Beyer Dynamic DT 990 Premium 600 OHM Headphones

Well...well...well...,  what can i say about the legendary  beyerdynamic)))) DT990/600; that i bought from B&H a few months ago?

How about... simply remarkable for the price/performance ratio.

The  journey actually begins with my firstly acquired audiophile headphone(which was also a Beyerdynamic) but it was the variant DT880/250ohm model.  I thought the 880's were superb,detailed, and crisp all-rounders,but my experience with them for the first 2 months(before purchasing the 990's shortly after) was that they were some-what lacking in the bass department, the musicality and the authoritative oomh seemed nowhere to be found.

The DT990 fix all that + give a much more in-depth realism feeling without any signs of being too bloated/over-aggressive.Granted, the mid-range on these headphones are not the best, they are still incredibly detailed, warm and inviting. Quite frankly, i think burn-in drastically opens up the mid range on these cans.  Fishsk113(a well known head-fi member who also loves the 990's) has said that within 100 hours or so, the mid range becomes more prominent; and I agree 100%..   I have read many many people commenting on the fact that the 990's bass was just too over-whelming and ruined the music for them.  It seems to me that they either a) had the inferior '250ohm' model'[which is known to have its errors]  or..b) The amping/sourcing was inadequate. or...c) The bass quantity wasn't their cup of tea.

From my perspective, I feel the bass on the 990's is "perfect" to my ears. Yeah, it has the characterisitics of a wild Kodo Beast(bad warcraft joke :P) and can get a bit thick and muffled on bad recording/bass heavy tracks,  but it's never over-emphasized in my opinion. Led Zeppelin has never sounded this awesome!. From the face melting mainstream guitar solos that will rock your socks, to the well balanced, low-end, soulful delicate sub bass sound spectrum of Classical Rock, the DT990's will never miss a beat as long as you stay true to your source.I remember going into discussions with driftingbunnies(another dt990 user who posts once in a while) he use to mention about the bass texture, quanity and quality of the Sennheiser HD650's. I recall him saying the Senn's had the quantity, but the beyer's had more refinement, better attack and a smoother rendering to it. I actually couldn't have said it better myself ! But i would love to try the 650 one day and do a full comparison of the two. 

TheWuss has the soundstage & misc areas covered, so I don't really feel the need to get into it too much + I could give my fingers a break ^_^  But let me tell you guys, the 990 scale extremely well with gaming and movies. The open airy atmosphere will leave you breathless; some days you might feel like hovering on water with all the much needed instrument seperation and crisp clean tracking. FPS games are a plus for these cans. If you play big hits like Modern Warfare 2 or Battlefield Bad Company 2, the indepth surround sound is phenomenal. The 880's might be more precise and have better accuracy, but gaming on the 990's is a dream come true. Throw in a decent tube amp in the mix and be astounded by the weight, body and circular bass motion that these headphone's will deliver. Truly immersive experience !

Conclusion: What can i say about the Beyer DT990's? They are one of the best headphones i have ever owned in my entire life. But people who want a neutral/balanced presentation should look away, as these are more of a muscially engagning, fun, dynamic, rhythmically fast paced headphone whilst still retaining most of its timbre, clarity and  over-all features that the younger DT880 brother possess. Honestly, It just can't get any better than the DT990's. Well.... it can. *hint hint* JVC DX1000 / Denon AH-D7000 *hint hint*, but why pay more when you can get something that hits the "sweet spot" and coasts 1/3 of the price? I'll be looking to upgrade my Little Dot Mark 3 amp to one of the Woo Audio models (preferably the wa6) in the near future, The thing i love about the Beyers is their hidden potential to sound incredibly eargasmic as the quality of the amp rises. Truly Terrific/Under-Appreciated headphone that will be in my stable for a very long time.

Beyerdynamic's headphones, in order of popularity, probably goes something like this: 

T1, DT880/600 ohm, and maybe then DT990/600 ohm.  Heck, some would put DT48, T50p, or others ahead of the DT990...

So the DT990 is somewhat under-appreciated.  However, a recent surge of interest at Head-Fi, possibly the result of outstanding prices at several vendors, led me to purchase these.  And boy am I ever glad I did.

So, this is my first review of any product at Head-Fi, and what better headphones to review for me than the DT990?

