Advice for getting more bass out of the DT 990 250ohm
Mar 10, 2018 at 1:52 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 19

ninja_music

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Hello all, I have upgraded my audio from Astro A40's/ Sound Blaster ZX to DT 990's 250ohm version. I still have them paired with the Sound blaster ZX, and even though on paper they should be able to power them, it feels very underwhelming. I have tried different EQ's and even sampled the bass/ crystalize setting with the DT 990's to try and increase the bass slightly, but it still doesn’t sound too great. I listen to quite a bit of electronic music, with the A40's the bass is a lot more prominent. Now my question is the lack of bass down to me not setting them up properly with a better amp that is more capable for the 250ohms or is this just the way the DT 990 250oms sound?


Thanks :)
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 2:03 PM Post #2 of 19
Im not familiar with either A40s nor the SoundBlaster ZX,but the DT990s are not bass light in any way,though some of what youre experiencing might be vs. what youre used to hearing from your previous setup.

I would be prone to guess your SoundBlaster is under driving the Beyers,but thats just a guess on my part. @PurpleAngel would probably have a better idea than I.
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 2:11 PM Post #3 of 19
Im not familiar with either A40s nor the SoundBlaster ZX,but the DT990s are not bass light in any way,though some of what youre experiencing might be vs. what youre used to hearing from your previous setup.

I would be prone to guess your SoundBlaster is under driving the Beyers,but thats just a guess on my part. @PurpleAngel would probably have a better idea than I.

I have read that a few times, with the DT990'S having a V shaped sound signature. I think you could be right though with how I am used to hearing the bass from the previous setup. I do have to up the volume a tad with the DT990's which makes me think that they are not being driven to their potential like you mentioned. Thanks for the reply!
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 2:13 PM Post #4 of 19
I would try getting a Schiit Magni 3(99.00 usd) and see if that helps,if not Schiit gear sells very quickly here with minimal loss to you.

I just noticed youre in UK and grabbing a Magni 3 might be more $ than what its worth(IDK).Another thing you can try is getting the 32ohm version of the DT990 and see if that makes a difference.If it sounds the same then its not your SoundBlaster and I would chalk it up to you being used to the A40s .
 
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Mar 10, 2018 at 2:32 PM Post #5 of 19
I would try getting a Schiit Magni 3(99.00 usd) and see if that helps,if not Schiit gear sells very quickly here with minimal loss to you.

I just noticed youre in UK and grabbing a Magni 3 might be more $ than what its worth(IDK).Another thing you can try is getting the 32ohm version of the DT990 and see if that makes a difference.If it sounds the same then its not your SoundBlaster and I would chalk it up to you being used to the A40s .

I think an external AMP is what I want to try out, and eventually move to. The Schitt Magni 3 is on their Europe page, but out of stock :frowning2:

I have had the DT990's 250ohms for about a week, these were the black limited edition version, and is now OOS on amazon so I don't want to send them back just yet. Are there any other AMPs that are recommended for the DT990 250ohms that will drive them to their potential? If not then I will have to try out the 32ohm DT990's as you suggested.
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 2:54 PM Post #6 of 19
Relatively speaking the 250ohm DT990 isnt a hard headphone to drive,so you dont need to invest in something outrageous to get them to sound good.Personally I prefer tube amps with Beyer headphones(valves in UK).

Beyers can be quite bright and tubes can help take the edge off of that.The Schiit Vali,or a Little Dot would work nicely.If tubes arent your thing you can also look into Audio GD gear,especially their amp/DAC combos using the R2R DACs,which would compliment the DT990 well.

I have the La Figaro 339 and it drives my 600 ohm DT990 quite well...zero sibilance,great detail and thunderous bass,but my DT990s are a vintage pair and by all accounts theyre voiced slightly different than modern DT990s.

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Mar 10, 2018 at 3:36 PM Post #7 of 19
Relatively speaking the 250ohm DT990 isnt a hard headphone to drive,so you dont need to invest in something outrageous to get them to sound good.Personally I prefer tube amps with Beyer headphones(valves in UK).

Beyers can be quite bright and tubes can help take the edge off of that.The Schiit Vali,or a Little Dot would work nicely.If tubes arent your thing you can also look into Audio GD gear,especially their amp/DAC combos using the R2R DACs,which would compliment the DT990 well.

