[jv92red]

Well for me it was $50 was well spent.  Won't get any cognitive dissonance happening with me.  Perhaps I didn't do my research well enough.  So then I ask the few who think these sound bad, what closed cans would you have had me purchase that sound better to you and that are $50 max?  V6 and CAL! (which reviews say the CAL! are semi-open) are both over the $50 price not even counting shipping.  To be honest, when I was looking for some closed cans I was looking in the $20-$40 range and the DJ100's, like the V6's and the CAL!'s weren't even in the picture being much more than my budget going in.  These were to be a set of cans to get my family to listen to as they were using my Q701's and my Grado's and risking damage along with complaints of noise bleed from them being open.  So I needed some closed cans that If I'm spending the cash, they need to at least sound as good as they can be as no doubt I will be listening to them at times as well.
 
Panasonic RP-HTF600-S = Reviews say these are really semi open with noise bleed.  So a no go for me regardless of how they sound. Bummer cause these are $29 on Amazon right now.
Monoprice 8323 = Closed for $23 is a win but reviews I have ready compared the the DJ100 are not in the same league.  Also,  with complaints of high clamping these need to be modded so the price with mods approaches or surpasses my $50 budget.
 
Do these TBSE's (DJ100) sound better than my Q701's?  No. Sorry tdock, the Q701's are in a different league if I have to compare them.  There will be a list of things for me that the Q701 do better sound wise or conversely what aspects the TBSE's fall short but for what I needed the TBSE's to do for me the Q701's don't do and that is: 1) Sound as good as possible for $50 (or less) and  2)Be closed.   And yes, I do enjoy the sound for what they are.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

 
Do these TBSE's (DJ100) sound better than my Q701's?  No. Sorry tdock, the Q701's are in a different league if I have to compare them.  There will be a list of things for me that the Q701 do better sound wise or conversely what aspects the TBSE's fall short but for what I needed the TBSE's to do for me the Q701's don't do and that is: 1) Sound as good as possible for $50 (or less) and  2)Be closed.   And yes, I do enjoy the sound for what they are.

 
Hopefully I didn't say the DJ100 sounded better than the Q701 or else I may have to eat my words. I have to be very careful with how I word my comments

I will say that in terms of overall sound, I do prefer the DJ100. If I had to only keep one it'd be the DJ100. Yeah, I like it that much. Ok, screw it..I can't lie, I think the DJ100 sounds better (for ME and my music preferences)

It just lacks the soundstage, which somehow makes it harder to admit. You know if you make the DJ100 open (i've done this) it's even a closer match.
 
One thing i've noticed is that many people tend to automatically classify open headphones as better than closed headphones (not you!). I don't think they're necessarily better, but just different.
Comparing an open headphone to a closed headphone is never really fair and I do it all the time.
 
There are many things the Q701 does better for me, but of course there are things the DJ100 also does better. They're a nice pair to have.
 
I do wonder why there are no in depth reviews of closed vs open headphones. If someone sat down and really analyzed each one with A/B comparisons (instead of listening to the music!) they'd find there's not a huge difference.
 
Right now my Q701 has a larger soundstage, worse imaging, more treble and more forward upper mids. Less sub-bass and less bass overall. Actually the mid-bass quantity may be similar. DJ100 has smoother treble obviously.
 
I often thought that the Q701 was clearer and more detailed, but I think my brain was only fooled because it just has more treble and the DJ100 has more bass, less treble and is overall fuller sounding and warmer (to my ears).
 
Somehow the sound clarity of the Q701 is super duper good, but it doesn't WOW me. Still better than the HD-600 and K601, but not the KRK KNS-8400 and DJ100 (M40/50 pads ONLY!!) to my ears. No kidding. I know that'll make some people cringe. Don't ask me why, but closed headphones have always sounded clearer. Somehow with the Q701 tracks don't sound like they're put under a microscope (that much). I guess that's a plus. Very few headphones do this and it seems like it often requires a closed headphone. The DT-880 did this. Even my DT-770 600 and KRK KNS-8400 did.
 
