Road Test: Numark Red Wave headphones

**jakeintox** · 06-14-2011, 03:55 PM

With three big gigs this weekend I decided to finally spring for some new cans to replace my taped-up Sony MDR v500s.

These are what I ended up with:

Pretty, huh?

I haven't worked with enough different pairs of headphones to give you guys an accurate review, but I did put them through the wringer this weekend, so I thought I'd at least share my experiences and initial impressions of them.

Construction seems solid (for plastic) and the swivels are nice and tight. The headband is flexible enough to allow for several different styles of one-ear monitoring. I was a little leery of the removable cord at first, but it locks in place and seems really secure.

...And dammit, they look good.

Anyway, one of the main reasons I chose these was because they were the lightest gig-worthy pair in stock in my price range ($100) at Guitar Center and I was going to be djing a highschool grad night for six hours straight that night.

They were on my head or around my neck for almost the entrire time, and felt light and comfortable the whole night. The 10 ft' cord is a bit too long, though, and I stepped on it a few times.

They delivered nice solid low-end, even over the 3600 watts of subwoofer I was nestled between, and blocked outside noise pretty well. I was hovering around 90-100db of onstage volume for several hours and could hear the cans just fine without having to push them to ear damaging levels. Managed to walk away with no ringing in my ears.

The next night was a simple 3 hour hip-hop night at a local night spot. Must have been 90 degrees inside, and that was before the dancefloor filled up and the hoochies started droppin' it all over the place.

These phones passed the "sweaty-ass DJ" test with flying colors. They didn't slide off or stick to my head, and the headband and ear cups stayed cool and breathable. "I like your headphones" was a line I heard more than once from girls trying to scam their way into my pants (or maybe just into my bar tab). :eek:

My third gig of the weekend was a wedding. Volumes stayed a bit lower and I went through several different genres, so I got some good listening time with the new cans. The mix was a touch mid-heavy for my tastes, but not enough to muddle the sound. Lows are clean and punchy, and the highs cut through nicely without being overly piercing.

All in all these are some very solid headphones, and I am quite happy with my investment.