Design & Construction

The Pioneer DJ HDJ-X5BT is the wireless option to last year's released HDJ-X5BT. The headband and earcups' pivots bear the Pioneer DJ logo. Regarding the overall build, I have to say Pioneer DJ have done their fair share research and create a product that fits most of the DJ population. The earcups pivot 360° and pivot swivel 180° for easy, one-ear monitoring. On the other hand, for casual listening, the headphones have very severe wearing fatigue, I realise I can never get past an hour of comfortable usage without shifting the earcups for some rest. The earcups are simply too small and never managed to fit my whole ear in it. Depends on how I wear my headphones, the top of the earcups even touch the top of my ears and cause severe discomfort because of the lack of padding covering the internal driver. To make things worse, the headphone weighs in at 319g which is considered heavy for long listening sessions. The headphones also do fold flat and up for portability. The exterior of the earcups has a metallic-like finish and the whole headphone is made mostly of plastic. The top of the headband and earcups' pivots bear the 'Pioneer DJ' logo. On the left earcup, you will find all the controls. There is (From Back to Front), the volume buttons, the power button, the Micro-USB port and 3.5mm Input. The multi-function button allows for play/pause and picking up/ending calls with a single press and a double to skip forward and a triple press to skip backwards. 

 

Sound Quality

The 40mm headphone drivers do a great job both as a pair of DJ headphones and a casual listening headphone. It has a clear audio signature that is tuned loud for usage behind the DJ booth. This is much needed especially for producers and DJs so as to hear their next song and create a fluid mix. Based on user experience, the noise isolation is fantastic, I could not hear much of my surroundings when there was no music on. Highs are crisp and clear. Mids managed to maintain their clarity even when the bass gets going. Lows are slightly boosted but it is essential for those noisy club gigs.  Call quality was okay as the caller could hear me clearly on the other end.

 

Connectivity & Portability

The headphone operates both passively and wirelessly. The mic and playback controls do not work in wired mode as there is no mic and inline control on the cable itself. However, the included cable is a 1.2m coiled cable that extends 1.8m for mixing use. The package also includes a 6.3 mm stereo plug adapter for plugging into DJ controllers and mixers. In wireless mode, AptX Low-Latency, AptX, AAC & SBC codecs are supported together with Bluetooth 4.2. Listening via the Micro-USB cable is not possible. The battery life peaks at a sufficient 20 hours in Bluetooth mode. The headphones fold flat and upward for compactness.

 

PROS

• Durable Construction

• Loud Sound Signature with Clarity

• AptX & AptX LL Support

• Compact Profile For Storage

• Multiple Colours Available

 

CONS​​​

• Severe Wearing Fatigue

• No Carrying Pouch

• Micro-USB Charging

• No Fast Charging

• Heavy

 

The Bottom Line

The Pioneer DJ HDJ-X5BT is a fantastic DJ headphone for DJ and producers on-the-go.  Powerful sound, great portability and earcups that pivot to fit all kinds of wearing styles and more importantly a reasonable asking price to match. For casual listeners, this product may not fit well due to the painful wearing experience. Multiple colours are available to match different genders and personalities.