[audiobomber]

The Loki question seems to have two parts. A) does it degrade the 1990’s sound and B) will it make the appropriate adjustments to its tuning? I can’t answer A, but B seems pretty straightforward.

> The EQ points look ideal, I would try +3dB @ 20Hz and -6dB @ 8kHz.

As long as you are only looking for a two-band adjustment, the Loki's control set should be ideal,

I love my DT 1990, I don't want to change the sound profile, but I would like to tweak it. Some poorly mastered tunes do not go well with the Beyer top end. The DT 1990 with Analytical pads is just that, analytical and revealing, a great tool for mastering, but can be unforgiving.

Deeper bass is fun if not overdone, and as long as the drivers are capable, which I expect the Tesla drivers are. I am not a believer in the committee-developed, bass-tilted Harman sound profile. It is, as you've said, subject to personal preference.

Loki's control set should be ideal, except that the 8 kHz dial will likely have too broad an effect. The middle two dials may tempt you to play with them, but chances are you'll end up leaving them alone.

"Technically, Loki is a single-gain-stage active EQ with non-constant-Q passive filtering. In more English-y terms, that means that each band varies from broad to narrower as its gain is increased—small turns of the knobs result in broad, shallow changes, and bigger turns result in more narrow-band changes." https://www.schiit.com/products/loki

That seems an interesting way to tackle the Q issue. I would not make heavy adjustments. Anything beyond 6dB is going to cause phasing issues. I'm pretty sure I could tweak the FR to my taste, the significant question being, will I lose transparency? Most seem to say no, so at the very least any compromise would appear to be minor, and hopefully a worthwhile trade, as opined by others here.

 

[EZAndante]

I
Technically, Loki is a single-gain-stage active EQ with non-constant-Q passive filtering. In more English-y terms, that means that each band varies from broad to narrower as its gain is increased—small turns of the knobs result in broad, shallow changes, and bigger turns result in more narrow-band changes. https://www.schiit.com/products/loki

Thanks for translating the electro-tech talk -- sailed right over my head when I read that bit on the Loki page.

Can't help you with the transparency question. Of course, another approach is to use a physical filter like the ones Dan Clark supplies with his Aeon headphones to knock out the 8 kHz spike. I've linked to a commercial product in a previous post. Whether that would be any narrower band than the Loki is another story. I've tried the often recommended toilet paper in the ear cups out of curiosity, but whether that would work for you is easily determined. Sure you've already thought all this through, however.

 

[hakka]

Is anyone using a Schiit Loki equalizer with the DT 1990? I'm seriously considering one. The EQ points look ideal, I would try +3dB @ 20Hz and -6dB @ 8kHz.
What do you think?

I’m using a Loki with the 1990, i think my eq adjustments would be close to what you mentioned above. Highly reccommended.

 

[audiobomber]

Thanks for translating the electro-tech talk -- sailed right over my head when I read that bit on the Loki page.

Can't help you with the transparency question. Of course, another approach is to use a physical filter like the ones Dan Clark supplies with his Aeon headphones to knock out the 8 kHz spike. I've linked to a commercial product in a previous post. Whether that would be any narrower band than the Loki is another story. I've tried the often recommended toilet paper in the ear cups out of curiosity, but whether that would work for you is easily determined. Sure you've already thought all this through, however.

I did consider filtered cables, but the price is not radically different, and the Loki is much more versatile.
I tried toilet paper and did not care for the result.

 

[Chastity]

UPDATE: Decided to redo my EQ from scratch, because PEACE is nice, but rounding off to .5 dB steps is annoying. Plus I wanted EQ APO working properly. (Apparently installing to default C:\Program Files\EQ APO\ is fail due to Win10 permissions. So installed to C:\EQ APO\ and it's working fine now.) Reapplied AutoEQ settings, adjusted treble for age, and created a +3 dB Left Shelf @ 62Hz. Now I'm happy with the results. Oddly, same profile sounds darker on Peace. :shrugs:

I find the default DT-1990 Balanced pad tuning fine for low volume listening, but not so nice for louder levels. The Asgard really does a nice job maintaining impact and dynamics at low volume. If I was buying now, I would be torn between the Asgard 3 and the SMSL THX 888, which is priced at $250. Interesting to see some competition for the Asgard 3 at this price point, especially since the 888 has a XLR connection option.

 

[Luminance]

after reading the updated review: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-a-i/dt-1990-pro/
I ordered the Dekoni Elite Velour earpads for those (EPZ-DT78990-ELVL)
in my opinion, with these pads and no EQ, they sound better than with my EQ and the A pads

those pads are bigger in general, makings ears being further away from the driver, which gives an impression of bigger soundstage
the treble peak is gone without the feeling of being muffled
the bass has a nice balance between the A pads and the B pads

FQ response: blue - B pads, pink - A pads, green - dekoni elite velour pads

 

[crazywipe]

Dekoni Elite Velour measures amazingly good on the 1990. I am start to think that the pads are putting the 8khz peak and not the driver. A lot of Beyers has this peak, it's somewhat their house sound, what they think is right treble response.