Then the detail. I can't honestly say that with my setup the Q701 is automatically more detailed. I would have to actually be a nerd and analyze both in depth. I highly doubt there's some detail in the Q701 that's not heard on the DJ100. Of course the level of detail depends on the DAC, pads and amp.
 
I often think some headphones sound more detailed only due to frequency response variations. On my 6400 specific details are more easily heard than on my 8400 only due to the 6400 having more forward mids.
 
On open headphones with a huge soundstage it's also often harder to hear some specific background details. Like on one album there's this metallic like sound at the start that I heard only a few times on the Q701. It's very distant. On my DJ100 I can actually count up to 6 of them. Yes, i'm such a nerd that I compared them. On the HD-650 they're almost not even present.
 
Believe it or not I think my modded HD-600 might now have the edge in detail to the Q701. Shocking! HD-600 stock there's no way..way too forgiving of bad tracks. The modded HD-600 is more like a super clear HD-598 on steroids. It sort of removes the "fog" from all the emphasized bass.
 
BTW the Q701 and modded HD-600 are my favorite open headphones. Sometimes when I don't want to be bothered with my harsh and fatiguing music i'll use my HD-600 (or DJ100).
 
DISCLAIMER: all my impressions of the DJ100 in this post are with M50/M40 pads, which increase sound clarity and an impression of more treble and detail (not just due to treble). Stock pad DJ100 vs the Q701 is good for a laugh (but I still like it!)
 
I should do a DJ100 vs modded HD-600 review. I'd only do this and over-analyze both. Except for the soundstage and imaging, it'd be a pretty close one.
 
BTW I also need to try the Koss ESP/950. If it has any similarities to the DJ100, i'm getting one! Just need to find $650.
 
Can't point out enough that the DJ100 can't really complete with many of these $250+ monster (open) headphones without a very revealing DAC/AMP and M50/M40 pads. Straight from the Clip+ it's nowhere near as good.
 
I've actually found the DJ100 to improve a lot with better equipment. Even more so than the HD-598. Probably similar to the HD-600(!). The resulting sound totally depends on the DAC a lot. I don't even have any fancy or super expensive equipment.

 

[Impulse]

Keeping build quality in mind, they do crush the CAL! and those smaller akg's like the K81 . I'd say they are almost at the same level of the V6's, it really just comes down to personal preference.

I used my headphones through a Pioneer reciever, my soundcard, iPod Touch 2g, a computer with onboard audio and an iPhone 4S. The V6's and ProDJ100's sound the best through the reciever and soundcard. Through the rest of the sources, the Koss sound thin and the treble is a little fatiguing while the V6's sound really thin and harsh to the point I can't even stand them. Just my findings.

Oh yeah, absolutely, I wasn't crazy about the sound but they're definitely better built than almost anything under $100, maybe even $150, full size or otherwise ($10 past that you have stuff like the M-80 & HD25-1 II which are truly tank like). There's no arguing that IMO. Even the coiled cord seems a little tighter wound than others I've tried, and having a removable one if you catch the TBSE at $50 is very uncommon at that price.

My only quibble would be that they don't fully rotate in both directions so they're a little awkward hanging from your neck, but a ton of headphones are built the same way so there's probably a design reason for it....

 

[Impulse]

Well for me it was $50 was well spent.  Won't get any cognitive dissonance happening with me.  Perhaps I didn't do my research well enough.  So then I ask the few who think these sound bad, what closed cans would you have had me purchase that sound better to you and that are $50 max?  V6 and CAL! (which reviews say the CAL! are semi-open) are both over the $50 price not even counting shipping.  To be honest, when I was looking for some closed cans I was looking in the $20-$40 range and the DJ100's, like the V6's and the CAL!'s weren't even in the picture being much more than my budget going in.  These were to be a set of cans to get my family to listen to as they were using my Q701's and my Grado's and risking damage along with complaints of noise bleed from them being open.  So I needed some closed cans that If I'm spending the cash, they need to at least sound as good as they can be as no doubt I will be listening to them at times as well.

