Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO // DT 1990 PRO MK II -- Impressions Thread

[Kammerat Rebekka]

This review contains some measurements of both the new 1770 and 1990.

By the looks of it, there is still a good boot of treble…but then again this is Beyerdynamic

Btw I know people are talking about these new drivers being 30 ohm, but when you look at the sensitivity, we’re down into planar territory. 94 dB/mW. This is about as hard/easy to drive as a Hifiman Arya Stealth.

 

[trickyRoadsDummyTOOL]

Beyerdynamic still doesn't understand that expensive headhphones should have balanced-capable connectors

I would prefer balanced, too. Maybe one of the last opportunities to get 1st gen one almost new balanced or SE: https://customcans.co.uk/shop/product/balanced-beyerdynamic-dt1990/
The amount of custom fees outside UK may be a lottery.

 

[csch92]

been thinking about getting either a focal or beyerdynamic closed back again to a sidegrade to my 109 pro. i had the OG 1770 pro which i was quite happy with, but now i am missing a good closed back. what should i aim for?

 

[audiobomber]

I commented on Joshua Valour's video:
"A DT 1990 review using only one set of pads is only half a review. Very disappointing! I have the original 1990 and use it exclusively with the Analytical pads. The Balanced pads are more sibilant and the lower midrange is too plump. Not good value? The original DT 1990/Analytical has cleaner highs and more extended lows than the HD 800S, at half the price. That's value!"

 

[Pan Varox]

Beyerdynamic still doesn't understand that expensive headhphones should have balanced-capable connectors

Man… these low impedance Beyer drivers can handle only about 30mW power continuously. What do you need balanced connection for?

 

[arielext]

been thinking about getting either a focal or beyerdynamic closed back again to a sidegrade to my 109 pro. i had the OG 1770 pro which i was quite happy with, but now i am missing a good closed back. what should i aim for?

I'd consider the DT 177x GO as well next to the DT 1770 PRO's. The go already is more polite and as easy to drive as the new MK2's.

 

[audiobomber]

"The truth is that a conventional single-ended headphone drive is technically superior to a balanced drive."

"This expectation that balanced headphone amplifiers should be superior to single-ended amplifiers, ignores some of the most basic laws of electricity. The current into and out of a two-wire network is always equal and opposite. This means that the two-wire transducers used in headphones always see fully-balanced current. It also means that the headphone drivers are completely ignorant of the difference between single-ended and balanced-drive voltages."

"Headphone transducers are balanced devices. They have two wires. The electrons that flow into one wire must flow out of the other. The current is always balanced. The headphone transducers cannot detect the difference between a single-ended drive and a voltage-balanced drive. The system is balanced with either type of voltage drive.

But, this does not mean that balanced and unbalanced headphone amplifiers will sound the same! In many cases, voltage-balanced headphone amplifiers will produce more noise and more distortion than single-ended amplifiers of an identical design. The reason for this is that two separate output amplifiers are required in a voltage-balanced amplifier, and each must drive one half of the transducer's load impedance. The output noise will double because there are two amplifiers instead of one. The damping factor will degrade by a factor of 2 because both amplifiers contribute to the source impedance of the balanced amplifier (output impedance is doubled). Distortion will usually increase because each amplifier is required to drive half of the impedance that would be seen by an unbalanced amplifier."
https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/application_notes/audio-myth-balanced-headphone-outputs-are-better

 

[nierika]

i don't think most studio setups even have a balanced source?

Im not gonna waste my time

 

[Angel III]

i don't think most studio setups even have a balanced source?

If they need a very long cable, they will obviously use the balanced cable. If you work two or three meters from the amplifier the unbalanced cable is absolutely perfect and no frequencies are lost to human hearing.

 

[audiobomber]

If they need a very long cable, they will obviously use the balanced cable. If you work two or three meters from the amplifier the unbalanced cable is absolutely perfect and no frequencies are lost to human hearing.

No frequencies will be lost. Headphones do not care whether the connecting cable is balanced or not, because headphones are inherently balanced. Balanced operation only matters to the amplifier. See my previous post for the full explanation:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bey...mk-ii-impressions-thread.814629/post-18403015

 

[Angel III]

No frequencies will be lost. Headphones do not care whether the connecting cable is balanced or not, because headphones are inherently balanced. Balanced operation only matters to the amplifier. See my previous post for the full explanation:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bey...mk-ii-impressions-thread.814629/post-18403015

Yes, the amplifier must have both balanced and unbalanced options. If you work two or three meters from the amplifier you will not hear any difference in sound. If you have deficiencies in audio quality in unbalanced mode it is only due to the amplifier that is not very performing in unbalanced. My amplifiers were born unbalanced and sound wonderfully good..obviously they are not suitable for use with 10m of cable.

 

[audiobomber]

Yes, the amplifier must have both balanced and unbalanced options. If you work two or three meters from the amplifier you will not hear any difference in sound. If you have deficiencies in audio quality in unbalanced mode it is only due to the amplifier that is not very performing in unbalanced. My amplifiers were born unbalanced and sound wonderfully good..obviously they are not suitable for use with 10m of cable.

You haven't understood John Siau's explanation. If you feed your headphone amp with 10 meters of cable, balanced will most likely be preferred due to lower noise. But a 10 meter headphone cable can be balanced or unbalanced, because a headphone cannot distinguish between them. Furthermore, a headphone fed by unbalanced cable should sound better, as it is a simpler circuit.

 

[Arghavan]

Beyerdynamic still doesn't understand that expensive headhphones should have balanced-capable connectors

They market this as a studio headphone. Most studio audio interfaces are SE only (on headphones out). Their "audiophile" lineup are balanced-capable and they sometimes even sell the balanced cable.

 

[megabigeye]

Btw I know people are talking about these new drivers being 30 ohm, but when you look at the sensitivity, we’re down into planar territory. 94 dB/mW. This is about as hard/easy to drive as a Hifiman Arya Stealth.

Yeah, these are not that much easier to drive than the mk 1. The 30Ω Mk 2 is 109.2 dBSPL/1V, the 250Ω Mk 1 is 108dBSPL/1V. You'd barely have to move the volume knob in order to volume match.

 

[audiobomber]

Yeah, these are not that much easier to drive than the mk 1. The 30Ω Mk 2 is 109.2 dBSPL/1V, the 250Ω Mk 1 is 108dBSPL/1V. You'd barely have to move the volume knob in order to volume match.

I don't know where you found those numbers, but Beyerdynamic says:
Nominal sound pressure level 94 dBSPL (1mW/500Hz)
Nominal SPL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 dB SPL (1 mW / 500 Hz)