Koss Pro DJ 100 - The Budget King - Page 95

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magicman74 

Put me down as a fan. I took my son over to Best Buy to spend his x-mass funds.  So we did a little session of trying EVERY phone in the store. And the Koss came out on top, For his budget anyway.  The build quality is amazing and it sound just as good. A little pulled back in the mids for me but it's not bad at all really. For sure a budget king at $80 smackers.

But for me I'll be picking up the HD558 :)  Those things sound Fantastic!!!

I did this too once. The 2nd best sounding headphone there was the HDJ-2000. Sounds pretty clear, but seems to lack low bass a bit. The price on those locally is crazy though. I also liked the HD-380, but it looked and felt cheap.

Strange about the comment on the mids. Might it have been a bad recording? To me, the mids on the DJ100 are about as forward as that of the HD-598. I have both of them. Not a big deal, but found that comment interesting. Sometimes a few of my tracks have vocals that are distant or sound like they are being overpowered by something else, but it's in the recording itself. Some Pearl Jam stuff is like this.

I like the HD-598 a lot and even recabled mine with Mogami. It seems that I don't have enough time for it anymore since getting the HD-580 and HD-650. It's nice though not being required to use an amp with the 598 all the time though. Sounds fine from my portable players.

Oh yeah.. in an unrelated note, really liking the Magni with the DJ100 and ODAC. Only gave it a listen for a half an hour, but it's addicting with the HD-650. That's taking up all my time. Both the E9 and Magni are fine for the DJ100. This WEIRD HD-650 sounds like an open DJ100 with a slightly more tamed/less energetic sound signature.

I'll have to try the Magni with the HD-598 and K601 later.

It seems that with the Magni an ODAC, the DJ100 seems even more balanced sounding than before. The mids of the DJ100 seems a little more forward on the E9, but now this makes some sense.

Seems the Magni is a good match for the DJ100 so far. What's strange is that it makes it VERY full sounding. Yet the Magni is not even remotely warm to my ears, so that's not it. I don't know why, but maybe the DJ100 likes all the extra power it can get. This doesn't happen with any other headphone, so it's more due to the headphone itself or something. Based on my experience, the DJ100 gets fuller sounding with a more powerful amp. My Q701 didn't.

The Dj100 seems a tad bassier than I remember, but probably not. The soundstage of the HD-650, Q701 and Sextett got bigger with the Magni, but the DJ100's soundstage seemed to get smaller?! I mean this is in comparison to my other amps. The DJ100 with the E9 has a larger soundstage.

It's so interesting that with the Magni+ODAC each track sounds like you can "hear" the clarity of the actual recordings. There's some that sound very muffled, but only on say my KRK and other very revealing headphones (and sources). The DT-880 does this too. You get a lot of huge variations between track quality. My HD-650 does this too sometimes with my equipment. I know that's hard to believe. I first experienced this when playing Fallout 3. On most open headphones it sounds fine. When you attach a more revealing headphone it suddenly sounds way less clear.

With the Magni, my harsh tracks seem a bit worse than I remember. I won't try to explain why or how. Maybe it makes the DJ100 a bit less forgiving of my harsh/bad recordings. This is mostly treble happy Jpop that's just annoying and harsh.

NOTE: In Frou Frou's "Let Go" it sounds like the bass is kind of filtered into a fart machine. It's really annoying. Maybe it's just the track itself. Sticks out somewhat.

For some reason it's stupid easy to determine the differences in equipment with my DJ100 and HD-650. Don't ask me why...

EDIT: I need to figure out this slightly bloated bass problem. This should be interesting...maybe it's not the amp or dac.

EDIT 500: Fixed it..I think. Either that or my brain is tricking me. I figured the recording itself had bloated bass, so I tested it out on the HD-650. It doesn't. I swapped to a much thinner cable on my DJ100 (like stock) and it's back to normal. Very strange. I used this same cable for months on my other amp without issues. Some things I will never be able to explain...

