[audiobomber]

I'm getting a rattling issue on the DT1990 depending on how high the volume is. If I set a tone generator to a subbass frequency like below 60 Hz or around there, the headphone begins to cause an unconfortable rattle. It starts sooner on the left cup, then begins to distort the right one as I keep lowering the frequency just a little bit. Is this behavior normal, or is my pair defective?

Careful, it's easy to overload any driver with a pure low frequency sine wave. Do you hear the rattling when you play music? If not, I would say just stop playing test tones.

 

[CJG888]

I presume it’s quite a good way to fry voice coils…

 

[Progressive J]

That sounds like a defect of some sort if it's a literal physical rattle. Mine never did that, though it's a bit odd that both sides would do it.

With respect to amps I preferred mine with the Emotiva A-100, as it gave a bit more body and roundness to the sound. With the THX 789 it was like the audio equivalent of a surgeon's scalpel, microscopically precise and clean.

Yes, it's a physical rattle. As in, the actual headphone cracking/vibrating. I'm just not sure if it's a defect of my unit or if it's really just like that.

I also suspect I'm experimenting some sort of digital attenuation with my amp (or straight up does not generate the amount of power it is capable of for whether reason), because I need to turn the volume knob at like 2 o'clock on the high gain setting to get the DT1990 loud enough, not leaving me with enough headroom to play around with EQ. So I was considering the A30 Pro because it's an actual class A amplifier with a very powerful single-ended output at that, while still being capable of controlling sensitive IEMs with its low-gain mode.

Careful, it's easy to overload any driver with a pure low frequency sine wave. Do you hear the rattling when you play music? If not, I would say just stop playing test tones.

I tested it with a tone generator just to make sure at what frequency does it start to distort like that. From my listening tests, the rattling appears to happen at louder volumes in music with a really low bass drum decay.

 

[Sphere 57]

I think your headphones may well be faulty. I am well aware of the phenomenon of mechanically noisy headphones (my HifiMan HE400i are very creaky), but stock DT1990s don't really have much of a problem with this in my experience. Neither do I find myself having to turn the volume up high, I use lower positions on the dial than when using DT770 250Ω or LCD-2.

 

[Gvs71]

My new DT1990 Pros are rock solid, so I would probably be sending yours back. I have mine connected to the Singxer SA-1, low gain - low Z, watching a movie (It Might Get Loud) and the volume is at 11 o’clock. That’s loud enough for me for it to be enjoyable. 1990’s are preforming well.

 

[GlenAppleton]

Just received my DT-1990s today, so here's a summary of my first impressions, compared to the DT-770s I've been using for the past 4+ months.

Build: The aesthetics and build quality of the DT-1990s is definitely a step up from the 770s in the way they look and feel. The clamp force out of the box is less than that of the 770s (when new), and the ear pads fit perfect around my ears. While the 1990s are actually heavier than the 770s, they are actually more comfortable, probably due to the improved headband and less clamping force.

Sound: In a word, outstanding! The clarity of the Tesla driver shines through right from the start, and I assume that will only get better as they break in. The lows are punchy, tight, and well defined. I thought I might need to kick in the XBass feature on my amp, but no, it's absolutely not needed with these drivers. The mids seem to be a bit more forward than the 770s, but I'll need to listen to a few more tracks to be sure, but like the bass, they're very well defined. The highs are very present and sound crystalline in the 1990s, where they're a bit more metallic with the 770s. Overall, I'm hearing more of everything with the 1990s, especially the subtle harmonics that often get lost in the mix.

First day, first hours, and very happy with my choice to get the DT-1990s!

 

[GlenAppleton]

Just received my DT-1990s today, so here's a summary of my first impressions, compared to the DT-770s I've been using for the past 4+ months.

Build: The aesthetics and build quality of the DT-1990s is definitely a step up from the 770s in the way they look and feel. The clamp force out of the box is less than that of the 770s (when new), and the ear pads fit perfect around my ears. While the 1990s are actually heavier than the 770s, they are actually more comfortable, probably due to the improved headband and less clamping force.

Sound: In a word, outstanding! The clarity of the Tesla driver shines through right from the start, and I assume that will only get better as they break in. The lows are punchy, tight, and well defined. I thought I might need to kick in the XBass feature on my amp, but no, it's absolutely not needed with these drivers. The mids seem to be a bit more forward than the 770s, but I'll need to listen to a few more tracks to be sure, but like the bass, they're very well defined. The highs are very present and sound crystalline in the 1990s, where they're a bit more metallic with the 770s. Overall, I'm hearing more of everything with the 1990s, especially the subtle harmonics that often get lost in the mix.

