Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO - Beyer's open-back mastering headphone
Sep 29, 2016 at 10:31 PM Post #361 of 4,756
Yes, the SQ of DT-1990/1770 is way better than MMX-300 that is of DT-770 class. Tesla 2.0 drivers do a great job. If you want a similar Tesla drivers at similar price and similar balanced signature but with consumer-line musicality and without a microphone, you may consider the new beyerdynamic Amiron. Detachable dual-entry cables might give you a chance to go even balanced one day? Open-back, though.
http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/press/press-releases/press-detail/article/amiron-home-new-at-the-tokyo-headphone-festival-2016.html

For outdoors my DT-1770 is keeping me quite happy. The all-black colour indeed makes the product seem a little smaller than what it actually is, good thing for portability-looks. You won't regret. Just buy a short 1.2mm 3td party AKG cable from Amazon for $15. The stock one runs 3 meters and has a tendency to slap owner's cheeks when being rolled or unrolled.

Something like this? 
 
https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-upgrade-pioneer-HDJ-2000-Headphone/dp/B00KAST95Y
 
Btw, I just ordered the 1770 on amazon from Audio46. Should arrive on tuesday! STOKED
 
Sep 29, 2016 at 11:22 PM Post #362 of 4,756
Something like this? 

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-upgrade-pioneer-HDJ-2000-Headphone/dp/B00KAST95Y

Btw, I just ordered the 1770 on amazon from Audio46. Should arrive on tuesday! STOKED
I have one from exactly the same page/model. Quite nice. You might find the SQ a little richer, if you can get a custom silver cable from Peterek in HeadFi lounge. $45, perhaps. Worth spending, I have been told. He can even solder the headphones into balanced recabling, if you care about going balanced. But better not, some early batch production DT-1770s develop right driver distortion warranting a free replacement. Just a few bad apples. Enjoy the wait.
 
Sep 29, 2016 at 11:37 PM Post #363 of 4,756
I have one from exactly the same page/model. Quite nice. You might find the SQ a little richer, if you can get a custom silver cable from Peterek in HeadFi lounge. $45, perhaps. Worth spending, I have been told. He can even solder the headphones into balanced recabling, if you care about going balanced. But better not, some early batch production DT-1770s develop right driver distortion warranting a free replacement. Just a few bad apples. Enjoy the wait.

Thanks for the headsup! I'm sure the AKG cable will be plenty for me. I won't be using it portability too often but enough to warrant the choice of a closed back. I'll be using it mostly on my PC. 
 
Sep 30, 2016 at 4:57 AM Post #365 of 4,756
THE DT1990pro are priced much higher than the DT1770pro in the UK vs USA. So maybe we in the UK get a fantastic price on the DT1770pro or we get an inflated price on the DT1990pro.

In the UK If buying directly from Amazon the DT1770pro (£367) vs DT1990pro (£495). To compare the HIFIMAN 400i is typically (£359) = close to the DT1770pro price.



In the USA from Amazon directly both the DT1770pro and DT1990pro headphones are (599 US dollars). I think HE400i is typically (429 to 459 US Dollars).Please correct me if I am wrong here.


I guess i would ask USA customers would you still buy the DT1990pro or take the DT1770pro if there was such a big price difference??????
 
Sep 30, 2016 at 9:32 AM Post #367 of 4,756
Just what I thought beyerdynamic was trying to do. Officially announced just now: beyerdynamic Amiron

The successor to T90 by going easy on T90's original terrible treble. Bass and mids a bit more forward to make the more balanced SQ beyer's new house sound signature for both studio line and consumer line. Yay! Finally!! Way to go beyer!!
 

 
"Warm, intoxicating sound with live atmosphere"
I don't think this will appeal to a T70-fan like me?
 
Sep 30, 2016 at 10:00 AM Post #368 of 4,756
I'm rocking Nordost upgrade cable for AKG with my DT 1990.




Can A20 be so close to your A2 as to avoid spending $800 extra on the latter?

A20 output impedance might be a big 20ohm against the Low/High impendance switch offered in A2; is your A20 on LOW smooth enough killer for sensitive IEMs like SE846 and DN2000J? A20 price drops to as low as $300 sometimes making it irresistible, except for the scary 20ohm impedance. You can share comparisons, please?
 
