Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro Review (headphone)

[mysiak]

This foam disc is 4.5eur (+shipping) in my country, I was really curious what it will do to the sound, so I ordered a pair from the only official service center here (Beyerdynamic company refused to sell me anything directly, be it headphones or spare parts). It was 6 weeks ago and I haven't heard from them ever since, so I guess that I'm out of luck. I always took Beyerdynamic as easy to fix headphones with all parts available pretty much immediately, but that doesn't seem to be case (at least around here).

In each case, I am still interested to see some measurements when used on DT990.

 

[digitalfrost]

I ordered the foam disc, but I somehow managed to order only 1 . It was here in a couple of days. Costs 2,50€. Anyway, ordered a 2nd foam disc and also replacement pads since I'll have to remove them anyway.

 

[solderdude]

I ordered the foam disc, but I somehow managed to order only 1 . It was here in a couple of days. Costs 2,50€. Anyway, ordered a 2nd foam disc and also replacement pads since I'll have to remove them anyway.

Can you slip one of those discs in a regular envelope and ship to die Niederlande ?
I will pay for shipping both ways.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

I ordered the foam disc, but I somehow managed to order only 1 . It was here in a couple of days. Costs 2,50€. Anyway, ordered a 2nd foam disc and also replacement pads since I'll have to remove them anyway.

Do you only get 1 in a pack? Bugger!

I have a mate in Germany, so he's ordered one pack (now looks like only 1 pad) and is posting that to me. Much cheaper postage than direct.

 

[seerious]

@solderdude ... Sorry, I think you misunderstood me. My fault for a convoluted question.

I meant the NORMAL Beyerdynamic foam discs. Not the "special" acoustic foam used in the TYGR.

I don't feel like the normal foam do much of anything to change the FR, which is why I think they're perfect to use for comfort reasons on otherwise uncomfortable headphones (K371).

I guess I was just hoping to find some data to back up my *ahem* "feelings".

 

[solderdude]

I was interested in the new foam discs to see what they do.

I can measure my DT880 with and without foam. I don't think it will change much though.

 

[seerious]

I was interested in the new foam discs to see what they do.

I can measure my DT880 with and without foam. I don't think it will change much though.

My impression is... not much. I've swapped between "special" and normal foam on my TYGR's and I cannot detect any difference - except the normal driver foam is softer and allows more ear space.

Yeah that would be great if you could measure that.
Honestly, there are a lot of people out there who struggle with their ears hitting the drivers on certain headphones. Being able to recommend placing some nice soft ($2) foam pads over the driver, knowing that it would completely destroy the FR, would be pretty fantastic.

 

[solderdude]

The part after 5:21 should be left out IMHO.
The man clearly has some issues and is open about it.
It's not his fault.
He was born with it and really should not be judged on this aspect of his life.
I suggest to just keep it on a technical level.

 

[mysiak]

Thank you gents for your insights, I pulled the trigger and purchased Hifiman HE400se. I wanted to try planar headphones for some time already anyway, so I guess that now it's the right time. From reviews I understand that I should buy a new cable as well as the bundled one is a bit flimsy, but except the original Hifiman (~70eur) I can't find any alternative where I live, so I guess that I'll browse ali and wait a couple of months for the delivery. Anyway, that's a different story..

I'll let you all know how happy I am with my new headphones and how do they compare to DT990 once they arrive.

So as promised.. I just unpacked the headphones, put them on my head, connected them to my amp, started the music..and the left side is completely silent. Swapped the L/R connectors to rule out the cable issue, still dead. I read about dreadful quality control of Hifiman's, but it was supposed to be fixed with HE400i 2020 model..

Anyway, tried my "treble killer" track (Marilyn Manson - KILL4ME) with unequalized HE400se and it was painfull pretty much in the same way as unequalized DT990pro. I am well aware that trying just one side of the headphones fresh from the box is not really a conclusive test, but it certainly didn't fix what I was hoping for. If I must use equalizer, I might just as well keep DT990.

I might try luck with Sennheiser HD560s or more probably used HD650, but for the time being I am back to equalized DT990..

P.S. HE400se earpads and headband seemed more comfy than DT990, probably due to almost non-existent padding on my DT990's and higher quality foam on HE400se.

 

[cestmoi]

@mysiak

What a disappointment!
I'm really sorry you had such a problem!

I've read about QC problems related to HE 400 models before, but since my set works pretty well, I thought they were fixed.

 

[mysiak]

Thank you @cestmoi.

I wasn't really expecting DOA product and with this experience I can't really trust this brand. Beyerdynamic's have their own issues, but outside of pads replacement they work as when I purchased them more than 10 years ago. I guess that I'll stay with established brands in the future (even if they sometimes provide a little less "bang for the buck").

 

[solderdude]

So as promised.. I just unpacked the headphones, put them on my head, connected them to my amp, started the music..and the left side is completely silent. Swapped the L/R connectors to rule out the cable issue, still dead. I read about dreadful quality control of Hifiman's, but it was supposed to be fixed with HE400i 2020 model..

