Pioneer HDJ-X10 review: great for listening, terrible to DJ with

when I first heard about Pioneer’s new flagship HDJ-X10 headphones priced at $349,

I called them over-engineered. What touring DJ actually needs headphones with a frequency response that tops out at twice the limits of human hearing? Not one, I’ll tell you. I’ve been a touring DJ for a decade, and I can tell you half of us have probably lost a chunk of high-end hearing range anyway from blasting booth monitors over the years. Now that I’ve used these Pioneer headphones for a couple of weeks, I still maintain the HDJ-X10s are over-engineered, but not in the way I expected: they sound too good to be useful DJ headphones. Here’s what I mean: most DJ headphones have a nice boost in the upper bass and lower-midrange frequencies. They’re not entirely accurate, but it makes for an easier time when mixing songs live in a loud environment. Plus, robust bass just sounds nice. It’s what we all want when we’re in a club. Almost all the DJ-specific headphones I’ve had, from the V-Moda Crossfade LP2 to the Audio-Technica M50x exhibit some preference close to this, delivering kick drums that have oomph, and 808s with meat and character. The Pioneer HDJ-X10 doesn’t play to these expectations. The model boasts a lot of firsts in the world of DJ headphones, including that range up to 40kHz (most high-end DJ headphones go up to 30kHz), and the ability to reproduce high-resolution audio. So... cool? But, who asked for that? This model also has a flatter low end than Pioneer’s previous flagship, the HDJ-2000, and punches up the highs. As a result, the HDJ-X10s wreak havoc on some bass-centric tracks that sound hearty on other headphones and most club systems. Do I need DJ headphones that expose every production flaw because they prioritize knife-like reproduction? I know it’s weird to argue for downgrading, but like anything else, consider the purpose.                                                                             https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/13/16439742/pioneer-hdj-x10-dj-headphones-review