Panasonic RP-HTF600-S = Reviews say these are really semi open with noise bleed.  So a no go for me regardless of how they sound. Bummer cause these are $29 on Amazon right now.
Monoprice 8323 = Closed for $23 is a win but reviews I have ready compared the the DJ100 are not in the same league.  Also,  with complaints of high clamping these need to be modded so the price with mods approaches or surpasses my $50 budget.

Do these TBSE's (DJ100) sound better than my Q701's?  No. Sorry tdock, the Q701's are in a different league if I have to compare them.  There will be a list of things for me that the Q701 do better sound wise or conversely what aspects the TBSE's fall short but for what I needed the TBSE's to do for me the Q701's don't do and that is: 1) Sound as good as possible for $50 (or less) and  2)Be closed.   And yes, I do enjoy the sound for what they are.

Well, it's not like $50 is the regular price of these things... They're usually $80 y'know, though apparently Best Buy often puts them on sale for $64. Personally I never said they sound bad, just not quite as good as other stuff I've heard in the same price range. The Philips CitiScape Downtown sounded better to me while listening to the same material, they're like $60. Joker's thread rates the AKG K81DJ better and those are $40, probably built nearly as well (one of the few under $100 I'd say that for). I wouldn't say the DJ100 are a bad buy, specially at $50, I would refute the notion that they're bar none the best deal under $100 tho.

Then there's people rationalizing that they need different pads and an amp to sound how they apparently should, once you add the cost of those things you're in a whole other price range ($100-200) where there's still plenty of closed portable headphones that can sound good off a portable player without extra amplification.

 

[ElmerK]

Quote:

Quote:

You missed the boat. That is not it at all.  Whether rich or poor, the fun. excitement and reward, is in using your knowledge to get around the hype and find out what is best for you. High end products, in whatever venue, are incrementally over-priced. The challenge is to use your knowledge to find the sweet spot on the cost/benefit curve.

 
i think you're missing the whole point of what overpriced is. if you believe high end products are overpriced, then the low end might as well be even more overpriced. at the end of the day, companies are out to make money and they make the most margin on inferior low end products because of the volume of sales on those and the percentage of margin made is much higher. the margin from each specific high end product will be higher relative to the low end, but because the sales volume will be so much lower it is definitely justified. diminishing returns occur in anything you buy, but that doesn't mean anything is overpriced.
 
tl;dr
diminishing returns doesn't = overpriced.

Bad choice of specific words on my part. I fully agree!!

 

[rrwatch]

I have the CAL! and I enjoy it, but I am careful  with it.It has one thin cable going to each earpiece and it doesn't have that built like a tank feel that the DJ100 has. I use the CAL! when I'm reading books my Ipad or just chilling on the couch with my Ipod touch.  I have a lot of midfi HPs and this feels like one of the more fragile ones.

 

[mbamg]

Quote:

Bad choice of specific words on my part. I fully agree!!

 
Two words: price performance.

 

[mynameissang]

tdockweiler, you mentioned that you've made the DJ100 open before. Can you elaborate how you did this? Was it some sort of a driver transplant, or maybe just drilling the cans open? I'm quite intrigued...
I apologize if this was explained previously, but I can't seem to find it...

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

tdockweiler, you mentioned that you've made the DJ100 open before. Can you elaborate how you did this? Was it some sort of a driver transplant, or maybe just drilling the cans open? I'm quite intrigued...
I apologize if this was explained previously, but I can't seem to find it...

I installed the DJ100 driver into the Sennheiser HD-497 that I had not used in years. It's a discontinued open and portable Sennheiser model that i've always hated.
The driver is a perfect fit. The only other thing I had to do is modify the plastic piece the pads go onto. I made it fit larger pads without degrading the sound. I was able to install Sony MDR-V6 pads.
 
