[Thommohawk]

Unfortunately I have to return mine due to defective inner wiring. Damn. I adore the sound quality though when working properly (or rather positioned properly!) but since I need to return mine I'm thinking about possible alternatives again - no problem at all with the audio quality, though perhaps a tad more bass and detail would be wonderful. No real biggie though as I'm very happy with the sound quality of the DT 990 Pro as is. The main peeve I have with the 990 Pro is the clamp and the headband pressure. Clamp can be fixed so I hear but the headband padding seems a little soft for the thicker cross layered steel that lays underneath and you can feel it on your head. So a headphone with more of a comfy headband would really be great.
 
I notice the new Sennheiser's are available as is the HD 6 series should I pay the extra but I'd worry about the varying sound sigs compared to the Beyer's....speaking of which the Beyer DT 880 250ohm how similar is that to the DT 990 Pro in terms of sound sig and comfort ? I've read the threads but 1 to 1 advice is also a great thing.

 

[NapalmK]

The Sennheiser lineup probably won't satisfy you bass cravings if you want more than the DT990 offers. I found my DT990 Premium to be very comfy and FWIR it has less clamping force than the Pro models which may be a good alternative. You might also try bending the headband a little to help with the clamping though it's not something I've personally tried.
 
What amp and source are you using?
 
Coming from a purely comfort standpoint, a Denon and Audio Technica IME both have great headbands and relatively low clamping force so you may look into those although I doubt you're going to find a model that suits all of your needs within their line (I could be wrong though).

 

[Thommohawk]

I'm not using any amping at the moment lol, haven't quite got around to it yet but it was going to be my next purchase and is still high on my list - but at the moment I'm using basic headphone out ports on my average PC soundcard and tv outputs. My source is my PS3.
 
The thing is that I'm not unhappy with the bass on the DT 990 Pro - before I heard them I was worried about the potential lack of bass (for me) and harsh highs (again for me) - BUT I have zero worries on either front now that I've actually heard them. But now I'm worried about losing the (frankly excellent) sense of soundstage and detailing. For me by far the most impressive thing about the DT 990 Pro is the fact that the unemphasized guitar riffs get shot out to their own little pocket of space to play away alongside the main tune which is front and centre - also the bass realization is spot on for me in how it's in the middle and everything else is played on top of it as well as around it. Great stuff. I don't wish to lose that. In fact more of this would be simply awesome!  My one issue though is the headband pressure. Damn shame but it is a harsh headband. Definitely needs less clamp and more padding.

 

[paconavarro]

DT990 Premium... I love them!!! you wont get any complains about bass, I run them through a fiio e7 on #1 Eq and they are awesome....
 

 

[Thommohawk]

I would spring for those if they weren't extortionately priced in relation to basically every other headphone in the UK....grumble...shame really as I love the aluminium slats. I hear the non Pro variants of the Beyer DT lines have less clamping force too. When I get my refund from Amazon for this defective DT 990 Pro I'm seriously thinking about putting an extra £60 of my own money towards the DT 880 Premium as less clamp, apparently more detail and soundstage, but also less bass apparently whereas for me the DT990 Pro has just enough impact. But I suppose it's all relative as for me my first headphones the Sennheiser HD 215 simply had next to no bass at all - the soundstage, locations and bass impact was all wrong for me and my listening material but it's fit was very comfortable I must say.

 

[paconavarro]

You can always Eq them a little so you can reduce the mids a bit so the bass is a bit more present on the music... 

 

[Thommohawk]

I could but I don't really want to, but more to the point I 'can't' because my music is sourced and played from my PS3 and fed into my sound card (will be an Essence - currently a cheap Creative) and EQ doesn't seem to work on the Line In port for some reason. Might be obvious to some but don't quite understand it myself! 
 
So yeah I get miles better sound playing music from my PS3 than I do playing music from my PC media players. Go figure lol. In any case I refuse to use media players when my PS3 (should say console as 360 is same deal in this aspect) knocks it out of the ballpark. Might be different with the Essence it could be crappy Creative software limitations or it might be a physical impossibility as to why I cannot EQ the line in port signal through the card's own software. 
 
I'm listening to my DT 990 Pro's now (positioned correctly) somewhat amped by my Creative sound card listening to Kings Of Leon's Only By The Night album and Jesus I love these headphones! That sound stage and separation is frikkin incredible!! 
 
I just wish the wire wasn't faulty and the headband was more comfortable....

 

[Armaegis]

An underdog suggestion: Phiaton PS 500. I just got these recently and can't get over how incredibly comfortable they are. Of the three Phiatons I have, the PS 500 is most similar with the DT990.

 

[Argyris]

Quote:

... I'm seriously thinking about putting an extra £60 of my own money towards the DT 880 Premium as less clamp, apparently more detail and soundstage, but also less bass apparently whereas for me the DT990 Pro has just enough impact...

