Koss Pro DJ 100 - The Budget King - Page 99

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxx134 

Wow I now have this tony benet version and it sounds so large and clear! Wow.
The highs have sibilance at times but sounds so impressive overall

Are you using it with the O2+ODAC? Sometimes a lot of my music has sibilance IN the recording, but the DJ100 doesn't make it any worse IMO.

I love the ODAC with the DJ100/TB. For my amp both the Headroom Micro and Magni are fine.

Make sure you download that free Tony Bennett album if you can. It really is impressive what the TB/DJ100 is capable of with a good amp/dac that's fairly flat/neutral. That album sounds better on the TB than the HD-650 to me. There's bass in some songs that doesn't even show up on the HD-650. No kidding.

At times my DJ100 seems more picky about equipment than my HD-650.

The other day I was listening to my TB/DJ100 for a few hours. Sounded slightly congested/muffled with the Clip+ with stock pads. This is never the case with it when using M50 pads (it reduces the warmth slightly and make it more clear overall). I even tried connecting it to the Magni and not any change. I never knew how warm the Clip+ was despite it measuring flat.

I switched to my old favorite portable CD player, but you could still itell t was not at it's best. I've yet to re-create the sound of the ODAC, but the Ipod Touch 2G is as close as it gets. What impressed me finally was the Ipod Touch 2G via LOD cable to the Magni. It's so crystal clear sounding, just like with the ODAC.

I think this is one of the rare setups where the DJ100/TB is capable of being fatiguing with poor recordings. It normally isn't. Even on my ODAC it's a bit easier on the ears. Weird right?

My Ipod Touch by LOD to amp with Q701 sounds even thinner than when using the ODAC. Not sure why...maybe it's not so much the Ipod's fault, but just the recording that's too thin.

Have to say, to my ears my favorite portable source for the DJ100 is the Ipod Touch 2G. It sounds even better than the Ipod Video 5.5g I had. I still can't understand why that's considered the best sounding Ipod. The Ipod Touch 2G does seem to sound like it has sort of edgy treble, but probably not on paper.

BTW if the DJ100 ever sounds grainy, it could be the source. Yes, the DJ100 is that revealing IMO. I know it sounds crazy. Whenever my DJ100 sounds a bit "off" it's something messed up with my setup. With my Micro Amp+ODAC (or Magni) the sound is pretty smooth and non fatiguing even with some of the worst music...

I need to test the DJ100 with my Cowon Iaudio 7 again. I wonder how that thing measures... I need to find another portable source that's ruler flat and not warm at all. Does anything exist like this that supports FLAC? I do have the Fuze and Clip+, but I don't love them with my DJ100 or HD-650.

Also..I did find the DJ100 very fatiguing with the E10 and the Fuze with line out. I don't know why, but the line out of that sounds worse than the headphone jack!

Wish more people would try the DJ100 with the O2/ODAC or Magni/Modi. That'd be an amazing budget setup. It's not overkill for the $55 DJ100 at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katun 

Tempted to buy this again. It's been awhile. I still have the M50 pads from my last pair.

 

I forgot if it was mentioned somewhere, but do they do well with the E9? I've been tempted on picking up the E09K/E7K combo. Still have my Airhead from when they went on sale before being discontinued.

 

EDIT: Read Tyll's review on the TB, and I found this sentence exceptionally accurate to what I've discovered from the DJ100:

 

"Here's the funny thing though, after I stopped comparing these with other headphones, and just started listening to get accustom to them while writing, I found myself slowly getting won over."

 

Totally true.

You could still try to find the Tony Bennett version at Tuesday morning for $50. Not sure if you have any of those in your city.

They do very well with the E9. It's one of my favorite amps for the DJ100. Just be sure to use the large jack only just to be safe.

You can also try the Magni, which is just as good. The E9 has a bit more coloration though and sometimes sounds more "musical", but still flat.

The ODAC is especially good with the DJ100, but overkill for most people unless they have a lot of other headphones.

BTW I found out my USB cables were robbing my DJ100 of treble. This HAS to be virtually IMPOSSIBLE. Maybe they're crappy cables? I know it's all 1s and 0s and stuff, but the only difference is that the ones with Ferrite Beads and gold plugs were making my DJ100 sound too dark. I'm not hearing things this time. The difference is not audible on my Q701, but maybe my HD-650. I need to test this. Today the HD-650 was sounding rather bad..

The Airhead is good enough for the DJ100 too. I loved that with my Ipod Touch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasonb 

Hows does the DJ100 compare to the Q701? Whats similar about them and whats different about them? Interested in how they compare with the M50 pads.

Q701 is of course better than it comes to soundstage size and instrument separation etc, but that should be obvious! The DJ100 is held back slightly due to being closed. It's more comparable to open headphones when used with M50 pads and say an ODAC+O2 or similar. The biggest improvement in all things related to soundstage is with a DAC and then M50 pads. M50 pads are not required, but are suggested for those that love any music that nearly always has a large soundstage in the recording. I think the stock pads are what makes the DJ100 seem kind of warm.

