[Slaphead]

I'm hoping that I'll be able to pick mine up at the weekend.

I originally had them reserved when my dealer got the first batch in, but I was away at that point for a good period of time, and not being a selfish type, I emailed my dealer to tell them to let them go to somebody else, and that I would take one from the next batch.

Given all the positive comments in this thread, and the fact that I'm already very impressed with the DT1770, I'm looking forward to finally getting my hands on them.

 

[Ultrainferno]

Earlier today I published my Beyerdynamic Amiron Home review with comparisons to the DT1770PRO/DT1990PRO, should any of you be tempted by the Amiron

 

[Slaphead]

Earlier today I published my Beyerdynamic Amiron Home review with comparisons to the DT1770PRO/DT1990PRO, should any of you be tempted by the Amiron

Thanks for that. Given how you've described them in comparison compared to the DT1990PRO I'm pretty sure I'm making the right choice by going with the the DT1990PRO.

 

[Slaphead]

And they're finally mine. My dealer got a fresh shipment in yesterday, and I dodged off work early to pick them up.

Sadly I won't have a chance to listen to them until tomorrow morning, where no doubt I'll be up at 5:00 unpacking them and sticking them on my head.

 

[Wesbound]

And they're finally mine. My dealer got a fresh shipment in yesterday, and I dodged off work early to pick them up.

Sadly I won't have a chance to listen to them until tomorrow morning, where no doubt I'll be up at 5:00 unpacking them and sticking them on my head.

 
Let us know soon what you think about it 

 

[stenog]

Got my DT 1990 little over a week ago and have about 20 hours on the them. For the price paid I think they are fantastic!

They replaced the DT 1770 which were good but a little bit too closed and lacked air. It's not night and day between the two but clearly a difference for my ears. More open and airy more details and also slightly brighter. With some recordings DT 1770 could be too dark.

Even the bass on 1990 are First Class. Less quantity than 1770 but not quality. Bass texture are top notch and perfect for rock/metal music.

If I should describe them with one word it would be musical. I get pure enjoyment every time I put them on my head. And I can listen to them for several hours without fatiguing.

I have not heard that many big cans and never any TOTL cans. I have a feeling that these are bouncing over their price tag or maybe they just hit my sound signature .

 

[Slaphead]

I've had them on my head for about 5 hours today, listening to mostly classical from the likes of siebilus, mahler, barber, and all I can say about the DT1990 is that it's incredibly detailed and incredibly vivid.

I haven't tried the analytical pads yet, but with the balanced pads I find the bass somewhat north of neutral, at least for classical, but by god it's involving and captivating. The detail and layering is fantastic

I did a quick comparison against the DT880, and the DT1990 is a significant step up. That said I still believe the DT880 is an incredible bargain for the price it goes for these days, and still well worth a look for those on a budget looking to take their first steps into this wallet consuming hobby.

They haven't replaced my DT1770, which were pretty much assigned to EDM duties already, and while the DT1990 makes a good stab at EDM with the balanced pads, it lacks that "I'm in a club" feeling that the DT1770 gives me. So I'm keeping both.

Both the DT1770 and 1990 make an excellent pairing with the Chord Mojo, although I think it's difficult to think of a headphone that doesn't match well with Chord's fantastic little box of tricks.

I do have a slight niggle with my DT1990 in that the left ear cup is stiffer to rotate than the right, and this is leading to a bit of creaking. However it's already loosened up a bit, and it's nothing that a bit of silicone lubricant won't sort out if it remains stiff.

I'm working on a full review at the moment, but it'll take a lot more listens before I'm ready to commit my thoughts to the virtual world. However as it stands things are looking good for the DT1990

 

[Leonarfd]

I have had the DT 1990 PRO in house for some days now. I really love this headphone, my most used headphone by far has been the DT 880 and this is a step up. Weird how the 880 sounds dull when I swap, I didnt hear this before I got them. But I guess thats how it will always be, you try something better and the old sounds outdated. Still in new toy phase, so aint going to say to much. 

Just one thing that I noticed, the balanced pads that it comes with have more presssure than my DT 880, the pads are stiff but the clamp is okay. I used them without to much discomfort for some hours but, they are stiffer than what I like. And I got a bigger than average head, so softer pads on the balanced ones would have been lovely. But I guess the stiffnes is a part of the sound change and the the little more of bass u get.
I changed to the analytical ones instead and they are much more softer, I might even like the sound of them more aswell.

One thing is for sure I dont think I will use my DT 880 much more.