I have the La Figaro 339 and it drives my 600 ohm DT990 quite well...zero sibilance,great detail and thunderous bass,but my DT990s are a vintage pair and by all accounts theyre voiced slightly different than modern DT990s.


They are quite sharp sometimes, and I think that is what is making them sound so different to the A40's. The clarity is amazing compared to the A40's, but they sound slightly flat in comparison with sharp highs. The A40's I guess sound slightly muddy after listening to the DT990's. I'm unsure if the DT990's can be EQ'd so they are less sharp + a tad more bass? If I wait for the Schiit Magni 3 to come back in stock do you think that would be a good choice? I am very new to the audio game so I am unsure what benefits an AMP can make other than power the headphones properly.
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 4:15 PM Post #8 of 19
Unfortunately the Magni 3 will most likely contribute to the brightness as opposed to helping alleviate it as will many solid state amps.The Audio GD R2R-11 will help tame the highs to an extent but nothing like a tube amp will.

Much of this hobby is personal taste and subjective in nature.If youre finding the Beyers "sharp" that is totally in line with the Beyer house sound.Some like it,some do not.You might fall into the latter camp.
I started in this hobby with a Beyer T1 and a Woo Audio WA2,and only after the fact did I realize that the Beyer house sound was simply not to my personal tastes.Only after discovering the sound that appeals to my ears(great mids and bass with rolled off highs)did I come full circle and buy another Beyer headphone to compliment my mostly warm headphone collection.

You might prefer a warmer bassier sound signature...

AudioQuest Nighthawks
Meze 99 Neos
Sennheiser HD650/6xx

Or a less bright headphone like the Fidelio X2
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 4:42 PM Post #9 of 19
Hello all, I have upgraded my audio from Astro A40's/ Sound Blaster ZX to DT 990's 250ohm version. I still have them paired with the Sound blaster ZX, and even though on paper they should be able to power them, it feels very underwhelming. I have tried different EQ's and even sampled the bass/ crystalize setting with the DT 990's to try and increase the bass slightly, but it still doesn’t sound too great. I listen to quite a bit of electronic music, with the A40's the bass is a lot more prominent. Now my question is the lack of bass down to me not setting them up properly with a better amp that is more capable for the 250ohms or is this just the way the DT 990 250oms sound?

Thanks :)

Did you disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS, when you installed the SB-Zx?
Have you tried connecting the DT990 directly into the back panel headphone jack, on the SB-Zx, without using the ACM module?
Is the SB-Zx set to 2-channel (2.0) input, when listening to music?

Me, I would rather spend money for headphones that I think sound better then the DT990, then spending more money at driving the DT990.
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 4:56 PM Post #10 of 19
I think an external AMP is what I want to try out, and eventually move to. The Schitt Magni 3 is on their Europe page, but out of stock :frowning2:

I have had the DT990's 250ohms for about a week, these were the black limited edition version, and is now OOS on amazon so I don't want to send them back just yet. Are there any other AMPs that are recommended for the DT990 250ohms that will drive them to their potential? If not then I will have to try out the 32ohm DT990's as you suggested.

To feed the best analog audio signal, from the SB-Zx, to an external headphone amplifier, you would want to connect the external head amp to the Front speaker jacks, on the SB-Zx, which would bypass the SB-Zx's SBX Headphone surround sound, so you would only get stereo audio (no SBX Headphone) from the SB-Zx.
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 6:48 PM Post #11 of 19
Unfortunately the Magni 3 will most likely contribute to the brightness as opposed to helping alleviate it as will many solid state amps.The Audio GD R2R-11 will help tame the highs to an extent but nothing like a tube amp will.

Much of this hobby is personal taste and subjective in nature.If youre finding the Beyers "sharp" that is totally in line with the Beyer house sound.Some like it,some do not.You might fall into the latter camp.
I started in this hobby with a Beyer T1 and a Woo Audio WA2,and only after the fact did I realize that the Beyer house sound was simply not to my personal tastes.Only after discovering the sound that appeals to my ears(great mids and bass with rolled off highs)did I come full circle and buy another Beyer headphone to compliment my mostly warm headphone collection.

You might prefer a warmer bassier sound signature...

