PRO DJ100/200 REVIEW
First review on Head-Fi! Yay! Please forgive me if my description isn't as techie as some others from more serious audiophiles and, because I'm from Germany, please forgive mistakes I make in this English text.
I currently own a Grado SR 325, Grado SR 125 (actually my girlfriends), the obvious Porta Pros and now the Koss DJ200 and I can compare all of them to the Sennheiser 25-II, the Bose AE2, the AKG 550.
So, I wanted good headphones for my office. I was looking into Bose Ae2—which are the most comfortable headphones I have ever owned, btw.—but didn't like their signature, although they are pretty good and smooth sounding. Then I was looking into reviews for the Beyer DT 770, AKG 550.
The 770 somehow never seemed that compelling to me and a little to expensive for the role it should have. The AKG 550 for 200€ would be a little too pricey, since I already have the Grado 325 as a top of the line HP. I'm happy with them, no need to have two expensive headphones fighting for my attention.
I've always been a fan of the Koss Porta Pro but I was always suspicious about the rest of their product line. They seem to have a bad reputation in the audiophile world. But then again I just didn't want to believe that, because how could the Porta Pro guys not make at least one other good phone?
But I didn't want to gamble either.
Then I found tdockweiler's review of the DJ100: very enthusiastic. And I like to give underdogs a try. And as the street price is about 65€ in Germany, this is a really nice deal for the kind of headphone I want: the kind you can treat carelessly and ruff it up a little.
It is well made for the price. Solid, seems surprisingly sturdy for the price. Comfortable cushions. You can move one of the phones to the side with ease. This is to be expected for a DJ headphone, and it comes in handy in my office, too. The mono switch is a welcome addition to that. Overall: really better quality than I expected. But, apart from the cord, which inserts into a standard 3,5mm jack and the cushions there's no easy way to repair or exchange any others parts of this headphone. You will have to be skilled in DIY repairs, or just send them in: after all Koss over a lifetime warranty. Awesome! (Translates to 10 years here in Germany, but be aware that it as to be bought from an official reseller: Amazon is not an official reseller!)
Most importantly: how do they sound?
Well, they are like an upgrade to the Koss Porta Pro. More detail, more beef, much better mids. But still sound warm and have that Koss-Style HiFi sound …
voices are the strength of the Koss and they suite me well, when I work at my Mac Pro. I've gotten to know them and though they might not be the best monitors one could imagine, they still tent to be a little neutral with the heights and lows and you can actually here quite a lot. They do make great headphones for games and movies and I could recommend them warmly to you gamers out there. Isolation is really nice. Maybe not enough for the DJs out there, but enough that I won't notice my girlfriend coming into my office and talking to me. So they are great for offices as well, because they isolate very well to the outside, too! Other people won't be distracted by your music.
4 1/2 Stars because of the incredible price for the performance. May not be able to compete with the sharks, but that people actually compare them to phones >150 $ tells them how surpassingly far they can go. It the same story as with the Porta Pro again, only a level higher.
Because I'm a little amateurish in reviewing headphones, I though I might be a good thing to give you some songs and describe what I hear with Koss Pro DJ.
I hope this is all isn't too lengthy. Critic and questions are welcome!
Here are the songs. All should be on iTunes and/or Amazon! So check them out for reference!
Songs
- James Brown - James on the lose : Punchy bass, great punchy guitar, very fun, warm sound, good clarity
- James Blake - Limit to your love: Piano a little veiled, voice smooth but veiled, Bass is really deep and vibrates, but not overwhelming, a little muddy but still good control.. Percussions clear and forward.
- Jimi Hendrix - Are you experienced - May this be loves: This sounds totally of to me. Drums are way to prominent, guitar quirky, voice a little like from a can of soda. It's not terrible, but wouldn't to listen to this song like this.
- John Williams - The Raiders March - Warm and smooth trumpet, bass nicely in the background, a little veiled but a lot of energy. Would like to watch the movie like this a lot.
- Lounge Lizards - Voice of Chunk - Read until the end: Percussions at the beginning very nice and later still great. Sax warm and smooth, drum punchy and energetic - BUT: this is a complex song and it seems to much for the Koss. They seem to break under the stress of how much is going on, fidelity goes down, separation goes down, everything get's "chaotic" and you get tired from listening to it. Here you really see the difference to high class headphones. Still I'm very impressed about how far they actually go. You could listen to this song and get an ok-ish feel for it. Impressive.
- Michael Jackson - Bad - Very energetic start and then bass in the beginning you can hear the strings mixed beneath the bass. Sound is energetic, fun, punchy, Michaels voice is great, nice stereo. Not much complexity so the Koss perform well.