Sep 30, 2016 at 10:07 AM Post #369 of 4,756
THE DT1990pro are priced much higher than the DT1770pro in the UK vs USA. So maybe we in the UK get a fantastic price on the DT1770pro or we get an inflated price on the DT1990pro.

In the UK If buying directly from Amazon the DT1770pro (£367) vs DT1990pro (£495). To compare the HIFIMAN 400i is typically (£359) = close to the DT1770pro price.



In the USA from Amazon directly both the DT1770pro and DT1990pro headphones are (599 US dollars). I think HE400i is typically (429 to 459 US Dollars).Please correct me if I am wrong here.


I guess i would ask USA customers would you still buy the DT1990pro or take the DT1770pro if there was such a big price difference??????

 
Don't forget, the 1770 is a year old by now so street prices will have far more elasticity than the still-very-new 1990. In the US there are regularly good deals for the 1770 (I got mine new last month from an authorized retailer for $440) but so far no deals on the DT-1990, although I expect there will be in the next few months. All eyes are on the Amiron now to see if it's essentially a DT-1990 in a slightly nicer shell. 
 
Sep 30, 2016 at 11:01 AM Post #370 of 4,756
Don't forget, the 1770 is a year old by now so street prices will have far more elasticity than the still-very-new 1990. In the US there are regularly good deals for the 1770 (I got mine new last month from an authorized retailer for $440) but so far no deals on the DT-1990, although I expect there will be in the next few months. All eyes are on the Amiron now to see if it's essentially a DT-1990 in a slightly nicer shell. 


That's one good thing about beyerdynamic headphones - a few months into market, every single model, including ToTL ones will be available at 20% or more discounted price, for some strange reasons none of which seems to be bad sound signature. It's just the beyerdynamic curse or bad brand recollection or unfamiliar brand equity or just the name 'b-e-y-e-r-d-y-n-a-m-i-c'. 'Sennheiser' sounds like a sound or electronics company. 'beyerdynamic' sounds like an earth-moving machinery or aviation company. :wink: How often did we see a HD800 at below $999 before HD 800S was launched?! How often a Shure SE846 goes for below $999?! AKG K3003i started going below $999 (now at $700) only after years and only after DUNU-DN2000J started becoming familiar. But beyerdynamic?! A mini-Tesla-driver DT-1350 is often spotted at $170, DT-770 at $140, DT-990 at a laughable $110 and T1/5p at $700. Surely enough number of un-informed potential consumers out there who don't give the attention beyerdynamic deserves, a fact that only pleases HeadFiers like us who can often spot a DT-1770 at $440 and a T1 at $700 and a A20 at $300. Good for the discerning customer!
 
Sep 30, 2016 at 11:34 AM Post #371 of 4,756
"Warm, intoxicating sound with live atmosphere"

I don't think this will appeal to a T70-fan like me?


I don't use T70/p. It seems to have a badly-defined bass and the old beyer treble. If such sound signature pleases you, this is a great time to buy one more and last of the T70/p pieces at $250 or below because it is very highly likely that, in the next 6 months, beyerdynamic will release a successor(s) to T70/p with Tesla 2.0 drivers, dual-entry detachable cables and the new-beyer-balanced-singnature at $599 and call the model "beyerdynamic Dietrich place" or something like that. "beyerdynamic Amiron home"??! Really??!


Surely, all the new-age Tesla 2.0 beyerdynamic consumer line headphones will be a boon to bal-ivebers (balanced-cable believers). T1.2, T5p.2, Amiron home and the T70/p successors - all comes with dual entry detachable cables.
 
Sep 30, 2016 at 6:20 PM Post #372 of 4,756
I wrote a little somethin about the new headphones:
http://fastnbulbous.com/beyerdynamic-dt1990pro-headphone-timeline/
 
Plus a bonus historical timeline. I posted here in case anyone had anything to add, but crickets:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/821423/headphone-history-timeline
 
Oct 2, 2016 at 12:14 AM Post #374 of 4,756
Listened to some great music today with the dt1990 thru a bryston headphone amp, wow great dynamics and ease of sound . not relaxed or laid back back but they never seemed to reach there limit when played hard and loud with demanding music they never seemed strained or distorted. wonderful combo if you get a chance to hear them together. Both got me thinking about rebuilding my system
 
Oct 2, 2016 at 12:38 AM Post #375 of 4,756
Well, well, well,,,, I never thought I would be in a thread like this. Ten years ago I decided to get into this hobby after going many years without any serious headphones of any kind. I bought the DT770 Pro while on a business trip to Seattle and grabbed an iPod and was off and running. As I tried more stuff, I soon tired of the treble and also found them over heating my ears a bit too easily. Off they went to a friend who liked them. Then came AKG K550, same thing (I am a slow learner).
 
