[altrocksnp]

Hey guys, Im very new to the headphone/hifi audio scene. I bought the DJ100's and HD280Pro's respectively, for a very similar price. Im going to keep the one I like better. As of right now, I feel like the DJ's dont sound as detailed or "full" as the HD's. They sound a bit flat compared to the HD's. However, this may be due to the isolation of the HD's being a lot better. The DJ's rest on the head relatively loosely.
 
Im comparing them running out of the integrated soundcard of the alienware m11x since it has 2 audio out ports. 
 
The DJ's have been burned in for around 20-24 hours. The HD's as well. Im not running either off a dedicated DAC/Amp yet. I'm thinking of getting the Fiio e17, because I want something I can use with my ipod touch (first gen) and my lenovo thinkpad/m11x. Is this a good choice? 
 
Has anyone else compared the two? or vs the MDR-v6?

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

Hey guys, Im very new to the headphone/hifi audio scene. I bought the DJ100's and HD280Pro's respectively, for a very similar price. Im going to keep the one I like better. As of right now, I feel like the DJ's dont sound as detailed or "full" as the HD's. They sound a bit flat compared to the HD's. However, this may be due to the isolation of the HD's being a lot better. The DJ's rest on the head relatively loosely.
 
Im comparing them running out of the integrated soundcard of the alienware m11x since it has 2 audio out ports. 
 
The DJ's have been burned in for around 20-24 hours. The HD's as well. Im not running either off a dedicated DAC/Amp yet. I'm thinking of getting the Fiio e17, because I want something I can use with my ipod touch (first gen) and my lenovo thinkpad/m11x. Is this a good choice? 
 
Has anyone else compared the two? or vs the MDR-v6?

 
I know many won't agree, but the DJ100 can often be very limited when it's used with specific onboard soundcards or lower quality DACs. My DJ100 actually sounds OK from my Realtek HD onboard audio. My laptop's onboard sound is awful and i'm sure what Alienware put on yours is about 10x better. Not sure. When detail is lacking it's usually due to the DAC or a portable player. They're quite detailed with my Sansa Clip+, but detail was improved further with my HRT MSII DAC and ODAC.
 
The DJ100 is also thinner sounding when used from portables. Add a good portable amp and it's mids are very full sounding. Not like a Sennheiser though, but a bit different. More like the full mids of a K240 Sextett.
Hopefully more people can try the DJ100 with the ODAC+O2. I think maybe that will show the DJ100 at it's best.
 
One thing you can try is a difference source. Maybe a portable player or even a phone. I've found that even a $20Fiio E5 amp (E6 should sound better) attached to a portable player even helps. Ipod Touch to E5 is pretty impressive. Iphone + E5 might give similar results.

 

[altrocksnp]

Sounds good. I like to use my computer to listen to music at home, so thats why I'm thinking of getting a usb DAC+Amp combo. The m11x has a realtek hd audio soundcard, but I'm not sure the exact make. 
 
I have a GS2, and the audio on that thing is just plain horrible. Ill try with the ipod for a while, i was using the laptop since it drives the DJ100 better and its easier to change the volume. It seems like the DJ's need a good amount more power than the HD280's
 
What do you guys think of the DJ100+e7?

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

Quote:

Hey guys, Im very new to the headphone/hifi audio scene. I bought the DJ100's and HD280Pro's respectively, for a very similar price. Im going to keep the one I like better. As of right now, I feel like the DJ's dont sound as detailed or "full" as the HD's. They sound a bit flat compared to the HD's. However, this may be due to the isolation of the HD's being a lot better. The DJ's rest on the head relatively loosely.
 
Im comparing them running out of the integrated soundcard of the alienware m11x since it has 2 audio out ports. 
 
The DJ's have been burned in for around 20-24 hours. The HD's as well. Im not running either off a dedicated DAC/Amp yet. I'm thinking of getting the Fiio e17, because I want something I can use with my ipod touch (first gen) and my lenovo thinkpad/m11x. Is this a good choice? 
 
Has anyone else compared the two? or vs the MDR-v6?

MDR V6 has a big punch to the bass and is on the bright side. In my opinion without an amp on a portable device the V6 sounds too harsh. I don't own an amp I can't afford it right now. I used to own the DJ100.
 
This explains the V6 exactly:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/6149/my-sony-mdr-v6-review-extremely-long

 

[Zombie_X]

altrocksnp,
 
I found the MDR-V6 to sound very weak in the bass and have a very thin sound to it that is harsh. No amp can fix the MDR-V6 as it was voiced this way.
 
The DJ100 sounds a lot more natural and has more bass. The sound is also quite smooth.

 

[SonicScientist]

I really should stop reading this forum. I have perfectly fine pair of portables (Downtowns) and still I drool for DJ's. Has anyone yet had chance to compare them to seemingly amazing JVC HA-S500?

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

Quote:

altrocksnp,
 
I found the MDR-V6 to sound very weak in the bass and have a very thin sound to it that is harsh. No amp can fix the MDR-V6 as it was voiced this way.
 
The DJ100 sounds a lot more natural and has more bass. The sound is also quite smooth.

Weak? It's really not always harsh it depends on the song. It is like night and day switching the V6 from my computer to my iPod. It sounds absolutely horrible. I think my ears almost bled when I listened to it for 10 seconds. I agree DJ100 is way more natural and V6 is more artificial sounding. I wonder if my DJ100 wasn't burned in enough or it had a defect because it's bass was there but pretty much like turning the bass nob to 0. It makes anything else seem bass heavy. V6's bass also shakes your ears. 

