Koss Pro DJ 100 - The Budget King - Page 16

Removed my stupid Mogami cable on these and added a Grado cable from my old SR-80. It gets the job done until I can get something better. I plan on buying some cheap Belden and making a nicer cable. The Mogami is nice, but not as good as I thought on the DJ100.

I haven't listened to these regularly in maybe a month. How sad Once again I couldn't figure out why they sounded weird after the recable and it was because of all this extra air getting inside the shell and messing with the sound. Kind of weird and I wanted to think it was just my imagination. Ended up hot gluing the hole inside the shell and that took care of it.

Sounds corny, but everytime I put these on they always "Wow" me with something. No, they're no LCD3, but for $80 they sound much better than most of my other headphones. I was going to do a Q701, KRK KNS-8400 vs DJ100 review, but that only lasted about 10 minutes. The DJ100 got me so into the music that I was so distracted when listening to it. The DJ100 makes me not want to analyze everything. My HD-598 is like that too sometimes.

I've found the sub bass far better on the DJ100 compared to the 8400 (2nd favorite headphone that's closed). The 8400 is just slightly more balanced, but does have more treble. Kinda of strange that the DJ100 has good sub-bass, but without that mid-bass hump I hate. I believe the DT-770 Pro 80 is also like this isn't it?

I also tried the stock and MDR-V6 pads on these and they definitely don't sound as good as the M50 pads. For some reason these M50 pads after a few months haven't gotten kind of hard. Not sure why.

Still can't figure out why some think these don't have much bass. Maybe because there is no mid-bass hump? No idea..I can no longer say it's due to no amping since they have good bass out of that monster source the Clip.

I think the DJ100 makes my Q701 and KRK KNS-8400 sound boring in comparison. They aren't going anywhere though.

I'll probably buy the new DJ200 as long as it's under $100. If it's over that..forget it. Maybe if this pair dies.

BTW the last pair of headphones that were as engaging and as fun to listen to as the DJ100 were the Grado SR-225i. I might sell my 325is and get another pair of those...

Anyone know if the AKG K181DJ sounds similar to the DJ100? Probably not, but I'm looking for other cheap headphones with good bass. Not excessive bass and less than the M50. I don't want to sacrifice the mids too much just for more bass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by doublea71 

I'm wondering how hard switching out a cable is on these, and also how it affects the sound signature...the stock cable is cumbersome.

I wouldn't suggest it. It's a major pain.

I did it once by removing the stereo/mono switch and inserting wire though the hole.

The easiest method is actually drilling two holes in the metal cups. It's a risk though and not really worth it. Once it's recabled you have to be 100% sure no air gets in. I had to hot glue the holes shut or it ruins the sound.

DJ100's stock wire sounds quite good, but yeah it can be annoying for some. I hope the DJ200 is cheap enough to buy.

 I've  found that changing the stock cable alters the sound signature a tad. Mogami was the best, but right now I'm using a Grado SR-80 cable. It seems the mids just aren't the same, so I'm going to buy some of the wire I'm using on my HD-598. It's a generic belden wire and somewhat thin, but is perfectly neutral on the HD-598.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zombie_X 

Travis,

 

I got a second DJ100 recently and did a recable on them and oddly the sound didn't change that much. I tried Canare wire as well as Mogami and I slightly preferred the Mogami as it smoothed them out a bit. Bit not huge though at all. The differences are incredibly subtle.

 

I ended up passing the recabled one off to someone else as I don't need two sets of the same headphone.

Yeah I didn't notice much change. I usually recable many of my headphones for cheap, but the DJ100 wasn't worth recabling.

If I ever got another DJ100 I wouldn't do it again. Not worth drilling holes into the thing. If my HD-598 died and I had to get a new one, I'd recable that in a second and dill new holes. It seems to benefit a lot to my ears and even more so than the HD-600.

It's basically the same signature, but a little more clear and detailed. That's what my goal was.

I actually think I don't like the Mogami as much as I thought I did on the DJ100. Still very good though. Right now I'm temporarily using a Grado SR-80 cable and am going to switch to "Ca-0363" found here:

http://best-tronics.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BMI&Product_Code=CA-0363&Category_Code=

I'm using that wire on my Q701 and HD-598 and really like it. Whatever it is. It's good and cheap and more neutral than the Mogami/Canare.

I prefer it to the Mogami, Canare and Belden 1192A.

Quote:

Originally Posted by maped 

It seems that the DJ200 is now available. I've been waiting for this for a while to see how the pricing pans out, and I must say it is a bit disappointing, I would've hoped for something closer to 100$ since it really just is DJ100 with detachable cord and a carry case. I think Koss is shooting themselves in the leg with how it portrays the DJ100; I'm interested in it because it seems strike a nice balance between a durable build, portability, looks and from what I've read, sound quality. So Koss first decides to sell it with a huge honking coiled cord that kind of negates the whole portability factor, then gets Tony Bennett of all people to endorse it (as good as he is, he's probably not the most relevant musician for most people buiyng these sort of phones) for double the price of the original. And now the DJ200 that is basically just the DJ100 with the huge flaw corrected but costs 50 bucks more. Well, at least it gets another chance and hopefully this time around it gets a bit more attention. I myself will wait a bit to see the actual street price here in Europe, and if it is considerably more than the 50 pounds the DJ100 sells for, I'll just get the 100 and terminate the cable cable just outside the cup and get a couple of extensions.

$130 is about what I expected. Hoped it was $120 max though.  It's just bizarre to me to see the TB version and now this. Now I'm very glad they decided to make a slightly cheaper version of the TB with a removable cable, but I still think they should have just released a completely new headphone.

I want to see Koss top the DJ100 for under $200 or even make an open headphone that has a similar signature. For me, this TB and DJ200 has been the biggest disappointment for me this year along with the HD-700.

Don't forget that you also get an extra straight cable. Probably costs them little, but it might be nice for those with an Ipod. I have no use for it since my Ipod Touch only works with a LOD currently.

I might buy this when I get extra money, but I don't know.

I actually never considered the DJ100 as a portable headphone. I disliked it from a lot of portable devices. Sounds best when you give it a ton of power. Not sure why.

My DJ100 has been sick, but it turns out it's sound was all screwy due to taking the foam off the M50 pads.

Sounds great with a Sansa Fuze LOD to a Total Airhead.

Still haven't figured out why it likes double amping so much. Using the internal Sansa Fuze amp and another amp makes it sound the best. Makes no sense and the sound signature is the same. It seems like when using a LOD and bypassing the internal amp, it doesn't sound as good.

I do hope that whenever Koss makes a new headphone they learn how to make it more comfortable. Stock pads are just so average on the DJ100. Nothing terrible, but I think it's the round pads. I want to find some memory foam pads for the DJ100 that are similar to those on the KRK KNS-8400.

So if anyone uses the DJ100 with a LOD to amp, try double amping it. Sounds crazy, but sounds good. E5+Ipod Touch (no LOD) is actually a good combo. I always hate bypassing a LOD whenever possible.