Hi everyone.
My cans have been burned in for at least 150 hours.
I am pleased there is a lot of love for the T90 here on Head-Fi, it is worthy of it.
These cans are light and very comfortable. The ear pads are of high quality and are easily replaceable. I think they are quite small full size open back circumaural cans and they look classy and neat. The grills/mesh look great.
I’ll be trying out some leather ear pads soon, just because.
Credit to Beyerdynamic for the weight, comfort and looks : )
Build quality is good but I do not like the headband. The headband is comfy but It loosens over time and the yokes can move when putting on or removing the cans. This is annoying but I know Beyerdynamic have addressed that with their newer cans, from experience the Amiron Home and T5P 2nd gen have superior headbands with solid clicking when making adjustments.
I also really dislike the fact that it’s cable is non-removable, again Beyerdynamic have addressed this with their newer cans.
Sound.
These are just so stunningly revealing, detailed, spacious, airy, resolving, dynamic, clear and insightful headphones.
They are very clean and open sounding with superb resolution and imaging.
Now that is a LOT of qualities : )
There must be very few headphones in the world that surpass these brilliant cans in those areas.
Maybe the only headphone I have ever heard that beats the T90 in all the areas I just mentioned are Sennheiser’s HD 800, just maybe. And that is at least double the cost of these!
That is an astonishing feat, incredible work from Beyerdynamic.
Truly special cans. They are excellent for testing gear and equipment and they scale up brilliantly.
They are a bit bright and can sound harsh or piercing sometimes so system and cable matching have a factor.
They remind me of the HD 800 but a scaled down version. But I think the T90 has more enjoyable bass.
The mids are very good and have good body.
Vocals can sound a little further back, a little recessed but are authentic and realistic. You can hear the singers breathe easily.
Sometimes the bass can be a bit subtle and lack a little slam and impact but it does sound smooth and it can go deep. The texture, extension and definition of the lows are very good.
I tested these cans on 2 set ups I luckily had at home, as per usual I only listened to 16 & 24-Bit WAV lossless files.
Setup 1.
Digital optical toslink cable,
Gustard DAC-X10 (with a HiFi Tuning internal fuse),
connected to a custom SOLID CORE PURE SILVER 99.999% 5N 2MM 12 AWG power cable with a IEGO gold over copper IEC and a Furutech FI-UK gold over copper plug and a AMR gold-plated 13 amp fuse,
custom pure silver XLR cable,
Lake People Phone-amp G93 fitted with a gold-plated UK plug and a AMR gold-plated 13 amp fuse,
all connected to a custom Russ Andrews Yello power mains extension with a Supra gold plated UK mains plug with a AMR gold-plated 13 amp fuse inside.
Setup 2.
Digital optical toslink cable,
Cambridge Audio DacMagic with a linear power supply,
shielded copper RCA cable,
Graham Slee Solo with the PSU1,
all connected to a Tacima CS947 mains conditioner with a AMR gold-plated 13 amp fuse inside.
Phew!
Here are my findings:
Setup 1 was more detailed, spacious, airy and clear.
The attack was better.
Slightly better controlled lows.
Better imaging.
Larger sound stage.
Setup 2 had fuller and bigger bass, a warmer signature.
But it sounded more closed in, sound was more centred, dome sounding.
Good impact and slam.
Missing some obvious detail and sounds.
Looser but deeper bass.
I wish setup 2 had the same mains extension block and a pure silver RCA cable to make it even more similar and fairer.
For the majority of T90 owners or potential buyers, I would recommend a warm sounding amp with good quality copper cables.
I would very much like to hear them balanced but annoyingly because of the fixed cable that will be tricky.
These are excellent cans and they are available for decent prices pre-owned now as they are discontinued by Beyerdynamic, the Amiron have replaced them but they do sound different to them...
Used T90's offer excellent value considering it's sound quality and comfort.
It is a big shame that Beyerdynamic have discontinued them, maybe they should release a T90 with their newer headband and with a detachable cable. That would be awesome but just don't change anything else.
If you are coming from a warm/veiled/dark sounding headphone to these, they may initially shock you.
But hopefully in a good way as they have many, many fantastic attributes : )
I really enjoy listening to them and I do listen to them for extensive sessions with any fatigue.
I highly recommend them.
Update 1.
I thought I’d mix things up and try this setup.
16 & 24-Bit WAV lossless files,
Foobar2000 with WASAPI event output,
Digital optical toslink cable,
Gustard DAC-X10 (with a HiFi Tuning Silver Star internal fuse),
connected to a custom SOLID CORE PURE SILVER 99.999% 5N 2MM 12 AWG power cable with a IEGO gold over copper IEC and a Furutech FI-UK gold over copper plug and a AMR gold-plated 13 amp fuse,
a custom 6 core pure silver litz RCA cable,
Graham Slee Solo with PSU1,
all connected to a custom Russ Andrews Yello power mains extension with a Supra gold plated UK mains plug with a AMR gold-plated 13 amp fuse inside.
(I ended up getting a pair of silver RCAs).
Wow!
Just wow!
What an incredible combo!
I am writing this whilst listening to many genres of music.
Utterly bewitching and mesmerising.
Truly stunning energy and life.
So captivating, immersive and enjoyable.
There is warmth, fullness and smoothness to the sound but still supremely detailed and clear.
Great impact and low end extension.
There’s an immediacy about it, it sucks you in.
The realism and musicality on offer here, simply marvellous.
You can feel the singers emotion and hear the intricacies in well recorded songs with high production values.
The volume rarely went above the 9 o’ clock position on the dial.
When pushed, the T90’s bass never created distortion or a rattling sound. It was just clean, deep and smooth with great texture and definition.
The T90 just doesn’t get overwhelmed when there is a lot happening in some songs, it doesn’t sound congested or muffled.
The way it points out sounds moving laterally is quite something, sometimes sweeping and sometimes subtle.
As mentioned before, it has a dynamic and punchy presentation.
All the wonderful strengths of the T90 are still present, which I am so happy about : )
It is hard to fully describe how immensely impressive this setup sounds with the brilliant T90.
Very, very difficult to find faults and flaws.
And you know I’m going to listen to this for many hours with no issues at all because the T90 are just so comfortable.
Any person who thinks the T90 are too bright, harsh or piercing I urge you to try it with a decent DAC and the Solo with PSU1.
Please, for the sake of ears.
(I believe my DAC-X10 is more than decent, very good in fact).
So the T90 may be demanding or picky, unforgiving of devices and components.
It is a very transparent and revealing pair of cans.
But get it right, and audio bliss awaits you. That is how high the rewards are.
This is 1 of the very best audio experiences I have heard, EVER!!!
I am astonished that all this has been achieved unbalanced and single ended to be honest…
And I have had quite a few DACs and amps over the years, as well as many great and expensive headphones. Many, many cans. Just look at my profile, Utopia, HD 800S, LCD-X, GS2000E, Edition X V2, PM-1, etc.
I want to share this setup with my family and friends, immediately. Lol.
I have a massive smile on my face listening to my music, I won’t forget this moment.
End game cans and setup for me? Maybe, just maybe...
Happy listening everyone, zellous out.
