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Why Do DJs Wear Headphones: Insider Secrets Revealed [2022]

Who doesn’t love to party? And you can never imagine parties without DJs.

But have you ever wondered why do DJs wear headphones?

DJs use headphones for cueing the following range of frequencies on tracks and matching the beat of the music to give the best party experience. 

Continue reading to find all the reasons and lots more (dirty!) insider secrets!

🎧Why Do DJs Wear Headphones While DJing? [Unboxing Secrets Of Pros!]

Headphones for DJing

Headphones are used to hear music, but DJs use headphones for hearing and multiple usages for their professional work.

Here, I reveal why your favorite pair of headphones (other than being stylish), as I promised!

🎶Cue The Following Songs And Tracks

With the help of noise-canceling headphones, it is possible to hear the next or current music track before it is even played. A DJ hears the upcoming tracks, matches the beats, and cues the songs they find appealing at that moment.

Cueing is an essential feature and is somewhat of a guardian angel for any DJ playing songs for their audience or playing incoming music tracks. 

Following are the steps to reveal how this cue function is used

  • Hit the cue button to activate the cue function.
  • Use these devices to hear the channel two range. Channel 1 will play live songs, and Channel 1 will play cued songs.
  • The DJ can use them to listen to the beats of the cued song and their vacant ears to hear live songs. 
  • Once they hear the beats of channel one and channel 2, they can mix them using the speaker. 

🏛️Clarity Of Beats In Crowded Halls

A club is never expected to be quiet; this is the same for the DJ. It would be impossible for them to hear their music tracks or a wide range of frequently played tracks on Channel 1 or channel 2. This is where over-gears come to the rescue!

The hearing provides clarity for the DJ, which aids them in mixing and cueing better on channel 1. 

🦺Protecting The Hearing For DJ

Hearing protection for DJs

Not only do they help the DJs to hear songs and current tracks more clearly, but it also protects their hearing.

The DJ has to turn the headphone volume to a safe level knob so they can hear more songs without worrying about potential hearing damage. 

💲Cost-Efficient

No DJ was born as the son of Bill Gates. It is normal not to have high-quality speakers and tools, but they can afford good used gear within their budget. Speakers are seldom available on a budget, but there’s always an option for this portable hearing friend at an affordable price. 

🔌No Equipment is Needed 

Modern-day DJing is all about mixing songs with newly introduced equipment. It was not the same as to when DJs used headphones for mixing and matching instead of relying on vinyl machines.

Even today, DJs prefer to mix the genre of music tracks with the help of headphones instead of relying on those new machines. 

💁Why Do DJs Take Their Headphones On And Off? 

Continuous removing and wearing headphones

What comes to your mind when you imagine a DJ? An energetic man is jumping in front of the incoming music track and system and playing with one headphone on his ear monitor. Ever wondered why?

Though these gears are not considered compulsory nowadays, it is still recommended for every beginner to have expert DJ equipment. This aids in hearing, noise cancellation, and cueing of incoming tracks. 

The question remains, why do DJs wear headphones on one ear? Cueing is the answer to it. When a DJ places those ear headphones on their ear, they hear the next incoming track they will play.

Removing those ear headphones, they check the current track on the channel playing to compare the slower beat with the next one. 

This is why they keep switching their adjustable headbands on and off while playing loud music and incoming music tracks. So go and amaze your friends with these insider secrets!

Also Read: 5 Reasons Why Podcasters Wear Headphones

🎯How DJ Mixers Use Headphones (In Normal And Weird Ways!)

How DJs wear headphones

DJs are always found wearing headphones in weird and funny ways. These are the following ways in which they wear them:

  • The usual way: They wear it around their neck and hear the track on the channel with their ears or with the help of a detachable cable in the old classic way. They need to put it on and off if they use this method. 
  • Earpiece shifted behind ears: This is the standard way only, but the ear cups are behind the ears. 
  • Traditional way: The ear design cups are under the chin, while head gears have a circular neck. This enables the DJ to hear it according to his will. 
  • Upside down: These are placed around the neck, but then the cups are upside down. It has a risk of falling and does not have any significant advantage. 
  • Hoop on the forehead: These devices are placed horizontally, making the position awkward and uncomfortable. It has no advantage and has a risk of falling. Maybe DJs use it to stand out in the crowd.
  • Like a phone: The over-gears are placed like a phone, and only one earpiece is activated in this way. This is also a weird way to wear them. 

