The reason they’re so

The reason they're so expensive is that they're a specialty item made for a very limited market (i.e. broadcast). Most of the units I'm familiar with start at $250 and go up from there.

I did come across a Stanton unit (less than $50 at Amazon) that may fit your needs but the specs on it are very limited so it's really hard to tell.

http://www.stantondj.com/stanton-headphones/djpro500mc.html

Mike