The Q701 has more treble and is much worse for recordings that sound like they have the mids/treble cranked up. The DJ100 generally doesn't mind these as much, but it's still not as easy on the ears for them as my HD-650. The DJ100 does seem to take a slight edge off them.

The biggest difference I hear when A/Bing the DJ100 and Q701 is that the DJ100 has much more present bass, mostly lower bass. I even noticed this in one of my Tony Bennett recordings yesterday which is weird. No big deal since even the HD-650 couldn't pick up this bass.

The DJ100 is also much warmer/fuller sounding than the Q701 (which I think is probably a coloration). I'd say the DJ100 (with a transparent setup) is a little less warm than the HD-650.

I'd also say the DJ100 is about as picky about recording quality as the Q701. Of course this depends on the setup that's used.

Right now i've been listening to my DJ100 for the past 3 hours with the Headroom Micro and ODAC and I can't believe how bad some of my stuff sounds.

The mids of the DJ100 and Q701 have about the same forwardness I think. Neither sound very forward on a flat amp/dac.

Overall I find both very accurate to the recording. The DJ100 has a slight emphasis to bass, but not very much.

Level of detail is about the same. If someone paid $100 I probably couldn't find something on the Q701 that's not there on the Dj100. Maybe something ultra subtle due to the Q701 more airy soundstage.

The Magni is so impressive with this thing! Probably the most crystal clear sounding amp I've heard with the Dj100. That's what I love about the DJ100, it's so easy to determine slight differences between DACs and Amps with it! When comparing my Headroom Micro and Magni the differences are subtle. Very subtle. I could pass a blind A/B test I think. The difference between the E9 and Magni is much larger.

On the DJ100, the Magni sounds a bit leaner than the Headroom Micro, but again I do believe both are very transparent. The Micro seems a bit fuller, but we're talking about ultra subtle differences. It's certainly not a warm amp to my ears. Cymbals were almost a bit easier to hear and spot on the Magni due to it's leaner/thinner sound.

I also noticed something bizarre how when the soundstage of a headphone gets larger, Imaging gets worse. Could be my ears or not really true.

The Headroom Micro's soundstage seems a tad larger, but small differences. That's with the DJ100 too. I think the Micro might be a bit more detailed also, but I'm not about to test stupid things like this.

Micro sounds like a slightly less cold Magni. A tad more musical, but pretty close. I don't mean colored since it still measures ruler flat.

Can't say it enough, but the DJ100 almost sounds like an open headphone at times with the right music and the Magni/Micro + ODAC! The free Tony Bennett album from my TBSE is a good example..

BTW DJ100 needs to be at about the 7:30 mark on the volume dial. Very low! Q701 isn't much higher..about 8 or 8:30.

Now I wonder if it's worth getting the Modi if I already have the ODAC..

I prefer my Headroom Micro by far with my HD-650 and Q701, but the Magni + DJ100 is perfect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katun 

 

Hmm, that sounds right. I've heard lots of "bright" comments regarding the Magni. I'd think that's exactly what the DJ100 would need.

 

 

You know it must happen...

I don't find the Magni bright at all. It did seem pretty terrible out of the box (too thin and bright) with my Q701 but did seem to smooth out. I won't go there.

I think people think the Magni is bright because it's just so much thinner and colder than most every other amp (other than O2). It's easy to be fooled. I know I was/am.

It reminds me of the differences between the Clip+ and Ipod Touch 2G. If you listened to the Ipod Touch 2G, nearly everyone would say the Ipod Touch is brighter, but they are both ruler flat.

Oh and I guess the Magni measures perfectly flat. The Magni reminds me of the Ipod Touch 2G when it comes to it's tonality. The Ipod Touch 2G+Magni and the Q701 makes me sad

I'd be ok with it on the HD-650/DJ100. I guess sometimes the most analytical/cold/transparent gear isn't always the best, but depends on preferences.

I like transparent gear without the "cold and analytical" part. My Headroom Micro and ODAC fit into this category.

When the Magni sounds bright it's basically the recordings fault IMO. It doesn't make it worse.

I think the DJ100 just needs a very clear sounding amp. Mine doesn't like any darker amps. I really need to try the E7 again because I think that's probably much flatter than the E10.

I still rarely use my DJ100 as a portable, but I guess i'm weird.

I've been listening to my DJ100 with the Magni now at work for the last 4 1/2 hours and it's perfectly smooth. Nothing sticking out at all. I had ONE song that almost caused me fatigue, but it's one that's nearly unlistenable on almost all my headphones. It's not even music, but sounds more like just noise.

Lately i've been listening to my DJ100 more than the HD-650 and Q701. Sometimes I do prefer an open headphone for some music and for gaming though.