DJ headphones are a must for anybody wanting to spin. Being a DJ means it is our responsibility to rock what the people want: good music depending on the occasion and mood. We saw in our best DJ gear article that the typical consumer-market models just won’t cut it if you’re serious about your music and DJ’ing, and the same goes for those specifically looking for the best DJ headphones. Whether you’re starting to be a DJ or simply need to upgrade your current setup, we have some nice picks for you here today.
How to choose your DJ headphones
- Your budget: This is a big one right here; we’ve seen a lot of solid pairs as verdicts for the best DJ headphones for under a bill, but some others that go even higher than that to give you superb quality. It all depends on how much cash you’ve got to invest or are willing to save up after you find the perfect pair.
- Headphone type: It can get confusing a bit with all of the fancy terms, but we highly prefer either over-ear headphones or on-ear headphones — so stay away from in-ear or earbuds. More specifically, stick with closed-back designs to help isolate the sound (although we wouldn’t completely rule out open-back, but to keep it simple, stick with closed or even semi-open builds). When concentrating on the mix, you can’t have any outside sound get in the way or the other way around with having the sound leak out for others to hear. Most of these models we’ve chosen follow this headphone design. You can read our headphone types article for some more info if you’d like.
- They’ve gotta fold! Of course it will depend on your preferences, I personally need folding headphones when I DJ — to us it is just essential. The swiveling ear cup function of these DJ headphones is a must for when we have to isolate an ear. It’s also useful if a pair is collapsible for traveling, making them more compact and convenient.
- Additional accessories\features: Does it come with a case? Extra earcups? Adapter? In terms of features, is the cable interchangeable? How are the Ohms and other specs? If the impedance allows, you may want to make sure your DJ mixer or DJ controller supports them, or at least grab an audio interface or headphone amplifier to fully power the pair as well.
- Color\style\overall aesthetics: This is important to some while others could care less. A few of these models come in different colors, with some looking a bit more sleek and others just basically an all jet-black color.
The top 10 best headphones for DJ’ing
Below is our list of top 10 best headphones for DJ’s. We list them in order of our ranking, although many will fluctuate in price. In our experience, it takes a lot of sifting through in order to find a genuine pair of headphones for DJ’s. A lot of companies use the phrases ‘DJ headphones’ or even ‘studio headphones’ to beef up their marketing — but never fear, we did the dirty work for you.
We didn’t let budget get in the way of our picking, otherwise you may want to check out our DJ headphones under $100 article as we focus more on budget-friendly headphones there. Let us know which pair of cans you end up grabbing!
Pioneer HDJ-2000-K
Check reviews\pricing: US | UK
We all know that Pioneer DJ household name. These fit the perfect mold for best DJ headphones, checking off the list we’ve given earlier in this article. You have an extremely comfortable fit with leather make all around (what stands out the most), they collapse and have swivel earcups, big 50 mm dome drivers, decent Ohms of 36, a carrying pouch, replaceable cables and ear pads, and have a helpful ‘click’ when you adjust the cups. Frequency range is quite broad at 5 Hz to 30 kHz and weighs around 11 ounces so it isn’t luggy at all. The overall specs, features and comfort of these DJ headphones make them the best in our opinion, not to mention the positive reviews around the net to back it up.
They’re a good investment because you can replace the major components (earpads, cable) to extend the life for numerous years if you take care of it properly. Although it comes close between these and the Xones, this is our favorite pair of headphones for DJ’s and highly recommend them. The Pioneer HDJ-2000-K comes in at #1 as the best DJ headphones because we can’t ignore the quality they give.
Allen & Heath XONE XD2-53
Check reviews\pricing: US | UK
We consider Allen & Heath to be one of the best DJ gear creators of all time, especially in the higher-end of the game. Talk to any experienced DJ and they’ll swear by the name. I’ve spoken to quite a few DJ’s I’ve been making music with for a while who swear by these. Firstly the build quality is super solid, folding works perfectly, and also gives us a detachable cable if you want to replace the stock one with a longer or shorter wire. Drivers are hefty at 53 mm, 36 Ohms impedance, a very wide frequency range at 5 to 33 kHz and the earpieces rotate as well.
It comes with a carry pouch which is never a bad thing. It was almost a tie between these and our prior choice, and these are slightly cheaper so if you want to save a few bucks we’d go with these instead. We even recommend saving up a few more dollars if you have to: they’re one of the best DJ headphones out there, period. Not to mention they look super slick. The Allen and Heath Xone XD2-53 is their signature headphone and they’re mentioned in pretty much any discussion for DJ’s.
Numark Red Wave Carbon
Numark DJ gear takes the prize as the best budget-friendly model, the Red Wave offers us merely all of the required features at an affordable price. The earcups swivel, cable is detachable and the drivers are quite big for the price at 50mm. The leather padding won’t cause any pain after long uses but if you sweat a lot it may get to be a bit uncomfortable. May want to take a break here and there to give your ears some breathing since they cover them (over-ear design). Many people swear by these simply because of the price and the fact that the quality gives a lot of the more expensive and popular models a run for their money.
What’s cool about these (or merely any of the models in this article) is the fact that they can be used for other activities as well, not just DJ’ing — you don’t have to limit it. We recommend going with these as the best DJ headphones if you’re on a budget — don’t let the price tag fool you. The Numark Red Wave Carbon won the best for under $100 award, so we had to stick them in here as well.