Still a fan of A-pads. With my LG v30 sibilance is very controlled ad almost not a problem. If the track a good mastered one is a no issue. If the track is sibilant, the 1990 will show it.
Anyway, no headphone is perfect. To me the problem is very minor. For the price the 1990 is still king for bang of bucks. I prefer a lively slightly edgy treble to a dead one. At least it's more exiting to listen!

The thing that surprise me the most is how powerful and dynamic the sound is. Liveliness and punch factor level is at the roof!

Still very happy with my purchase.

 

[audiobomber]

in my opinion, with these pads and no EQ, they sound better than with my EQ and the A pads

I also bought the Dekoni Elite Velour pads based on the DIYHeaven review. They're extremely well made and great bass but quite sibilant in my system. Using the Analytical pads, sibilance is well contolled. As crazywipe said, it will show up on a badly mastered track. I listened to dozens of Santana tracks the other day and only one bothered me.

What EQ are you using? My thought would be to go easy, +3dB@20kHz, -6dB@8kHz.

 

[Chastity]

after reading the updated review: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-a-i/dt-1990-pro/
I ordered the Dekoni Elite Velour earpads for those (EPZ-DT78990-ELVL)
in my opinion, with these pads and no EQ, they sound better than with my EQ and the A pads

those pads are bigger in general, makings ears being further away from the driver, which gives an impression of bigger soundstage
the treble peak is gone without the feeling of being muffled
the bass has a nice balance between the A pads and the B pads

FQ response: blue - B pads, pink - A pads, green - dekoni elite velour pads

For contrast, Dekoni posted measurements of the DT-1990 with all their pads, results aren't as treble reducing as DIYAudioheaven suggests

https://dekoniaudio.com/beyerdynamic-dt1990-measurements/

 

[guiver777]

For contrast, Dekoni posted measurements of the DT-1990 with all their pads, results aren't as treble reducing as DIYAudioheaven suggests

https://dekoniaudio.com/beyerdynamic-dt1990-measurements/

I also bought the Elite Velour pads based on the DIYAudioHeaven measurements. To my ears the sound conforms more to the DIYAudioheaven measurements than to the Dekoni measurements. Not sure why there is such a noticeable discrepancy between them. Maybe Dekoni applied smoothing to their graphs?

 

[Chastity]

I also bought the Elite Velour pads based on the DIYAudioHeaven measurements. To my ears the sound conforms more to the DIYAudioheaven measurements than to the Dekoni measurements. Not sure why there is such a noticeable discrepancy between them. Maybe Dekoni applied smoothing to their graphs?

They specifically mention that the data is RAW.

 

[Luminance]

I also bought the Dekoni Elite Velour pads based on the DIYHeaven review. They're extremely well made and great bass but quite sibilant in my system. Using the Analytical pads, sibilance is well contolled. As crazywipe said, it will show up on a badly mastered track. I listened to dozens of Santana tracks the other day and only one bothered me.

What EQ are you using? My thought would be to go easy, +3dB@20kHz, -6dB@8kHz.

well for some reason the sibilance seems to be less noticeable for me on the dekoni pads than on the A pads. I'm using topping dx3 pro dac/amp
my EQ for A pads is very similar +3dB@20Hz (q=0.3), -3dB@7.5kHz (q=4), -3dB@8.5kHz (q=4)

 

[LiranV]

I also bought the Dekoni Elite Velour pads based on the DIYHeaven review. They're extremely well made and great bass but quite sibilant in my system. Using the Analytical pads, sibilance is well contolled. As crazywipe said, it will show up on a badly mastered track. I listened to dozens of Santana tracks the other day and only one bothered me.

What EQ are you using? My thought would be to go easy, +3dB@20kHz, -6dB@8kHz.

Same thing here, been using (and loved) the A pads.
Once they started to get flat I ordered a pair of Dekoni elite velour pads, but they are more siblent on my system as well (comparing to A pads).

 

[Alfredo3001]

Hi guys. Changing the subject. Has anyone seen this dt1990?
https://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic...Earpads-SPECIAL/dp/B082DKMQ3J/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?
It a special edition from 6ave. It seems to come with silver velour. If anyone have this models let us know. If it comes with 3 pads (A-pads,B-pads and silver pads). I think the silver pads should be the ones used in the dt990, how would they sound with the dt1990?

 

[megabigeye]

Hi guys. Changing the subject. Has anyone seen this dt1990?
https://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic...Earpads-SPECIAL/dp/B082DKMQ3J/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?
It a special edition from 6ave. It seems to come with silver velour. If anyone have this models let us know. If it comes with 3 pads (A-pads,B-pads and silver pads). I think the silver pads should be the ones used in the dt990, how would they sound with the dt1990?

Don't know anything about that specific headphone or those pads, but I did look into 6ave a little while ago. I don't remember if they seemed like a scam or if they just seemed like an unreliable seller. Anyway, I remember thinking I wouldn't want to buy from them. If I were you, I'd look for a bargain on the DT 1990 and purchase the 990 pads separately. If you want to try your hand with 6ave, you could contact them and ask which pads they come with.