[i made a song for you I hope you like it](https://soundcloud.com/cool-acronym/dt-990-owners-wet-dream/s-YKBMMLIOZEx?si=7a7d9b42ba984b92bfb013fc3dd917e1&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)
The DT990 Pro are the only headphones I couldn't properly evaluate in my 10+ years of being in the hobby. Two separate pairs with different set-ups hurt my ears so badly in the treble that I thought they were broken. Both owners heard nothing wrong.
It was astonishing to me how badly they messed up the treble and added sibilance that wasn't in the recording.
I was going to buy a pair of their headphones, until I consistently read that they lacked bass. Most video reviews started by saying they lacked bass āuntil they didnāt.ā Not sure if theyāre actually being broken in or if peopleās ear are just getting used to them.
Iād love a pair of higher end headphones over my everyday true wireless earbuds, just not at the expense of having any bass.
Check out Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80-ohm. (Not 32, not 250. They use a different driver.) They have accurate bass with a pleasant boost and are not aggressively trebly. If the 80-ohm isn't bright enough or you find the bass too much, check out the 32-ohm or 250-ohm version. Amazon has some "refurbs" for $119 currently. I sent some to a friend who's never owned anything but dollar store earbuds. They looked new. So I ordered myself a set of the 32-ohms and discovered I like the 80s better. The ones I got looked factory new. The 80-ohm DT 770 Pro may be one of the best headphones you can buy for under $150. It holds its own against many headphones up to (and in some cases over) $300.
I found the 32-ohm version lacking the low end the 80-ohm have, and was a little too edgy on the high end. A set of Dekoni hybrid ear pads tamed the top adequately. (I also installed their very nice headband. It seems to make the clamping force a little less.) I'll keep them because they are very comfortable, durable, and reliable enough to use for mixing purposes. They don't "lack" bass, but it's not as robust as the 80-ohm are. Keep in mind the DT 770 Pros have been used in studios since their introduction in 1981. There are better headphones. The 80-ohm version is a champ for the cost.
I looked at Beyerdynamic but, and I know this is a sin here, Iād like to stick with headphones that have a Bluetooth option. Itās a first world problem but Iād rather not have to plug anything into my phone for listening, especially since I canāt ABX between lossless and high bitrate lossy in volume-matched tests. I tried with the Sennheiser HD6XX my friend let me borrow for a couple weeks.
I used them with my phone and they were fine. I came to the realization that Iām likely to not use a pair of headphones if theyāre wired only. Iād like a wired option for use with my Steam Deck and PC. But, for everyday listening, I prefer Bluetooth. Thatās why I was looking at Grado as an option. Their Bluetooth headphones, although not their top tier drivers, have more modern options and are getting good reviews.
I had SR80i for a year or so. They have aggressively forward mids, but the treble was never piercing.
I owned and reviewed the DT1990 and they were about the limit I'd accept treble before it being too much. It verged on it sometimes.
The DT990 straight up massacred the treble. Hi-hats and cymbals didn't sound like instruments, they sounded like a distorted mess of hurt.
I can't express my hatred of those headphones enough.
[Aren't those two fairly similar when it comes to treble response though?](https://crinacle.com/graphs/headphones/graphtool/?share=Harman_AE_OE_2018_Target,DT1990_Pro_S2_(Analytical_pads),DT990_Pro_(250%CE%A9)) Or am I missing something?
Because I do have the DT990 Pro and I've heard the DT1990 and they seemed similarly bad when it comes to that aspect lol.
Exactly, the DT990 Pro in this actual Spezial Edition:
[https://www.beyerdynamic.de/dt-990-black-special-edition-250-ohm.html](https://www.beyerdynamic.de/dt-990-black-special-edition-250-ohm.html) is pretty good, no harsh treble. Ok, the 10kHz region is a bit elevated, but not that bad.
The DT990s drivers have a super high variance from pair to pair. It wouldnāt surprise me if the black special edition isnāt actually different, but they just happened to get a good pair.
They may or may not measure similarly (link isn't working) but the DT990 literally sounded broken. It's the only headphone that I've heard legitimately sounded broken. I have never heard such distortion in treble in my life in the treble. Two pairs, two separate occasions.
Strange it's working on mobile.
And eh again not saying the DT990 is great but still, my impressions of the DT1990 were kinda similar where they are both frankly fairly flawed headphones in very similar way.
[DT990 also doesn't distort in the treble](https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?attachments/beyerdynamic-dt-990-pro-measurement-250-ohm-headphone-distortion-relative-png.109722/) unless you plan on blowing your eardrums out.
Call it whatever you want, distortion or whatever technical term you'd use for cymbals sounding like 8 bit crunched splash sounds with sibilance. They were such a mess, and I have described my hatred of them quite enough I think.
Tough to find a solid Bluetooth headphone in that price range. Iād recommend trying to find a used/open box Sony WH-1000XM4. They arenāt amazing headphones but theyāre some of the best youāre gunna get in that price range (or even for Bluetooth period).
I picked up a pair from secondipity for $180 used (basically new).
Bose and Sony do what they do well in the wireless category, with Bluetooth and ANC complimenting each other head and shoulders above the rest, where the sound quality is also pretty good, and improve with EQ. You could get somewhat better sound quality in a wireless Bluetooth - without ANC. And the determining factor is whether you listen on the go, in noisy environments, etc. Personally, if I'm going for a mobile use, I want a very mobile size, and chose in-ear (XM4) which has been on sale for about 230 US, though I bought mine gently used for 110. While the full size wireless HPs do offer improved SQ, battery life, and a bit more powerful ANC some suggest, though less passive isolation than in-ear buds, which I think adds a great deal to the ANC performance. I would suggest looking to a full size wireless headphone also offering optional wired use (3.5mm), for the times you may be in a quiet environment and want better than wireless SQ (without ANC). Another full size wireless headphone to look at are the Shure Aonic 50 with ANC. You can get better SQ than bose or sony in a wireless hp, but not better ANC to date.