AudioQuest Nighthawks
Meze 99 Neos
Sennheiser HD650/6xx

Or a less bright headphone like the Fidelio X2

Ahh that’s a shame, would my sound card also contribute to the sharp sounds? I think I have toned them down to a bearable level for me, although I am still altering it to see what sounds the best. I changed the 4k, 8k and 16k to -3db, this seemed to have helped for the sharper sounds a little.

I respect that. I did read up and watch reviews on the headphones and I did hear about the sharpness I don’t necessarily hate it, but toning it down a tad is needed for my ears :)

I think I would also fall into the great mids and bass as you said, I feel this compliments the electronic/ dance music I listen to mostly with some rap.
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 7:04 PM Post #12 of 19
Did you disable the motherboard's on-board audio, in the BIOS, when you installed the SB-Zx?
Have you tried connecting the DT990 directly into the back panel headphone jack, on the SB-Zx, without using the ACM module?
Is the SB-Zx set to 2-channel (2.0) input, when listening to music?

Me, I would rather spend money for headphones that I think sound better then the DT990, then spending more money at driving the DT990.

It was installed a few years ago, so its hard to recall but I think i have had it disabled since i swapped over. I may do a fresh install though.
I have them connected directly to the 3.5mm output currently after reading about the ACM degrading the quality.
How do i check to see what channel it is set to?

Fair enough, I just want to make sure I am supplying them with their required power, but being new to the audio scene I didn’t really know what to get, and heard a lot suggest the DT990's for gaming, which I do often and then music for their bass/treble.


To feed the best analog audio signal, from the SB-Zx, to an external headphone amplifier, you would want to connect the external head amp to the Front speaker jacks, on the SB-Zx, which would bypass the SB-Zx's SBX Headphone surround sound, so you would only get stereo audio (no SBX Headphone) from the SB-Zx.

Thanks for that tip, I am unsure on what to do currently. I may just need to get used to the DT990's sound signature a bit more as I have only ever used the A40's for over 5 years and it’s what I am used to.
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 8:30 PM Post #13 of 19
It was installed a few years ago, so its hard to recall but I think i have had it disabled since i swapped over. I may do a fresh install though.
I have them connected directly to the 3.5mm output currently after reading about the ACM degrading the quality.
How do i check to see what channel it is set to?
Fair enough, I just want to make sure I am supplying them with their required power, but being new to the audio scene I didn’t really know what to get, and heard a lot suggest the DT990's for gaming, which I do often and then music for their bass/treble.
Thanks for that tip, I am unsure on what to do currently. I may just need to get used to the DT990's sound signature a bit more as I have only ever used the A40's for over 5 years and it’s what I am used to.

In general, the DT990s do have their pluses, good for surround sound and if you like a lot of bass/treble.
But do require the extra cost of a decent headphone amplifier to sound their best.
 
Mar 10, 2018 at 10:23 PM Post #14 of 19
Is the SB-Zx set to 2-channel (2.0) input, when listening to music?

When you mentioned this was you talking about the 2.1 audio channel on the back of the card? If so I am using the standard powered headphone port.
In general, the DT990s do have their pluses, good for surround sound and if you like a lot of bass/treble.
But do require the extra cost of a decent headphone amplifier to sound their best.
Yeah that's why I purchased them in place of my previous headset :) bass/treble is defiantly what I was looking for, and the surround sound for competitive gaming. I have read others saying that the sound blaster zx does not power headphones greatly which makes me think that might be the reason for the reduced bass.
 
Mar 21, 2018 at 1:32 PM Post #15 of 19
Quick update. After using the DT 990's for over 1 week now I am enjoying them quite a bit. They have been great for gaming as expected, music with vocals is very sharp and clear, but I still feel like there is mid bass missing. That type of bass that rumbles as you listen, is this mid bass? Again using the A40's as my comparison currently the DT 990's sound lighter and higher toned (if that makes sense) whereas the A40's sound darker and has more warmth to the bass. I have ordered the X2's as they were recommended above from @Monsterzero , this will allow me to have another higher-end headphone that I can compare against the DT990's. I prefer the look/ build of the DT990's over the X2's, but the sound is what matters the most. When listening to EDM with the DT990's I feel like I am missing the mid bass section as mentioned above, which is what I listen to the majority of the time. Hopefully the X2's are great, they come tomorrow so I will keep this thread updated.
 

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