 

[MarkF786]

Does the headband on the DT1990 adjust larger than the DT880?  When wearing the DT880, I have to extend the headband as far as it will go and it only barely places the cups around my ears.  I don't have that problem with my many other headphones.
 
I'd like to try the DT1990 but just concerned that they won't fit well.

 

[Sophonax]

  Does the headband on the DT1990 adjust larger than the DT880?  When wearing the DT880, I have to extend the headband as far as it will go and it only barely places the cups around my ears.  I don't have that problem with my many other headphones.
 
I'd like to try the DT1990 but just concerned that they won't fit well.

 
I had the same problem with the DT880 -- always had to extend it out as far as it would go. The DT1990 extends about three clicks further on each side than the DT880 did, by my estimation.

 

[djburt]

Great comments and info on this thread - wanna say thanks to everyone contributing.
 
I'm interested to hear from more audio engineers and recording technicians about their experience with the 1990s. And/or those who have had experience with and the understanding of the necessity of a relatively flat-response reference grade yardstick. I'm in need of some reference headphones for music production, mixing and mastering. However - and this is key - I don't want them to sound boring. There needs to be at least some excitement otherwise creativity tends to get very flat indeed. This is why I'm looking into the 1990s as they seem to have a good balance between euphoric listening and neutrality / transparency. Combine this with the option of interchangeable ear pads and the range is even more extended.
 
As far as frequency response goes, two things are most important to me. Mid-range must be present (this is why I love grados) and low-end extension must be substantial (as I use a lot of subs in production). But, the low end must also be very clear and transparent (kicks to be 'heard' rather than 'felt'). I'm hoping that the A pads will lend themselves well to this, by creating more neutrality in the lows, whilst perceptually raising the mids as a result. Semi-open or open are preferential to closed, which is why the 1990s are a real possibility. Comfort and non-fatigue are also important when working long hours.
 
Unfortunately, many of the other headphone manufacturers have already written themselves out:
 
Focal Spirit Pros (on-ear, painful to wear, easily breakable)
 
Senns (the dreaded sennheiser veil is no good for studio work and I already have the 565s for that brand sound if needed)
 
Grados (just too darn painful to wear)
 
AKG (had experience before but never truly impressed, although the K712s might be an option)
 
Beyer 880s (how do the 1990s compare?)
 
 
Any comments on transparency, neutrality and reference-grade standard capabilities would be much appreciated.Thanks folks

 

[DavidA]

  Great comments and info on this thread - wanna say thanks to everyone contributing.
 
I'm interested to hear from more audio engineers and recording technicians about their experience with the 1990s. And/or those who have had experience with and the understanding of the necessity of a relatively flat-response reference grade yardstick. I'm in need of some reference headphones for music production, mixing and mastering. However - and this is key - I don't want them to sound boring. There needs to be at least some excitement otherwise creativity tends to get very flat indeed. This is why I'm looking into the 1990s as they seem to have a good balance between euphoric listening and neutrality / transparency. Combine this with the option of interchangeable ear pads and the range is even more extended.
 
As far as frequency response goes, two things are most important to me. Mid-range must be present (this is why I love grados) and low-end extension must be substantial (as I use a lot of subs in production). But, the low end must also be very clear and transparent (kicks to be 'heard' rather than 'felt'). I'm hoping that the A pads will lend themselves well to this, by creating more neutrality in the lows, whilst perceptually raising the mids as a result. Semi-open or open are preferential to closed, which is why the 1990s are a real possibility. Comfort and non-fatigue are also important when working long hours.
 
Unfortunately, many of the other headphone manufacturers have already written themselves out:
 
Focal Spirit Pros (on-ear, painful to wear, easily breakable)
 
Senns (the dreaded sennheiser veil is no good for studio work and I already have the 565s for that brand sound if needed)
 
Grados (just too darn painful to wear)
 
AKG (had experience before but never truly impressed, although the K712s might be an option)
 
Beyer 880s (how do the 1990s compare?)
 
 
Any comments on transparency, neutrality and reference-grade standard capabilities would be much appreciated.Thanks folks

The Senn "veil" is not real, properly driven there is no "veil".  Many use the HD-600 for mastering since it is considered by many to be the definition of a neutral sounding headphone
 
Agree that flats and bowls can be painful for some but the donuts or G pads are quite comfortable IMO, they also help with the sound stage and bass.  I've used my Ypsilon and Nhoord builds for 8 hours at a time, something I couldn't do with my HD-650, HD-700, DT-990 premium and HE-400i.
 
I still think you might do better with 2 different headphones, one for mastering and one for just listening, it why I have many headphones, they each have their own unique sound which I enjoy.

