Maxell Retro DJ review

Maxell’s RetroDJ headphones are surprisingly stylish for their low price, with matt-finish cups and retro-styled sliding metal rails to adjust the size of the headband. The cups’ earpads surrounded our ears comfortably and, while we found the band slightly tight at first, it soon adjusted to the shape of our head. The headphones are incredibly light and comfortable to wear and remained surprisingly secure even when we were moving around a lot. The headphones have a 1.3m cable and the usual 3.5mm stereo jack, along with a 1/4in adaptor.

Many retro products look great yet have disappointing performance, but fortunately the RetroDJs don’t sound at all shabby. Their emphasis is firmly on the mid-range, so tenor vocals and electric guitars had masses of presence, although unfortunately this came at the cost of treble detail. The bass was a bit more emphatic but it still wasn’t massively powerful. However, this mid-range bias avoids the risk of sounding either harsh or boomy and is a sensible characteristic in headphones at this price. The result is a set that sounds pretty decent no matter what you play through it, and which performs particularly well on any kind of rock music.

While the headphone drivers are closed, there’s still quite a bit of sound leakage from their compact cups. You may not be massively popular with your fellow commuters if you have to turn up the volume to drown out a noisy environment, but listening at a sensible level we neither disturbed nor were disturbed by our office-mates while wearing them.

The RetroDJ headphones don’t sound quite as good as the curious-looking Cresyn CS-HP600s, but they avoid the harshness we often hear in similarly cheap competitors. They’re comfortable, and they look and sound better than most headphones in their price range.