How exciting is it to shop for new headphones? I always leave that treat for last, after I’m done installing software or buying every other piece of DJ gear. That’s when I like to take my time and enjoy scrolling through headphone reviews to figure out which ones to get.
There’s no particular reason for that. I just like to have DJ headphones as the last stage of my DJ gear shopping experience. After all, without this item the rest of your gear is pointless, so it’s not something that you should underestimate!
Why You Need Headphones
Although a lot of people underestimate the power of headphones, I find them to be particularly important, especially if you’re serious about DJing.
They’re quite smaller than other DJing elements, but that doesn’t make them less important. A stethoscope is also small compared to other medical equipment but can you imagine a doctor working without it?
Quite the opposite, every sound that you want to play for the crowd will first go through your cans.
Assuming that you’re in the DJ game, you must know how frustrating it is when you’re having outside noise interacting with the track you’re trying to monitor over the cans. You’re desperately trying to beatmatch your songs, but the master track beat is in your way all the time.
Well, to avoid that you need a quality pair of high-definition DJ headphones that will isolate you and provide you with a crisp and accurate sound. This time I’ll do a review of the Behringer HPX4000 cans, with the goal to give you a clear image of their worth. Let’s dig in!
Behringer HPX4000 DJ Headphones: Overview
It’d be a pity if I didn’t open this review by saying how affordable the HPX4000s are. I mean, that’s obviously the brand’s leading selling point – to prove that they can make a solid pair of DJ headphones, with all the features typical for high-end cans, and sell them under $30!
Every feature or detail about these headphones is either wow for the price, or expected. Sure, if you put these next to the Sennheiser HD 599s, you’d notice that the build quality is better on the latter. But, the Behringers cost $30, while the HD 599s cost 7 times more.
Don’t get me wrong, the build is quite durable! I know people that have used them for years and still have them. They’re quite comfortable, also. You have two rotating reversible ear cups, comfortably coated with soft cushions.
Although they feel nice, they might give you ear pain after two hours of wearing them.
The Behringer HPX4000s reversible ear cups contain high-resolution cobalt capsules, for a clean and crisp sound. Again, we have a high-end feature for $30 or less. I’ve put them on, and they literally give you a good bang for the buck.
If you’re wondering why cobalt capsules are so impressive, know that cobalt is an element used for building aircraft engines. That’s why having a high-efficiency 40 mm cobalt capsule built in an ear cup is worth over $300. Well, the Behringer HPX4000s have it as well.
For your information, 40 mm describes the driver size. And 40 mm is the most standard size in headphones. Usually, people say the bigger the driver size, the stronger the bass. Well, there is only one size above this – 50 mm.
The brand likes to say it offers high-definition bass, which I might agree with. I’d say the bass response is pretty solid, and that the manufacturer has done a good job on the sound overall. The mids are super crisp, and the treble didn’t disappoint me either.
Well, what else would you expect? The Behringer HPX4000 headphones offer a frequency response from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. In other words, they got you covered. The human ear can only hear the lowest frequency at 20 Hz, and that’s where your bass vibrates.
This goes for the middle and high frequencies as well, or mids and highs, if you will. The highest frequency a healthy young human being can hear is 20,000 Hz. Not to confuse you, 1 Hz equals 1,000 kHz.
In simple terms, DJs refer to low frequencies as bass, the mids usually get the label vocals, while the highs are called treble.
Behringer HPX4000 DJ Headphones: The Likes
After covering the content of the most robust features and characteristics, I thought we’d get into things I really like. These are the things that you cannot read or recognize through a number, but they’re the things that keep you attached to a piece of DJ gear.
Important For One Ear Monitoring: Isolation
The Behringer HPX4000 closed-back headphones are excellent for canceling the outside world. The fact that they’re closed tells you that they allow sound to travel only in your hearing space. In other words, these closed-back headphones will block all of the outside noise!
This is important to every DJ because monitoring a cued song can be stressful, especially if you’re in a hurry to prepare a new song to throw in the mix. This is when you want peace and quiet so you can beatmatch your tracks without any noise disturbing you.
Swiveling Ear Cups
The Behringer HPX4000 DJ headphones’ design is very user-friendly. The brand did a good job on the round swiveling ear cups making sure to facilitate the monitoring and mixing process for you.
A DJ has one important task – to be a few steps ahead of the audience and prepare the next song they’ll throw in the mix. You do that by cueing a track that you will monitor through the headphones.
You only monitor the track in order to beatmatch it to the master track. For that, you want to free one ear so you could hear the beat of both songs. This is where the HPX4000s come in handy with their cups, enabling you to comfortably listen to the two tracks.
Usually, DJs would manipulate the headband construction in order to get one ear cup away from them and focus on monitoring the cued track. This is another surprise by Behringer because you only see these kinds of features on more expensive, high-end DJ headphones.
Oxygen-Free Copper Wires
Cables are very important for DJ headphones. They have to be durable, long enough, and contain high-quality wires. These are the necessities for high-end DJ headphones, and the Behringer HPX4000 headphones meet those requirements.
They’re quite long, stretching for more than 3 feet, with the possibility to be extended up to 8 feet if needed. This alone is a great feature because God knows that during a set you need the possibility to move a lot, but a cable too long always gets in your way!
This is a single-sided coiled cord, meaning that the cable is flat at one end and coiled at the other. It comes with a ¼” TRS adapter, which will allow you to connect the headphones to third-party devices, such as your phone, mixing console, or even your MP3 player.
