I just received a new pair of dt990 premium 600ohm cans. I like the sound signature except for the hot treble they have. I can live with the slightly recessed midrange but I don't know if I can live with the sizzle. I have about 50 hours on them now and the hot treble has toned down a little bit but not nearly enough. I'm even listening to them on a tube amp that's on the lush side of neutral. Would more burn in tone these down even more, or is that something that I'm going to have to live with?
Depending on your definition of sizzle, I'm affraid it will be there to stay. It's part of Beyerdynamics sound signature.
I've owned DT880 and everything else about them was perfect, but that schrill top-end kept bothering me. That scratchery feature appears also on DT770. I guess it depends on taste and the characteristics of other equipment in you audio chain, if you like or detest it.
I'm sure a tube amp will nicely compensate, but I personally don't like the smearing effect of such amps on other parts of the audio spectrum.
Well I never experienced any smearing effects on my tube amp, but everybody's ears are different I guess. That's sad because I like everything else about them. It wasn't this bad on my dt770/80. They were a little bright out of the box, but things settle over time. I hope that happens with my dt990, but they are much brighter than the dt770/80 I use to have ever was. Now I'm trying to decide whether to keep them or not.
This is very interesting because I too own the DT770/80 and have a set of DT990/250s on the way. I never found a problem with the DT770's treble like others have said in other threads, and was hoping that the DT990s would sound similar, just more open. Looks like I may be facing your same dilemma, because I can't tolerate overly-bright cans. Keep us updated on burn-in progress.
Sonically, the dt990 are a huge upgrade over the dt770s I had. The sound is much more refined. I'm just having a problem with the brightness. If that settles, they will be a keeper. I was looking for something with more bass and warmer mids than my hd580s. Well I got all of that, just toooo much on the top end. I really hope it settles down a lot more. I would hate to go through the hassle of returning these.
I've owned two versions of the 250 Ohm DT990 and I can safely say after 50 hours, the treble won't be changing much. The 600 Ohm version has less treble but I can imagine it's still not restrained enough. I don't like having to resort to equalizers, but the DT990 forced me to do so when I owned them. I liked everything else about them and in some key areas I felt they bested my current favourite headphones (HD650).
Anyways, now for some good news. Having owned the DT990s for a couple years, I found that over time as the earpads compress and mold to the shape of your skull/jaws, the treble goes down and mids become more prominent. I had a 2 year old DT990 and a brand new one side by side, both burned in, and they had very noticeable differences. The older one with the compressed earpads had a much smoother sound, with more mids and less boomy bass (oddly enough). Switching the earpads yielded expected results, as the new DT990 took on the characteristics of the old.
So, no, the DT990's drivers won't change significantly after burn-in/break-in after 50 hours in terms of treble, but overtime, the earpad reshaping/compression will change the sound (for the better).
I don't recommend artificially compressing the pads. Just wear them in naturally. What I do recommend is looking into a smooth/dark DAC/amp to tame the harshness/sibilance and a powerful solid-state amp to tighten the plumy and slow bass and speed up the overall transient response. I think you'll like how your DT990s will sound after you put in some time with them and find a synergistic setup.
Originally Posted by moodyrn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks, that's good to hear. Any had similar experiences with older worn pads?
I had a very positive experience with my DT880 600Ohm when the pads were squished down. The treble was smoothed out and the bass become more prominent.
I remember some recommendations in the past using worn k240/271 pads on some dt770(which I did use). I don't know if they would have the same effects on the dt990s. I have a pair of sextetts that I just sold. I might try those before I ship them out tomorrow. I guess an even better option might be to try some of the jmoney aftermarket pads. They are expensive, but I read that they do improve the sound of various beyer models. I may do a little more research on those. It would be worth the price to me if those pads tamed the highs and tighten up the bass a little.
You could use Koss UR40 pads, but I must warn you that they are a tight fit and hard to get on. Hard to get on is an understatement, you must stretch them out a little bit.
I just tried the sextett pads, and well.... they did eliminate the "sizzle". They really tamed the highs a lot, but messed everything else. They were a loos fit though, but now I see with proper pads, I just might end up getting the sound I want. I hate to shell out all of that dough for the jmoney pads, but they just might be what I need.
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