AlphaTheta HDJ-F10-TX review: What is it?
AlphaTheta has released the HDJ-F10 professional wireless DJ headphones with its burgeoning SonicLink technology. Instantly, our thoughts turn to how well this technology translates to a live scenario.
The all-black design makes them stand out by not being flashy. On trying the headphones for the first time, the padded over-ear headphone cup design is comfortable, plus, they feel sturdy and well-built.
The audio specs of the HDJ-F10 are impressive. A 40mm driver delivers a max output of 105dB and a frequency range of 5Hz-30kHz. If you think of the Sennheiser HD25 headphones as being a DJing benchmark, those have 41mm drivers delivering a max output of 120dB and a frequency range of 16Hz-22kHz range.
The headphones use AlphaTheta's wireless SonicLink technology for connecting to the receiver, which offers a latency of 15ms. The headphones can also be connected by Bluetooth or wired, with the supplied cable.
There are other headphone brands that utilise wireless connectivity, mainly Bluetooth, the nearest direct comparison being the AIAIAI TMA-2 DJ Wireless headphones which use W-Link for connectivity. Both systems are comparable, offering similar latency.
AlphaTheta HDJ-F10-TX review: Performance and verdict
There's no denying the HDJ-F10s look good. The all-black design gives them a certain class and the build is robust, but they are heavy. In fact, it was the weight that was one of the first things we noticed in getting them out of the box. At 358g, these are more than twice the weight of our trusty HD25s (171g).
The headphones fit tightly to the head, which has benefits for DJs who do all their mixing in headphones. Those who use monitors, or regularly take their headphones off in the club, may not find these the most practical. Even shifting one side of the headphones behind the ear felt like they were going to fall off. With some practice, we would probably get used to this, but it didn’t feel particularly natural. Over time this may lessen as the stiff headband would likely loosen up a little, as they do with most headphones.
Alongside the HDJ-F10, there is the SonicLink transmitter, like the unit that comes with the WAVE-EIGHT speaker system. The receiver fits in the palm of your hand but does feel a little flimsy compared to the robust build of the headphones. We do wonder how it would stand up to the rigours of a resident or touring DJ. At more than £100 to replace, you wouldn’t want it to break.
Connecting the HDJ-F10 to the transmitter was quick and simple: turn the transmitter on and hold down the connection button on the headphones. A voice tells you that they are connected, and you can get on with plugging the transmitter to your mixer headphone socket.
The headphone connection was solid and only faltered when we moved into the room next door. All around our studio, there was no issue. Within the confines of the DJ booth or stage, the connection would be more than adequate.
The included cable to connect the transmitter to the mixer is approximately 1.5m, allowing the unit to be stashed away and fitted easily under our SL1200. This wire has a twist lock on the transmitter end to reduce the chance of it being pulled out, which was a nice touch. The cable also doubles as the wired connection for the headphones, should the battery run out. The battery life is listed at 9 hours when using SonicLink. This should be suitable for most DJ’s needs.
The sound
On playing our first track, the audio quality in the HDJ-F10 was astounding. Nice detailed mids and tops, underpinned by a rich accurate bass response. There is a good amount of headroom to compensate for the loudest stage or venue.
In the studio, we didn’t need to turn them up more than we do with my HD25s. But it was on stopping the music that we first noticed an audible hiss in the headphones. It lasted for about a second after the music stopped before cutting off. This is worrying.
About one hour in, we found that we were enjoying the audio richness the headphones delivered, but were beginning to suffer from ear fatigue. It remains to be seen whether we'd get used to it after using the headphones for longer.
Conclusion
For recreational listening, the HDJ-F10 can be connected via Bluetooth. The sound quality was just as good as the SonicLink, but that dreaded hiss was still present.
The hiss was evident on all audio sources we tried, including Apple Music, Ableton Live, Netflix and YouTube. However, the hiss disappeared when connected via the cable, making us assume that the transmission process was at fault.
The HDJ-F10 are great-looking headphones. They sound impressive and well-balanced, but the weight and background hiss are considerations that would need to be weighed against the lofty £469 price tag.
Hopefully, the hiss is something that will be resolved in future iterations, as the premise of wireless headphones is a good one overall.
MusicRadar verdict: The HDJ-F10s sound (mostly) great, and look good, but are they worth the £469 price tag just to remove a wire on the stage? Well, that depends on your style of DJing or performance. We're not totally sold... yet.
AlphaTheta HDJ-F10-TX review: Hands-on demos
AlphaTheta / PioneerDJ Global
AlphaTheta HDJ-F10-TX review: Specifications
- Type: Dynamic, closed back, over-ear design
- Weight: 358g (Headphones only)
- Connectivity: SonicLink / Bluetooth / Wired
- Frequency Response: 5Hz-30kHz
- Output Sound Level: 105dB
- Driver Size: 40mm
- Charging Time: Approx. 2.5 hours (headphones) / Approx. 4 hours (transmitter)
- Transmission Range: Approx 15m (SonicLink) / 10m (Bluetooth)
- Playback time: 9hrs (SonicLink) / 30 Hrs (Bluetooth)
- Contact: AlphaTheta