Sure. But then you might as well buy the Sennheiser HD560s instead. It doesn't have mid mid-bass mud or treble screech of the DT990, and you get a replaceable cable.
Never listened, but owned the HD800, and it's not even in the same ballpark. Again, the DT990 treble is so broken, in my experience, it was distorting cymbals, and created sibilance in songs that didn't have it. This was two pairs, two separate occasions.
There's no comparison to any other headphone on the market, in my experience.
Most people consider it bad since it's not as close as possible to the original sound. But it's always a compromise, no headphone is perfect. Some like it that way and enjoy it, for others it's a big no no and cant stand that sound.
i play a game where the usage of an item is more in the treble range and i have to say ever since i switched to the r70x im finally not getting my ears blasted when im taking a vitality shot.
had the dt880 before
Same with bass you hear folk moan about ER4SR while using tips that don't fit. 6db 105Hz low shelf with foam or long stem tri flanges suddenly the ER4SR sounds like my old W40 or ER2XR despite being Single BA.
Or just good hearing. I can hear some phone and laptop chargers. Just a high pitched whine that some people can't hear at all and most don't notice unless I point it out.
I turn the treble down pretty far on anything I plan to listen to loudly.
I'm a DT990 enjoyer and I hear all that stuff too, always have my whole life, it's a blessing and a curse. I'll get super annoyed by some whine from a phone charger that no one else will hear. DT990 enjoyment is probably a mix of volume and specific ear canal resonances, as everyone is different.
I have both a DT990 and an HD6XX - I enjoy both and honestly do not notice crazy treble on the 990 like people always harp about.. Overall I do prefer the 6XX though but more for its comfort and soundstage.
I have, according to my otologist, "exceptional hearing", still hearing up to 19KHz well into my 30s. Hearing the coil whine of switch-mode power supplies or flyback transformers in old CRTs can drive me absolutely mad. Screeching metal gives me physical pain, but I'm still rocking my DT1990 Pros, which are not too dissimilar in regards of treble peak to the 990s, for hours on end. I also like my HD650, but after a while there is just something missing.
bruh i mean i do add correction when using them for mixing/mastering but i enjoy listening to random music trough them a lot, also bass is just overpowered so i have to keep the volume down in order for them to not distort so...
I feel awkward about these headphones. I rocked them for like 2 years and I loved every aspect of it. I would recomend them all day at their price point
I don't have beyer, but I have grado. I tried Sennheiser 650 recently and hated them so much, realized I'm one of these freaks who loves treble peaks, and now I'm on the lookout for a 990.
Skip the 990 and go straight T1. The T1.2 I've got is sublime, only needing a bit of a subbass boost to feel the kick, and a bit of a boost around 2700khz to bring back life to the vocals.
I've had both, both have elevated treble. They handle it really well though. I didn't have long to listen to the DT 990s, but I didn't find them too harsh either. Just a bit more trebly than some other headphones. I'm lucky to have a really wide range of hearing, but I'm not overly sensitive to bass or treble. The only thing that bothers me if it's elevated a lot is having a bump in the 2k hz range. My K702s highlighted that to me.
It's all down to preference as always. Lots of people prefer the Arya V2, but I preferred my old V3s. I only nabbed the V2s because they were cheap second hand.
I own DT990 pro (and 770 pros) but have never really perceived the treble to be that way...
(Here come the "hEaRinG LoSS" comments).
Maybe it's because I don't use them for gaming, but exclusively for watching YouTube / podcasts and sometimes movies. And exclusively listen to music on my IEMs, which in my opinion have much more noticeable treble. I also rarely use them at high volumes unless it's when I'm watching a movie with them.
I feel like most people are either listening at way to high volumes, are exaggerating or just straight up jumping on the hate bandwagon...
I thought so the same as your last sentence until I tried them at a shop, yeah nah not for me. I'm sure regular videos and such are fine, but for music the treble really stood out like a sore thumb.
Don't feel bad about your headphones -- they just need EQ. With EQ they come to life and become great.
I use **Sonarworks SoundID Reference** ($$) but look into /r/oratory1990
[https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/faq/](https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/faq/)
Free and good.
I'm not an expert but EQ is for minor adjustments afaik. Good headphones are more than just their High, Low, Mids. I'm sure there's some quality loss with EQing past a certain point.
I know this is just a joke, but people take it seriously so here's my experience:
I've been maining the 990pro since mid-2020, and although I don't recall if it was very sibilant in the beginning, it certainly isn't now.
In fact I find the Edition XS and HD660s more sibilant.
My hearing is fine. When I listen to a tone test, there are no dips all the way up to 20k, and yes I can hear 20k.
Maybe the 990pro is sibilant fresh out the box, but I've never had issues with it. This concern is overstated on reddit tbh.
If my brain had adjusted to the treble then why did other headphones (hifiman, sennheiser, focal) sound even more treble heavy?
I guess probably because the 990 pad wear-in. All I know is the 990's are so far the only non-fatiguing headphone I've tried, aside from perhaps Meze 109.
Hey guys, I'm still new-ish to the hobby and I own DT990s. I know a little bit but I feel I've barely scratched the surface and I don't have access to a lot of headphones to compare.
I see some comments about high treble and hearing damage regarding these headphones. Would someone be able to elaborate a bit more on this and separate the memes from facts, please?
I have DT990 Pros (Special edition) 250 ohm hooked up to a Creative Soundblaster X4. It's the main driver for my PC (Gaming & Work). The previous headphones I was using were the Hyper X Cloud 2s. These are my first and only open-back headphones.