EDIT 501: Wow, I'm listening to the free Tony Bennett download I got and I swear it now sounds like I have an open headphone on my head with the ODAC+MAGNI. Something was crapping up the sound slightly. Harsh music is considerably worse than it normally is. I don't mind. If anyone actually thinks the DJ100 has too much treble for them, maybe this isn't the best setup. I still haven't decided if the Magni is dead neutral. Maybe some mild elevation in the treble. Or maybe it really does need 100 hours of burn in

$80 headphone shouldn't sound this good.. I bet the O2+ODAC sounds very similar too..maybe the Magni is nothing like the O2...could be better or worse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by leechi 

I finally tried m50 earpads on my DJ100s today. I agree with tdock's impressions (posted on the first page of this thread) in that things are not as in-your-face. 

 

I'm still very new to understanding sound characteristics, but the headphones definitely sounded less warm and has a larger soundstage(?). Not sure if it's really a larger soundstage, but the music sounded more distant than with stock pads (is that what defines soundstage?). I don't know if I liked it or not, but I only spent maybe 10 minutes listening to it with the m50 pads.

 

Since I had the m50 pads on my DJ100 headphones, I decided to cover up my pair of m50s with the pads of the DJ100. It made the m50 sound terrible, because it made treble sound extremely forward. I couldn't bear the thought of not being able to use my m50s at all, so I switched the pads back to their original headphones.

 

Just wondering, is the sound of the DJ100 with the m50 pads similar/closer to what open headphones typically sound? I currently only own the DJ100 and m50s. I've been thinking about getting another pair of headphones and have been eyeing the Q701s for a while. I'm starting to wonder whether or not I'd enjoy the sound of those now.

 

The m50s are way too bassy for me (I need to try the masking tape mod soon). And the DJ100 with its stock pads are on the verge of being too bassy at times.

 

Will the Q701 be my solution (along with an appropriate amp and dac) or should I look into something else?

 

Thanks for any input! 

What's weird about the DJ100 with M50 pads is that when connected to a good desktop amp/dac, the soundstage is nearly as accurate as many open headphones. It seems to perfectly place instruments/sounds at the proper distance, but of course the soundstage is not really huge or airy. With the stock DJ100, you're probably at the front row (Grado is maybe like on stage). With M50 pads it's probably 2nd row away from the stage. Of course, this varies with recordings. You can always have a singer that sounds like they're singing in a cave. The DJ100 won't change this too much. Some of my music sounds like they're singing within inches, but due to recording of course.

I don't really like the genre, but the CD called "Buena Vista Social Club" is really impressive on the DJ100 with M50 pads. Even the Tony Bennett Duets II free mp3 album that came with my TBSE shows off the improvements of the M50 pads. I'm always impressed when I feel as if I can count the number of inches an instrument is away from my ears and where it is exactly. Like pinpoint accuracy. I only really experienced this on the K601, K240 Sextett and sometimes on the DJ100 with my main setup. I don't really know what causes this to improve. I do think M50 pads do improve the imaging of the DJ100 somewhat. The DJ100 can sound a bit congested if the source is too warm or bassy. More so with stock pads.

I think for classical music, gaming and anything with a huge soundstage (in the recording) M50 pads are the way to go. With the Magni, I don't feel the need, since it seems to fool my brain somehow into thinking the soundstage is larger.

The only time I got the DJ100 to be almost too bassy is when I was using a Clip+. That source is actually quite warm and it sounds a tad more congested with stock pads than normal. With M50 pads you don't have this issue, then you're perhaps adding a little more treble (or an impression of it).

The DJ100 is also a bit more bassy out of my Technics receiver. I tried a Denon full sized CD player once and it really bloated the bass. Maybe Denon players are somewhat bassy..

Best thing to do to figure out the M50 pads is to compare it A/B with an open headphone. Obviously a good amp/dac is required or else the soundstage is not quite as good. With my setup, there is not a massive difference between the HD-650 and DJ100. Biggest difference is the DJ100 has slightly more forward mids, but not that dramatically. A little more treble, but both have smooth treble (less so on the Magni). BTW the mids of the DJ100 are definitely less forward with the ODAC and my Headroom Micro. I mean it sounds pretty much close to being flat. No..really.

