beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro Headphone Review

[jean-benoit]

i read somewhere that in the first few batches of the DT 1990 Pro, the treble wasnt as elevated as it is with the current/later produced models.
don't remeber from where i picked that information up, or if this was ever adressed/confirmed by beyerdynamic. but, i bought the DT 1990 Pro early and i never found the treble to be all that elevated – certainly no comparison to the treble level of the DT 770 or the newly released 770 Pro X LE.

however, the DT 1990 Pro (balanced pads) is still my favourite headphone i ever had and im not mad if it doesn't measure as well as i would have thought...

 

[juliangst]

The DT1990 Pro and Aeon Noire are my main headphones for listening at home.

Despite being objectively worse I still use my DT1990 95% of the time because the comfort is just way better with the Beyers.

And with some EQ they’re still one of the best headphones below <400€ for their comfort, build quality and ease of use imho.

I‘ve never noticed any distortion at those resonances or in the bass but for bass heavy music I prefer the Aeons anyways.

 

[anphex]

I had them a while ago and thought I got the holy grail of best value headphones ...
Ah, times before ASR were wild.

 

[Robbo99999]

Definitely better headphones out there for the money! Wow, look at that Mount Beyer too! Bass distortion an additional nail in the coffin. It'll have to be a "Not Terrible" from me.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Btw, those earpads may be comfortable, but they look like the fabric used to make dog beds. Bet they smell like it after a few uses as well.

 

[SteveC]

I don't usually pipe in on headphone reviews (I think this is my first) but I'd think this is a good example of when to EQ based on the bass. I know they are already pretty low sensitivity cans but dialing down everything over, say, 50 Hz, to create the desired curve might be the better way to go. That let's the bass play in it's sweet spot.

 

[Metronomy]

Lately I just don't understand the headphone reviews. Already with Austrian Audio rejected a headphone that in my opinion and also of others sounds very good. So is this Beyer beyond the instrumental measures pleasant or does it really suck?

 

[Steven Holt]

What is the buzz around this headphone?

Amir, that is a good question. From my (limited) investigation, this 'phone seems to have a 'signature sound' that many, if not most, like. Also, the boutique name Beyerdynamic also helps it (as an analogy, think Rolex of the watch world). And all the SUBJECTIVE reviews are positive, which may influence opinion. THANK YOU for peeling back the onion and giving us the unvarnished truth -- it's going to save a lot of people a lot of money.

 

[Chillazar]

I voted "fine" because I like companies that basically let you built the headphones from scratch with their spare part shop. Built quality of this thing is pretty good and sound wise there's a lot worse out there. I'm also biased because I'm German but I don't own them. I only have the DT990 Edition which I bought a shop-customized model from.

 

[Thomas_A]

Precisely what I was thinking as I was typing the review. What is the buzz around this headphone?

To be fair the HP has good performance between 100-4000 Hz and decent up to 6000 Hz. It is above that it fails - the HF peak is a no-no if you are using it without EQ. Bass is weaker, but those who like HD600 as is should have no problem with the bass in these.

Spoiler: The better Beyerdynamics IMO

(I think the better Beyerdynamics frequency-wise are the
Beyerdynamic DT240 Pro (which you measured here on another fixture)
Beyerdynamic DT250
Beyerdynamic DT150 with DT100 pads (which I think you have somewhere))

 

[Curupira]

IMO Beyerdynamic has had the biggest fall from grace since Harman and GRAAS measurements started being commonplace inside the community and competition rose with more compliant headphones.

They are indeed from the wild-west era of headphones designs, but even then they weren't terrible, in fact, they were some of the best around. The DT880, for instance, is a quintessential vintage headphone whose initial designs can be traced back to the 1980's. My first "hi-fi" headphones were, in this sense, a pair of Dt880@600 ohms, and they rocked my world back then, right up until I got the Sennheiser HD600, it's main competitor (together with the AKG 7XX line). Moreover, the company is a staple of German audio, their microphones and monitoring headphones like the DT770 being commonplace among the studio industry.

With the emergence of measurements and other well-behaved headphones though, they stopped making sense in today's market, which is indeed a shame. What puzzles me most about their new and current designs are the null resonances present in most of the closed models and even in some open ones, they make it seem that they don't properly measure the prototypes, or if they do, they just don't think people will care.

