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The least sucky hybrid DJ/listening/production headphones?

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:31 am
by Barfunkel
I often have a laptop me and if not, I listen to my own music (and reference tracks) a lot on the go. I also play DJ gigs.


I'd like to buy a sort of a hybrid pair of headphones that:


- Are suitable for DJ'ing, ie. loud, small size, closed, durable.

- Accurate enough for light production work (I spend a lot of time somewhere else than my home, have free time there and often have my laptop with me so 1+1=obvious answer). Don't need to be super critical, but at least in the ballpark of accuracy.

- Are low impedance, so the laptop headphone amp (or the amp of the phone, i'm I'm in a train or something) can get decent volume out of them (currently have 250 and 600ohm phones and both more or less need some kind of extra amplification if you wanna get the best out of them)

- While analytical-ish, they should also be a bit pleasurable to listen to, not like these (borrowed ) AG 240's I have on right now, which are very "dry" sounding and listening to some, umm, a bit rougher releases that I 100% know work well in most clubs simply don't sound that great on them. That's not a bad thing per se of course, but it implies that these phones might have trouble with translation.



I of course realize these requirements mean compromises and headphones that are a jack of all trades, master of none. I of course have "proper" production phones at home, those just tend to be open/semi-open, huge, high impedance etc.

Price: Let's say 200€ tops.

Any suggestions for the least sucky pair?

Re: The least sucky hybrid DJ/listening/production headphone

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:05 am
by Root
Don't know how they go productionwise, but i'm ultimately happy with my Sennheiser HD25 for years now, when it comes to djing and listening music. Built to stay, loud and clear enough, well protected. And i'd guess when you know them, they will be even ok for production stuff, just to capture ideas and what.. I always use them, when i want to know, how a track will be sounding in a club ;)

Re: The least sucky hybrid DJ/listening/production headphone

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 11:57 am
by buffered
sony mdr-v6, focal spirit, grado sr80 (not closed though), aiaiai tma-2

Re: The least sucky hybrid DJ/listening/production headphone

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 12:10 pm
by Plyphon
Grados would suck for DJing as they're not closed back, but also the construction of them is very delicate.

I'd either look at the Aiaiai's and get a DJ preset perhaps, or just go with the tried and tested HD25s - they suck for producing but will do for 'light' work I guess, but they're the absolute bollocks for DJing and they're light and built tough to handle being throw in a bag/travelling about.

The Aiaiai's look good, and I've listened to some at Phonica and they sound like headphones, but their construction is untested/unknown.

HD25s are also quite small so you won't look ridiculous wearing them.

Re: The least sucky hybrid DJ/listening/production headphone

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 12:58 pm
by kertikristof
Plyphon wrote:
HD25s are also quite small so you won't look ridiculous wearing them.
Wow, I am every day amazed by how important is to look good while DJing! :lol:

Re: The least sucky hybrid DJ/listening/production headphone

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 1:08 pm
by dubdub
HD-25s are ridicuously non-linear with extreme bass and absurd highs - very harsh and tiring to listen to over long periods of time. They also fit tight it as hell, personally they start hurting after about 5 minutes. Absolutely not something I'd ever use for production.

I have a pair of Sony MDR-7506s, they are super cheap and much more comfortable than the HD25s IMO, both in terms of fit and frequency response. They are ok for light production work, the bass isn't exactly linear though. That said, I've found that they tend to bring out the ugly in bass, so if it sounds good on them, it should sound OK elsewhere.

I would also try the Aiaiai TMA-2s, the "modular" setup means that you should be able to come up with a decent compromise between DJing and production. I did not like the fit of them but the sound is nice and somewhere in the middle between DJ headphones and regular hi-fi headphones.

Re: The least sucky hybrid DJ/listening/production headphone

Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 1:19 pm
by Markus Wolf
Sorry Hybrid I havent found personally anything I liked for both but

HD25 for DJing
AKG 702's for Production'