I have, although for me it wasn't from the earpads. It was from the plastic clips which held the headband adjustment mechanism. I bought my first unit from Amazon and I returned that one due to the creaking when I moved my head around. The replacement fixed the creaking problem.

I was in the same position as you. I bit the bullet and got the DT 1990s and it is a clear upgrade. I thought the DT 880s were clear, but hearing the DT 1990s blew me away. Soundstage is wider, bass is smoother and clearer, mids are more detailed and the highs are crispier. DT 880s sounded muddy...

Admittedly I've only had the 1990 for a few days. Maybe my head/ears just need to get used to the incredibly revealing signature of the 1990s. I can afford the R2R-11. Thanks for the suggestion. Part of me can't help but think that the dt 1990 were supposed to be a direct upgrade from the DT...

I can believe this. Crappy Youtube videos are REALLY sibilant (can't even bear listening to YouTube videos with these headphoens) yet well-mastered, FLAC, classical recordings from any year above the 1940s are luscious. Those amps + dacs are a bit out of my league right now. Maybe someday...

Asthmatic is the perfect word to describe the 1990s when I lowered the 8 khz frequencies -3db or so using the built in receiver EQ. The 1990 lost its sound stage (also if anyone is wondering about how the DT 880's sound stage compares to the DT 1990, the perfect word is, you guessed it...

I bought the dt 1990s as an upgrade from my dt 880 pros. The sound stage and detail is a huge leap compared to the 880s. But the treble can get really harsh at times, much harsher than my dt 880s. My dt 880s were driven by a home theater receiver (Yamaha HTR 6230. I know I know, it's pretty...