Koss Pro DJ 100 - The Budget King - Page 92

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrystalT 

what pads are larger than the m50 but fit the dj 100? since i sold my m50 i dont have the pads anymore.

M40 pads are, but they're not as deep. I liked them for about a week, but then felt they made the DJ100 too bassy. The pads are also not as deep as the M50 pads.

The comfort seems better at first until you hit the 2 hour mark.

If anyone cares, I tried to restore my M50 pads (that went hard), but no such luck.

Had another one of those listens to the DJ100 last night and it ended up being until 4am while working. I ended up switching back to stock pads and they're not too bad!

What I would do is listen to my HD-650 for one song and then switch to the DJ100. After about an hour of this I ended up with just feeling the DJ100 was sounding better. Punch me if you want..

It's really amazing what the ODAC does for headphones. I mean on all my closed headphones it feels like it even improves the headphones imaging and soundstage. With some classical music it makes the DJ100 almost sound like an open headphone at times. The ODAC strangely enough makes my Q701, HD-650 and DJ100 sound even MORE balanced. The DJ100 on my main setup sounds as close to neutral as it will probably ever get other than getting an O2.

I started with my Ipod Touch 2G with a LOD cable to my Micro Amp, but somehow the Ipod Touch gave me an impression of somewhat edgy treble. I didn't experience this with the ODAC ever. Weird right? Probably my imagination.

Both headphones to my ears are very fatigue free. I noticed that when listening to my 650 with one song it just sounded amazing. When I switched to the DJ100 the song was considerably worse. I mean on the HD-650 it felt like it was making it sound better than it really was supposed to be. I have no idea how Sennheiser pulls off this magic. I guess it's the reduced treble and more polite sound. So, it did feel the DJ100 was closer to how the original song was supposed to sound. The variation between song quality is really impressive with the ODAC. Without it, the DJ100 isn't like this as much. This reminds me of my old experience with the DT-880 and how revealing it was. Even without a nice DAC.

The mids on the DJ100 are a little bit more forward than those of the HD-650. It's really minor for me and nothing ever seems too shouty on the DJ100. With some songs, female vocals actually sounded more forward on the HD-650, which is weird. When checking back to the DJ100, the differences were pretty minor.

Obviously the soundstage on the HD-650 is much better. It's a little more airy and everything feels like it's recorded in it's own little section in the soundstage. Due to the DJ100 being closed, it can't really compete here. The K601 has the HD-650 beat though when it comes to all this, but no big deal. I think if I was using M50 pads it'd hold up a little better.

The 2nd most obvious difference for me is that the DJ100 has a lot more treble. Actually not that much more, but it's easy to notice. This is even with stock pads.

There's also a tiny bit more bass on the DJ100. Somehow before I also never realized how warm the DJ100 is. Sometimes things even sound fuller on the DJ100 than the HD-650, which is just so weird. Male vocals especially. My HD-650 though doesn't have some huge mid-bass hump, but my DJ100 sounded like it was a tad bassier. About the same really except for the DJ100 having very slightly more sub-bass.

So right now I think the DJ100 and the HD-650 are my favorite headphones. The DJ100 reminds me of a weird mix of the K240 Sextett and the HD-650. Maybe more like a mix of an AKG and Sennheiser type sound. Despite it being quite revealing of source quality, it's still kind of forgiving of all those harsh and fatiguing tracks despite the forward mids and treble.

HD-650 and the DJ100 are pretty accurate to me. Neither of them butcher any recordings at all. I'd say the HD-650 is slightly more colored due to making everything sound almost too good. I love this though sometimes!

The difference between the two isn't massive to me. I mean when I switch to the HD-650 i'm not blown away by how much better it sounds. Generally the DJ100 sounded more musical and much more crystal clear despite being kind of warm. I would say that the DJ100 is pretty smooth sounding, but the HD-650 is even smoother. I think both are good for garbage recordings with the mids/treble cranked up to max.

