[McLegendary]

I am considering getting a new pair of headphones and as I am new to audio I'm not sure what to get. I listen to a lot of rock/metal. I like tight, heavy bass, good guitar with a lot of instrument separation. If I get the sennheisers I will be pairing them with a fiio e07k and the beyerdynamics a e09k. I also need something which can deal with bad recordings. I would also consider other options in this price range. And don't say beats!!!!!

 

[Me x3]

Quote:

  I am considering getting a new pair of headphones and as I am new to audio I'm not sure what to get. I listen to a lot of rock/metal. I like tight, heavy bass, good guitar with a lot of instrument separation. If I get the sennheisers I will be pairing them with a fiio e07k and the beyerdynamics a e09k. I also need something which can deal with bad recordings. I would also consider other options in this price range. And don't say beats!!!!!

 
Hi,
 
Beyerdynamic DT990s are definitely bright headphones, paired with the right recordings this headphones sound very very good, but for sure, they aren't the safe way if you want to listen to low quality recordings through your new headphones. The main problem as you might guess, is sibilance / harsh treble. Sibilance is there in most recordings and often a bit emphasized in modern (not audiophile) recordings, then if you have many of this recordings you'll finally find yourself hating your DT990s and trying to find a clean EQ or a tube amp to tilt down the treble.
 
On the other hand you could simply find HD598s boring.
 
What songs do you normally listen to? If you give me some examples of what music do you plan to listen to with your new headphones I could try them with my DT990s and tell you how they perform with that music - to my ears.

 

[GREQ]

 
Ok, seriously though, get the Beyer.
Nothing personal against the Senn, but the Beyer will give heavier and tighter bass, and more fast-paced aggressive guitar.
Difficult to go wrong with a DT990. 
 
BTW why version are you planning to get, because some of them sound wildly different.
The DT990 Pro (black grills) have less bass than the 600 ohm DT990 Premium (silver grills) for example.
(I would strongly suggest getting the Premium over the Pro if your coffers are deep enough).
 
But e07k has EQ control doesn't it? I guess you're covered even with the DT990 pro, as you can just dial in more bass or less treble as you see fit.

 

[McLegendary]

The albums I am most concerned about are 10/39 and Kerplunk from Green Day and Cheshire Cat and Dude ranch from Blink 182, but the software I use for playing my music (winamp) has an EQ slider. Does that fix the problem?

 

[Me x3]

  The albums I am most concerned about are 10/39 and Kerplunk from Green Day and Cheshire Cat and Dude ranch from Blink 182, but the software I use for playing my music (winamp) has an EQ slider. Does that fix the problem?

 
Well, EQing is often not that easy, and most of the times you just end up degrading overall sound quality in order to remove a certain sound that you don't like.
There are some parametric equalizers out there with good reputation, but again, EQing is a quite discussed topic and also often a bit controversial.
 
(What about EQing Sennheiser HD598 to make them sound like HD800? And that kind of stuff, you know...)
 
I don't have much experience with equalizers, but in real life things are not as linear and predictable as we would wish. You can try different equalizers, you can get ElectriQ parametric equalizer (I think there is a free version) and if you like what you are hearing after eqing then it works for you and that's what really matters.
 
Anyway, I suggest you to give your mind some time (let's say 20-30 hours) to get comfortable with the sound of your new headphones before getting into equalization.
 
I've tried songs from Cheshire Cat and Dude Ranch with my DT990 250 Ohm version and while Cheshire Cat has better sound quality to my ears, both sound good and the bright sound signature is not a problem (to my ears) with this music. I've also tried music from those albums with my Fidelios L1 and Yamaha HPH-200 and prefered DT990s over them.
 
Best Luck!

 

[Sam21]

+1 for Beyer