An open DJ100 actually sounds like an HD-598, but a LOT more clear. Less warm though.The soundstage is nearly as large and made me believe you don't have to have a super huge headphone and large pads to have an impressive soundstage.
 
Making it open also requires recabling it.
 
I 100% suggest not trying this because it's a major hassle.
 
One thing that would work (possibly) is putting the DJ100 driver into an old Grado shell. It might work. Same size and everything. You'd ruin a DJ100 though.
 
I made an open DJ100 with the stock shell, but you would not believe how extremely difficult it is to drill a hole into that aluminum. It's actually not paper thin, but VERY thick!
 
I also put the DJ100 driver into the XB500 shell. It actually had more bass than the XB500 itself due to the pads. Totally ruined the sound in every way. Very muffled. Kind of amusing though..
 
I hope someday Koss would  make an open headphone (non-portable) with the DJ100 (or a similar sounding) driver. Hopefully with very, very comfortable pads. Please no Pro4AAAT or MV1 pads!!
 
I'm still looking for the perfect open shell for the DJ100's 40mm driver, but no such luck. I don't think it'll fit into my HD-598.
 
Here's an old picture. The HD-497 sure is a goofy looking headphone!
 

 

[tdockweiler]

BTW I was searching for a picture of my old open DJ100 and I came across an interesting post I made related to burn in on the DJ100.
In it I was complaining about how bad my DJ100 sounded out of the box and how something was wrong:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/508013/just-got-koss-pro-dj100-and-its-great/75#post_7651093
 
Maybe some people who say the DJ100 sounded bad had heard it in a similar way?
 
(it went away with use/burn in)
 
Here's is a post where I explained my results with this rather "bad" pair:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/508013/just-got-koss-pro-dj100-and-its-great/75#post_7653662
 
Check the last paragraph. Thankfully 90% of DJ100s probably won't have this issue.
 
Out of the 6-7 DJ100s i've owned, only two sounded this bad.

 

[mynameissang]

Ha, I see you've experimented with the DJ100 quite a bit. They are very nice though, I quite like them.
And yes, that HD-497 does look rather cheap; it kind of gives me the vibe of some cheap radioshack headphones from the '90's.
Maybe Koss can just fit the drivers onto the ESP-950 housing?
And I wonder if anybody will ever take on a DIY woody project for these. That should be interesting...

 

[rrwatch]

One thing to keep in mind is Koss has a lifetime warranty on these. If they break you can get them fixed. I didn't know this when my first set had problems. I returned them to the seller and lost out on my shipping costs both ways. If only I had known about the warranty I could still have em.

 

[sunfizz98]

http://www.headphone.com/headphone-amps/amplifiers/headroom-total-airhead.php

Is this site legit and is the amp from this site legit, because I have been wary ever since the whole fiio E6 clone/fakes have been floating around the net.

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

http://www.headphone.com/headphone-amps/amplifiers/headroom-total-airhead.php
Is this site legit and is the amp from this site legit, because I have been wary ever since the whole fiio E6 clone/fakes have been floating around the net.

Of course! Headroom has been around since 1912. They make their own amps and have just became a Fiio retailer. I'm sure they're authorized.
I'd definitely trust them over anyone on Amazon.
 
BTW in an unrelated note, the M40 pads seem to boost the mid-bass slightly on my DJ100/TB.
On my Clip+ it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. It's a little more pronounced on the ODAC. Not sure why.
 
It's a very slight boost, but it's enough for me to notice. Not as bad as that of the MDR-V6 though.
 
This is with Headroom Micro Amp to ODAC. I even swapped out a bunch of cables because i'm weird. I know that somehow when you use a cable that's too thick with the DJ100 it can sound weird or slightly more bassy.
 
M40 pads seem to make the DJ100 just as warm as stock, if not warmer. I can't compare them much.

 

[cizx]

Yep.  Back in 1912 they were making headphones for telegraph operators and getting ready for prohibition by stockpiling solvent and potatoes.
/sarcasm off