I have some that I bought 3 years ago, long before I started mixing. Now that I've started mixing I've found it impossible to beat match in them. Do they have a tendency to degrade sound quality over time or did I just get a bad pair? I'm just curious if anyone else has had a similar issue with them. I'm considering buying a new pair of headphones but I'd prefer not to, I've always liked the 280s till now.

you just started mixing you said...
maybe you should blame the headphones? it takes time to learn to beatmatch, sometimes upto a year .. for basic beatmatching you can probably do it in ipod headphones

quote:

Originally posted by stan229 you just started mixing you said... maybe you should blame the headphones? it takes time to learn to beatmatch, sometimes upto a year .. for basic beatmatching you can probably do it in ipod headphones

i've forgotten my cans once and had to do a gig with my mp3 player earbuds, it's doable

if you just started mixing, it's you, not the headphones

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Sounds reasonable enough. This leads me to a likely obvious question, I've been trying to beatmatch with just my monitors the past couple of days, is it generally easier to do that as opposed to headphones (at least in my bedroom)?

I want to try to learn correctly so I'd rather not take any shortcuts, but the reason I thought my headphones were dull was because of the ease of beatmatching with my monitors vs headphones.

it depends on how good your monitors are at reproducing sound

myself, i learned how to spin completely in the headphones, it was late at night in my parents basement so i really had no other option

there is no correct way to learn how to dj, there's the way you do it and that's how it is, everyone is different, try different things and find what works for you but ultimately be able to adapt to any situation

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Cool, thanks for the info!

Alas, there is no wrong way, but it would be good to know how to beatmatch both with monitors and solely with headphones in case you end up in a situation where the monitors are really terrible or non-existent.

Also, I would point out that the HD280's were designed with a 'flat' response, but they actually taper off on the low end. They're good headphones, but really, you probably just need more practice. It takes a while to learn it well.

Don't give up, keep practicing!

I went through a phase where I thought my headphones were faulty as well. We hear it all the time but practice will help. One day it will just click.

I have HD280 phones and it seems to me they don't sound as good as they did 3 or 4 years ago. But it might be my ears changing. No problem beatmatching however.

Friend has new Grado SR60 and they are about $80 & sound better than my HD280s, nicer bass & highs, but they are not a DJ phone.