Also Read: 5 Reasons Why Drummers Wear Headphones 

🤔Can You DJ Without Wearing them (Spoiler Ahead!)

DJing without headphones

Now the question comes after looking at the weird way of carrying headphones: Is it essential to carry headphones for them? Or is there a way out of it? Ask any DJ, and they will tell you that carrying them is a real pain.

But going without headphones is not a common practice either. They would need a lot of practice, patience, and work for years in DJing to headgear and other coiled cables. 

Why do they prefer going without headphones?

  • First, leaving them behind is comparatively easy, and not bothering about carrying them. 
  • Secondly, they want to interact better with the crowd.

Jumping, dancing, and making the crowd scream their hearts out is what a DJ is for, right? With ear headphones, they become conscious, and their energy gets diverted toward carrying the gears with them. 

Here’s the insider secret:

A DJ without headphones or headbands needs a lot of practice, but some have found a cheat code. They record mixed songs and play the recording at the same audio levels. They do not mix songs. An average person dancing in the club won’t be able to identify this, but a trained DJ can detect this. 

💡Why Do DJs Wear Headphones FAQs

Why do some DJs not use headphones?

Some DJs don’t prefer to use headphones or headbands because they don’t have to worry about carrying them and can interact better with the crowd. 

Carrying headphones means keeping an upcoming track on their channel all the time; there is always a possibility of the headphones falling from their neck and the music stopping because of this little blunder. 

A DJ can’t afford to stop the music in the middle of a party. 
Carrying headphones also means not being able to interact with the audience; the DJ would always feel bound by the wires of those headphones and cables. 

Do you need special headphones for DJ?

Yes, we need special headphones for DJs. These headphones should be professionally ear-designed for DJing only.

They should have the highest quality of balanced sound and noise cancellation and be more durable than ordinary headphones. 

DJing is the responsibility of a single person to make a whole room audience dance to their slower beat. Therefore, they must be superb and have perfect beats and audio quality knowledge.

The task is big, so it needs the right equipment and audio levels to complete it. The proper headphone control, perfectly balanced sound quality, excellent bass, and highly durable would be the right choice for a professional DJ player. 

Are wireless headphones good for DJing?

Short answer: No. Reason? Perfect sound quality starts lagging. Let me explain:
Wireless Bluetooth headphones can have that quality of sound lagging, which is not good when mixing sounds.

Wireless headphones for casual use are excellent because the lag is small enough to be noticed generally while sitting in a room. 

But a DJ must listen to every beat at the correct timing and mix it at the perfect tick of the clock. So it will be a big blunder for him if there is even a minute lag in the loud sound quality or a single beat.

Is AirPods good for beat-making? 

AirPods Pro is the perfect sound for music production and beats. Of course, vintage DJs prefer good old headphones when it comes to mixing, but with time, there is always room for a better option.

AirPods Pro provides high-quality sound and bass; most importantly, it is the easiest to carry. 

The only concern? Sound quality lags, as is the case with wireless headgear.
DJs use headgear to look at the music range they are about to mix into the music strain track already performed live on the speakers.

Can you practice DJing without speakers?

If the system is plugged into the RCA controller instead of speakers, you can practice DJing without speakers or monitor speakers. Practicing DJ mostly means having a big hall with external noise cancellation or people throwing bricks at your system.

But don’t worry, as there is a way to connect to the RCA controller and practice DJ quietly. 

Speakers cost a lot of money for beginners, and not every beginner aspiring to be a successful DJ is rich. Therefore, the speakerless practice is best for beginners striving to earn a name and fame in the competitive DJ space!

About the Author

Why Do DJs Wear Headphones

Rach Wellard

Rach Wellard is the driving force behind Sound & Solitude. Her mission is to help you discover the profound impact of sound in your daily life and to explore the beauty of solitude. With a deep passion for the connection between soundscapes and emotions, she brings a unique blend of expertise and personal dedication to our platform.

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