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Koss Pro DJ 100 - The Budget King - Page 93

post #1381 of 1869
12/26/12 at 9:20pm

OK, time for a bit of a mea culpa.  I've had sort of a re-awakening with the Koss Tony Bennett Special Edition headphones.  I owned them a few months back and thought at the time, the bass might have been a bit weak for me.  I'm not a total bass-head, but do like some lower end in the jazz and blues that I listen to.  I believe at the time, the Koss headphones maybe didn't catch my attention properly as I was in the process of doing a fair amount of tuning on the Fostex headphones.  My sound realization might have been off a bit.  However, this past weekend, I obliterated my Sennheiser HD-428, which I use as my "sleeping" headphones.  I think I rolled over a few times and the headphones were all contorted around my ears and the sides of my head.  

 

But, today, I stopped by Tuesday Morning and picked up their TBSE offering for $49.99, as reflected in a few threads here on the forum.  At the moment, I have them running on my computer and powered via the Asus Xonar DG sound card / headphone amplifier.  Granted, it's only a $29.00 sound card, but it does a pretty good job at driving many headphones.  I only have the volume at the 10% position and not applying any EQ.  The sound is really quite good and actually far ahead on what one can get from a $39 - $49 pair of JVC "bassy" headphones, which have a rigid plastic headband and tend to squeeze your skull and temples of your head.  But, the TBSE is playing along nicely with a great tonal balance.  These are really some pretty sweet sounding headphones, and I'm a bit disappointed at how my initial perception of them wasn't as good as the experience I'm hearing now.

 

Lovin' It.  atsmile.gif

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post #1382 of 1869
12/26/12 at 10:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by wje View Post

OK, time for a bit of a mea culpa.  I've had sort of a re-awakening with the Koss Tony Bennett Special Edition headphones.  I owned them a few months back and thought at the time, the bass might have been a bit weak for me.  I'm not a total bass-head, but do like some lower end in the jazz and blues that I listen to.  I believe at the time, the Koss headphones maybe didn't catch my attention properly as I was in the process of doing a fair amount of tuning on the Fostex headphones.  My sound realization might have been off a bit.  However, this past weekend, I obliterated my Sennheiser HD-428, which I use as my "sleeping" headphones.  I think I rolled over a few times and the headphones were all contorted around my ears and the sides of my head.  

 

But, today, I stopped by Tuesday Morning and picked up their TBSE offering for $49.99, as reflected in a few threads here on the forum.  At the moment, I have them running on my computer and powered via the Asus Xonar DG sound card / headphone amplifier.  Granted, it's only a $29.00 sound card, but it does a pretty good job at driving many headphones.  I only have the volume at the 10% position and not applying any EQ.  The sound is really quite good and actually far ahead on what one can get from a $39 - $49 pair of JVC "bassy" headphones, which have a rigid plastic headband and tend to squeeze your skull and temples of your head.  But, the TBSE is playing along nicely with a great tonal balance.  These are really some pretty sweet sounding headphones, and I'm a bit disappointed at how my initial perception of them wasn't as good as the experience I'm hearing now.

 

Lovin' It.  atsmile.gif

 

That's good to hear and I'm surprised Tuesday Morning still has a few pairs left. I've seen some measurements of the Xonor DG and it seems to measure pretty flat if I remember right. I think I saw them on the Goldenears website. The $80 versions got even better scores. Strangely enough my onboard sound seems ruler flat and actually really good. Possibly one of the better Realtek HD chips. I have a Realtek chipset on my laptop and it's just plain awful and really noisy.

 

There's also the possibility that there are minor variations in sound between pairs, but highly unlikely. Possibly QC issues, but I doubt it. I remember one or two people previously saying theirs had recessed upper mids. I don't think so at all. Mine actually has a slight peak in the upper mids somewhere yet graphs don't seem to show this. This pair I have is slightly bassier than my HD-650, which would be hard for many people to believe. This one has very slightly above neutral bass, but goes pretty low.

