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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a full-size, over-ear DJ headphone with a foldable frame, deep extended bass and the adapters you need for club gear, choose adj American Audio; if you need a compact in-ear monitor built around five balanced armature drivers with a detachable, upgradeable cable, choose Kinboofi KZ AS10.
• adj American Audio — biggest strength: a genuine over-ear DJ design with extended bass, a 5Hz–30kHz frequency range, 64 ohm impedance and two 1/4" adapters included, so it plugs into a mixer without a trip to the shop.
• adj American Audio — biggest trade-off: it's a bulky 16-ounce wired headphone with no noise control, so it's built for the booth, not for the gym or a commute.
• Kinboofi KZ AS10 — biggest strength: five balanced armature drivers covering low, mid and high frequencies in a tiny in-ear shell, with a detachable 2-pin cable you can swap or upgrade.
• Kinboofi KZ AS10 — biggest trade-off: in-ears sit inside your ear canal, so fit and tip choice matter a lot, and the cable is wired only despite the Bluetooth mention in its specs.
• Pick adj American Audio if you're a DJ who wants one rugged over-ear pair for mixing and monitoring in loud rooms.
• Pick Kinboofi KZ AS10 if you're a musician, vocalist or detail-focused listener who wants portability and swappable cables.
The American Audio HP 700 is a purpose-built pro DJ headphone, and the spec sheet says so plainly. It's an over-ear, closed-back-style design with rubber as the enclosure material, which tells you the priority here is durability in a working environment rather than featherweight comfort. At 16 ounces it's a substantial piece of gear — you feel it on your head, and that's the trade-off you accept for a frame that can survive being thrown in a bag night after night. A carrying bag is included, which fits the touring and club-resident use case.
The audio side is where it earns its place. The frequency range runs from 5Hz to 30kHz, and the marketing line "extended bass" matches that low-end reach — 5Hz is well below what you can hear, but it signals a tuning aimed at kick drums, sub-bass and the low-end thump DJs cue with. Impedance is 64 ohm, which is on the higher side for a portable headphone but a sensible match for mixer and controller headphone outputs, where you want a bit of electrical resistance to keep the signal clean. The dynamic driver type is the traditional, well-understood approach for punchy bass response.
The practical details matter too. You get a 3.5mm jack plus two 1/4" adapters — one straight, one right-angle. That right-angle adapter is a small thing that makes a big difference when your headphone socket is tucked awkwardly against a mixer face, and having both in the box means you're covered whether you're on a controller, a club mixer or a home interface. There's no active noise cancellation, so isolation comes purely from the over-ear fit and the seal of the earcups against your head.
Buy it if you're a DJ who wants a single rugged over-ear workhorse for cueing tracks in loud rooms, and you value having the right adapters included. Skip it if you want something pocketable, if you need active noise cancelling, or if you plan to wear headphones for hours on a commute — 16 ounces and no noise control is the wrong combination for that.
The KZ AS10 takes the opposite approach entirely. This is a pure in-ear monitor built around five balanced armature drivers per side: one large low-frequency driver, one mid, two high, and one mid-and-high hybrid. That's a genuinely unusual configuration at the in-ear level, and it's the reason the AS10 gets talked about. Balanced armatures are the driver type typically used in professional in-ear monitors because they're small, fast and detailed — and stacking five of them lets the tuning split the frequency range across dedicated drivers instead of asking one unit to do everything.
The numbers back up the intent. Frequency range is 20Hz to 40kHz, sensitivity is 105dB, and impedance is just 14 ohm. That low impedance means the AS10 is easy to drive — it'll get loud from a phone, a laptop or a small interface without needing a dedicated amp. The 105dB sensitivity reinforces that. And the 40kHz top end is well beyond audible range, but it points to a tuning that prioritizes high-frequency extension and air rather than a rolled-off, dull top.
The design is where the AS10 gets interesting for anyone who breaks cables. The 2-pin connection is detachable, so if the stock cable dies — or you simply want to try a different one — you can swap it without replacing the earphones. That single feature stretches the lifespan of the product considerably, and it's the kind of thing in-ear users learn to care about the hard way. The housing is plastic with a rounded-tip earpiece shape, and the brand describes a translucent, eye-catching shell and a 3D-printed internal acoustic structure. Noise control is listed as sound isolation, which is what you'd expect from an in-ear that seals your canal.
Buy it if you're a musician, vocalist, drummer or detail-hungry listener who wants a compact monitor with a replaceable cable and a sound signature that splits duties across dedicated drivers. Skip it if you dislike things sitting in your ear canal, if you need wireless freedom, or if you want the physical feel of a big over-ear cup.
• Best for DJ booth and mixer work → adj American Audio. Over-ear fit, 64 ohm impedance and both 1/4" adapters make it the natural match for a controller or club mixer.
• Best for portability → Kinboofi KZ AS10. In-ear, 100g, and it disappears into a pocket or pouch.
• Best low-end reach on paper → adj American Audio. A 5Hz–30kHz range with "extended bass" tuning is aimed squarely at kick and sub content.
• Best for driver detail and separation → Kinboofi KZ AS10. Five balanced armatures split low, mid and high duties instead of one driver carrying everything.
• Best for easy driving from a phone → Kinboofi KZ AS10. 14 ohm impedance and 105dB sensitivity mean it gets loud from almost anything.
• Best for long-term ownership → Kinboofi KZ AS10. The detachable 2-pin cable means a broken cable isn't a dead earphone.
• Best for isolation in loud rooms → adj American Audio (over-ear seal) or KZ AS10 (in-ear seal) — but they isolate differently. The over-ear blocks with mass and cup seal; the in-ear blocks by plugging the canal. I'd give the edge to the in-ear for raw isolation, since a deep seal beats a cup seal in most loud environments.
• Best for a single do-everything pair → adj American Audio. If you only want one headphone for DJing, monitoring and casual listening at a desk, the over-ear is the more flexible object.
If I had to pick one for DJ monitoring, I'd buy the adj American Audio. The over-ear frame, the 64 ohm impedance that plays nicely with mixer outputs, the extended-bass tuning and the included straight and right-angle 1/4" adapters all point at the job it's designed for. It's heavy and it has no noise control, but for cueing tracks in a loud room, that's the right set of compromises. I'd choose the Kinboofi KZ AS10 instead if portability, driver detail and a replaceable cable matter more to you than cup size — it's the smarter pick for a musician or a listener who wants five balanced armatures in their pocket.
FAQ
what is studio monitor headphones
why do djs wear headphones
DJs wear headphones to cue the next track before the audience hears it — you preview a track in one ear while the other ear listens to the room or the master output. That's why a sealed, bass-capable design like the adj American Audio over-ear works well: it blocks some of the booth noise and lets you feel the low end you're mixing in.
why do djs need headphones
DJs need headphones to beatmatch, find cue points and check levels without the crowd hearing it. The job demands isolation and low-end clarity, which is exactly what the HP 700's over-ear fit and 5Hz–30kHz range target. In-ear monitors like the KZ AS10 can do the same job with a deeper seal, but they sit in the canal rather than around the ear.
why djs wear headphones
Mostly the same reason: cueing, beatmatching and monitoring. If you want the traditional DJ look and feel, the over-ear adj American Audio is the fit; if you want something small that seals hard and lives in a case, the KZ AS10 is the alternative. Either way, check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since both sit at very different points on the market.
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