Pioneer DJ HRM-5 Studio Headphones

I bought these primarly for live recording, monitoring and mixing work at home with some casual listening. Let me start by saying headphones and sound in general is a very subjective thing obviously so YMMV! I'm not an audiophile or any sort of headphone expert, I'm just a dude who likes to make music and was looking for a reliable and rich sounding headphone I could enjoy at a realistic price.I previously had a pair of AKG K72 which failed after 6 months with sound coming and going from the right side and prior to that a pair of old circa 2005 Audio Technica ATH-M30s (not the newer models) which in honesty I was never that amazed by. This time I thought I'd push the boat out and spend between £50 and £100 - whoooo, yeah, big man.Having read a lot of reviews and watched various youtube vids. I was weighing up the following:- Sony MDR-7506- Audio-Technica ATH-M40X- Pioneer DJ HRM-5The sony's seem like a good work-horse but could be too 'toppy' + the cable was non-detachable (I confess I've not heard them in the flesh but multiple reviews commented on the more noticable high frequencies) this might be a good thing for some but too much treble isn't my bag and I'd only end up having to turn it down somewhere in the chain. The Audio Technica I was admittedly biased against because I wasn't convinced they'd be much better than (IMO) my underwhelming ATH-M30s and I didn't want to stretch to spend the extra on the M50Xs which had mixed reviews. I appreciate monitoring headphones need to be 'flat' but I personally don't want them to be dull, they need a bit of life to set the right scene for tracking sessions. I digress.The Pioneers ticked all the boxes, detachable (coiled) cable - and a straight one, didn't look too massive on the noggin (that's head to no-british folks!), quite light and the reviews mentioned decent bass, again, I know that's not perhaps great for mixing but I'll get to that in a second.I won't waste your time and bang on about the 'unboxing' experience, it's just a box with stuff in right?! Just a note on the leads, coiled leads are good for tracking, they tend to keep 'out of the way' more instead of dangling down over your guitar! but they seem relatively rare and buying them after-market looks quite expensive for what you're getting so having that in the box is a plus. The coiled are 1.2m expanding to 3m and the flat lead is 3m.BUILD/COMFORT:The headphones themselves feel like quality, they have a soft rubbery feel, they're plastic yes - hard to explain but they feel great to hold, you just want to put them on straight away... as soon as you do you'll notice they feel as good on your head as in your hands, super soft ear pads and head band. They will expand or shrink to fit your head and the cups twist 180° so they will virtually lie flat on the top of your chest if you pull them down for a break, niiiiiice.BASS:The bass sound is excellent! it's warm (not in a fuzzy way) but in a tight punchy way... they've got these small bass-reflex boxes as part of the cup design and I'm guessing that's what gives them their 'oommf'. They're not overly bassy though, they're headphones afterall and for my uses I didn't want toooo much unnatural boomy bass, but I did want more than the previous K72 + ATH-M30s; these deliver on that.TREBLE:The treble is superb, it's well balanced and sparkles without being harsh. I generally listen to metal, electronic, indie and through a few anecdotal tests nothing was abrassive or piercing. It maybe that the better bass has helped balance things out.MID-RANGE:All good, guitars sound clear and accurate to me, vocals present but not too upfront or grating, just 'in the mix' nicely.I've no science or frequency tests to back up any of the claims above but I've listened to a lot of music over the years and these are very pleasing to my head holes. Pioneer state a range of: 5 - 30000 Hz which is outside the range of normal human hearing so it would appear you're getting a bit of everything in the spectrum and I'd agree although, if I was missing something, I wouldn't know... arghhh, the sort of thought that will stop me sleeping. Let's move on quickly.TRACKING/MONITORING:To my ear, these are just right - they're very comfortable to move/dance around wearing and whatever sound source I'm using it's clear and defined. I've so far tried... electric guitar (direct through a THR-10 amp), vocal through an SM-58 direct to desk, 2 synthesisers (microbrute + deluge) along with various backing. The closed back works great, minimal bleed out and they isolate you very well from other sounds. I think you could do quite a long session with them on, they are cosy and so do get warm around the pads, potentially sweaty... that's the only negative I could find.I just want to add that because of the bass and the sparkle, jamming and tracking is more fun! it could just be because they are new but I feel more in-the-zone with them on than anything previously which felt a bit cold and clinical, for instance reverbs sound deep, lush and warm. I think if you can get a better performance with a headphone sounding a bit more coloured then that's great. I'm not saying these are particularly coloured... but they just don't feel flat and dull which for me is a real boon. Unfortunately no matter how good a headphone sounds they won't improve your musical prowess in any way... shame.MIXING:I've not done a lot of this yet but they are again, a joy to use. Instruments are clearly defined. I've yet to test a mix done purely with these on various sound systems but I would say that referencing with my monitor speakers (old pair of nEAR 05) these sound remarkably similar (scarily similar!). When listening to a mix and switch from monitors to the headphones the 'weight' is there as is the top end, I've never known this before. This set up for me is a really useful because it gives me the confidence that mixing on either is going to sound similar and I'm not having to compensate in the headphones (late night mixing anyone?!) for the difference heard when monitoring on speakers. Obviously these won't be the same match for all the other monitors out there but having that extra bass definition in the phones will certainly help reflect what you've been hearing on external speakers. It's not something I'd ever considered so if you can find headphones that closely match your monitors, you'll be 'tickled pink'.GENERAL MUSIC:As alluded to, whilst I wouldn't say these give a coloured sound, they do have a certain something and listening to professional recordings is a treat! I can't compare with much else headphone wise but the few hours I've so far spent listening to Nine Inch Nails, Gunship, Tool, Therapy?, Alice In Chains, Fleetwood Mac, Ocean Colour Scene and Starwars - Bad Lip Reading from Youtube has been great, I've heard new subtle things in almost everything!OVERALL: A great sound, punchy and tight, high end sparkle and a warmth and depth that I've not heard from headphones before... that could be because I've not spent a lot of money before?! They are very comfortable and of good quality, they feel well worth the bargain £77 I spent on them; excellent value.There aren't alot of reviews of these out there yet, I don't think Pioneer are well-known for their headphones but if you're in the market for sub-£100 cans and want a bit of excitement in your listening, do give these a shot!

I use these with a topping DAC and a ifi headphone amp I get a good solid controlled bass response and a wide soundstage they are very comfortable to wear built quality is excellent

Amazing Headphones.. Can take a really low bass ... clear highs and ok mids.

Tutto bene

Comprados es febrero, se estropean y han pasado varios días sin que Pioneer me facilite una forma de gestionar la garantía, próximamente pondré las capturas de sus correos.

Juste fou ! Une qualité exceptionnelle !

Producto de excelente calidad, llegó antes de lo esperado, una herramienta solo para conocedores, en estudio funciona a la perfección.

Probleme gibts eigentlich nur mit dem klinken Anschluss am Kopfhörer, der hat nach fast einem Jahr einen Wackelkontakt bekommen, ansonsten scheinen die Kopfhörer einen normalen Verschleiß zu haben.achja und die rast punkte bei der Verstellung könnten straffer sein, man verstellt ihn ständig beim weglegen.