Behringer HPX6000 Phones Review

Behringer HPX6000

Introduction

 

Behringer has been a name that didn’t always instill deep feelings of confidence. But that’s all changing with their recent NAMM announcement of a full 3 year’s warranty on everything – even on normally abused headphones. But having played with these new Behringer HPX6000 cans for a while, I’d say they have a fair chance of seeing off that warranty.

In The Box: Pretty standard stuff – cans, a soft case, a coiled rubberised cable and the regulation gold adaptor. You get what you need and nothing more.

 

Looks: Behringer has clearly employed some rather more image conscious designers. Gone are the jarring splashes of cheap plastic chrome, and in are the rubberised matt special ops stylings of AIAIAI’s TMA-1 offerings. There is a silvery flash of the new Behringer logo on the earpiece, but that can be covered up with Styleflip custom covers if you want that extra level of personalisation. Or a Sharpie will do it too.

 

Build Quality: I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised in this respect. Despite the complete plastic construction, and more traditional hinged/screwed design, they’ve held up rather well. I always worry when I do my somewhat excessive stress tests, but these have remained totally creak-free. The top headband part is actually a separate and more flexible piece, which flexes and takes the strain away from the cups and hinges a little.

 

Replaceable ear pads are very welcome, as is the equally replaceable and locking coiled cable. This cable, due to its harder rubbery material is particularly tangle resistant.

 

Sound Quality: We’re talking DJ rather than studio headphones, so linear responses and focussing on numbers is less important. To me, these 50mm drivers sound bright enough at the top and especially bassy – just how we DJs like them. Compared to my Sennheisers and Pioneers, these are a good 10-15% louder too, which is always welcome, and even when pushed, they don’t distort.

Isolation: The closed backs help, but the pads aren’t the deepest in the world. Thus the seal around your ear isn’t as great as it could be. If there was one blot on the copybook, it’s in this section. It’s good, but not great.

 

Comfort and Stability: These aren’t the lightest of headphones, thus if you’re an energetic DJ, despite the tight grip on your head, these will move around a little. But they are very comfortable on your ear, especially with the smooth padded earpiece cover. The cups hinge and rotate 30° forward and 90° back – enough to find a comfortable fit anyone’s head. Speaking of which, the headband has a wide adjustment that should fit the smallest or biggest heads.

Compactness: Behringer wouldn’t supply a pouch it the HPX6000 cans didn’t fit in it, which thanks to the hinges and headbands, they do, very neatly.

 

Value for money: Retailing at $79.99, and given the overall across board thumbs up, the value for money is high. Back this up with the 3 year warranty, and that’s a cent shy of 70 bucks very well spent.

Summary

 

On the face of it, these Behringer HPX6000 headphones aren’t especially different to a lot of the standard fodder on the DJ headphone market. They bear much of the same features, construction and overall specification. But for me, Behringer has gone that step further to make a budget pair of headphones on a par with some costing twice as much. They look, feel and sound really good, leave money in your wallet and are backed up by a 3 year warranty. If this an indication of new Behringer, I cannot wait to see what else is coming. Good work.

Hype: Just about everything, especially the warranty
Gripe: The isolation could be a little better.