 

I did notice today that it's a bit warmer than normal with my Fuze and Clip+. I don't mind though.

 

One thing I will say though is that mine makes any very harsh/fatiguing recordings a tiny bit easier on the ears. It's not as polite as my new HD-650 since it has more treble and upper mids.

 

It'd be interested to know if it changes or improves after the week work. This Tony Bennett sounded perfect out of the box. If you need a straight cable for it the one I use I got at Target called the GE Ultra Pro series. It's the one that's clear and has silver shielding and includes a 1/8" to RCA adapter cable.

 

Oh yeah.. I don't know if this is the same for everyone, but the pads get more comfortable after a few weeks of use.

 

I've been using the DJ100/TB for now 3 years and i'm still addicted to it's sound. Lately it's been split between the HD-650 and DJ100.

 

Oh yeah, I just bought a Schiit Magni for the DJ100 biggrin.gif I normally use the Headroom Micro, but this will be a nice alternative I hope. Tired of hauling that thing from room to room.

 

Magni + ODAC should be a good combination, but totally not required of course. I must be the only one crazy enough to buy a desktop amp for a $50 headphone.

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post #1383 of 1869
12/26/12 at 11:13pm

These sound great on the Xonar Dg for sure, really nice.
 

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post #1384 of 1869
12/27/12 at 3:47am

I picked up mine at the post office today.

 

Since they're used I hooked them up with my lap top and my udac2 right away. 

 

Have only been listening for about half an hour but all I can say is that is a very good sign when I get chills down my spine from listening to themL3000.gif

 

I'll be back with more impression after som more listening and also pairing it with my LD 1+.

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post #1385 of 1869
12/27/12 at 4:32am

Well, I  don't really need the dj100, but I'm tempted because of their cheap price, and because I  have some respect for the ksc-75.

This might look stupid , but I'm wondering how the ksc-75 , and dj100 compare.

I  know price is quite different, but I'm just wondering if koss is able to do much better.


Edited by extrabigmehdi - 12/27/12 at 4:36am
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post #1386 of 1869
12/27/12 at 8:55am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by extrabigmehdi View Post

Well, I  don't really need the dj100, but I'm tempted because of their cheap price, and because I  have some respect for the ksc-75.

This might look stupid , but I'm wondering how the ksc-75 , and dj100 compare.

I  know price is quite different, but I'm just wondering if koss is able to do much better.


The DJ100 is closer to the KSC75 than the Porta Pro for sure. The DJ100 like the KSC75 has a titanium coated driver, so it's going to be a bit brighter than the Porta Pro.

 

I never compared the two side by side, but i'd say that anyone who likes the KSC75 should like the DJ100.

 

DJ100 has better extended bass, similar amounts of treble, but probably a bit more balanced sounding. Nothing for me on the DJ100 sticks out too much.

 

The DJ100 is also a bit warmer than the KSC75. A lot fuller sounding too, but it's not as warm as say the HD-650 or whatever.

 

The Porta Pro is closer to the UR-55 I think. I actually prefer the UR-55 to the Porta Pro.

 

Not very helpful, but i haven't had the KSC75 in years..

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post #1387 of 1869
12/27/12 at 8:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spardasieg View Post

These sound great on the Xonar Dg for sure, really nice.
 

 

While unrelated to the Koss headphones, there are times with my Asus Xonar DG where it is picking up a lot of noise.  I can, at times, hear mouse scrolls.  I'll have to possibly move the card to another slot to see if it clears up the issue and isolates the noise issue.  If that doesn't work, I'll wrap it all up in tin foil for a resolution.

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post #1388 of 1869
12/27/12 at 10:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wje View Post

 

While unrelated to the Koss headphones, there are times with my Asus Xonar DG where it is picking up a lot of noise.  I can, at times, hear mouse scrolls.  I'll have to possibly move the card to another slot to see if it clears up the issue and isolates the noise issue.  If that doesn't work, I'll wrap it all up in tin foil for a resolution.