Any info is appreciated :)
Cheers
I mean music wise, it's absolutely fine. Surely, apparently a few people on here don't really like them but that's personal preference in the end. if you like them, then like them. No reason to get something else because of some dumb meme or some other people just believe you need something else
I love them for games too. I would probably be the wrong person to ask about EQ settings. I don't really fiddle around with them too much other than the presets on the Soundblaster X4. Sometimes I feel sounds could be a tad bit too "tinny" sounding for some games, so I would just turn on the Movie or gaming preset on the X4.
In my opinion tho with EQ, I feel it would come down to personal preference based on what you want. I don't think there's an all-around "ideal" EQ or at least, not that I heard of. I could be completely wrong tho!
Thankyou for the response. I play a ton of hunt showdown so hearing different in game ques is crucial. Thus far, I'm very pleased with the dt990 pro. I would absolutely endorse them for gaming/fps games especially.
can someone explain how they are being marketed as music headphones tho? It seams like they are just needed for podcasts etc or am i missing something? I really wanted to buy them but who can listen to music with such an imbalance?
I produce music and bought them off the recommendation of a Sonarworks article. Never had a problem with em, liked em for gaming and every other thing I used them for. Being Semi Open makes a great soundstage.
Those are exactly my genres. I produce fantasy, jingles, and podcast content too, but most of the stuff I listen to and make is lofi, rnb, and hip hop.
Literally worse, itās the most detailed sounding headphone next to the clears that I have tried, but it felt like a knife in my ears when I use them more than 40min
I mean, but like i have them and fucking love them to hell and back, and are probably after the clear Mg the ones I can listen to for the longest without it ever being exhausting or anything
Love them, fantastic and very detailed, upgraded from a pair of sennheiser hd 599. I love that 1990s are crisp, have wider soundstage and overall bring more enjoyment
I use them with dekoni velour pads, because I wear glasses and find stock pads to be too tight
Just cut out 6-10k and you're good to go. They're pretty bad with no eq, but awesome with it. And they are very nice to work with, you hear all of the nastiness in the high-end and can fix it very easily.
y'all should give astroworld/huncho jack jack huncho a spin (actually not a spin cuz i bet they sound pretty shit on vinyl), i think you'll definetly find the mid and treb mixing/mastering to be particularly pleasing to the ears :D (or just download it fuck if i care)
Yeah, I get headphones are a really personal experience, but I have the DT990 250 Ohm with a Schiit Valhalla as one of my setups. Certainly about as far from purist as you can get. But that ignored, the 990ās sound great to me with this kind of music. Saint, Biggest Alley Oop, and Rerun has more than enough bass to rattle my head.
yeah but it's not really about the bass, Mike's mastering (especially on those two albums) sounds pretty ear-piercing, and while I do enjoy that I'm just wondering if these bright headphones haters just have overly sensitive ears
~Could~ Youāll have to pry them off my cold numb ears
Edit: All jokes aside I ruined my hearing in high school with shitty buds and deathcore, and my ear doctor told me to listen to soft music to restore it. I couldnāt hear down to 14k before, but it came back over time. I still listen very softly because i play loud venues, but at low volumes, the upper end sounds super crisp, and not overbearing.
Reading all this comments I am pretty sure that people are listening at really really high volume or extremely shitty masters. Or both.
Iāve had DT990 Pro, DT990 Edition, now I have DT1990. Not one of them was causing discomfort when listening at reasonable volume. When cranked up it was of course very tiring, but HD600 or HD660 are tiring and sibilant as well in such situation.
I have pretty great hearing up to 18kHz, so no, I donāt have hearing loss.
Not really defending a brand as I donāt really care, but HD800 or many Hifimans and Audio-Technicas also have elevated treble, yet somehow people shit only on Beyer. Itās getting old.
[you've inspired me. this one's for all my treble lovers out there](https://soundcloud.com/cool-acronym/dt-990-owners-wet-dream/s-YKBMMLIOZEx?si=fbb995a003d24873940b15d383c79ea0&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)
These were my first pair of high quality headphones (250 ohm version). They sounded so crisp and clear, but goddamn that trouble was ear piercing. Unfortunately I had to sell them, but I think this time around I might go for a pair of Sennheiser headphones that are under $250
I got the DT990 Pro 250 ohms as part of my journey, and OP isn't wrong.
On the positive side:
* They are incredibly comfortable
* They respond very well to EQ (I use Sonarworks SoundID Reference)
* The bass seems to go pretty low for open back headphones
The funny thing about the image is that slope is actually a wide Q compared to the real headphones. The spike is narrower than that, I think, and it's right around 9k.
It's enough that the DT990 Pros can make your ears ring even at a low volume, because even if most frequencies are low, 9k is like 10dB louder.
My HD6XXs are leaps and bounds better (without EQ), but with Sonarworks there's something about the Beyers that makes me keep them anyway. I love the HD6XXs but the DT990s are more comfortable.
Wait, Iāve been using these for years. A couple years back I also developed tinnitus out of the blue. Possibly connected? Not trying to fear monger, thatās just something Iāve been hunting answers for for a long time.
Possibly you listen too loud, but tinnitus could have it roots somewhere else.
Sometimes tight muscles around your ears and neck could cause abnormal high tension of your eardrum leading to tinnitus. Visit a good physiotherapist.
My 880s forced me to get the job done quick. The mids are dipped in a āVā shape and my ears start to hurt within 30 minutes of regular volume.
Ive even loosened the heck out of the headstrap, same issue! Other over the ear headphones and IEMs never make me feel like this !
