As our regular headphones are becoming almost exclusively wireless, there’s still one place you can always find headphone cables – DJ booths. That’s because standard Bluetooth headphones come with a slight lag that makes tasks like beatmatching completely impossible. But AlphaTheta’s new HDJ-F10 headphones promise to fix that with an imperceptibly short wireless latency thanks to their new SonicLink technology.
In this article, we’ll dive into what makes the HDJ-F10 headphones stand out and why they might be the best DJ headphones for those looking to go wireless while mixing.
Features
SonicLink low latency wireless connection
9ms latency, perfect for DJing
Durable design built to withstand tough, professional use
Comfortable fit with earpads that block out external noise
Built-in microphone
Make and receive calls, use Siri or Google Assistant
Long battery life
9 hours on SonicLink, 30 hours on Bluetooth
How they work
The headphones come with a separate unit to power the SonicLink connection. This has a standard 3.5mm cable that can plug directly into your DJ mixer or any other piece of audio gear. You can then easily connect the headphones and the transmitter up for super-fast wireless connections. This SonicLink technology currently requires a dedicated unit, but we expect AlphaTheta to start building these transmitters into their gear in the future.
The HDJ-F10s come with a dedicated wireless transmitter to power their super low latency connection.
You can also use them as regular Bluetooth headphones by connecting your phone or other device up in the standard way. They come with active noise cancellation and an inbuilt microphone, making them perfect for regular daily use.
The battery life is 9 hours on SonicLink, which should be more than enough for even the most gruelling of sets and 30 hours on Bluetooth. If they do run out, they also come with a cable and can be used like regular wired headphones.
Sound Quality
At the core of these headphones is AlphaTheta’s newly developed 40mm driver with composite film diaphragm. This should translate to more high-resolution sound across the whole frequency spectrum.
On listening, they don’t disappoint. There’s plenty of detail in the tracks and individual elements have a pretty good separation from each other. Crucially for DJs, the low end on these is really impactful. Kick drums have a great punch, and basses are clear and defined.
AlphaTheta is positioning these as headphones for use both in the DJ booth and for everyday wear. However, the bass-forward sound profile won’t be to everyone’s tastes when it comes to casual daily listening. After personal testing, I’ve found the sort of sound that works so well for DJ headphones can become fatiguing after hours of regular music listening.
Design and build
As you’d expect from a premium product, the build quality here is high. All of the materials used feel premium, and everything seems rugged and sturdy. On the head, they’re not too bulky or heavy and the large soft ear pads make them comfortable for long-term listening.
They form a pretty tight seal on your head and, along with the substantial over-ear pads on these, you get great isolation from the outside world.
AlphaTheta says that these headphones have passed the stringent US Military Standard MIL-STD-810H shock test. Even if you’re not planning on necessarily wearing these during frontline combat, it’s good to know they should be able to comfortably survive even the roughest of DJ booths.
Price and final thoughts
HDJ-F10 €439 including VAT / $389 excluding tax / £369 including VAT
HDJ-F10-TX €549 including VAT / $499 excluding tax / £469 including VAT
HP-TX01 €199 including VAT / $169 excluding tax / £169 including VAT
At £369 without the transmitter and £469 with it, these are just about the most expensive DJ headphones out there. That means that you’ve got to seriously consider just how important the wireless functionality is to you before deciding on buying a pair. At this price, you could buy a pair of quality wired DJ headphones and a wireless pair for day-to-day use.
Wireless DJ headphones are still a very niche product, and there’s only one real competitor in this space – the AIAIAI TMA-2 Studio Wireless+. These work in a similar way to the HDJ-F10 in that they come with their own dedicated low-latency wireless transmitter. They’re also designed to be used as regular Bluetooth headphones for day-to-day use and are very comfy, but the sound on the AlphaThetas might just edge them out, especially when it comes to DJing. The AlphaThetas can also get much louder without distorting, which is perfect for hearing everything clearly, even in a loud booth. However, the AIAIAIs come in at £269 with the transmitter, so they are a much cheaper option.
Ultimately, if they’re in your budget and wireless technology is something that really appeals to you, these are a great pick.
Check out our full video review where we put these new headphones to the test and break down whether they’re a good purchase.
HDJ-F10 Technical Specs
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Closed, dynamic |
| Frequency Response | 5 Hz – 30 kHz |
| Impedance | 32 Ω |
| Output Sound Pressure Level | 105 dB |
| Unit | ø40 mm dome-type |
| Weight | 356 g (without cable) |
| SonicLink | Maximum Transmission Distance: Approx. 15 m in unobstructed locations Playback Time: Approx. 9 hours*2 |
| Bluetooth | Version: Bluetooth standard version 5.2 Maximum Transmission Distance: Approx. 10 m in unobstructed locations Compatible Bluetooth Profiles: A2DP, AVRCP, HSP, HFP Compatible Codecs: SBC, AAC Playback Time: Approx. 30 hours (with ANC on) |
| Charge Time | Approx. 2.5 hours (headphones) |
| Warranty Period | 2 years |
| Accessories | HDJ-F10: 1.2 m coiled cable (3.0 m extended), ø6.3 mm stereo plug adapter, USB charging cable (USB Type-C to USB Type-C) 0.5 m x 1, spare ear pads x 1, carrying pouch, Quick Start Guide, Precautions for use
HDJ-F10-TX: Transmitter (HP-TX01), 1.6 m straight cable, ø6.3 mm stereo plug adapter, USB charging cable (USB Type-C to USB Type-C) 0.5 m x 2, spare ear pads x 1, carrying pouch, Quick Start Guide, Precautions for use |
Complete DJ Package
835 hours
1300+ lessons
Creative
Might be worth looking at the AIAIAI TMA-2 DJ Wireless that were just announced too! Could be even more of a game changer!
Yeah, those look pretty exciting! The Studio Wireless ones from AIAIAI were cool but they of course they felt much more designed for wireless studio use, which is an even more niche use case. We’d like to try out the DJ wireless ones though, especially as they’re much cheaper than these AlphaThetas.
Hi Will,
I understand that using wireless technlogy “degrades” the sound quality vs wired, unless you transit at full throughput (lossless) so my couple of questions are:
1) Whats the bandwith of Soniclink vs regular bluetooth? Havent seen specs anywhere.
2) if you were to go wired, how do these compare vs the HDJ-X10’s? This is my most burning question…
Thx for reading!
Pepe
Hi Pepe, both SonicLink and Bluetooth work on a 2.4GHz frequency band according to AlphaTheta. As for these vs. the X10s, the sound profile’s pretty different and the X10 sound more transparent and ‘Hi-Fi’, whereas these are more bass-focused, and the sound and format on the F10s is better for DJing while I’d much rather have the X10 for casual listening or mixing music.
“imperceptibly short wireless latency”…Um, Yeah, No!
Until it is “absolutely ZERO latency”, I’ll be wired.
We were a little sceptical at first, but with your eyes closed, you literally wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between this and a wired connection; it’s faster than you can possibly perceive any difference.
im using one odio wired headphones do not know the model but they are great they do low latency wireless one would like your thoughts on them?
I know OneOdio make some great affordable headphones so that could be interesting. There’s still a big difference between ‘low latency’ Bluetooth which is fast but still a noticeable delay and these so unless they state the specific latency like these or the AIAIAIs I’d be sceptical about using them for mixing.