The best gifts for DJs are the ones that wear out or that they'd love to try: headphones, a second piece of gear for practice at home, or a first controller for someone who's just starting. Big setups are personal, so unless you know exactly what they use, stay with the safe picks below. Every one comes from our rankings, with tonight's Thomann price.
Gifts for DJs under $150
Sennheiser HD-25, $134
A standard in DJ booths for decades: light, loud, closed, with replaceable parts. If a DJ doesn't own a pair, this is the gift. #4 of 21 DJ headphones.
AIAIAI TMA-2 DJ XE, $141
Modular DJ headphones where the drivers, headband, cushions and cable can all be swapped or upgraded. The highest-ranked DJ headphones in our index when we checked: #1 of 21 DJ headphones.
Pro-Ject Phono-Box E, $73
A small phono preamp that lets a turntable play through any speakers or audio interface. For a DJ or collector who wants to digitize records. #1 of 12 phono preamps.
Reloop RMX-10BT, $145
A compact two-channel mixer with Bluetooth, so a phone can be one of the decks. A fun practice mixer for home. #9 of 53 DJ mixers.
Gifts for DJs under $400
Reloop Buddy, $246
A small two-channel controller that works with djay on phones, tablets and computers, with streaming services built in. The easiest way for a beginner to start. #4 of 42 DJ controllers.
Roland DJ-202, $296
A controller for Serato with large jog wheels for scratching and a built-in Roland drum machine and sampler. #6 of 42 DJ controllers.
Audio-Technica ATH-M70X, $313
Closed studio and DJ headphones with a detailed, accurate sound, for a DJ who also produces. #2 of 21 DJ headphones.
Yamaha HS 5, $178
An honest 5-inch studio monitor (sold singly), for a DJ who's starting to make tracks. #1 of 224 active nearfield monitors.
Bigger gifts
Reloop RP 7000 MK2 silver, $616
A direct-drive DJ turntable with an S-shaped tonearm and wide pitch control, built for scratching and beat-matching vinyl. #1 of 27 turntables in our ranking.
Hercules DJ Control Inpulse T7 Premium, $735
An all-in-one controller with two motorized 7-inch platters that spin like real turntables, with a transport case and slipmats. #1 of 42 DJ controllers.
Questions
What is a good gift for a beginner DJ?
A simple controller like the Reloop Buddy ($246) and a pair of Sennheiser HD-25 headphones ($134).
What do you get a DJ who has everything?
New headphones, since they wear out, a phono preamp for digitizing records, or a fun second mixer for home practice.
Do DJs need special headphones?
They need closed, loud headphones that swivel for one-ear listening and survive being thrown in a bag. The HD-25 and TMA-2 are built exactly for that.
How we picked. Every product comes from an AudioFu ranking, scored on demand, price, specs and brand. Prices are Thomann's, converted from euros at the European Central Bank rate and updated every night, as are the ranks.
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Denis Kataev runs AudioFu. Every night the site records the prices of more than 38,000 instruments and studio tools at Thomann, and he writes about what those numbers show: what got cheaper, what just arrived, and which discounts are real.
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