Anyway, tried my "treble killer" track (Marilyn Manson - KILL4ME) with unequalized HE400se and it was painfull pretty much in the same way as unequalized DT990pro. I am well aware that trying just one side of the headphones fresh from the box is not really a conclusive test, but it certainly didn't fix what I was hoping for. If I must use equalizer, I might just as well keep DT990.

I might try luck with Sennheiser HD560s or more probably used HD650, but for the time being I am back to equalized DT990..

P.S. HE400se earpads and headband seemed more comfy than DT990, probably due to almost non-existent padding on my DT990's and higher quality foam on HE400se.

Yes, the HE400SE has a substantial treble peak around 10kHz. HATS measurements won't show it because they have a dip there.

HD650 will sound midrangy, warm and a bit 'dark' in the treble compared to DT990.
HD560S will sound very forward/clear/somewhat 'shouty' compared to HE400SE and DT990

 

[mysiak]

Yes, the HE400SE has a substantial treble peak around 10kHz. HATS measurements won't show it because they have a dip there.

HD650 will sound midrangy, warm and a bit 'dark' in the treble compared to DT990.
HD560S will sound very forward/clear/somewhat 'shouty' compared to HE400SE and DT990

It's a bummer, but at the end it made me appreciate headphones I have and that with PEQ they are not that much different from for example HE400se. If I couldn't use PEQ it would be certainly a completely different situation though.

Just for anyone interested, I used these EQ settings (found them on another forum) to "fix" the frequency response of HE400se. Both headphones equalized, they sounded very similar at my listening volume level which is quite low for "audiophile" standards I guess (+I compared them with one ear only for obvious reasons ) . Comfort wise - HE400se are quite a lot heavier and they didn't really stay in place with my head movements, I am pretty sure that it would bother me after a few hours. Provided cable is bad joke (I didn't believe reviews, but it's really that bad). It seems that I am falling in love with my trusty DT990's again..

HE400se "treble fix" (sorry, can't remember whom to give the credits):

• 1900hz | Q=2 | +4db
• 4400hz | Q=4 | -5db
• 9100hz | Q=3 | -3db
• 11000hz | Q=2 | -2db
• 13000hz | Q=1.5 | -4db

 

[Robbo99999]

The part after 5:21 should be left out IMHO.
The man clearly has some issues and is open about it.
It's not his fault.
He was born with it and really should not be judged on this aspect of his life.
I suggest to just keep it on a technical level.

(and he's still young, he can make some changes)

 

[digitalfrost]

That was fairly easy. I used a knife to pry the ring loose that holds the foam pad, worked much better than a screwdriver. The new pads are much thicker now as the old ones had shrunk. Compare here, left new, right old:

As for sound, if anything I have more treble now, but I think that is due to the newer pads. But yeah, great thing to do, the new pads are appreciated as you can see the old ones were pretty dirty.

 

[mysiak]

@digitalfrost - so Amiron disc doesn't do anything to treble? Damn, I had my hopes really high for this to work in easy and elegant way (all sites compare it to the "toilet paper mod" which is known to work more or less fine).

 

[mysiak]

Yes, the HE400SE has a substantial treble peak around 10kHz. HATS measurements won't show it because they have a dip there.

HD650 will sound midrangy, warm and a bit 'dark' in the treble compared to DT990.
HD560S will sound very forward/clear/somewhat 'shouty' compared to HE400SE and DT990

I didn't comment your recommendation/description of Sennheisers, but out of these two, HD560S would be probably more to my sound preferences. I somehow forgot that I already have "warm/dark" headphones - Marshall monitor for listening on the go and I equalize them quite heavily to add more clarity/air (but obviously not up to DT990 levels). So I guess that warm/dark headphones are not really for me. They are surely less fatiguing, but without an EQ, I don't enjoy them as much (if at all).

Anyone willing to chime in on Fostex T20/50rp MK3 and how do they compare to DT990 please? I haven't completely given up on owning cheap planar headphones and these might be interesting after pads replacement (I was thinking about using Dekoni elite velour pads) + maybe some simple toilet paper mod (or just using EQ again).

I don't really need new headphones and I don't plan on getting rid of DT990 (just ordered new Dekoni pads and headband for them), but I have this itch to buy nice new (semi)open headphones with detachable cable (can't explain why)..

 

[digitalfrost]

@digitalfrost - so Amiron disc doesn't do anything to treble? Damn, I had my hopes really high for this to work in easy and elegant way (all sites compare it to the "toilet paper mod" which is known to work more or less fine).

I don't know. I replaced the pads as well and that has known consequences of increasing the treble so it's hard to tell.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

I don't know. I replaced the pads as well and that has known consequences of increasing the treble so it's hard to tell.

Wasn’t the idea to ADD the Amiron pads, rather than just replace the old ones?

 

[markanini]

Wasn’t the idea to ADD the Amiron pads, rather than just replace the old ones?

Sounds excessive. Does any production Beyerdynamic headphone use double or tripple pads?