Beyerdynamic DT990 Premium 250 Ohm

When I first unpacked the DT990s I plugged them into a rather good Ruark radio playing on my desk. The result was an absolutely awful, screechy performance. Having recovered from the shock I remembered that I had boosted the treble on the Ruark to make speech clearer. Several reviewers say the DT990s are screechy but that really is a source problem. They do have a slight treble lift and reveal the source exceptionally well, so if the source is bright, they will let you know! 
 
Plugged into my best sources, a Benchmark DAC2 and a Beresford Caiman 2, they are absolutely fabulous. I listen mainly to classical and jazz and these allow an effortless insight to the performance with nothing masked or recessed. The soundstage is as good as I have ever heard from headphones and you can 'see' every instrument effortlessly. They are very slightly bright but that is not a problem to me and they don't cause listener fatigue. They do not make good sources screechy and they don't create exaggerated sibilance. What they do do, is remind those of us with older ears what we used to be able to hear more clearly (I can still hear up to 17 kHz but probably at a reduced level). If you have teenage ears, maybe they will sound too bright?
 
For comparison, to my ears, my Shure SE535 IEMs are the most accurate, neutral 'phones I have ever heard. The DT990's slight treble lift makes them more enjoyable and more revealing for me.
 
They are certainly not intended for portable use but.....
My AK Jr will drive them but you need the volume up to 90% and the AK Jr completely loses the subtlety that it usually delivers. Certainly not a recommended combination.
My FiiO X5's volume also needs to be around 90%. It sounds like an effort but it retains some of the quality audible with easier headphones. Again, not a recommended combination.
My FiiO X1 virtually gives up, and I don't blame it, it was silly to have tried it.
 
Good though the AK Jr and the FiiO X5 are, they are not remotely as good as the Benchmark DAC2 (nor the Caiman) and I would not dream of using a portable device at home with these headphones. If you don't have a good home headphone amp you really should try one. The difference with these excellent DT990 headphones between the FiiO X5 and the Benchmark DAC2 is enormous. You can hear the music with either portable player but with the DAC2 you can hear the performance. It is the difference between, "that's nice" and "WOW!"
 
Back to the DT990s - the comfort is pretty good. I can wear them for an hour at a time without worry but I can't say that I ever become unaware of them. Unlike closed back 'phones, lifting them slightly away from your ears makes no difference to the sound quality so a bit of careful stretching of the head-band may be all it takes to make them more comfortable. The weight is barely noticeable but I would prefer a bit of extra padding on the top of my head. I do find myself fiddling with them every few minutes.
 
Design-wise, they are functional. They don't look fashionable, they look functional. The manufacturing cost went into function rather than fashion - thank goodness.
 
Value for money - I only paid £102 and they are easily worth that.

Overall, these headphones are great. They have a very unique sound and their upper range is really fun in songs with bright upper ranges, like triangles.

As a disclaimer, this pair of DT990 was a review unit from Beyerdynamic.
 
Arrived in a rather large box, beside a high definition picture of the headphones and a detailed technical spec, I always appreciate how Beyer guys honestly describe the sound signature and talk about the comfort without any hype or exaggeration. A lot of other companies write a flashy phrases to artificially boost their product, but with every Beyerdynamic product I reviewed in the last few months - the description was always spot on. Inside of the box you'll find a pleather case with a foam form fitting interior for storage and carrying of DT990. The only other accessory is screw-on 1/4" adapter. Out of the case, the first thing that jumped out and grabbed my attention was the velor earpads. These earpads could be considered as a luxury upgrade to bring the comfort level of these full size over-ear headphones to the best I have tested in a very long time. One of the biggest complains with over-/on-ear headphones is typically about earpads and how hot and sweaty they get after an extended listening period. Here, the breathable soft microfibre material wraps your ears in a comfort of two plush pillows. As a result of a perfect clamping force and a soft padding of spring steel headband, you get a super comfortable fitment that also feels very lightweight. The headband itself is adjustable, and has a soft click action with dots indicating the length of the extension. The earcup is attached to a headband through a brushed aluminum Y-fork construction which is typical for most of the Beyer headphone designs. This construction allows a decent angle of tilt to adjust the angle as well as a limited rotation of earcup to fit any shape/size head and ears. The earcup itself is made out of aluminum and hard plastic material which compliments design very nicely.
 
DT990, being a full open back, has a unique design where back of earcups has a shutter-like opening for a wider soundstage at an expense of more sound leakage. Makes me wonder if maybe one of these days they could follow a route of Custom One Pro and make this shutter adjustable to completely close the back - now that would be a fun sound tweaking! Another thing that worth mentioning is single side cable used on the left side which makes it convenient to unclutter cable management as well as helping to identify L/R when in the dark. Cable itself has a heavy duty shielding, but it's still flexible enough. Unfortunately, cable itself it not removable, but hopefully future updates will take care of that. Other design detail is an aluminum tab on each side of the headband which I found to have no functionality other than a cool look. One final thought, both earpads and headband padding are removable and replaceable, which is great when you have to take care of wear'n'tear in the future.
 
DT990 ended up sounding more revealing, brighter, and airy with a stronger bass representation (in comparison to DT880 I just reviewed as well). By stronger bass, I don't mean to say a dominating basshead type of delivery down to a rumbling sub-bass. This is still very intelligent bass delivery with a great control and tight isolation from the rest of the spectrum, but with more impact and a slightly higher quantity. With mids, those were detailed and clear but a little more upfront and a bit harsher toward upper mids. They actually reminded me of some of the analytical IEMs I heard in the past, and with a few of my sibilance test tracks it was getting a bit too close to a comfort level. Of course, everything could be corrected with EQ, but I do have to point it out as part of a default sound signature. Treble had a great sparkle to it and was detailed enough. With open back design, the soundstage expanded wider and deeper, and the sound became more airy and 3D. But at the same time, more outside noise was being let in and more sound was leaking out. These are definitely not suited for private listening.  Low impedance of 32 ohm rating in this case was also not favorable to be driven directly by my Note 2 without using A200p external DAC. Pairing it up with A200p added an amazing level of details, even edging out the performance driven directly from X5. Another interesting phenomenon, while comparing 32 ohm versus 250 ohm pricing on Amazon, 32 ohm version was $100 cheaper - another example of how you can shop around to save money since impedance rating might no longer be a deciding factor driving these cans from your phone.
 
Here are the pictures.