which offers a wide range of sound will ensure you can hear the lows and highs throughout your tracks.

The durability also plays an important part of choosing headphones. Not only should your headphones be able to withstand the wear and tear of usage, you need to make sure actual speakers can handle the constant abuse of playing loud music.

Finally, you should make sure your headphones are very comfortable. You’ll be wearing your headphones for variable lengths of time which can crunch down on your ears, hurting them over time.

One additional thing to look out for is to make sure your headphones are closed. This means that they completely surround the ears and block outside noise. This isolation is important so you can properly listen to your mixing.

Brands to avoid

Out of all the questions and comments I get from friends looking to buy headphones, there always seems to be a recurring theme: “are skullcandy headphones good for DJing?”

In short: no.

Skullcandy do offer decent quality in some aspects but in terms of using them for DJing, you’ll want to avoid them. Skullcandy generally don’t offer the same sound quality as a proper pair of DJ headphones, this alone is the most important reason not to buy them.

Where To Buy DJ Headphones Online

So you’re ready to buy a pair of DJ headphones yeh? But where the hell can you find them? Well, just short of telling you to Google it (I wouldn’t do that to ya), here are some places where you can buy headphones online.

• Amazon
• DJ Deals
• 123DJ
• ZZounds
• HollywoodDJ

When you shop on any of these sites, be sure to do a bit of competitive pricing. Take advantage of the fact that many of these shops will do a price match so if you enjoy one website, make sure you get the best price you can by telling them about competitors.

How To Buy DJ Headphones For Dirt Cheap (as in 70% off)

Okay, so here’s a secret I’ve been holding off for a while.

A few months back I began researching and sourcing where to buy headphones. At the time I had the great idea of selling headphones online.

After searching for many hours, I found out about Alibaba. Alibaba is a wholesale/business directory which lists many wholesale companies straight from China.

My first searches began for Pioneer HDJ1000′s. At this moment, these headphones retail for $99 on Amazon. Well, if you sign up on Alibaba and send an email or chat with the wholesalers on Alibaba, you can source these headphones for roughly $20!

I did further research and found a lot of companies are selling knockoffs which ruined my idea of selling them. I don’t want to jip people even if they are 100% replicas, it just wouldn’t feel right.

But for you, if you don’t mind taking a chance about if they are real or not, you can get the same headphones for about 70% off.

Helpful DJ Headphone Video Reviews

Final Thoughts

Hopefully this quick overview should get you up to speed about DJ headphones and choosing a pair.

Much like vinyl, headphones really become a fetish. You may end up owning multiple pairs (almost like women with shoes). Some pairs fit certain occasions, you may want a pair just for listening, others for DJing.

If you have anything else to add about DJ headphones, feel free to comment below.

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.