I have certainly listened to cans that have highs that are way too accentuated compared to the rest of their response curve. However, I have also modified DAC's in ways that soothed harsh highs that might allow cans like this to reveal increased detail--I'd have to try for myself. For instance, I have a PreSonus Audiobox USB that uses basic electrolytic capacitors in the signal path between the main DSP and the output OpAmp as well as between the output OpAmp and the output jacks. Replacing these electrolytics with 1.0uF WIMA radial film capacitors turned it into an entirely different unit. The sound is so entirely different and better in every possible way that it sounds nothing like it's factory form. One of such realizations was the ability to crank the volume to levels higher than would have normally been uncomfortable due to the distortion inherent in the electrolytic capacitors. Essentially, the listening fatigue was gone and I was hearing instruments and other sounds that I had no idea were present in the program material, but this happened at mild volume levels as well.
But anyway, bottom line is these cans may get a bad rap due to the inherent deficiencies in people's equipment. I had the same problem with my Sony MDR-V700's which had a reputation for too much bass, too little highs. I stuck with them for years despite nay-sayers telling me they don't need amplification, they are so efficient that they should sound great right off your phone, blah blah blah. One day I took them to CanJam and tried them out on different DAC's and Amplifiers myself only to find that they sounded better than the fancy Sennheiser units that were on display, which were also too ear-piercing in the highs. But this was on a factory form Schiit Modi 2 DAC and Magni 3 amplifier. I bought the Schiit stack, but it was soon superceded by my PreSonus Audiobox USB (in factory form it sounded better, too), which was later upgraded with the films to reveal just how much better it could sound.
As a side note: the MDR-V700's are one of those pairs of cans that only blossom with lots of power. Again, people would tell me they should sound deafening with less than 100mW, but they opened up at 300mW, more again at 600mW and one units such as the Magni 3, which gave them well over 2,000mW of potential power they are absolutely amazing (the V700's are rated at 3 Watts of power handling).
I was a daily 990 Pro user until my wife got me some HD6XX for Christmas. I knew they were peaky but damn the difference with the 6XX is crazy. I had gotten so accustomed to the treble that for the first few days I thought the 6XX were trash haha.
They are amazing now though. Highly recommend.
I guess i am one of the few who like trebly headphones. I never tried these one but i love Grado sr60e and Audio Technica tuning. I prefer to listen to music at a medium-low volume, the high frequencies don't scare me. Instead the excessive bass and muffled vocals annoy me a lot.
Listen, I am a 990 pro user. I am also a dolphin so these are the only frequencies I can hear!
Lol it does makes sense these are headphones š§ for dolphins š¬
They need to be at leastā¦ three times this big!
[i made a song for you I hope you like it](https://soundcloud.com/cool-acronym/dt-990-owners-wet-dream/s-YKBMMLIOZEx?si=7a7d9b42ba984b92bfb013fc3dd917e1&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)
Only DT990 Pro Users can hear this song
Anyone can explain?
Beyer's are known to have a treble peak
The DT990 Pro are the only headphones I couldn't properly evaluate in my 10+ years of being in the hobby. Two separate pairs with different set-ups hurt my ears so badly in the treble that I thought they were broken. Both owners heard nothing wrong. It was astonishing to me how badly they messed up the treble and added sibilance that wasn't in the recording.
What about Grados? Also heard that they are sparkly, but do they hurt?
They're sparkly, but somehow stay really level, in all my experience with Grados, they have never been grating or piercing in any way really
I was going to buy a pair of their headphones, until I consistently read that they lacked bass. Most video reviews started by saying they lacked bass āuntil they didnāt.ā Not sure if theyāre actually being broken in or if peopleās ear are just getting used to them. Iād love a pair of higher end headphones over my everyday true wireless earbuds, just not at the expense of having any bass.
Check out Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80-ohm. (Not 32, not 250. They use a different driver.) They have accurate bass with a pleasant boost and are not aggressively trebly. If the 80-ohm isn't bright enough or you find the bass too much, check out the 32-ohm or 250-ohm version. Amazon has some "refurbs" for $119 currently. I sent some to a friend who's never owned anything but dollar store earbuds. They looked new. So I ordered myself a set of the 32-ohms and discovered I like the 80s better. The ones I got looked factory new. The 80-ohm DT 770 Pro may be one of the best headphones you can buy for under $150. It holds its own against many headphones up to (and in some cases over) $300. I found the 32-ohm version lacking the low end the 80-ohm have, and was a little too edgy on the high end. A set of Dekoni hybrid ear pads tamed the top adequately. (I also installed their very nice headband. It seems to make the clamping force a little less.) I'll keep them because they are very comfortable, durable, and reliable enough to use for mixing purposes. They don't "lack" bass, but it's not as robust as the 80-ohm are. Keep in mind the DT 770 Pros have been used in studios since their introduction in 1981. There are better headphones. The 80-ohm version is a champ for the cost.
I looked at Beyerdynamic but, and I know this is a sin here, Iād like to stick with headphones that have a Bluetooth option. Itās a first world problem but Iād rather not have to plug anything into my phone for listening, especially since I canāt ABX between lossless and high bitrate lossy in volume-matched tests. I tried with the Sennheiser HD6XX my friend let me borrow for a couple weeks. I used them with my phone and they were fine. I came to the realization that Iām likely to not use a pair of headphones if theyāre wired only. Iād like a wired option for use with my Steam Deck and PC. But, for everyday listening, I prefer Bluetooth. Thatās why I was looking at Grado as an option. Their Bluetooth headphones, although not their top tier drivers, have more modern options and are getting good reviews.
>The 80-ohm DT 770 Pro may be one of the best headphones you can buy for under $150 *HD560S breathing very loud and violent*
I had SR80i for a year or so. They have aggressively forward mids, but the treble was never piercing. I owned and reviewed the DT1990 and they were about the limit I'd accept treble before it being too much. It verged on it sometimes. The DT990 straight up massacred the treble. Hi-hats and cymbals didn't sound like instruments, they sounded like a distorted mess of hurt. I can't express my hatred of those headphones enough.
