Numark’s entry-level headphones are aimed at beginner DJs, offering solid sound at a bargain price. Greg Scarth finds out whether they’re up to scratch for newcomers to DJing.
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Numark has a good reputation for value. Founded in New Jersey in 1971 and now part of the inMusic group, the brand’s catalogue includes a range of mixers, DJ controllers and turntable cartridges. The entry-level Numark HF175 DJ headphones are a typical example of the philosophy: these are affordable headphones aimed at beginners, based on the same kind of design principles that you’d expect from professional models. The HF175s are unashamedly entry-level, but that’s fine; they’re designed to offer the basics that anyone needs when they’re getting started with DJing,
Plugging in the HFs and starting to mix a few tunes, the first impression is that these are bass monsters. The 175s are loud, punchy and warm, with a low-end weight that really lets you focus in on the timing of kick drums when cueing tracks. Aside from the sound, the overall experience is impressive. Build quality really isn’t bad for the money, with soft faux-leather pads on the earcups and headband. The headband itself is flexible stainless steel, allowing the cups to be twisted around in order to cue or monitor with one ear and listen to the main mix with the other. A nice little touch is the inclusion of position markers embossed on the headband, 1-7 from the smallest to largest settings, allowing you to find your ideal position and quickly reset it if you need to pack the headphones up for whatever reason. The light weight and plush padding of the headphones also makes them comfortable to wear.
Unsurprisingly, you don’t get any fancy bells and whistles with the 175s. The only accessory in the box is ¼-inch adaptor, allowing you to plug into the larger headphone sockets found on a lot of pro audio gear such as DJ mixers and audio interfaces. (It’s a good one, for what it’s worth, threaded to screw onto the ⅛-inch plug on the end of the cable, locking it safely in place.) You don’t get any fancy carry cases, different coloured ear pads or even so much as a sticker, but all of those added extras and ‘free’ gifts cost money, so it makes sense to focus on the main event here.
There are a couple of minor quibbles with the HF175s, which are worth mentioning. The first is that the cable is permanently attached to the right earpiece rather than detachable, as you’d find on most high-end headphones these days. That makes it a little more fragile, which is a downside if you need headphones that you can transport The second is that the bass-forward presentation overpowers the high frequencies, making the HF175s unsuitable for production work or studio use (the kind of versatility you can expect from more expensive headphones). In both respects, you’d definitely notice the step up in features and quality to something like a pair of Pioneer’s HDJ-CUE1s, which have a removable, replaceable cable and a flatter frequency response. But, once again, it does come down to the same point of what you can expect at this budget price point. At around £60, the CUE1s are nearly double the price of the HF175s.
A sense of perspective is important when judging the HF175s; budget headphones are very unlikely to compete with our money-no-object favourites like Sennheiser HD25s or AIAIAI TMA-2s, but the price difference is vast. If you’re interested in the HF175s it’s probably because you’re a newcomer to DJing, learning how to mix at home rather than heading out to gigs in clubs. As such, your requirements are a bit more modest and you can probably accept some compromises in order to keep the cost down. If that’s the case, the HF175s do a very good job for the money.
Greg Scarth
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