It's weird, but I still do think the HD-650 and DJ100 have benefited more from my ODAC more than my Q701, HD-600 and everything else. Wonder why? The Q701 didn't suddenly become more detailed and analytical, but the DJ100 and HD-650 did. Pretty bizarre. Neither of those became any thinner sound or whatever.

BTW I think one reason the Clip+ sounded a bit weird with stock pads (but ok with M50 pads) is that it's quite warm. I kept wondering why the HD-650 sounded so awful (IMO) with all my Sansa devices and it's because they're quite warm! I switched to my old Ipod Touch 2G and problem fixed! The Clip+ and Ipod Touch measure ruler flat apparently, but the Clip+ sounds a bit warmer than my Ipod. The Ipod Video 5.5G sounds terrible with my DJ100, but ok with the HD-650. Measurements seem to show that the 5.5 has rolled off bass and forward upper mids. Yet it's said to be the best sounding Ipod. I don't want my source to be adding any coloration to my headphones really. The old Ipod 3G (monochrome) sounds a little bit better than my Ipod Touch 2G. Not sure why. Too bad it's only limited to 15GB.

I keep forgetting the HM5 pads do fit. Katun tried them out with the DJ100 and they had a secure fit. Here's his impressions of them on the DJ100:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/571216/koss-pro-dj-100-the-budget-king/660#post_8535077

They're cheap, but ship from China I believe. The only reason I mention this is that I'm VERY impatient! Air mail is so slow for me.

Any place that sells them inside the USA with a small markup? I doubt it.

Here is the link:

http://www.mp4nation.net/brainwavz-hm5-spare-earpad-1pc

$8.50 each and requires two. I might buy a pair.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xx0xx 

I really need to give these a good burn-in to see if the treble backs off a bit. It's still a little weird for certain cymbal sounds. That is the only qualm I have at all with these headphones. The bass/mids/soundstage and treble during softer music (acoustic guitars) are fantastic. Just need the treble during fast/cymbal-heavy music to quiet down a touch.

Are you using the Ipod Touch 2G or Fiio E7 by any chance? Probably impossible, but those sources seem to have rather edgy treble to my ears. Both are supposed to measure flat too. Sure it's not just a crappy recording? There's plenty of recordings I have that drive my ears crazy, but this TBSE/DJ100 seems to take a slight edge off them. I swear sometimes the guy in the studio must keep the treble or upper mids at MAX.

I've yet to ever have the DJ100 have piercing treble thankfully. I'm not sensitive to treble though..maybe a little bit with the KRK KNS-8400

Burn in might help, but not sure. Worth a try. Maybe you can try another source and see if it sounds the same on all of them. Sometimes i'm surprised.

Unrelated note, but tonight I listened to the DJ100 for several hours. For some reason it's not as good with my Ipod Touch 2G to amp as with my ancient Ipod 3g (monochrome). Except for some minor treble issues possibly, the Ipod Touch 2G sounds pretty flat to me, but not as smooth sounding as the ODAC. The Ipod Touch 2G doesn't even seem like it's even remotely warm. I guess I prefer that. 

Tonight I used my well worn in stock pads for hours and they're perfectly comfortable!

Sadly you can't restore M50 pads in the washer. I just ended up destroying them. Oops. The pads just got even harder than before.

Right now i'm using Ipod 3G (non click wheel) with Fiio L11 LOD to Total Airhead. I also made a little interconnect from some Double Helix cable scraps I got for free. I still use the GE Ultra Pro cable I got from Target for $9. The thing I like the most about it is that it looks cool and doesn't tangle. It also comes with an adapter cable to convert one end to two RCAs.

It really stinks being limited to 15GB! I also broke my hold button when replacing it's battery. You know how annoying not having a hold switch is?

At least it has Rockbox and actually supports the Line Out (and FLAC!).

The Ipod Video 5.5 I just bought sounds pretty bad IMO. At least with a headphone that doesn't need any extra warmth. Might be nice with a Grado or K702.

BTW the DJ100's mids with a neutral source don't sound all that forward. A little more than my HD-650, but that's about it. The idea of them being like an upside down U shaped signature is just bizarre to me. I don't even want to know what that crap would sound like.