Over the next 9 years I tried all kinds of stuff, owned over a dozen decent mid-fi cans. Most of them purchased while I worked at BestBuy's IT department and got a nice employee discount ordering headphones from Magnolia. They didn't carry beyerdynamic, and I didn't miss them, no big deal.
 
I tried a few more beyer models at meets and audio friends. Still didn't miss them at all, and even though I was singing the praises of the HD700, I still thought beyer had lost their way as I could not handle the treble balance. I did eventually tire of the HD700 as well, but I thought they at least had a stronger set of redeeming qualities.
 
I was convinced I would never buy another beyer headphone, and comments from another "friendly" forum complaining about QC was icing on the cake.
 
Then this thread...
 
And then I really liked the new look...
 
Early feedback was very encouraging, and I do like German design, engineering and manufacturing.
 
Trigger pulled.
 
I am on day 6, they have been run in fairly well but just on a Dragonfly 1.2 as I wait for a new amp to arrive soon. I love them, but they take me right up to the edge of the cliff. A few songs get harsh for me, but for the most part they are a nice compliment to my current favorite headphone: AQ Nighthawk
 
Maybe I shouldn't play favorites as there are times that I go for the DT1990 over anything else I have right now (including EL-8 Open). I was pleasantly surprised on all my favorites (my taste runs all over the place). And then by accident I hit play on Hall & Oates remastered version of "Out of Touch". I now have an entirely deeper appreciation for that song. I am really digging the balanced pads and the way the DT1990 approaches bass, with nice slam overall, a slight mid bass punch, and a real sense of order and tightness throughout the entire bass spectrum. I think the Nighthawks may in fact go a tad lower but it is hard to tell with the music I have been listening to, but nothing I have listened to has quite the sense of control that I am feeling with the beyers.
 
I do think they are just tad bright, but not uncomfortably so, and I am very biased here as I have become a very treble sensitive listener over the last few years, but I would not describe them as V-shaped since the vocals and presence region is right up there with the bass and treble, which helps everything sound fairly well balanced to me. The resolving power of the tesla drivers are put to good effect and I hear great layering and gurgling of well recorded analog synthesizers and keyboards, wonderful string sounds and bell tones. I like the imaging but would not describe it as particularly wide or deep, just very good and really well delineated. They just sound tight and accurate to me, much like a good planar magnetic, but at this price point, smoother and more organic with a natural bounce and better dynamic range. Note, when I say bouncy I am not talking about loose bass, I am talking about a very slight roundness that along with good pace and tone and tight dynamics with good attack and release all come together to make this a decent studio tool (not really qualified here, but some experience) and a great audiophile / home music lover solution all at the same time.
 
I don't know if these will make it into the long term "hold" category for me quite yet as I am working really hard to find happiness with 5 headphones or less, and would love to get that down to 3 if possible. But who I am kidding, I will be lucky to to reclaim my sanity just getting down to 5. My new everyday stay out of the way winner is the R70x, my easy chair choice is the Nighthawk, my office/travel solution is the PM-3, my new desktop rockstar is currently the DT1990, and my current but rarely used reference is the EL-8 which will soon be traded up for some TBD (looking at Elear, HD800S, or Ether Flow). When I think about what I like and what I am searching for across all of those things it seems like the DT1990 is actually doing a really great job of keeping up with all of them. Easy to handle, great design and build quality, not heavy, not prone to heating up, nice case and extras, fantastic bass, smooth and detailed mids, crisp but not harsh highs all very neatly laid out on a clear stage. I am so glad I gave beyer another chance. The DT1990 is a real rock star. But holy g*%$d%#$*&^ m*#$%@& f*(&^ beyer!!! You really should have given us dual entry cables with this beauty.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top