The DJ samples the big, the wooden and the shocking pink for bass, comfort and style
Greg James, the host of Radio 1's drive time afternoon show, estimates that, on average, he spends four to five hours a day wearing headphones, so he casts a weather eye over the selection laid out before him.
"I'm very picky with these," he confesses, "I'm a radio nerd, and when I'm doing the radio I'm absolutely obsessed that the headphones sound right." Opinions on hardware seem to differ across the Radio 1 team, and James tells me that some of his colleagues are reluctant to share their headphones with other DJs. "These might still be full of Sara Cox's thoughts," he says, trying on the studio's in-house cans.
James himself uses at least three different pairs in his daily life: a lightweight set for running, another durable, noise-cancelling pair for live club gigs and a third for sitting at home "in an easy chair, if I don't want to annoy the neighbours."
He's particular about reliability, and shudders remembering the time his noise-cancelling phones ran out of battery mid-set. "I wouldn't trust wireless ones", he says warily, "not if I was DJing." The best approach to choosing a full-size pair seems to require finding a balance between the "industrial, never-break" options, and the overlarge "1940s fighter plane" type. In the end though, it's all about finding "my kind of sound".
**Pioneer HDJ-1500**
*Flexible, swivelling earpieces, targeted at would-be pro-DJs, £149*
"These look like classic, industry-standard DJ headphones, and they're a good all-rounder, but they don't give as much depth as I'd like. That aside, they're versatile and robust, which is important for DJing live."
*Perfect for:* "Chase & Status sound great through these. They need something boisterous and epic-sounding."
**Denon Music Maniac AH-D340**
*Uncomplicated headset promising fine-tuned EQ, £179*
"I'm a brand snob. enon are a brand I trust, but even though these go quite loud they aren't great for noisy songs. For subtle, atmospheric music they're great, though, and the sound reverberates nicely within the earpiece."
*Perfect for: *London Grammar
**AKG K267 Tiësto**
*Huge metallic unit, featuring variable bass booster, £299*
"They feel very expensive. They're also needlessly big and heavy, which feels like a statement, a way of saying "I love trance!". But if you want to feel like you're in the club listening to rumbling dance beats, they're for you. They seem to numb all the other senses when you wear them. They also look a bit like Tiësto, weirdly."
*Perfect for:* "Who else but Tiësto himself? Adagio for Strings, ideally."
**Creative Sound Blaster EVO Zx**
*Red cans aimed at gamers, including a built-in audio processor, £177*
"If I were to pick a pair on aesthetics, these would be the ones, they look cool and they're the best for noise-cancelling. Soundwise, they give lots of depth, but they're not that clear or crisp: it's quite a muddy, bass-heavy sound."
*Perfect for: *Skrillex
**Beats by Dre Studio**
*Sleek, must-have design; adaptable noise-cancelling, £269*
"I wouldn't buy them myself, and I think a headphone connoisseur would go for something else for the money, but they're decent and very bassy. Dre isn't going to make shit headphones, his reputation's at stake, but I don't go in for the idea of celebrity headphones. Even if Mumford and Sons brought out some headphones, I wouldn't buy them. These are comfy though, like sitting inside a limo."
*Perfect for:* "Hip hop. 50 Cent, maybe, or Kanye West."
**Monster DNA**
*Small, triangular headphones; available in shocking pink, £169*
"These things are just dreadful, and they sound as cheap as they look. They're fine as a 'my first headphone', and you get the idea of what you're listening to, but it sounds hollow and empty. Compared with some of the others here, they're so bad."
*Perfect for:* "Really poppy stuff, maybe One Direction or Jessie J."
**Griffin Woodtones**
*Simple-looking; wood-backed earpieces, £75*
"These are excellent. The 'walnut finish' effect reminds me of the inside of a Rover 200, but they feel incredible, and they're quite light actually, considering they're made of wood. There's a nicely balanced tone to them, which is exactly what I look for in sound. I would never have chosen them off the shelf, but these are my pick." *Perfect for:* "I I was going to say Dire Straits or Eric Clapton, but something that needs a great soundscape, like Disclosure, would be a good choice."
**Bose AE2w Bluetooth**
* *
*On-ear controls; detachable Bluetooth unit, £199*
"I do a lot of running, and have a set of Bose on-ears for doing that, which are great. They're like a BMW, you expect them to be good, but I'm surprised to say I'm not as impressed by this pair as I thought I'd be. They sound a bit hollow and echoey and they're not as rich as I expected."
*Perfect for:* "Rihanna. Bose and Rihanna have the same problem; sometimes amazing, but every now and again they can come out with a real stinker."
**OVERALL WINNERS**
* Best for bass: Beats by Dre*
*Best-looking: Sound Blaster*
*Best for comfort: Griffin Woodtones*
*Best sound quality: Griffin Woodtones*
Staying In With Greg and Russell - an eight-part series - will debut on BBC3 later this month. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.