Of all the cans i own or have owned, these are my most favorite.  I find myself listening to them more than any other headphones in my stable (that includes DT880, K702, HD595, M50, and others).

So, what do the Beyer DT990/600 sound like?  Well, they have mondo bass.  So if you want a dead neutral set of cans, look elsewhere.  And they are a little brighter than neutral as well, to my ears.  So if you're very sensitive to that, look elsewhere.  And they have slightly recessed mids, so if you hate that, look elsewhere.  i know, it almost sounds like I'm bashing them.  I'm not, i just wanted to lay out the problems that listeners may perceive with these cans.

And now that those are out of the way, what's good about them?  Well, they have amazing imaging.  And they throw a more realistic soundstage, in my opinion, than any other headphones I've heard, and that also includes the K702.  And, the bass, if you can take it, will leave you slack-jawed.  It goes down deep, and will give you that near-subwoofer presentation, much like a denon and ultrasone.

The cans mate particularly well with music that isn't already bass strong, of course.  To my ears, they seem to pair excellently with classic rock.  Especially vocal -centric rock like The Beatles, for example.  Music like this allows their weaknesses to be waxed over and their strengths to shine.  For example, the bass guitar in early Beatles albums is low in the mix (to my taste), and the DT990s brings that out to a very satisfying degree.  Also, because the vocals are mixed high in these songs, the recessed mid is barely noticeable, if at all.

These cans are also the best built cans i've owned (along with the DT880s), and are supremely comfortable.  I can see where someone who has larger ears may have a problem with the depth of the ear cups, and their ears may touch the cushion at the back of the cup, but I personally don't experience this problem.

Also, to briefly compare these to the DT880s.  I will admit the DT880 is a more balanced can overall.  But, if you really like your bass, the DT880 will not provide the quantity or quality, much less the depth of bass that the DT990 does.  However, the DT880's mids are more in line with the rest of the frequency spectrum, and the highs are slightly less aggressive (and i do mean slightly). 

So, I can see where most would recommend the DT880 first and foremost.  But, if you're a closet basshead, these just may be your end-all open headphones...  If you're not a closet basshead, these just might turn you into one. 

First off, these aren't nearly as hard to drive as you'd assume from their impedance.  I was able to get decent volume out of everything I connected it to form a proper desktop amp, to straight out of the onboard sound from my netbook.  They are of course, not being driven properly from something without an adequate voltage swing, but neither are they useless without a beefy amp.

On to the meat of the review. "How do they sound," I hear you asking.  In one word, bright, or in two, very bright.  Their metaphorical albedo is off the charts.  The highs are quite pronounced, but in a very smooth and simultaneously crisp manner. Hardly peaky at all, without transient spikes leaving you constantly fiddling with the volume.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, the bass is simply amazing for an open headphone.  Its deep, plentiful, and tightly controlled, with the kind of snap you'd expect from a small sealed subwoofer.  It doesn't have the same quantity, but the quality is similar.  I'd still characterize them as bright because the treble substantially exceeds the bass.  The mids are recessed in the sense that they are softer than the ends of the spectrum, but they are very clear and not muddied by the bass at all.  At least at moderate volumes.  At higher volumes however they seem to become even more recessed, and at extreme volumes it begins to sound like someone left the midrange driver out of a 3-way speaker.  However, if you value your hearing this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I think their biggest plus is their soundstaging.  Especially when combined with positional audio.  An HTRF fooled me into believing my pet parrot, who was behind me, had chirped when it was actually just the soundtrack to the show I was watching.  I don't play FPSs very often anymore, but they'd be great for the task.  If you turned down the BGM a little, the deep bass and crisp highs will provide satisfying blasts, booms, and gunshots.  If you're not a treble head though, it may be to bright for the BGM in most movies.

I'm not a treble head however, so I decided to return mine after a week of evaluation and more than 100 hours of burn in.  I couldn't listen to them for more than an hour without the treble grating on me, and I can't justify keeping a separate can just for gaming, since I don't do as much of it as I used to.If you are looking for a can just for gaming then this probably deserves to be on your short list.  For music or movies?  I'd say only if you are a serious treble head.  The DT990s aren't for me, but they may be just right for you.