Perhaps the most useful but massively underrated DJ tools at our disposal are our own ears. But how we use them in our DJ lives is pretty much down to the man-made lumps we wrap around them. We at DJWORX have a major headphone fetish and place high demands upon what we use to channel music into our lug-holes, and each of us has our own preferences.
So carrying on our weekend polls designed to get to know you all better, let’s try to slowly build a picture of our ideal headphones. Speaking from personal experience, it would be fair to say that I’ve grown into my ears. They seemed to be awkwardly stuffed to my head when I was young, but now look to be part of me rather than an ill-fitting addition. That said, I seem to find supra-aural or on-ear headphone work best for me. I can’t really pinpoint a particular reason why, but I’ve just felt more comfortable with cans like xone XD-40, Sennheiser HD25 and Beyerdynamic DT 1350, and most recently Beats Mixrs.
This is of course personal preference, and more to do with physiology than anything, but it got me to thinking about DJ habits. Traditionally DJs have favoured circumaural or over-ear headphones. But with the advancement of technology and increased use of personal audio, ear buds and in-ear monitors have picked up numbers too. So I ask this question: what is your choice of DJ headphones fitting and why?
[polldaddy poll=6932626]
I’m not looking for brand wars, but it does raise an interesting question about whether you pick headphones for looks, brand or function. For example, I favour function and fit over brand. I get that people want to wear a badge of honour like Technics or Pioneer, but my priority is getting the sound into my ear in the most efficient way. And please, let’s not use language like “the best”, because as I’ve said before, there is no such thing as the best, but simply “my preference”.