Depending on music genre preferences, some people may prefer the DJ100 with stock pads for a more up-front sound. The difference between the pads isn't huge, but the M50 pads seem to improve the soundstage a tad.

The other day though a cable that was too thick was causing the mid-bass of my DJ100/TBSE to be a bit bloated. That was strange...only change was using the Magni. Switched to a thinner one and it was fine.

Before I got the DJ100 I was the early M50. Was about 10% more bassy that I prefer, but the latest one is closer to neutral and has better mids. I still prefer the DJ100 and KRKs.

The Q701 is quite a lot different than the DJ100 and much pickier about amps. I don't know if people who love the Q701 would like the DJ100. You could try the HD-598. That's one smooth sounding headphone. It has less bass than the HD-598 and is more forgiving of bad source material. I could listen to that thing for hours and not be fatigued. Q701 sounds technically better, but is not too forgiving at all and won't make any crappy recordings sound any better. My Q701 is also worthless if I ever want to use it from a portable source around the house..I think everyone knows that though!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magicman74 

I wanted to come back to these.  My son is off at school for another few hours so I snagged his set off his desk.

Good God these sound really Great!!  Almost as good as my Denon's and that's saying A LOT, since MANY cans have come and gone but I always kept the Denon's.

I'm running these straight out of my Ipod Touch 3rd gen, and using Accudio Pro using the Senn 449 setting with 2 db add to the Sub Bass and 1 Db to the Bass setting!!

 

This is the same setting I use on my 439's.  It works Fantastic with the Koss as well.

These thing have a great sounding Mid Range, At first I thought it was too V-shaped but now it seems a bit forward. But just enough.

The bass with those Accudio settings really have some tight punch.  Real Tight!!!   The highs are amazingly crisp as well, I think they should extend just a little more for my taste.

I like a tad more sizzle.  Are you kidding $80 bucks, even cheaper if you get the TBSE...

Wait until you try them with say an ODAC+Magni or similar!

The Magni to my ears (without burn in..I won't go there!) gives me a tad more treble. They're a little more revealing with the Magni+ODAC than they normally are.

That non-fatiguing sound is kind of now left up to the recording I guess. Not quite as smooth as before, but still not harsh or anything. The E9 is a bit smoother with the DJ100 though, but not as revealing.

I only have maybe 8 hours on my Magni, but i'll try it some more this Wednesday.

M50 pads also give some people an impression of more treble or some stuff foam or tissues into the edge of the pads. When your ears are further from the driver you seem to get a little more treble.

BTW the Magni+ODAC sounds a bit like the Ipod Touch 2G to my ears, but with more detail and a larger soundstage. I haven't done enough comparisons yet, but that's what my ears told me.

The DJ100 now seems to be going for $55-$60 at Amazon.

Koss is at CES this year..wonder if they'll be releasing anything new..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magicman74 

Damn you, You made me dig out my M-Stage.  This is the first run, I'm running a LT 1364 in it  I think? (I'll open it up in a few).

Hold on Fella's  Grado has something that's going to give it a run. (Different sound of course) But this Koss is rocking hard boys!!!

 

Man the details in the Mids really have come ALIVE, Guitars have a Great crunch...

I'll report in a few!!!   My sons gonna kill me he catches me with his cans...HAHAAA

Biggest difference for me between amped and not amped is that the DJ100s mids seem fuller with a good amp. The entire sound is much smoother too. It's not due to the amp coloring the sound or anything..

Some things about the DJ100 I'll never figure out. Not even the E11 with a LOD cable will make it sound this way.

With my main desktop amp, the mids are nice and full just like my HD-650. This is also with an ODAC! I don't even have a warm sounding amp.

It also doesn't change that much with my 330 ohm receiver...I mean, it doesn't screw up it's sound signature and bloat the bass.

My main amp has the same opamps as the M-Stage, but they probably don't sound the same.

The trick with the DJ100 (for me) to improve it's soundstage was to get a DAC. I was stupid and avoided getting a DAC for way too long and just listened to CDs.

Nobody thinks the DJ100 is worth getting a desktop amp for, but I do