AlphaTheta’s new HDJ-F9 puts its SonicLink wireless DJ monitoring into a smaller on-ear design for £329.
Wireless headphones aren’t too commonly used in DJ booths, as Bluetooth adds enough of a delay to throw off beatmatching. That’s why most DJs still monitor through a wired cable plugged into the mixer.
AlphaTheta’s own SonicLink connection aims to tackle that delay, with the company quoting latency as low as 9ms, a figure it puts at 20 times faster than the common Bluetooth SBC codec and quick enough for scratching.
AlphaTheta has also focused on making set-up of the headphones quicker as well. SonicLink Touch Pairing connects the headphones to a compatible mixer such as the DJM-V5 with a single tap against the unit, provided the mixer runs its latest firmware to make this possible.
Compared with the over-ear HDJ-F10, which costs £369, this newer model is £40 cheaper and 71g lighter at 285g, with an on-ear fit for DJs who monitor with one cup held to the ear.
Inside each cup is a newly developed 40mm driver that reaches down into the sub-bass range, while a bass-reflex chamber at the top of the housing keeps kicks and basslines tight. A PEEK-PU-PEEK composite diaphragm handles the mids and highs with minimal distortion.
Isolation gets similar attention, with AlphaTheta claiming a higher level of noise blocking than other on-ear models so DJs can hear the mix in a loud booth without pushing the volume as far.
Beyond the sound, the build relies on a die-cast aluminium slider and a flexible silicone headband, while swivel-mounted hangers let the cups sit on one ear or rest on a shoulder between mixes. The headphones have also passed international durability tests.
Between gigs, the Headphones Connect app can change the colour and brightness of the status LED, rename the headphones, set auto-power-off and assigns a button to Siri or Google Assistant. A Find My Headphones option plays a sound to track down a misplaced pair. The iOS version of the app is coming to the App Store at a later date.
That status LED also affects the battery life, as SonicLink lasts seven hours with the light on and nine with it off. Bluetooth stretches to 13 and 25 hours respectively, and a full charge takes about 2.5 hours.
The HDJ-F9 is on sale now 15 for £329 with a two-year warranty. Nixers without the built-in SonicLink will need the separately sold £109 HP-TX01 transmitter.
Included in the box is a 1.2m coiled cable (in case you do want to rely on a wired connection), a 6.3mm adapter, a USB-C charging cable and a carrying pouch.
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