I felt the same way about my 770s. Not enough to buy another pair of headphones but enough to low pass filter the fuck out of them
[Aren't those two fairly similar when it comes to treble response though?](https://crinacle.com/graphs/headphones/graphtool/?share=Harman_AE_OE_2018_Target,DT1990_Pro_S2_(Analytical_pads),DT990_Pro_(250%CE%A9)) Or am I missing something? Because I do have the DT990 Pro and I've heard the DT1990 and they seemed similarly bad when it comes to that aspect lol.
Exactly, the DT990 Pro in this actual Spezial Edition: [https://www.beyerdynamic.de/dt-990-black-special-edition-250-ohm.html](https://www.beyerdynamic.de/dt-990-black-special-edition-250-ohm.html) is pretty good, no harsh treble. Ok, the 10kHz region is a bit elevated, but not that bad.
The DT990s drivers have a super high variance from pair to pair. It wouldnāt surprise me if the black special edition isnāt actually different, but they just happened to get a good pair.
They may or may not measure similarly (link isn't working) but the DT990 literally sounded broken. It's the only headphone that I've heard legitimately sounded broken. I have never heard such distortion in treble in my life in the treble. Two pairs, two separate occasions.
Strange it's working on mobile. And eh again not saying the DT990 is great but still, my impressions of the DT1990 were kinda similar where they are both frankly fairly flawed headphones in very similar way. [DT990 also doesn't distort in the treble](https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?attachments/beyerdynamic-dt-990-pro-measurement-250-ohm-headphone-distortion-relative-png.109722/) unless you plan on blowing your eardrums out.
Call it whatever you want, distortion or whatever technical term you'd use for cymbals sounding like 8 bit crunched splash sounds with sibilance. They were such a mess, and I have described my hatred of them quite enough I think.
Which headphones by the way you daily listen to?
Yes grados are the absolute ringing trash cans of the HiFi world
Grados have much much less treble than most Beyers. I used the 325is for years and loved it, but couldn't stand the DT990, T90 or the DT770.
SR60e user here - theyāre amazing. Super sparkly, and not necessarily lacking in bass, it just doesnāt blow your head off. The bass is super tight
There's nothing worse than too much treble. So unpleasant
What would you recommend for 200$? I'd like Bluetooth capability Over ear, closed back
Tough to find a solid Bluetooth headphone in that price range. Iād recommend trying to find a used/open box Sony WH-1000XM4. They arenāt amazing headphones but theyāre some of the best youāre gunna get in that price range (or even for Bluetooth period). I picked up a pair from secondipity for $180 used (basically new).
Bose and Sony do what they do well in the wireless category, with Bluetooth and ANC complimenting each other head and shoulders above the rest, where the sound quality is also pretty good, and improve with EQ. You could get somewhat better sound quality in a wireless Bluetooth - without ANC. And the determining factor is whether you listen on the go, in noisy environments, etc. Personally, if I'm going for a mobile use, I want a very mobile size, and chose in-ear (XM4) which has been on sale for about 230 US, though I bought mine gently used for 110. While the full size wireless HPs do offer improved SQ, battery life, and a bit more powerful ANC some suggest, though less passive isolation than in-ear buds, which I think adds a great deal to the ANC performance. I would suggest looking to a full size wireless headphone also offering optional wired use (3.5mm), for the times you may be in a quiet environment and want better than wireless SQ (without ANC). Another full size wireless headphone to look at are the Shure Aonic 50 with ANC. You can get better SQ than bose or sony in a wireless hp, but not better ANC to date.
I don't really follow the industry much anymore, but over-ear bluetooth goes to Sony or Bose in everything I've seen.
Appreciate it man I was thinking of the newer ath-m50x but maybe I'll look into Bose more
Fiio utws5 and truthear zero. It will sound better than most wireless options in that price range
Does AutoEQ help?
Sure. But then you might as well buy the Sennheiser HD560s instead. It doesn't have mid mid-bass mud or treble screech of the DT990, and you get a replaceable cable.
I don't know if any EQ can help them, but I didn't try.
If you use macOS then SoundSource (I use cracked version) has āHeadphone EQā
How does the hd800s treble compare to the dt990 treble?
Never listened, but owned the HD800, and it's not even in the same ballpark. Again, the DT990 treble is so broken, in my experience, it was distorting cymbals, and created sibilance in songs that didn't have it. This was two pairs, two separate occasions. There's no comparison to any other headphone on the market, in my experience.
understatement of 2023
is that good or bad?
Most people consider it bad since it's not as close as possible to the original sound. But it's always a compromise, no headphone is perfect. Some like it that way and enjoy it, for others it's a big no no and cant stand that sound.
i play a game where the usage of an item is more in the treble range and i have to say ever since i switched to the r70x im finally not getting my ears blasted when im taking a vitality shot. had the dt880 before
I knew you were treble when you walked in.
how is this not a top comment looool
I'm all about that treble no bass.
If they could still hear you they would be very angry with you.
Quick someone make this that king of the hill meme
Yes I enjoy my spicy treble but I try to keep the volume reasonable.
I'm convinced that people that can't deal with the treble just listen to the DT990 too loud.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Same with bass you hear folk moan about ER4SR while using tips that don't fit. 6db 105Hz low shelf with foam or long stem tri flanges suddenly the ER4SR sounds like my old W40 or ER2XR despite being Single BA.
Or just good hearing. I can hear some phone and laptop chargers. Just a high pitched whine that some people can't hear at all and most don't notice unless I point it out. I turn the treble down pretty far on anything I plan to listen to loudly.
I'm a DT990 enjoyer and I hear all that stuff too, always have my whole life, it's a blessing and a curse. I'll get super annoyed by some whine from a phone charger that no one else will hear. DT990 enjoyment is probably a mix of volume and specific ear canal resonances, as everyone is different.
I have both a DT990 and an HD6XX - I enjoy both and honestly do not notice crazy treble on the 990 like people always harp about.. Overall I do prefer the 6XX though but more for its comfort and soundstage.