First day, first hours, and very happy with my choice to get the DT-1990s!

Sadly, after a few days of listening, there is one major downside to the 1990s... They're just TOO CLEAR (read: unforgiving), and they expose issues with certain recordings. Mostly, recordings from the "needs more loudness" mixed / mastered variety just don't sound as good as they I thought they did with the 770s. However, tracks that aren't loudness (compressed to hell) mixed / mastered and still possess some real dynamics sound absolutely amazing.

 

[Gvs71]

Sadly, after a few days of listening, there is one major downside to the 1990s... They're just TOO CLEAR (read: unforgiving), and they expose issues with certain recordings. Mostly, recordings from the "needs more loudness" mixed / mastered variety just don't sound as good as they I thought they did with the 770s. However, tracks that aren't loudness (compressed to hell) mixed / mastered and still possess some real dynamics sound absolutely amazing.

Hi Glen,
If you can, and have access to one, try the 1990s with a hybrid or OTL tube amp. I am tending to use mine more with my TA-20. I can’t really explain it but they don’t sound as ‘sharp’ and are more enjoyable. Food for thought.

 

[Terriero]

Sadly, after a few days of listening, there is one major downside to the 1990s... They're just TOO CLEAR (read: unforgiving), and they expose issues with certain recordings. Mostly, recordings from the "needs more loudness" mixed / mastered variety just don't sound as good as they I thought they did with the 770s. However, tracks that aren't loudness (compressed to hell) mixed / mastered and still possess some real dynamics sound absolutely amazing.

That's the problem sometimes when you scale in the HI-FI world, happened to me in the past because I like a lot melodic metal, but regarding 1990 Pros, in my case, I love them with most of my metal collection.

 

[GlenAppleton]

Hi Glen,
If you can, and have access to one, try the 1990s with a hybrid or OTL tube amp. I am tending to use mine more with my TA-20. I can’t really explain it but they don’t sound as ‘sharp’ and are more enjoyable. Food for thought.

I do love the sound of a good tube / valve amplifier, but that's not the issue I'm describing here. The issue is in the mastering / mixing of the recording itself when it's processed in the studio. You can really tell which tracks suffer from "the loudness wars" (continues today) and which do not. Examples below:

A good master / mix wave form: Kansas - Song for America

A highly compressed wave form: Collective Soul - Shine

You can see (and hear) that the engineer red-lined nearly the entire track in the second example, where it only occasionally peaks into the red on the first.

 

[eel3]

I do love the sound of a good tube / valve amplifier, but that's not the issue I'm describing here. The issue is in the mastering / mixing of the recording itself when it's processed in the studio. You can really tell which tracks suffer from "the loudness wars" (continues today) and which do not. Examples below:

A good master / mix wave form: Kansas - Song for America


A highly compressed wave form: Collective Soul - Shine


You can see (and hear) that the engineer red-lined nearly the entire track in the second example, where it only occasionally peaks into the red on the first.

Could you elaborate why it’s the 1990s in particular that make this type of mixing more fatiguing? I would’ve imagined that most people either don’t mind it or find it irritating regardless of the headphone they might be using.

 

[GlenAppleton]

Could you elaborate why it’s the 1990s in particular that make this type of mixing more fatiguing? I would’ve imagined that most people either don’t mind it or find it irritating regardless of the headphone they might be using.

Sure. It's something that I've been aware of for quite some time, but on the gear I've had up until now (with the DT-1990), it hasn't been very audible. When the engineer mixes with this much "loudness" (compression) and raises the levels for radio use and other reasons (I assume), it basically kills the dynamics of the music. The soft passages are raised to the levels of the loud passages in the music, taking the loud passages way past the red-line (in most cases) and therefore causing clipping / distortion.

Short version: It destroys most (if not all) of the dynamics of the music and adds distortion.

 

[393699]

Dekoni now has their winter flannel pads available for the DT 1990.

https://dekoniaudio.com/product/hol...r-pads-for-beyerdynamic-dt-series-headphones/

 

[trellus]

Dekoni now has their winter flannel pads available for the DT 1990.

https://dekoniaudio.com/product/hol...r-pads-for-beyerdynamic-dt-series-headphones/

Egads, they're hideous but so kind of interesting looking I think I might want them

 

[jwong]

I kind of love those pads, but not $60/pair love...