 

[Zombie_X]

Yo,
 
I've owned three different MDR-V6's over the course of 4 years and they all were bright, thin, and harsh. They never improved with amping at all and they has such sibilance.
 
Quote:

Weak? It's really not always harsh it depends on the song. It is like night and day switching the V6 from my computer to my iPod. It sounds absolutely horrible. I think my ears almost bled when I listened to it for 10 seconds. I agree DJ100 is way more natural and V6 is more artificial sounding. I wonder if my DJ100 wasn't burned in enough or it had a defect because it's bass was there but pretty much like turning the bass nob to 0. Cymbals sounded pretty different than the V6.

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

Quote:

Yo,
 
I've owned three different MDR-V6's over the course of 4 years and they all were bright, thin, and harsh. They never improved with amping at all and they has such sibilance.
 

I must have some crazy ears cause there's only about 3 albums that bother me with the sibilance, but yeah they are thin. I love the impact of the drums though, and most of my library is electronic music. Then again, I'm a little above the noob stage, the only headphones I've tried so far are DJ100's, HD439, B&W P5, and Portapros. I hated the dark sound of the HD439. Guitar Center is about 30 minutes away from my house. I wish I had a million dollars to blow on headphones. Damn you head-fi. 

 

[alucard177]

I've been listening to my TBSE1 and I absolutely love them. I said in my last post that they were not really good with electronic music but i was wrong, you just need to turn up the bass a little bit and that does the trick. I plugged them to my onkyo receiver and I found the sound quality is slightly better than my creative sound card and more revealing. It was very difficult to hear a difference in an mp3 track I encoded at 320, 128 and 96 kbps... and with the receiver it was day and night... but don't misunderstand, sound is good with the sound card but I guess It's more colored or something. In the end I decided to get the Fiio E5 from amazon but sadly they won't ship it to my country 

 I can get the E11 here though. do you guys think the E11 will do fine with the headphones, or I stick to my receiver? 
 
By the way sorry for my english, It's not my native language.
 
Cheers.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

I've been listening to my TBSE1 and I absolutely love them. I said in my last post that they were not really good with electronic music but i was wrong, you just need to turn up the bass a little bit and that does the trick. I plugged them to my onkyo receiver and I found the sound quality is slightly better than my creative sound card and more revealing. It was very difficult to hear a difference in an mp3 track I encoded at 320, 128 and 96 kbps... and with the receiver it was day and night... but don't misunderstand, sound is good with the sound card but I guess It's more colored or something. In the end I decided to get the Fiio E5 from amazon but sadly they won't ship it to my country 

 I can get the E11 here though. do you guys think the E11 will do fine with the headphones, or I stick to my receiver? 
 
By the way sorry for my english, It's not my native language.
 
Cheers.

 
The E11 is OK with the DJ100, but it wouldn't be my first choice. How about the Fiio e6? Is that available? If you can spend a little extra, the Total Airhead (from Headroom) is a perfect match. Not sure if Headroom ships to outside the USA. Should still be on sale for $75.
The Airhead even plays well with the HD-580, Q701, PX100-II and M50. I've yet to try anything that sounds bad with it.

 

[alucard177]

I'm looking in the website and yes, they  ship outside the US but I'll be paying a lot of taxes for sure. I can buy the E11 or E7 here.  
 
EDIT: I was considering the E6 since it's only $27 from headroom but the international shipping is $40 + taxes so i'd be paying a lot for it. I can get the E7 here for about $100 dollars.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

I'm looking in the website and yes, they  ship outside the US but I'll be paying a lot of taxes for sure. I can buy the E11 or E7 here.  
 
EDIT: I was considering the E6 since it's only $27 from headroom but the international shipping is $40 + taxes so i'd be paying a lot for it. I can get the E7 here for about $100 dollars.

 
I remember trying the E7 with the DJ100 and didn't like it that much. I'd take even the E5 (or E6) over the E7 or E11. One other idea is to try to hunt down a CMOY amp. Maybe from Ebay or somewhere else.
 
 
unrelated note:
 
Last night I tried the TB/DJ100 with the E11 and E5. It seems like the more power you give the DJ100 the fuller the mids are.
When using it straight out of a Clip+ the mids are a bit thinner sound (not thin in general, just compared to when amped)
 
I can take the Clip+ and connect it to any neutral amp and the mids are nice and full. Not a case of it being colored or anything.
 
I think the Clip+, E5 and DJ100 with M50 pads is the best you can do for the price. The E11 has much worse mids and almost makes them sound a bit more distant than how they are even straight out of the Clip+
I got this experience when using the e11 with my 598 too.
 
I have a good feeling that a CMOY or the PA2V2 might be some of the better portable amps for the DJ100. The Airhead is the best i've found, but it's a bit more expensive than the Fiio stuff.

 

[El Sordo]

Picked up the Fiio E11 since the price dropped to 50 bucks. I like the combo, especially the bass increase. I was listening to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVV1Wqw7HRc yesterday and damn these hit hard now! (But everything else sounds even better as well.) I'd like to get my hands on an airhead to compare.

 

[FCO2013]

Thinking about recommending these to a friend. I read the review, but I didn't see anything mentioning classical music and how the DJ100s handle it. Or maybe I missed it.
 
Basically would this be a good choice for classical music? It's what he mainly listens to. And this fits a lot of the other "boxes" he pointed out. (Less than $100, closed, portable, amping can improve, etc.)