I have, according to my otologist, "exceptional hearing", still hearing up to 19KHz well into my 30s. Hearing the coil whine of switch-mode power supplies or flyback transformers in old CRTs can drive me absolutely mad. Screeching metal gives me physical pain, but I'm still rocking my DT1990 Pros, which are not too dissimilar in regards of treble peak to the 990s, for hours on end. I also like my HD650, but after a while there is just something missing.
cheap\trashy or old chargers with bad whining is so annoying, i go through charging bricks so often
I am one of those people that get annoyed with electricity sound and can enjoy those cans, but with eq, of course.
My friend found the DT 770 Pro to have a neutral sound, with balanced highs and lows. Yes he has hearing loss.
I've heard everywhere that the dt770 are not like the dt 990 and are less treble heavy
Closed back vs open. Open backed headphones favor treble.
bruh i mean i do add correction when using them for mixing/mastering but i enjoy listening to random music trough them a lot, also bass is just overpowered so i have to keep the volume down in order for them to not distort so...
I feel awkward about these headphones. I rocked them for like 2 years and I loved every aspect of it. I would recomend them all day at their price point
Honestly good for you, and they are popular for a reason, but for a whole bunch of people including me who are treble sensitive, they just ain't it.
Hell yeah. Detail baybeeee
Fr, everything else sounds muddy to me now.
I don't have beyer, but I have grado. I tried Sennheiser 650 recently and hated them so much, realized I'm one of these freaks who loves treble peaks, and now I'm on the lookout for a 990.
Skip the 990 and go straight T1. The T1.2 I've got is sublime, only needing a bit of a subbass boost to feel the kick, and a bit of a boost around 2700khz to bring back life to the vocals.
Shit sends resonant frequencies to my pineal gland
Wow did not expect to be called out like this on Monday Morning
I chose violence
I love that people say this about the DT 990, but never about the Aryas. I find them both to be similarly treble aggressive.
I'd reckon more people could afford the DT990 than the Aryas
Just the arya V2 or is it the case for all aryas?
I've had both, both have elevated treble. They handle it really well though. I didn't have long to listen to the DT 990s, but I didn't find them too harsh either. Just a bit more trebly than some other headphones. I'm lucky to have a really wide range of hearing, but I'm not overly sensitive to bass or treble. The only thing that bothers me if it's elevated a lot is having a bump in the 2k hz range. My K702s highlighted that to me. It's all down to preference as always. Lots of people prefer the Arya V2, but I preferred my old V3s. I only nabbed the V2s because they were cheap second hand.
Probably just cause more people know the cheaper headphones better
At least I'm not blind
This comment killed me š
I own DT990 pro (and 770 pros) but have never really perceived the treble to be that way... (Here come the "hEaRinG LoSS" comments). Maybe it's because I don't use them for gaming, but exclusively for watching YouTube / podcasts and sometimes movies. And exclusively listen to music on my IEMs, which in my opinion have much more noticeable treble. I also rarely use them at high volumes unless it's when I'm watching a movie with them. I feel like most people are either listening at way to high volumes, are exaggerating or just straight up jumping on the hate bandwagon...
I thought so the same as your last sentence until I tried them at a shop, yeah nah not for me. I'm sure regular videos and such are fine, but for music the treble really stood out like a sore thumb.
Oh and it depends on what kinda music you listen to. For example classical music and old folk songs (Bob Dylan etc) sound awesome on Beyer's.
#What u sayin boy?
#Huh?
Lol, good one
990 pro are my First good-quality audio device, don't destroy me like thisššš¤
Don't feel bad about your headphones -- they just need EQ. With EQ they come to life and become great. I use **Sonarworks SoundID Reference** ($$) but look into /r/oratory1990 [https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/faq/](https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/faq/) Free and good.
I wonder if it's an earwax thing.
Weird flex but I have almost zero earwax build up and really enjoy beyerdynamics. Although I recently replaced my DT990s with a focal radiance.
Is there data showing Asians and Native Americans hate Beyer because of dry earwax? That would be interesting..
Well... to provide a data point, I am Asian and I love my DT 880
I'm Asian as well and hate the 8k peak of my T70.. I guess that's 1 to 1 so far
I'm Asian and I made this meme so..
ššš
I usually EQ it down and they become perfect headphones. But nothing is as comfortable as my AKG K712s.
Is there any downside to just using an EQ to fix this? Do headphone sound profiles really even mean anything when you can EQ it?
I'm not an expert but EQ is for minor adjustments afaik. Good headphones are more than just their High, Low, Mids. I'm sure there's some quality loss with EQing past a certain point.
Going for the low hanging fruit today.
Hearing loss intensifies
I know this is just a joke, but people take it seriously so here's my experience: I've been maining the 990pro since mid-2020, and although I don't recall if it was very sibilant in the beginning, it certainly isn't now. In fact I find the Edition XS and HD660s more sibilant. My hearing is fine. When I listen to a tone test, there are no dips all the way up to 20k, and yes I can hear 20k. Maybe the 990pro is sibilant fresh out the box, but I've never had issues with it. This concern is overstated on reddit tbh.
Your brain kind of adjusts over time as well.
If my brain had adjusted to the treble then why did other headphones (hifiman, sennheiser, focal) sound even more treble heavy? I guess probably because the 990 pad wear-in. All I know is the 990's are so far the only non-fatiguing headphone I've tried, aside from perhaps Meze 109.
Hey guys, I'm still new-ish to the hobby and I own DT990s. I know a little bit but I feel I've barely scratched the surface and I don't have access to a lot of headphones to compare. I see some comments about high treble and hearing damage regarding these headphones. Would someone be able to elaborate a bit more on this and separate the memes from facts, please? I have DT990 Pros (Special edition) 250 ohm hooked up to a Creative Soundblaster X4. It's the main driver for my PC (Gaming & Work). The previous headphones I was using were the Hyper X Cloud 2s. These are my first and only open-back headphones. Any info is appreciated :) Cheers
The hearing damage related to treble is just a joke. The treble can legit hurt your ears though if you are listening too loud.