Yeah, that's one of the faults with the low end Xonars. My D2 picks up a fair bit of EMI as well, although it's only noticeable through my most sensitive stuff(speakers, my old SE425s). It became an annoying buzz when the graphics card was stressed. Leaving 4 slots between the Xonar and the graphics card helps a bit, but I'm probably going to get a Schiit Modi or an ODAC in the new year.

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post #1389 of 1869
12/27/12 at 10:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tangster View Post

Yeah, that's one of the faults with the low end Xonars. My D2 picks up a fair bit of EMI as well, although it's only noticeable through my most sensitive stuff(speakers, my old SE425s). It became an annoying buzz when the graphics card was stressed. Leaving 4 slots between the Xonar and the graphics card helps a bit, but I'm probably going to get a Schiit Modi or an ODAC in the new year.

 

Does the "DX" flavor resolve this?  Or, does one need to spend more to go above the $80.00 price point?  Thanks,

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post #1390 of 1869
12/27/12 at 12:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wje View Post

 

Does the "DX" flavor resolve this?  Or, does one need to spend more to go above the $80.00 price point?  Thanks,

No it doesn't. You have to get lucky with your motherboard as well. Some just radiate EMI like a hippy radiates of pot. 

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post #1391 of 1869
12/27/12 at 1:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tangster View Post

No it doesn't. You have to get lucky with your motherboard as well. Some just radiate EMI like a hippy radiates of pot. 

 

Thanks.  I've also found a good knowledge source on the Web for dealing with this issue.  EMI can be a big issue, but so can applying some changes to the settings such as muting the mic input when not used, etc.  I'll go through the necessary steps this evening to hopefully resolve the noise, though.  I've been a big Asus fan for many years.

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post #1392 of 1869
12/28/12 at 1:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wje View Post

 

While unrelated to the Koss headphones, there are times with my Asus Xonar DG where it is picking up a lot of noise.  I can, at times, hear mouse scrolls.  I'll have to possibly move the card to another slot to see if it clears up the issue and isolates the noise issue.  If that doesn't work, I'll wrap it all up in tin foil for a resolution.


I have never experienced this, try moving it, thats really really odd for this card to be doing that, I have heard on boards and front headphone jack ports do this but thats all really.

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post #1393 of 1869
12/28/12 at 7:05am

I'm really enjoying my new  DJ 100's.

 

Pairing them with my Little Dot 1+ and putting on the Brainwavz HM5 pads really brought them to another level for me. I think they remind me a lot of my Vsonic GR06 IEM's that I really love. Nice clear sound with good details and enough punch to be entertaining.

 

I also went ahead and ordered the Schiit Magni on Sunday. It will probably take a couple of weeks for it to arrive to Norway but I'll post impressions (paired with the DJ 100's) when I get it.

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post #1394 of 1869
12/28/12 at 8:06pm

After doing a ton of research, and analyzing my budget/needs, I ordered a pair of DJ100's. I've been using them the entire day, and everything is like I wanted it to be except for one thing: I have to readjust these headphones every 45 minutes or so, because of a pain on my skull. Is there any way to mod the headband to make it more comfortable?

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post #1395 of 1869
12/28/12 at 8:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by langjai92 View Post

After doing a ton of research, and analyzing my budget/needs, I ordered a pair of DJ100's. I've been using them the entire day, and everything is like I wanted it to be except for one thing: I have to readjust these headphones every 45 minutes or so, because of a pain on my skull. Is there any way to mod the headband to make it more comfortable?


Is it more on the top or on the side of your head due to clamping force? The DJ100 seems to have enough padding on the headband for me. If it's caused by a lot of clamp, it goes away after a few days. You can stretch the headband out gently if needed.

 

The DJ100 doesn't have much clamping force for me right now, but still stays secure on my head luckily.

 

The DJ100 had lots of clamp right out of the box. Even some weird creaking sounds (that went away).

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