[S3VBR0]

I'm new to the headphone buying business, but I listen mostly to indie, electronic, and little bit of everything else. Which one do you think is better for me, the M-Audio Q40 or Koss ProDJ100?

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

I'm new to the headphone buying business, but I listen mostly to indie, electronic, and little bit of everything else. Which one do you think is better for me, the M-Audio Q40 or Koss ProDJ100?

 
Heya,
 
What's your total max budget?
And what qualities are you looking for in a headphone?
 
Very best,

 

[DefQon]

The Q40's and DJ100 sound opposite to each other. One is extremely bassy and recessed and the other has a bright treble, Koss treble. For closed/electronic a Pro750 is not bad.

 

[ri_toast]

the Q40 is an amazing headphone. Not a one tone (thump) bass, mids and uppers are all there. hifiman velour pads work wonders on these. I think this is the most likely picked stranded on a desert isle headphone. its that good.
Read this http://www.head-fi.org/products/m-audio-studiophile-q40-closed-back-dynamic-headphones/reviews/6430

 

[S3VBR0]

Heya,

What's your total max budget?
And what qualities are you looking for in a headphone?

Very best,

I only want to spend at most $100
I'm looking for:
1. Good sound quality- I would like a present but not overbearing bass, clear mids and smooth highs
2. Portable- I know these are full size cans but tmk their not incredibly big right? I would be using them with my iPhone around campus and maybe when I'm out and about
3. Comfortable
4. Somewhat stylish- if I'm gonna be outside with these I don't wanna look stupid
Does that sound like the Q40?

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

I only want to spend at most $100
I'm looking for:
1. Good sound quality- I would like a present but not overbearing bass, clear mids and smooth highs
2. Portable- I know these are full size cans but tmk their not incredibly big right? I would be using them with my iPhone around campus and maybe when I'm out and about
3. Comfortable
4. Somewhat stylish- if I'm gonna be outside with these I don't wanna look stupid
Does that sound like the Q40?

That's the perfect description of the DJ100. Iphone should be enough for them.
They're not a basshead headphone and have very slightly above neutral bass (IMO). The upper mids are slightly forward, but they always sound completely smooth to me. If not then something is wrong with my setup or source. The highs are smooth for me almost always.
 
To be ultra super stylish you can get the Tony Bennett version at Tuesday morning for $50

Comes with a case, detachable cable and free album download (that's actually pretty decent)
 
Q40 graphs make it look like it has very elevated sub-bass. Maybe like the DT-770 Pro 80 in it's bass? I've always wanted to try the Q40.

 

[jupitreas]

The Q40 has a reputation as a basshead headphone but their mid and treble frequencies are not recessed, they are actually quite neutral and monitor-like. Basically, they are a neutral headphone with big bass, but the bass is quite high quality, considering their price.

I'd say that the PRODJ100 is probably slightly more resolving and also not quite as capable in the bass region.

They are both good headphones for the price and I am sure you'd be happy with either one of them; however, do keep in mind that replacing the pads on the Q40 is basically a necessity (as the stock pads are not very good) and this means more expense.

 

[S3VBR0]

Just for reference, I have the sennheiser HD428 and I enjoy the sound for the most part except in the bass region, where I feel it is a bit lacking. Also, I'm not to familiar with terminology like warm, bright, dark etc sound. What are the hd428 considered so I have something to compare to?

 

[jupitreas]

Just for reference, I have the sennheiser HD428 and I enjoy the sound for the most part except in the bass region, where I feel it is a bit lacking. Also, I'm not to familiar with terminology like warm, bright, dark etc sound. What are the hd428 considered so I have something to compare to?

The HD428 is slightly warm but the bass is very poorly defined and muddy.

 

[DefQon]

The HD428 are pretty bass light and yeah slightly warm, you can do the tape mod to get more bass. The 4*9 series is a big improvement over the 4*8 series.

 

[S3VBR0]

So with that in mind, how do the dj100's and the Q40's compare to the sennheiser? Are they warmer, brighter, Etc?

 

[Tsujigiri]

The nice thing about the DJ100's is that they're very solidly built and come with a lifetime warranty. They're perfect beater cans. I got mine after I had acquired a few headphones that are much more expensive, and I'm happy with them. I don't think I'd be as happy with some of the other lower-end offerings out there, as I would have no use for them. So if you start with the DJ100's, even as you upgrade your collection, you might find that they still have a niche in your arsenal.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

How much I like Q40 I wouldn't concider them very portable-friendly. It's best suited for home use. Like jupitreas said they are more like budget monitors with a good quality bass boost (I use them to master the electronic music genre; hardstyle tracks with very great results) but I wouldn't use them portably personally, they are pretty bulky shape wise, they do look quite good but they are a bit bigger than what the pictures make them seem like. Build quality wise they doesn't seem like targeted for portable use either. The plastic material itself seems sturdy but they have this stiffness to it and the drivers move around inside the driver casing a little which I don't think is a good thing if keep using them portably, probably will cause some wear in the long run. The cups are also very big so either they will be on your head or in your bag, you can forget about wearing them around your neck, it's like wearing a neck protection due to how limited your head movement will be like with those big cups on your shoulders.

 

[S3VBR0]

Thanks for the input, how does the koss compare portability-wise?