DT990 or Modded Fostex T50rp - Page 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist 

I believe that DT770 Pro is more neutral than DT880/990, but only the Pro version. I think T1 is also more neutral, or at least softer sounding - not as aggressive and harsh as the DT series can be. I think the somewhat thin sound with a slightly exaggerated attack in the highs is one of the few weaknesses of the Beyer DT770/880/990 series cans.

Thanks for the input!

From what I read. DT770 Pro 80 has fullest mids, most bass, smallest soundstage, and most rolled off treble of the DT770 line. DT880 is the most neutral.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supertoaster 

From what I read. DT770 Pro 80 has fullest mids, most bass, smallest soundstage, and most rolled off treble of the DT770 line. DT880 is the most neutral.

so what are the 990's known for?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kskwerl 

so what are the 990's known for?

Lots of bass (less midbass then DT770, More subbass) Lots of treble, most fatiguing of the three., biggest soundstage of the three. Worst mids of the three. Very thin and shallow because of the bass and treble. None of the beyers are bad though, it's all down to personal preference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supertoaster 

Lots of bass (less midbass then DT770, More subbass) Lots of treble, most fatiguing of the three., biggest soundstage of the three. Worst mids of the three. Very thin and shallow because of the bass and treble. None of the beyers are bad though, it's all down to personal preference.

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by Supertoaster 

Lots of bass (less midbass then DT770, More subbass) Lots of treble, most fatiguing of the three., biggest soundstage of the three. Worst mids of the three. Very thin and shallow because of the bass and treble. None of the beyers are bad though, it's all down to personal preference.

I wouldn't describe them that way at all. Yes, the mids are a bit recessed, but they are still there and they are quality mids.

I used to have the DT-990 250 ohms and sold them. The DT-990 have way too much tremble IME. Painfully, fatiguingly, and unstandably so. They have more tremble than bass for sure. Here are some measurements that correlate well with what I've heard:

Hearing Tomita's Clair de Lune out of my DT-990 was an ear numbing experience...  I don't think the M50 are nearly as emphasized in the tremble as the DT-990. Here is a plot of the frequency response of the M50s:

With all of their flaws, I prefer any of the Sennheiser HD5x8 products over the DT-990. Used, an HD558 can go for $100 to $110 depending on the market. They are $150 new from Amazon now. The HD558 is also easier to drive from most DAPs relative to the DT-990 250 ohm.

There are better headphones of course, but they will likely go north of $200.

Also, IMO a Paradox (professionally modded T50RP), will destroy a DT-990, HD5x8, and M50s. Not even funny. But a custom product like that will justifiably command a higher price. You would likely also need a dedicated amplifier for a Paradox.

Again, regarding my now gone DT-990 250 ohm, to be blunt, my humble-fi set of KSC-75 mini pancakes seem polite and gentle to my ears relative to the likes of the my now gone DT-990 tremble uber-happy cans. Cannot recommend the DT-990 unless planning to run them out of a high-frequency rolled off and gentle amp, or if shamelessly using an equalizer to tame them.

I have the M50's, I bought them cause of the hype but they have that annoying V shaped signature and I hate it. I feel the same way you feel about the 990s but with the M-100s

I would rather deal with the emphasized treble on DT990 than with the significantly lower precision, resolution and overall technical ability of HD558 drivers or the bloated bass and lifeless mids of the M50, but that's just me. With a bit of equalizing, DT990 sounds perfectly tolerable in the treble and I really enjoy the high levels of detail and clarity that these cans output in the upper registers.

The main faults of the HD558 IME are a bit of mids emphasis and some distortion in the bass region. It is not too offensive to me though (given the price.) I do feel the DT-990 was cleaner in the bass region than the HD558.

However, in terms of tonal balance, the HD558 destroys the DT-990, and I tend to give high priority to that. I also cannot stand tremble emphasis in the order of  10 to 15 dB. It's just painful. Equalized I agree with you that the DT-990 does a very good job.

I also, don't think that the M50 is a bunch of bloated bass. It does have some weirdness to it not uncommon in classical closed cans. The Paradox does not have this closed can weirdness BTW. To my ears, the stock T50RP does.

While the mids of the 990-250 ohms are recessed, that did not bother me that much. It was the excessive tremble what I could not stand (un-equalized.)

However, I did hear a 990-600 out of a Schiit Valhalla, and it sounded wonderful! I don't know if the Valhalla has or had some roll off on the top end, or if this was a result of the type of music, or what, but coming from my 990-250 I could not believe the 990-600 sounded so pleasant from the Valhalla.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfinne16 

Sorry ultra my quote button isn't working. That's good to hear though! It just seems the 600s are a lot more money but if its a big difference then I'm all for it

I was in your position before and definitively can relate. It seems to me that if going for the 990s, you would definitively need to invest on an equalizer or on some amplifier to both properly drive them (600 ohms might need some extra voltage swing there) and perhaps roll off that emphasis from 5 kHz and on.

This is why I got my HD558. They don't need a strong amplifier investment and should sound acceptable from most DAPs (including a Sansa Clip+.) Like I said before, the trade off is a bit of distortion in the bass region (not too horrible for the price IME though,) and perhaps some mid forwardness, but we are talking less than 5dB of forwardness here... Still quite acceptable to my ears with out the numbing fatigue issues I was having with my 990 out of more mundane amplifiers (un-equalized of course.)

To be honest, if ready to invest on something like a DT-990 600, I would opt for an HD600 or HE-400...