Audio Technica ATH-SJ5 DJ-style headphones review

Audio Technica ATH-SJ5 DJ-style headphones review

Apparently “designed exclusively for DJ style mobility,” Audio Technica’s ATH-SJ5 headphones certainly look the part in a stylish black and silver finish that belies their budget £40 price tag.

Cue like a pro

In line with their DJ aspirations, the closed earpads offer a decent amount of noise isolation and can swivel 90 degrees horizontally and 180 degrees vertically for that impressive ‘one ear’ pro monitoring look.

Audio Technica ATH-SJ5 DJ-style headphones review

The soft, leather-look earpads are comfortably cushioned and exerted just the right amount of force when sat on our noggins – and we liked that fact that the headphones can conveniently fold flat for easy storage.

Audio Technica ATH-SJ5 DJ-style headphones review

Bedroom style

The styling may be aimed at the DJ booth, but the build quality is definitely more bedroom DJ, with an all-plastic finish suggesting that they’d be unikely to last a wild night on the decks.

The headband feels particularly fragile, and the thin 120cm Y-style cable was of concern too – when you’re DJing a busy night it’s not uncommon for some drunken oaf to stand on your headphone lead and this one looks unlikely to survive any rough stuff.

Audio Technica ATH-SJ5 DJ-style headphones review

Sound quality

With all that plastic on board we were expecting a nasty, shrill sound to burst forth, but it was soon apparent that the money saved on the casing had been invested in high quality driver units.

Driven by a deep, punchy bass, the cans served up a strong, engaging sound stage, with a slightly beefed up mid range and well controlled treble making for a compelling listening experience, which was way above what you might expect for the price.

Audio Technica ATH-SJ5 DJ-style headphones review

Back for more

Such was the pleasing sound coming out of the Audio Technicas, we found ourselves extending our listening test period, enjoying the no-nonsense and unexpectedly natural playback.

The verdict

Although there’s no extras bundled with the ATH-SJ5’s – there’s no carrying case or even a headphone jack adapter – the headphones provided a decent sound quality that way above average, and for a smidgen under £40, we think they represent great value.

Recommended.

Buy the ATH-SJ5 headphones on Amazon.

Specs:

Type: Dynamic type
Driver Unit: 40mm and CCAW voice coil
Impedance: 32 ohms
Output overpressure value: 108dB/mW
Largest input: 800mW
Playback frequency zone: 8 – 25,000Hz
Weight: 140g
Cord: Elastomer / OFC / 1.2m
Plug: 3.5 gold-plating stereo mini- plug

About mike s

Editor, wirefresh.com

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