 

[djburt]

  The Senn "veil" is not real, properly driven there is no "veil".  Many use the HD-600 for mastering since it is considered by many to be the definition of a neutral sounding headphone
 
Agree that flats and bowls can be painful for some but the donuts or G pads are quite comfortable IMO, they also help with the sound stage and bass.  I've used my Ypsilon and Nhoord builds for 8 hours at a time, something I couldn't do with my HD-650, HD-700, DT-990 premium and HE-400i.
 
I still think you might do better with 2 different headphones, one for mastering and one for just listening, it why I have many headphones, they each have their own unique sound which I enjoy.

Thanks DavidA. Have you had chance to hear the 1990s? And compare against the HD-600?

 

[DavidA]

  Thanks DavidA. Have you had chance to hear the 1990s? And compare against the HD-600?

Sorry, haven't heard the DT-1990 yet, but did get a listen to the DT-1770 a while ago, it was a great sounding closed headphone but since I don't really go for closed headphones for home use I didn't really do any serious listening with them.  I've since sold my HD-600 once I built my Ypsilon and Nhoord driver headphones, these two make the HD-600 and HD-650 sound boring IMO.  I don't search for neutral headphones since I just like to listen to music as I noted before.  I did get the HD-650 and HD-600 since I wanted to hear what others considered neutral and to get a good reference point going forward. 
 
For me the Nhoord driver in rosewood cups are quite close to the HD-600 without the 4-5khz peak of the HD-600 that bothered me at times with some tracks and they are also very easy to drive, quite comfortable with G pads and also very light so its easy to use them for hours at a time.  One thing for me living in Hawaii close to the ocean is its quite humid so having ear pads that breath well is a must for me.

 

[Sophonax]

I've never been an audio engineer or done any mixing and mastering, but of all the headphones I've heard the DT1990 (with analytical pads) or the HD650 would be my top picks for a neutral reference. I'd pick these over the HD598, HD600, HD800, K612, K712, DT880, DT1770, T1, R10, Elear, Utopia, and any of the headphones made by Grado, Audeze, MrSpeakers, and HiFiMAN. Stax might be another good option for a neutral reference, but I haven't had enough experience listening to those to be able to say one way or the other.
 
I think the Sennheiser veil did indeed exist in the past -- I had an HD650 with black driver screens back in the day, and I did find them to be veiled. However, since the HD800 came out and the HD650 was updated with the revised silver driver screens, I think Sennheiser has completely eliminated the veil with most of their headphones. Somehow though, the myth of the veil continues to live on.
 
The current iteration of the HD650 is a very neutral headphone with a slight lean towards a warmer sound. Bass, mids, and treble are very nicely balanced, and they are all integrated seamlessly with one another. The bass is well-extended, though maybe just a tiny bit slow and not quite the last word in dynamics. Mids are the star of the show I think -- very smooth and even, and very highly detailed. The HD650 does an excellent job portraying textures of vocals and instruments in the midrange. Treble is also very good -- pretty well-extended, and just about right in quantity I think. One of the best things about the HD650 is that it manages to be very neutral without ever being fatiguing, which is very much appreciated when listening for hours at a time.
 
By comparison to the HD650, the HD600 is a bit of a step down in my opinion. The bass on the HD600 doesn't extend as far, and it is slightly lacking in quantity. Also, I found the HD600 to have a bit of an elevated response in the upper midrange (2-4 kHz), which got fatiguing for me after a while.
 
The DT1990 with analytical pads is also a very neutral headphone, though unlike the HD650 I don't think it leans warm or cold. Compared to the HD650, the mids are a little bit less forward, though they don't sound recessed to me at all. Treble on the DT1990 is also a little bit more forward than the HD650, but it never sounds bright to me. Where these really excel over the HD650 is in overall clarity and dynamics. Bass is tighter and has more punch, and the mids and treble sound a little bit more open and clear.
 
By comparison to the DT880, the DT1990 beefs up the bass and gives it some more muscle. The DT1990 pushes the mids forward so they're no longer recessed, and the mids also gain a little bit more body in the lower end of the range. Finally, the DT1990 tames the treble so it's not sibilant or overly bright like the DT880 can be at times. I love the DT880, but I found the DT1990 to be an improvement over it in just about every way.
 
Comfort on the HD650 and DT1990 is great -- I never had any problems with either in this regard. The HD650 can squeeze your head a bit initially, but they loosen up over time.
 
I really don't think you can go wrong with the HD650 or DT1990 -- but personally I think I would slightly favor the DT1990 overall.