The headphones include oxygen-free copper wires, which is a big plus. The thing with this type of copper wires is that they are much longer-lasting due to the lack of oxygen. At the same time, this is a copper wire that resists corrosion and has great endurance.
What Could Be Better?
Generally speaking, the Behringer HPX4000s are reliable, firm, and durable for the price. However, it’s always suspicious when you have such headphones that offer high-end features for a budget price.
I dug into some reviews and found out there are things that could be changed. The sound remains superb, but the point in this portion of the text is to cover what we would change to make the HPX4000s better.
These headphones have a wide frequency response which is satisfying. I mentioned earlier, the brand likes to say that they offer high-definition bass. Well, the bass might not be that magnificent, but it sure beats some headphones with a much higher price.
Another thing that would serve the closed-back headphones better is how comfortable they are. This is key for DJ cans and these tend to put pressure on you after hours of wearing them. Good thing that you have swiveling ear cups to loosen them up a bit.
Other than that, I’ve nothing to add, especially for the price.
Behringer HPX4000 DJ Headphones: Buyer’s Guide
When you’re in need of DJ gear, you should approach it with caution and patience. Regardless of whether it’s these headphones or turntables, always make sure you did your best to find the product that will make you happy.
So here, I’ll give you tips on how to buy any type of DJing item, but with the focus on the Behringer HPX4000 DJ headphones.
Set Your Budget
The first thing you have to do is to set the budget. This doesn’t mean to count all the money in your wallet and bank account, and then look for headphones with a matching price.
On the contrary, it means that you have to prepare enough money to get yourself a pair of headphones that will meet your needs without going bankrupt. Do you need $300 headphones if you’re only playing one gig at your sister’s wedding? See, that’s what I’m talking about.
If you’re gonna spend up to $100 on a headphone set, make sure they:
- Are comfortable and have soft ear cups;
- Have good frequency response (features high definition bass);
- Quality sound reproduction;
- Has a mini-jack adapter to connect it to third party devices;
- Long and firm cables;
- Good build quality.
With the Behringer HPX4000 headphone set you have it all, for a lot less. Only the last item might be questionable because these headphones are mostly made out of plastic.
Do Your Research
Now that you’re aware of the amount of money you need for the gear you need, it’s time to warm up the chair and pick up some reading!
Surely you’ve noticed that every product description is more or less the same in the sense that it’s the same specifications and very similar numbers. So, how will you know which one is worth considering?
The trick here is to understand the meaning behind some terms and phrases such as frequency response, high dynamic range, oxygen-free copper wire, high-efficiency cobalt capsule, and so on.
I know that most of you are aware that a DJ should have closed-back headphones, but did you ever wonder why they’re called that way? Understand frequencies and find out which sound is more important to you and your DJ mix – lows, mids, or highs?
Behringer HPX4000 DJ Headphones Review: Conclusion
When you compare all the pros and cons that the Behringer HPX4000s bring to the table, you’ll see that they’re really worth considering. The brand is giving these away for a very reasonable price, that you can’t even be mad if they cut off in a year.
I personally have spent a lot more than $30 on stupid stuff I didn’t use even once. That’s why I think that opting for the Behringer HPX4000s is not a bad idea at all. Even if you don’t use them as your primary DJ headphones, it’s good to have them just in case.
I would suggest that you at least try them out since they’re really intriguing and I’m sure you want to personally see what the fuss is all about. You can store them and use them until you decide which cans you’ll use during your sets.
Regardless of what you decide, the HPX4000 headphones are a quality piece of DJ gear. I’ve seen from other people and the reviews I’ve read that most people are satisfied but wish that they were more comfortable.
I understand this, but still have to remind you of the price tag on these headphones! I’m a very loud supporter of the idiom you get what you pay for. However, that’s not applicable here, because you get a lot more than what you pay for, even if you include shipping expenses.
If I’d had to highlight three good reasons why you should opt for the Behringer HPX4000 headphones, those would be:
- Very budget-friendly price
- Good sound reproduction
- Wires including oxygen-free copper
But these are only my first three picks. The Behringer HPX4000 closed headphones have more to offer. Let’s put things into perspective.
| Pros | Cons |
| Great price ($30) | The build is mostly plastic |
| High-quality sound | Not so comfortable after a while |
| Good frequency response | |
| Oxygen-free copper wires | |
| Swiveling/rotating earcups | |
| Soft cushions | |
| Cobalt capsules that deliver crisp sound | |
| Single-sided coiled cord/wire that resists tangling |
Behringer HPX4000 DJ Headphones: FAQ
What Is Better – Open Or Closed Back Headphones?
Closed-back headphones mean that the capsule design is such that it only allows noise to go through the capsule, into the hearing part of your ear. An open back headphone set will let outside noise too. If you’re playing in a loud environment, you should look for closed cans.
Are Closed-Back Headphones Bad For Your Ears?
Closed-back cans will cancel out the noise coming from outside, which means that you are in control of the volume of your headphones. However, our hearing receptors detect sound as pain at or above 130 dB (decibel).
Is Lower Hz Better For Bass?
As discussed in the text, bass travels at low frequencies. This means that in general, lower Hz means stronger bass. However, if the bass frequency goes below the hearing threshold (20 Hz), you will start feeling it in the form of vibrations, rather than hearing it.
How Long Do Headphones Last?
You cans’ life expectancy depends mostly on their build quality. If you have headphones that are under $50, you can expect to use them in full capacity for at least a year. More expensive headphones should last longer.