[White Lotus]

Some photos I've taken of this great looking headphone:

 

[hiflofi]

These are some of the most well-built headphones I've demoed, and beyond that supreme build quality is great comfort and sound. Strongly considering these as the next step in my journey even though I'm sort of infatuated with the Hifiman Arya right now as well.

 

[Scutey]

Some photos I've taken of this great looking headphone:

Nice close up pics!

 

[Scutey]

These are some of the most well-built headphones I've demoed, and beyond that supreme build quality is great comfort and sound. Strongly considering these as the next step in my journey even though I'm sort of infatuated with the Hifiman Arya right now as well.

I've had my 1990's for two years now, with over a 1000 hours of use and they still feel tight, no looseness at all.

 

[WHO23]

Storytime:

The beyerdynamic DT1990 was the second audiophile headphone that I bought. I got hooked on headphones very recently and previously I had only listened to music on speakers. I demo'ed a bunch of headphones down at Jaben Melbourne and ended up with the DT1990 as I was amazed by it's (1) dynamism, (2) clarity, (3) neutrality, sense of spacing (which I know now as imaging) build and also it was within my allotted budget.

After a few days with my newly acquired purchase, I was sure I was not getting the dynamism, clarity and neutrality that I had at the demo shop. For the dynamics (1), I found out that I needed an Headphone Amplifier. The Elemental Watson II Tube Amplifier that was included in the combo purchase with the DT1990 and upon using it in the chain, (1) dynamism improved dramatically but the clarity was not as I expected. This was when I started searching around online and from recommendations for entry level pairings, I acquired the Monoprice Liquid Spark and the (2) clarity improved over the tube amp.

I was much happier with the sound coming out the of the DT1990 now. The music energetic, punch and powerful, but however I was wondering why it was not the (3) neutral sound I liked during the demo. I found out here on Head-Fi that the issue is that the default Balanced pads were boosted in the bass and that you had to swap to the Analytical Pads to get a more neutral sound. After some difficulty putting the A Pads on, I finally found the magic that I heard at the demo shop.

I was hooked on headphones now and I used the DT1990 everyday for a week but I was getting fatigued only after a few hours of listening. Female vocals and even male vocals such as Michael Buble on La Vie En Rose had a sharpness to it which I later learnt was (4) sibilant/sibilance caused by the treble peak. With my lack of knowledge (I did not know how to EQ back then) and with my sudden renewed interest in music I came up with a simple solution to this problem - I blindly purchased a Sennheiser HD800S off Amazon. I surmised that precison German engineered headphones suited my tastes, and luckily it did.

So you must have thought I'd sold off my DT1990 by now no? My DT1990 has been sitting in the box for almost a year now. Even though I've moved on to many other headphones, whenever I see the DT1990 I feel buyer's remorse. It's not that I've spent so much money on it and never used it, but that I've never got a reason to go back to using it. When solderdude at DIY-Audio-Heaven posted about a passive filter for the DT1990 to fix the treble peak which was causing the (4) sibilance, I immediately e-mailed him and ordered one. The filter arrived last month and I've put on the DT1990 from time to time and I remember the magic of when I first started this hobby.

Thank you solderdude (Frans) for making the passive filter for my DT1990 and allowing me to enjoy this incredible headphone again. This post was not sponsored in any way.

Fellow DT1990 owners, it you're lookinh for more information on the passive filter, check out diyaudioheaven. He recently updated the page to include graphs showing effects of using the DT1990 passive filter and Dekoni Elite Velour Pads:
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-a-i/dt-1990-pro/

 

[audiobomber]

A rave review, and well deserved IMHO:
https://headphone.guru/the-beyerdynamic-dt-1990-pro-headset-a-keeper-in-every-respect/

 

[Coran]

These have been my daily driver for 2 years now. I've tried other headphones, but I just keep coming back. They are just so perfect.

 

[tracyca]

The dt 1990 pro sound fabulous when paired with the Feliks Audio Espressivo mk2 tube amp. Rocking them with some Raytheon 5670 windmill getter tubes. Dynamic bass with crunchy crispy highs. Using my mojo as dac feed from my iPad Pro.

 

[cjc]

Anyone own both DT990 600 ohm and 1990 Pro's?
What are the BIG sound differences between them?

 

[Mad Max]

DT990 is about huge bass and big upper-midange boost at ~5kHz, not what 1990 is known for.
Tesla drivers in general have a more pleasant timbre to them, too, versus old Beyers like DT990.

