ST-PR400

Good Gear Guide

DJ headphones are not for everybody. They resemble typical Hi-Fi headphones in many ways; however, their bass heavy sound won't suit all types of music. TDK's ST-PR400 DJ headphones are a prime example of this. They offer fairly good quality audio which is extremely strong towards the low end of the register as well as isolating nicely from external noise.

Pros

  • Good bass, heavy sound, flexible design

Cons

  • Some distortion, uncomfortable for long listening sessions

Bottom Line

The TDK ST-PR400 won't be for everybody. Their DJ design means one thing; lots of bass, and as such they aren't suited to all styles of music; however, dance and electronica fans may find what they're looking for here.

Would you buy this?

  • Price

    $ 79.95 (AUD)

During our audio tests it quickly became apparent that certain styles of music just aren't suited to these headphones. The bass is extremely prominent and rumbles with quite a lot of power, which isn't great when listening to music like jazz or pop. Electronica, dance and hip hop fans however will likely love the sound style of the ST-PR400.

Due to the strong bass the general sound is extremely rich and warm. Everything is a little slow, meaning notes take a long time to decay. This isn't great for extremely fast-paced music (such as guitar solos) but adds a certain smooth feel to slower passages.

The mid and treble ranges exhibited quite good detail and the soundstage was excellent, with good placement and separation of the individual elements of the song. Treble notes tended to be a little rolled off, but this is quite standard for DJ-style headphones. Our music came across a little gritty at times, which shows a lack of refinement compared to more expensive models.

Overall, the sound quality of the ST-PR400 was fairly good. It won't blow you away, but those after something with a ton of bass and a warm, rich sound will be satisfied with this model. Professional DJs may wish to seek a slightly more expensive pair, but these will do fine for amateurs.

Aside from strong bass one of the other key considerations for DJ headphones is isolation. They are designed primarily to be used while working in loud, crowded environments and thus they must block out external noise where possible. This pair does a reasonable job although you can still hear background noise if it is reasonably loud.

One other thing DJs often do when using their headphones is have one cup on and the other off so they can hear both the music and the crowd. To cater for this, TDK has made the headphone cups on this model completely moveable. They can be rotated on basically any axis, allowing for maximum flexibility. We did find this a little fiddly at times, but it will suit some users. They were comfortable for short bursts, but during longer listening sessions we did find our ears got quite warm.

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