Greg James, the host of Radio 1's drive time afternoon show, estimates that, on average, he spends four to five hours a day wearing headphones, so he casts a weather eye over the selection laid out before him.
"I'm very picky with these," he confesses, "I'm a radio nerd, and when I'm doing the radio I'm absolutely obsessed that the headphones sound right." Opinions on hardware seem to differ across the Radio 1 team, and James tells me that some of his colleagues are reluctant to share their headphones with other DJs. "These might still be full of Sara Cox's thoughts," he says, trying on the studio's in-house cans.
James himself uses at least three different pairs in his daily life: a lightweight set for running, another durable, noise-cancelling pair for live club gigs and a third for sitting at home "in an easy chair, if I don't want to annoy the neighbours."
He's particular about reliability, and shudders remembering the time his noise-cancelling phones ran out of battery mid-set. "I wouldn't trust wireless ones", he says warily, "not if I was DJing." The best approach to choosing a full-size pair seems to require finding a balance between the "industrial, never-break" options, and the overlarge "1940s fighter plane" type. In the end though, it's all about finding "my kind of sound".
**Pioneer HDJ-1500**
*Flexible, swivelling earpieces, targeted at would-be pro-DJs, £149*
"These look like classic, industry-standard DJ headphones, and they're a good all-rounder, but they don't give as much depth as I'd like. That aside, they're versatile and robust, which is important for DJing live."
*Perfect for:* "Chase & Status sound great through these. They need something boisterous and epic-sounding."
**Denon Music Maniac AH-D340**
*Uncomplicated headset promising fine-tuned EQ, £179*
"I'm a brand snob. enon are a brand I trust, but even though these go quite loud they aren't great for noisy songs. For subtle, atmospheric music they're great, though, and the sound reverberates nicely within the earpiece."
*Perfect for: *London Grammar
**AKG K267 Tiësto**
*Huge metallic unit, featuring variable bass booster, £299*
"They feel very expensive. They're also needlessly big and heavy, which feels like a statement, a way of saying "I love trance!". But if you want to feel like you're in the club listening to rumbling dance beats, they're for you. They seem to numb all the other senses when you wear them. They also look a bit like Tiësto, weirdly."
*Perfect for:* "Who else but Tiësto himself? Adagio for Strings, ideally."
**Creative Sound Blaster EVO Zx**
*Red cans aimed at gamers, including a built-in audio processor, £177*
"If I were to pick a pair on aesthetics, these would be the ones, they look cool and they're the best for noise-cancelling. Soundwise, they give lots of depth, but they're not that clear or crisp: it's quite a muddy, bass-heavy sound."
*Perfect for: *Skrillex
**Beats by Dre Studio**
*Sleek, must-have design; adaptable noise-cancelling, £269*
"I wouldn't buy them myself, and I think a headphone connoisseur would go for something else for the money, but they're decent and very bassy. Dre isn't going to make shit headphones, his reputation's at stake, but I don't go in for the idea of celebrity headphones. Even if Mumford and Sons brought out some headphones, I wouldn't buy them. These are comfy though, like sitting inside a limo."
*Perfect for:* "Hip hop. 50 Cent, maybe, or Kanye West."
**Monster DNA**
*Small, triangular headphones; available in shocking pink, £169*
"These things are just dreadful, and they sound as cheap as they look. They're fine as a 'my first headphone', and you get the idea of what you're listening to, but it sounds hollow and empty. Compared with some of the others here, they're so bad."
*Perfect for:* "Really poppy stuff, maybe One Direction or Jessie J."
**Griffin Woodtones**
*Simple-looking; wood-backed earpieces, £75*
"These are excellent. The 'walnut finish' effect reminds me of the inside of a Rover 200, but they feel incredible, and they're quite light actually, considering they're made of wood. There's a nicely balanced tone to them, which is exactly what I look for in sound. I would never have chosen them off the shelf, but these are my pick." *Perfect for:* "I I was going to say Dire Straits or Eric Clapton, but something that needs a great soundscape, like Disclosure, would be a good choice."
**Bose AE2w Bluetooth**
* *
*On-ear controls; detachable Bluetooth unit, £199*
"I do a lot of running, and have a set of Bose on-ears for doing that, which are great. They're like a BMW, you expect them to be good, but I'm surprised to say I'm not as impressed by this pair as I thought I'd be. They sound a bit hollow and echoey and they're not as rich as I expected."
*Perfect for:* "Rihanna. Bose and Rihanna have the same problem; sometimes amazing, but every now and again they can come out with a real stinker."
**OVERALL WINNERS**
* Best for bass: Beats by Dre*
*Best-looking: Sound Blaster*
*Best for comfort: Griffin Woodtones*
*Best sound quality: Griffin Woodtones*
Staying In With Greg and Russell - an eight-part series - will debut on BBC3 later this month. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.