 

[CP5670]

I just got a DT1990 ($450 for a Beach Camera deal with stand/case) and A20 amplifier ($200 used) to upgrade from a DT990 32ohm. I use it mostly for games and electronic music from games, and run it out of an X-Fi sound card. I like the DT990 a lot and wanted something with the same type of signature but better. The treble sounds great and is very detailed but less harsh (I find the DT990 too harsh by default but good after equalizing 8-16khz down a bit). The bass is lower in quantity but more textured as well as faster and harder hitting. The earpads change the sound quite significantly, and it's almost like two headphones in one. Before I got it I thought the B pads would be more to my taste since I like bass, but I actually prefer the A pads. They seem to be the same as the DT880/990 pads and the sound is closer to that style, but more detailed and refined. The B pads (the default ones) make the sound more bassy but also "closed in" and less expansive, and are also firmer and less comfortable to wear. I increase the frequencies below 100hz a bit in the X-Fi equalizer to get them to a similar level as the B pads. If the A pads are the same as the DT990 ones then they do tend to flatten out over time, which might also change the sound signature.

The headphone itself feels really high quality and much nicer than the DT990, which is already pretty good. The only issue I have is the headband clamp, which is definitely tighter than the DT990. It's still comfortable but you can feel it on your head more than the DT990. It has loosened a bit since I got it (after having it on the stand for several hours) and definitely feels better with the A pads, but is still tighter than the DT990. I wish they had a Premium, non-Pro version of this headphone with the same sound signature.

The A20 amp makes bass thumps sound a bit quicker, but it actually sounds pretty good directly out of the X-Fi. It's louder than the DT990 at the same volume even though it's 250ohm. Not sure if the amp was really worth it, but I'll probably keep it. I was considering a used T1.2 too and almost got that instead, but opinions on it seem more mixed and it seems to be more picky about source/music quality. The music I listen to is often ripped from game data files and not always great quality.

 

[cjc]

I just got a DT1990 ($450 for a Beach Camera deal with stand/case) and A20 amplifier ($200 used) to upgrade from a DT990 32ohm. I use it mostly for games and electronic music from games, and run it out of an X-Fi sound card. I like the DT990 a lot and wanted something with the same type of signature but better. The treble sounds great and is very detailed but less harsh (I find the DT990 too harsh by default but good after equalizing 8-16khz down a bit). The bass is lower in quantity but more textured as well as faster and harder hitting. The earpads change the sound quite significantly, and it's almost like two headphones in one. Before I got it I thought the B pads would be more to my taste since I like bass, but I actually prefer the A pads. They seem to be the same as the DT880/990 pads and the sound is closer to that style, but more detailed and refined. The B pads (the default ones) make the sound more bassy but also "closed in" and less expansive, and are also firmer and less comfortable to wear. I increase the frequencies below 100hz a bit in the X-Fi equalizer to get them to a similar level as the B pads. If the A pads are the same as the DT990 ones then they do tend to flatten out over time, which might also change the sound signature.

The headphone itself feels really high quality and much nicer than the DT990, which is already pretty good. The only issue I have is the headband clamp, which is definitely tighter than the DT990. It's still comfortable but you can feel it on your head more than the DT990. It has loosened a bit since I got it (after having it on the stand for several hours) and definitely feels better with the A pads, but is still tighter than the DT990. I wish they had a Premium, non-Pro version of this headphone with the same sound signature.

The A20 amp makes bass thumps sound a bit quicker, but it actually sounds pretty good directly out of the X-Fi. It's louder than the DT990 at the same volume even though it's 250ohm. Not sure if the amp was really worth it, but I'll probably keep it. I was considering a used T1.2 too and almost got that instead, but opinions on it seem more mixed and it seems to be more picky about source/music quality. The music I listen to is often ripped from game data files and not always great quality.

Good deal on the DT1990's and A20 Amp. I have the same exact setup....just got the DT1990's a couple days ago.

 

[CP5670]

Yes, these are really good for the prices they are going for these days. After a few days use though, I'm still finding the clamp to be tight coming from the DT990, which can barely be felt on your head. The DT1990 sounds really good, but I have to keep opening up the cups after a hour or so or my ears get hot. Maybe I need to give the pads more time adjust to the shape of my ears and glasses. The DT1990 would probably feel perfectly fine coming from any other headphone, but the older Beyer premium models are super comfortable and hard to match. I wonder if it's possible to switch the two headbands around, but keep the same padding. The Amiron has a loose clamp but is supposedly not fast and punchy like the DT1990 or older Beyers, so I didn't consider it. If it weren't for the clamp, this would probably be my endgame setup. I have a few weeks before the return period ends so I'll keep trying them for a while.

 

[Dsnuts]

Throw the cans on some books that represents your head width wise. Leave it there overnight. Will loosen up the cans a touch. You can keep doing that till they loosen up on the clamp.

 

[kelly200269]

OK...
So I had both the DT1770, AND the DT1990. I thought that I could ‘manage’ with one or the other, and since I used my 1770’s for commuting, I thought that I could get-away with selling my 1990’s, and keep the 1770’s for both home and mobile use. After all, the 1770’s are probably the BEST closed-backed cans I've owned.
How wrong I was... However great the 1770’s are, they can’t replace the ‘magic’ that the 1990’s bring to the party. My SECOND pair of 1990’s are on their way to me now...
Sometimes I HATE this ****ing hobby!