Even with all of that in mind though, I tend to agree with @solderdude in saying that at normal levels and with EQ and/or mods to tame the treble peak they sound fine, as much as other models: I just bought the first T1, which I always drooled over while but never had the funds to buy, and with those modifications in place they are as good as my other dynamics; aditionally, I'd say that their standard for build quality shames other new and harman compliant companies, like Hifiman.

 

[AdamG]

A trifecta weekend

I stand corrected. Going back to double check and I realized Amir hit us with a “Perfecta”. So delighted I lost count.

 

[ehabheikal]

I almost voted fine, for being fairly easy to get good sound out of at moderate volumes (such as my own listening preferences), but settled on fair instead. You just get too high a level of distortion at this high a price.

I will say that they have a reputation for longevity, but so does Sennheiser. The HD 600/650 and the HD 560s are all much better tuned out of the box as well, while being less expensive.

The two Beyerdynamic sets I'd love to see reviewed are the closed back DT 770 Pro and DT 700 Pro X. They might have lower distortion since the closed back design would help with bass, and no closed Beyers have ever been reviewed here. I just wish they were big enough for my ears (approximately 63mm tall ears don't feel comfortable in 56mm diameter cups).

ali think the 770 is meaured on rtings

 

[Doodski]

I can’t stand the highs without EQ but with EQ, I quite like them with tight bass (to me). And they are built like a tank.

WEIGHT HEADPHONES WITHOUT CABLE 370 g - Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro.
(My Sennheiser HD 598SR weigh 337g with the cable.)
Safe to say the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro have more metal and a heavier build.
The Application is interesting.>>>

 

[Doodski]

How was the headphone cable @amirm? Was it noisy on human contact/impact or dead silent?

 

[juliangst]

With my pair I only get mild microphonics above the coiled section of the cable but never noticed any microphonics when listening.

The Dt1990 cable and other beyer cables for that matter easily are my favourite headphone cables.
The coiled cable is extremely useful when you need to stand up but don't want to take off your headphones. The coiled section also never gets in the way.
The only disadvantage is that you're stuck with unbalanced connection but most modern headphone amps (even portable dongles) should be able to provide enough power

 

[Veri]

I had them a while ago and thought I got the holy grail of best value headphones ...
Ah, times before ASR were wild.

..So, which phones are you rocking now?

 

[Doodski]

With my pair I only get mild microphonics above the coiled section of the cable but never noticed any microphonics when listening.

The Dt1990 cable and other beyer cables for that matter easily are my favourite headphone cables.

My Sennheiser HD 598SR cable is dead silent. It's a major feature I think.

The coiled cable is extremely useful when you need to stand up but don't want to take off your headphones. The coiled section also never gets in the way.

Y U C K... I hate coiled cables. LoL.

The only disadvantage is that you're stuck with unbalanced connection but most modern headphone amps (even portable dongles) should be able to provide enough power

Yes, a major consideration but I think my Schiit headphone amp can manage it.

 

[juliangst]

My Sennheiser HD 598SR cable is dead silent. It's a major feature I think.

I can only hear the cable if I heavily rub my nails against it and have no music playing so I don't cosider it as an issue.

Y U C K... I hate coiled cables. LoL.

Mostly a preference thing I guess. My first ever 'audiophile' headphones were Dt990 so I basically 'grew up' with the coiled cable.

Yes, a major consideration but I think my Schiit headphone amp can manage it.

The Schiit Magni should give you more power than you need. I'm using a Topping A30 Pro at Medium gain and can't push the volume near 12 o'clock.
According to Amir's review the A30 Pro outputs 50mW at 300 Ohms at Medium gain at max volume (5 o'clock on the knob)

 

[usern]

Lately I just don't understand the headphone reviews. Already with Austrian Audio rejected a headphone that in my opinion and also of others sounds very good. So is this Beyer beyond the instrumental measures pleasant or does it really suck?

Youtubers echochamber, it looks good - great B-roll shots. I almost got them because they looked good and got good subjectivist reviews. But none of the youtubers actually measure DISTORTION at high SPL. If there is no flaws in Amir's measurement, it shows you can't drive these headphones loud with boosted bass EQ. But you can do it with cheaper (even Beyers DT 700/900 X) heapdhones that have better distortion behaviour.