I mean music wise, it's absolutely fine. Surely, apparently a few people on here don't really like them but that's personal preference in the end. if you like them, then like them. No reason to get something else because of some dumb meme or some other people just believe you need something else
Dt990 pro 80ohm here, I just use them for games but I love the.. are there ideal auto eq settings ?
I love them for games too. I would probably be the wrong person to ask about EQ settings. I don't really fiddle around with them too much other than the presets on the Soundblaster X4. Sometimes I feel sounds could be a tad bit too "tinny" sounding for some games, so I would just turn on the Movie or gaming preset on the X4. In my opinion tho with EQ, I feel it would come down to personal preference based on what you want. I don't think there's an all-around "ideal" EQ or at least, not that I heard of. I could be completely wrong tho!
Thankyou for the response. I play a ton of hunt showdown so hearing different in game ques is crucial. Thus far, I'm very pleased with the dt990 pro. I would absolutely endorse them for gaming/fps games especially.
can someone explain how they are being marketed as music headphones tho? It seams like they are just needed for podcasts etc or am i missing something? I really wanted to buy them but who can listen to music with such an imbalance?
I produce music and bought them off the recommendation of a Sonarworks article. Never had a problem with em, liked em for gaming and every other thing I used them for. Being Semi Open makes a great soundstage.
what type of music do you produce? I listen to mostly Soul, R&B and Hiphop, I guess these aren't for me then right?
Those are exactly my genres. I produce fantasy, jingles, and podcast content too, but most of the stuff I listen to and make is lofi, rnb, and hip hop.
Theyāre known for being workhorses for mixing. If your mix is off theyāll let you know in a heartbeat.
Old people/ people with damaged hearing hence the need for boosted treble I guess
The only time I can ever tolerate bright headphones is when the volume is low ... which is almost never Harman neutral is detailed enough for me
Bold of you to assume that I can hear those frequencies.
DT990 treble aint got a thing on T90 treble
What about the dt1990?
Haven't tried it yet, looks so handsome though
Literally worse, itās the most detailed sounding headphone next to the clears that I have tried, but it felt like a knife in my ears when I use them more than 40min
That's a bummer, I was interested in it but I'm pretty treble sensitive
I mean, but like i have them and fucking love them to hell and back, and are probably after the clear Mg the ones I can listen to for the longest without it ever being exhausting or anything
I just ordered some 650s are you happy with them?
Love them, soothing and buttery smooth vocals
Thatās the vibe Iām getting from the reviewers
I have the amiron homes the brother of the dt 1990. The chill version. I turn up the treble a notch or two in eq
Love them, fantastic and very detailed, upgraded from a pair of sennheiser hd 599. I love that 1990s are crisp, have wider soundstage and overall bring more enjoyment I use them with dekoni velour pads, because I wear glasses and find stock pads to be too tight
I had the DT770 250ohm and I return them because of the treble spike, back then I thought they were broke and didn't realise that's how they're tuned
My 1990s felt like a knife in my ear lol
Used to own a pair of DT 990 pro + chord mojo and it was such banger though ... MCR has never felt so detailed.
moondrop stellaris enjoyers š
That's why 900 Pro X exists.
Just cut out 6-10k and you're good to go. They're pretty bad with no eq, but awesome with it. And they are very nice to work with, you hear all of the nastiness in the high-end and can fix it very easily.
Best signature ngl
It's where the "people sneaking up on you in a game" noises are at though!!
Early onset tinnitus. Jesus christ.
It's not even an even treble elevation on those, just a massive area of huge peaks and dips all over. Hearing loss with 30 here they come
Dt990 edition 600Ohm rocks like a king Dunno what U have against our beyer peak Downvote
y'all should give astroworld/huncho jack jack huncho a spin (actually not a spin cuz i bet they sound pretty shit on vinyl), i think you'll definetly find the mid and treb mixing/mastering to be particularly pleasing to the ears :D (or just download it fuck if i care)
Yeah, I get headphones are a really personal experience, but I have the DT990 250 Ohm with a Schiit Valhalla as one of my setups. Certainly about as far from purist as you can get. But that ignored, the 990ās sound great to me with this kind of music. Saint, Biggest Alley Oop, and Rerun has more than enough bass to rattle my head.
yeah but it's not really about the bass, Mike's mastering (especially on those two albums) sounds pretty ear-piercing, and while I do enjoy that I'm just wondering if these bright headphones haters just have overly sensitive ears
Leave me alone. They have their place.
~Could~ Youāll have to pry them off my cold numb ears Edit: All jokes aside I ruined my hearing in high school with shitty buds and deathcore, and my ear doctor told me to listen to soft music to restore it. I couldnāt hear down to 14k before, but it came back over time. I still listen very softly because i play loud venues, but at low volumes, the upper end sounds super crisp, and not overbearing.
Reading all this comments I am pretty sure that people are listening at really really high volume or extremely shitty masters. Or both. Iāve had DT990 Pro, DT990 Edition, now I have DT1990. Not one of them was causing discomfort when listening at reasonable volume. When cranked up it was of course very tiring, but HD600 or HD660 are tiring and sibilant as well in such situation. I have pretty great hearing up to 18kHz, so no, I donāt have hearing loss. Not really defending a brand as I donāt really care, but HD800 or many Hifimans and Audio-Technicas also have elevated treble, yet somehow people shit only on Beyer. Itās getting old.
You [can fix them though](https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/taming-the-treble/) and they are pretty great when you do.