- Primus - Fisticuffs: Bass in the beginning really strong, not detailed. Drums really punch. Then they kind start to break down again, although the voice is great again, everything seems a little top much stress for the Koss, tiresome. Solo later on really far away.
- Rihanna - Umbrella: Definitely not my kind of music, but here wo go, just for you: Loud and crashy drums, percs clear but far back, synth ok, voices are good again. Last third of song laid back synth, but nice drums again. Works pretty well with the Koss! Fun drum-heavy sound! The Pro DJ seem good for chart music listening.
- Roisin Murphy - Sow into you: Really fun start, nice stereo. Bass good, could have a little more meat, but nice. Voice very present and smooth, great! When all comes together still nice control and fun, but this song is not too complex. Fun sound, but again theres a veil. Not as much as with Porta Pro, but clarity is clearly given up for warmth.
- Run DMC - Sucker MC's: Great drums, really present and punchy, clear percussions. Bass / drums are heavy, but not to heavy! Really fun and warm on the Pro DJ 200. Like it.
- Extrawelt - Doch Doch / Last Past (single): This is minimal house, btw. Best rendition of this piece I have ever heard on the headphones I have owned. Bass with a lot of meat, good separation and great instrument. A lot, I mean a LOT of beef in the bass, it really hammers down on you, but still doesn't destroy the rest of the music. Like it a lot-lot. So they actually are … DJ … Headphones … ? What a surprise …
- Amie Winehouse - Rehab: Already boring song, but the Koss are detailed enough to make you go puke because of the compression added in production and the Koss bring that out to the front. Of course bass is there, but the song is just a mess. That is actually good for the Koss: they are too good for this kind of production.
- Beat Nuts - Hood Thang: Koss really shine here again: Warm fun bass, punchy but not muddy, still clear enough. Rest of the sounds fall back but good enough. Voices great again. They handle this with ease and no distortion anywhere, even if turned very loud. Good fun! Great for DJs, I suppose.
- Feist - 1234: Guitar at the start could be more clear, more sparkling, but then: her voice absolutely smooth & present: great! They are not too bright, so that fits her voice great. Trumpets are nice and smooth, drums and bass again punchy and fun. The Banjo is good and present, piano gets a little lost. But overall this is a fun and great rendition. What a surprise. Impressive.
- Herbie Hancock - Rockit: Oh, my: what fun this on the Koss. Drums and percussions are clear and punchy. The synth is so forward and energetic and the warmth suits it well. The bass is punchy, warm and meaty, lacks a little depth, which is characteristic for the PRO DJ. Everything is as clear as the Koss can get. Stereo is great, although the sound is always a little "near to your head". A little veiled, again, but what fun this sound is. Impressive. Would not have expected that. Wait, got to listen to it again …
- Prince - Pink Cashmere: BAM! Drums are strong and in your face and clear. Bass is nice and meaty. Prince's voice is nice, smooth and very present, stereo is good. A lot of fun again.
- Prince - Rave un2 the joy fantastic: Ok-ish start, because Guitars are boring, then the drums: great punch, not overpowering, so fun. The synth is awesome and has a lot of meat to it. His master's voice is present and smooth. Horns get a little lost. Detail is good. Makes a lot of fun to hear this on the song on the Koss.
- Aphex Twin - Windowlicker: Clear and energetic start, then it the drum and base are cry nice again, But everything else just get's a little lost. There's a veil and the energy get's lost. Sound get's tiresome again. Seems like the complexity is, again, too much for the Koss.
- The Cure - Fire in Cairo: Drums are clear and punchy. Bass is nice enough. Voice is smooth and well present. Surprisingly the guitar is pretty clear and energetic, only the Refrain get's a little muddy. Not suprisignly this is the part with the most complexity. Overall this is a very dance-style song and the Koss fit good. Very fun.
- Katy Perry - Hot n' Cold: This song seems to be made for summer days, listening on the car radio with the window down and the Koss handle that perfectly. It delivers that warm, bassy pop sound with ease, with good clarity. Beware: the Koss are good enough to reveal the bad production and compression.
- Goldfrapp - A&E: This is a strange song on the DJ100/DJ200. Just doesn't sound right. Doesn't work. Again as if there's too much going an for the Koss and it falls apart.
- Mass Effect 2 - New World: Synth is smooth and energetic. Second synth is so, too. Stereo is really nice. Bass is meaty and vibrates. The sounds / melodies in this piece overlap a lot and the Koss doesn't manage that so well. Clarity gets lost a little. But what it does well is the warmth and weight a game soundtrack needs: it's just really beefy and surrounds you. Very fun, but not brilliant.
Hope this helps!
still glad u liked em