Audio is one of those things that can easily go overlooked by many. However, there are probably more audiophiles out there than not these days which is good companies such as Pioneer. Pioneer is world renowned manufacturer of audio products from Hi-Fi to car audio and even DJ equipment. Pioneer has been around as long as I can remember and has always been a name you could trust if you want quality products. Pioneer also has its own range of products designed specifically for DJ’s and today we will be taking a look at one of them.

• Pioneer DJ Website
• HDJ-700 Product Page
• Purchase on Amazon UK for £124.99 at the time of review
• Purchase on Amazon US for $127.00 at the time of review

The Pioneer DJ range is full of mixers, controllers, headphones and more. Today, we will be taking a look at the HDJ-700 headphones. Every good DJ needs a pair of headphones that will stand the test of time and not let them down when it matters. The HDJ-700 come in a few various colours and feature an on-ear design which offers comfort and function for DJ’s. The HDJ-700 headphones feature a sleek  and lightweight aluminium design and are equipped with 40mm drivers to offer crisp, clear sound no matter what environment you use them in.

Main Features

The HDJ-700 feature a very sleek and lightweight design as mentioned. They do come in a few different colours but I would have to say the black would be my favourite. The included 3.5mm cable is spiraled so it can offer maximum length when needed without being a distraction or nuisance. The spiral design allows it to extend only when need to and remain as short as possible so it’s not laying all of your decks or laptop.

Looking around the headphones and there is minimal branding, which is nice. The outside of each side features a small Pioneer DJ logo and looks very sleek and stylish. On the inside, there are small markings to let you know which side is which.  Pioneer have done a great job at designing these to be functional and stylish all at the same time.

The headband features the Pioneer DJ logo on the outside and a small amount of padding on the inside to make them a bit more comfortable for prolonged periods of use.

The earcups themselves also have a nice bit of padding as well to ensure maximum comfort for those long DJ sets. The arms for the right earcup has a 60-degree rotation so you can quickly move it off or onto your ear with ease. Inside the earcups are 40mm drivers to offer an amazing sound and on the bottom of one is where you will plug in the 3.5mm auxiliary cord.

I may not be a DJ, but good audio is good audio none the less. Pioneer have always been known to offer top-quality audio products so when I was offered the chance to review the HDJ-700 I jumped at it. Well, the time has come, I’ve enjoyed some time with them and now it is time to see how they held up.

Performance

Overall, I was quite pleased with the performance the HDJ-700 headphones had to offer. Crisp and clean lows with a decent amount of bass made for a very enjoyable experience. While I wasn’t able to use them in a proper DJ scenario, I did manage to set up a sort of similar testing environment to see how they would hold up with lots of noise in the background. I have to say, I was quite impressed with how the headphones sounded when in a room with other loud music coming from speakers, it was all a real eye opener into what DJ’s have to put up with. The Pioneer HDJ-700 didn’t let me down and it was easy to decipher which sound was coming from the headphones and what was coming from the room testing scenario.

I also took an 8-hour train ride with the HDJ-700 and used them as a pair of good old standard headphones. In terms of performance, they were amazing, I had them turned up loud enough to drown out all the noise of everything else going on around the train. For part of the test, I also set them on the table in front of me to hear what everyone else could hear and was surprised at how minimal the actual sound outside the headset was. All in all, I was very impressed.

Design

As previously mentioned, the HDJ-700 headphones come in a couple of various colours, all of which feature a sleek and stylish design. From a purely aesthetic point of view, the HDJ-700 are definitely designed to be appealing to the eye. The stainless steel headband will offer longevity and durability while the polyurethane earcups and extra padding inside the headband offer comfort for those long DJ sets. In terms of performance design, the HDJ-700 feature 40mm drivers with a maximum input power of 2000mW. They not only offer clean and crisp lows, but also have a good amount of bass to help even things out and bring the sound together as a whole.

Value

This is where some people will get put off, especially in the UK. Through no fault of Pioneer, the UK price is quite a bit higher than the US price. Here in the UK, they come in at around £125 on Amazon, which is around $183 if you convert to US currency. Well, in the US they only cost $130 which is just over $50 cheaper than here in the UK. Doesn’t really seem fair but this is the case with a lot of electronic goods here in the UK and not normally a fault of the manufacturer.

When it comes down to it, I do feel they are a bit overpriced here in the UK, it would be nice to see them closer to the £100 mark if possible! However in the US, they seem to be priced fairly and are definitely worth a look if you are in the market for some new DJ headphones. Not only do they perform great, their sleek and stylish look only further add to their value and help to round everything off.

I would like to thank Pioneer DJ for sending in their HDJ-700 headphones for review.