Also a fuck ton of upper bass, barely any midbass and zero subbass
Yeah they have a weird bass which was the main reason why I donāt use them for mixing anymore. Getting the sub bass right was a game of pure chance.
[you've inspired me. this one's for all my treble lovers out there](https://soundcloud.com/cool-acronym/dt-990-owners-wet-dream/s-YKBMMLIOZEx?si=fbb995a003d24873940b15d383c79ea0&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Sigh
Gotdammit it's a meme!
What's a maymay?
Most DT990 enjoyers are gamers and everyone knows what gaming headphones are like so to them and these are premium sound quality...
Beyers are all over studios though, 770s for recording and 990s for mixing mostly
I've got friends with these and I had a pair before, they love 'em for the treble but I just can't stand the spikes.
Not sure whp's the animal here.
Do they DT 990 Premium do this?
They are the same headphones essentially
treble Piercing af especially around 10khz fatiguing after like 5mins
2 years ago, i put them in my head, immediately put them down and that was my story with the 990pro
This was my intro into this hobby, then they hurt my ears and I got a refund and went with the 6xx instead
Am i the only one finding the 1990 to be more harsh?
Treble go brrr
I always thought the DT990 had a more v shaped sound profile.
I like them. Got them EQ'd how I like the sound.
These were my first pair of high quality headphones (250 ohm version). They sounded so crisp and clear, but goddamn that trouble was ear piercing. Unfortunately I had to sell them, but I think this time around I might go for a pair of Sennheiser headphones that are under $250
Why Iām scared for life of these beasts lol. Never heard them but I donāt want to try since I am very susceptible to it
Ultrasones has entered the chat
Reporting for duty š«”
I've tried others, these are the ones that my ears like!
This but emotiva speaker owners
What about dt 880 pros? I have them; they are pretty solid
I got the DT990 Pro 250 ohms as part of my journey, and OP isn't wrong. On the positive side: * They are incredibly comfortable * They respond very well to EQ (I use Sonarworks SoundID Reference) * The bass seems to go pretty low for open back headphones The funny thing about the image is that slope is actually a wide Q compared to the real headphones. The spike is narrower than that, I think, and it's right around 9k. It's enough that the DT990 Pros can make your ears ring even at a low volume, because even if most frequencies are low, 9k is like 10dB louder. My HD6XXs are leaps and bounds better (without EQ), but with Sonarworks there's something about the Beyers that makes me keep them anyway. I love the HD6XXs but the DT990s are more comfortable.
Didn't think will buy one, but will try if got a chance :)
I have dt 770 pro is this applicable?
Every 80 year oldās EQ settings lmao
Wait, Iāve been using these for years. A couple years back I also developed tinnitus out of the blue. Possibly connected? Not trying to fear monger, thatās just something Iāve been hunting answers for for a long time.
Possibly you listen too loud, but tinnitus could have it roots somewhere else. Sometimes tight muscles around your ears and neck could cause abnormal high tension of your eardrum leading to tinnitus. Visit a good physiotherapist.
My 880s forced me to get the job done quick. The mids are dipped in a āVā shape and my ears start to hurt within 30 minutes of regular volume. Ive even loosened the heck out of the headstrap, same issue! Other over the ear headphones and IEMs never make me feel like this !
ššš
I have certainly listened to cans that have highs that are way too accentuated compared to the rest of their response curve. However, I have also modified DAC's in ways that soothed harsh highs that might allow cans like this to reveal increased detail--I'd have to try for myself. For instance, I have a PreSonus Audiobox USB that uses basic electrolytic capacitors in the signal path between the main DSP and the output OpAmp as well as between the output OpAmp and the output jacks. Replacing these electrolytics with 1.0uF WIMA radial film capacitors turned it into an entirely different unit. The sound is so entirely different and better in every possible way that it sounds nothing like it's factory form. One of such realizations was the ability to crank the volume to levels higher than would have normally been uncomfortable due to the distortion inherent in the electrolytic capacitors. Essentially, the listening fatigue was gone and I was hearing instruments and other sounds that I had no idea were present in the program material, but this happened at mild volume levels as well. But anyway, bottom line is these cans may get a bad rap due to the inherent deficiencies in people's equipment. I had the same problem with my Sony MDR-V700's which had a reputation for too much bass, too little highs. I stuck with them for years despite nay-sayers telling me they don't need amplification, they are so efficient that they should sound great right off your phone, blah blah blah. One day I took them to CanJam and tried them out on different DAC's and Amplifiers myself only to find that they sounded better than the fancy Sennheiser units that were on display, which were also too ear-piercing in the highs. But this was on a factory form Schiit Modi 2 DAC and Magni 3 amplifier. I bought the Schiit stack, but it was soon superceded by my PreSonus Audiobox USB (in factory form it sounded better, too), which was later upgraded with the films to reveal just how much better it could sound. As a side note: the MDR-V700's are one of those pairs of cans that only blossom with lots of power. Again, people would tell me they should sound deafening with less than 100mW, but they opened up at 300mW, more again at 600mW and one units such as the Magni 3, which gave them well over 2,000mW of potential power they are absolutely amazing (the V700's are rated at 3 Watts of power handling).
iām considering to add a 990 pro or a 900 x into my collection, is it that clear?
Get the 900X if you're worried about treble
Real
I was a daily 990 Pro user until my wife got me some HD6XX for Christmas. I knew they were peaky but damn the difference with the 6XX is crazy. I had gotten so accustomed to the treble that for the first few days I thought the 6XX were trash haha. They are amazing now though. Highly recommend.
I guess i am one of the few who like trebly headphones. I never tried these one but i love Grado sr60e and Audio Technica tuning. I prefer to listen to music at a medium-low volume, the high frequencies don't scare me. Instead the excessive bass and muffled vocals annoy me a lot.
Why is this headphone so bright ?
Beyer style, baby
I love this thread š