Shure SRH750DJ
Check reviews\pricing: US | UK
Here’s Shure’s spin on a high-end DJ headphone and it’s got a pretty decent reputation among us spinners. The ear pads are replaceable which always turns our heads since spending a decent amount of money on headphones means it’s an investment and it’ll prolong the life greatly. You also get a carry bag with this one and it’s quite lightweight at half a pound. I’ve heard of individuals use these for other activities, such as mixing and mastering, video editing and podcasting — a good all-around headphone as well.
We have these coming in at fourth because we still prefer the Allen and Heath or Pioneer, but if you can find these at a lower price on some websites you should grab it while it’s cheap. Shure is always a good bet if you want quality gear, they’ve proven it for decades. The Shure SRH750DJ is around the same price point as the Xone model previously spoken about.
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
Check reviews\pricing: US | UK
The reviews are just way too positive to not include it here. Not to mention they have many key features DJ’s should be looking for when it comes to getting a pair of headphones for spinning. They come in three colors, black,blue or white, so if aesthetics are important you have some options. The padding and headband are leather, some of the most comfortable we’ve worn to be honest. Interchangeable (the 50x means it has the feature as the older versions do not) and the earcups swivel. Like the others they also fold and collapse while coming with a carrying bag. We’d recommend grabbing these if you’re an AT fan like us, or more importantly will be using your headphones for a wide range of uses as opposed to those strictly DJ’ing.
Check out our Audio-Technica M50x review for some more details. There are also some lower versions that come with similar specs but with lower prices. Some people say Audio-Technica or bust, and we don’t really disagree with them. These are definitely another pair of the best headphones for DJ’s. It seems as if the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x are always mentioned in headphone discussions regardless of the exact activity it’s for. But we’re not even mad — these are made to span across a wide range of studio uses.
Beyerdynamic DT-1350
A headphone article isn’t proper without a pair of Beyerdynamics in them, right? They’re one of the higher-end brands when it comes to headphones, and no we don’t mean a Beats by Dre type — they aren’t marketed as much but trump others when it comes to overall build and specs. The impedance is higher than all other pairs in this article (80 Ohms) so if power is important for you, this could be the pair to buy (yes you’ll need a headphone amp or audio interface to power them fully). The earcups are of course swiveling and the headband is very flexible for a natural fit — it’s a “split” so you get two parts of it to adjust around your head. A bit different in terms of fit but it works as intended.
Beyerdynamic is one of the best headphone brands out there, period, so when you get this you have confidence in the model that it’ll last you years. Super nice audio quality with these and the only downfall is that they’re up there when it comes to price, but if you can afford it and want a premium pair of the best DJ headphones, these Beyers are perfect. The Beyer DT-1350‘s are high quality closed-back on-ear headphones with a comfortable fit.
AKG K181-DJ
Most noticeably that makes it stand out among other DJ headphones is the ‘bass boost’ switch available — if you’re in the mood for some bump I say go for it. It’s not necessarily good for mixing and mastering because of this, and if you’re boosting it in your headphones it may not match up well with what others are hearing. Other than that, the cable is detachable, you get 50 mm drivers and a super convenient folding mechanism to complete them as a solid pair for DJ’s.
They’re pretty lightweight and comfortable so no worries about the fit. Grab them if you want a pair within the middle price point and if you’re looking for some extra bass to bump your ears. A little bit harder to find around the net, the AKG K181-DJ gives us pretty high quality for a decent price point as another one of our favorite picks as the best DJ headphones.
Sony MDR1A
Good ol’ Sony Electronics here with this one and it’s probably the most expensive best headphones for DJ’s we’ve got in the article (depending on where you look), but with the specs and features it’s pretty justified. The Sony MDR1A has only 40 mm drivers but remember that size isn’t necessarily better; you have some smart phone controls built-in to the cable so if you plan on using these with a smart device (with a DJ app, perhaps?) or for everyday use alongside your DJ’ing it’s great.
Comes with a carrying puch and the cable is fully interchangable, but other than that it’s straightforward. We’d recommend grabbing this if you really need some control of what you’re using, otherwise there are cheaper models in here that are better for DJ’ing.
Stanton DJ Pro 2000
Check pricing/reviews: US | UK
The earcups rotate, the cord (stock is coiled) is detachable and the drivers are big at 50 mm. You get a mini-jack adapter and a carrying pouch for travel, but other than that you’re not getting anything different from the others but it’s still a good pair to look at especially if you pay attention to brands. Stanton is pretty synonymous with DJ gear in general and the build is a nice aluminium that won’t break on you easy. They’re pretty cheap and compare to the Red Wave’s considering most sites offer them for under a Benjamin.
These Stanton DJ Pro 2000 headphones are pretty crazy, and although they use it as a marketing strategy, DJ Tiesto uses them so it has to mean something, right?
Behringer HPX2000
Check pricing/reviews: US | UK
The Behringer HPX2000 are super cheap, coming in around twenty bucks street price (price will change depending on the seller, be aware), so if you’re looking for a super budget-friendly pair of DJ headphones, this may be one you want to look at. We listed them last because of the pricing and just in case you were looking for something within this range. The cups rotate as planned, a rugged headband construction and a decently sized dynamic range.
Nothing too out-of-the-ordinary here but it’s probably one of the best DJ headphones you can get for this price. We stuck it in last to give you the option just in case.