If you think the DT990 has just enough impact, the DT880 will greatly disappoint you. They're bass light, almost to a fault, and as a result the whole sonic signature will be tipped toward the treble compared to the DT990. I sometimes EQ some extra bass in to "ground" them, and I'm no basshead. The DT880s are accurate, neutral (tending toward bright), and airy. I've also read (though couldn't say from personal experience--there's a thread about it somewhere on here) that the DT880 actually has a smaller soundstage than the DT990.
 
In sum, I'd recommend against the DT880 in your case, and suggest if there's any way to make it work at all, try to get a Premium DT990. Generalizing from the Premium DT880 I have (all the cans in this series should be identical in this regard), the fit is very light and comfortable. Clamping is minimal, and should certainly be less than the Pro version.

 

[Thommohawk]

Quote:

Quote:

... I'm seriously thinking about putting an extra £60 of my own money towards the DT 880 Premium as less clamp, apparently more detail and soundstage, but also less bass apparently whereas for me the DT990 Pro has just enough impact...

If you think the DT990 has just enough impact, the DT880 will greatly disappoint you. They're bass light, almost to a fault, and as a result the whole sonic signature will be tipped toward the treble compared to the DT990. I sometimes EQ some extra bass in to "ground" them, and I'm no basshead. The DT880s are accurate, neutral (tending toward bright), and airy. I've also read (though couldn't say from personal experience--there's a thread about it somewhere on here) that the DT880 actually has a smaller soundstage than the DT990.
 
In sum, I'd recommend against the DT880 in your case, and suggest if there's any way to make it work at all, try to get a Premium DT990. Generalizing from the Premium DT880 I have (all the cans in this series should be identical in this regard), the fit is very light and comfortable. Clamping is minimal, and should certainly be less than the Pro version.

 
Appreciated as what you described is a perfect description of what I'm trying to avoid! I've had headphones that matched that description before and it's a total no-no for me, in fact about as far away from neutral as you can get to me. To me the DT 990 Pro seems if not neutral then balanced because for me I can hear pretty much everything with nothing major lacking to my ears and that to me is the definition of neutral. In my way of thinking it's like how a headphone can be neutral if it lacks bass is beyond me.
 
As for making the DT 990 work, that seems like the best solution. But the Premium is way too expensive (costs twice as much as the Pro!) and I'm currently experimenting with resting these Pro's over my PC case tower overnight to help with easing the clamping force and it 'seems' to be working. But these have to go back anyway so I think I'll just buy another pair next week sometime and then send these back so that there's no downtime where I'm without Beyer! Works out too because under Amazon's current schemes I have until January 31 to return these and as they most definitely are faulty I don't think I'll have too much problems getting a refund.

 

[shane55]

 
Quote:

Quote:

... I'm seriously thinking about putting an extra £60 of my own money towards the DT 880 Premium as less clamp, apparently more detail and soundstage, but also less bass apparently whereas for me the DT990 Pro has just enough impact...

If you think the DT990 has just enough impact, the DT880 will greatly disappoint you. They're bass light, almost to a fault, and as a result the whole sonic signature will be tipped toward the treble compared to the DT990. I sometimes EQ some extra bass in to "ground" them, and I'm no basshead. The DT880s are accurate, neutral (tending toward bright), and airy. I've also read (though couldn't say from personal experience--there's a thread about it somewhere on here) that the DT880 actually has a smaller soundstage than the DT990.
 
In sum, I'd recommend against the DT880 in your case, and suggest if there's any way to make it work at all, try to get a Premium DT990. Generalizing from the Premium DT880 I have (all the cans in this series should be identical in this regard), the fit is very light and comfortable. Clamping is minimal, and should certainly be less than the Pro version.

I generally agree with what's said here.
You might want to look at the Denon line. Much more impactful bass and low end, while maintaining very good highs. D2000 is in that price range. The D2k (5k and 7k) are all extremely comfortable and do not clamp much. Of course they don't isolate much either (but neiter do the DT990's).
 
shane
 

 

[Thommohawk]

Must admit I love the look of the Denon d2000, but isn't that a closed back headphone ? Surely then the soundstage wouldn't be as good as the DT 990 Pro ? On the other hand it is a more expensive of a headphone so it may not.

 

[shane55]

Sure... it's closed, and the soundstage will probably be a bit narrower, but that may be a small 'price' to pay for the sound and comfort.
 
I'm not a big 'soundstage' kind of listener, so the D's (2, 5, 7) have had more than enough for me. The open Beyers have great, wide, expansive soundstage, but my Denon's have all had a wider soundstage than either my M50's or my DT770's (which are closed). So it's kind of in the middle.

 

[Thommohawk]

I imagine there's not much difference in comfort between the DT 770 Pro and the DT 990 Pro so how's the difference in comfort between the Denon D2000 and the Beyer DT 770 Pro for you in terms of clamp and headband pressure ? 

 

[shane55]

The D's have little pressure issues.... for me anyway, and I can't remember ever having read about any. The Beyers are very 'slipper' comfy for me. The D's are like gloves.