mariowar
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2001
- Posts
- 803
- Likes
- 165
I week ago I decided to pick a new pair of cans so I ordered the AKgs 501s and the Beyers Dt990. I got the Hd650s (Cardas) from Thaddy.
Source: Nad C542 cd player
Amp : Emmeline Xp7 with Power Supply
Interconnects : Monster Cable M850i
Music:
Jane Monheit
Tool
Vital tech tones
Madeleine Peyroux
Peter Cincotti
Manowar
After Crying
Bose Sampler cd
I never imagined the DT990s would sound like this, airy, dynamic, punchy detailed. Well, I was wrong, these cans are by far the best I've tried. In the past some claims pointed out how the recessed mids was one of the drawbacks of this particular model, but let me tell you something, the new Dt990s deliver great mids response, not veiled at all.
I always found the Hd600s and the HD580 too veiled in the high end, therefore, I got the HD590s which are excellent cans which provide you better comfort, wonderful soundstage and a clearer treble response due to the Equinox cable. Now comparing the Dt990s to the HD590s I have to say that I hear details in the high end that I never knew were in the recordings, the bass goes deeper and tighter (controlled) and the mids flow naturally forming a sonic landscape. Some claim that the Dt990s sound like having an old LOUDNESS engaged and that might scare some who are looking to have the flattest and most accurate set up. In my humble opinion, this is just an illusion, you either end up having a flat source with a colored amp or visceversa, along with a pair of colored or flat headphones. Obviously the recordings play an important role her because of the dynamics, unfortunately, due to compression effects.......the dynamic recordings are scarse, unless you find an audiophile label. Think about this, a flat source, a flat amp and a flat pair of headphones, along with a average quality recording?? Does this sound attractive to you?
We, the headfiers tend to point to headphones like Grados as an inaccurate pair of headphones because their response is colored......On the other hand we rave about the discolored Hd600 and Hd580s....... And when I refer to them as discolored and referring to the veiled high end they provide to make them sound "natural".
According to the Fletcher-Munson Equal Loudness Contour Curves you need to considerably tip up the bass and the treble to get the audio to sound flat at lower volumes. Well, with the Dt990s you can listen at lower volumes without sacrifying bass or highs, which is wonderful. Some others classify them as too bright, well, they are not brighter than Grados, plus they are very balanced. I remember the old days bleeding my ears trying to get a decent amount of bass out of my Grados Sr325s......
The bottomline is, if you want to enjoy your music ( not meaning that crappy recordings will sound better......) and you want to be engaged into music as I am now, well after all this must be the main purpose out of this headphone madness........ at least give them a try, you will be pleasantly surprised.
The Hd650s compared to the Dt990s sound way darker and bassier in the mid and high bass section of the spectrum, both go as deep as no other can gets even close. To my ears the best bass I've heard is through the Dt990s.
The mids on the Senns have more presence, but again, doing a/b comparisons the mids on the 990s sound naturally good and not recessed.
The high end of the Dt990s is as detailed and refined as the top Grados, you will hear every nuance in the treble region. The treble in the Hd650s is virtually non existant to my ears....
The Akgs are very light on the bass region and that's unfortunate because the high end, mids and soundstage are very good in these cans.
Compared to the Hd590s, the Dt990s are way better in terms of clarity, tonality, details, bass (deeper and tighter) and the comfort out of 10 is 9.
Additionally I would like to mention that I tried the Beyers DT880s old edition a while ago and I did not like them, their mid bass response was poor.
I listened to some classical music with these headphones and I was mesmerized!!! the Dynamics were unbeliavable. Their wide soundstage and 3D were fenomenal.
Jazz was oustanding, the clarinet, cymbals, bass and female vocals were so real to be true.
Rock sounded punchy and articulated. I never cared about TOOL (HDCD) until I listen thier last album with this heaphones, it has to be heard to be believed.
The Emmeline Xp7 (AD797) drives these cans wonderfully, as I said before.
Right now I am sampling my entire collection through these cans and that is something........
Source: Nad C542 cd player
Amp : Emmeline Xp7 with Power Supply
Interconnects : Monster Cable M850i
Music:
Jane Monheit
Tool
Vital tech tones
Madeleine Peyroux
Peter Cincotti
Manowar
After Crying
Bose Sampler cd
I never imagined the DT990s would sound like this, airy, dynamic, punchy detailed. Well, I was wrong, these cans are by far the best I've tried. In the past some claims pointed out how the recessed mids was one of the drawbacks of this particular model, but let me tell you something, the new Dt990s deliver great mids response, not veiled at all.
I always found the Hd600s and the HD580 too veiled in the high end, therefore, I got the HD590s which are excellent cans which provide you better comfort, wonderful soundstage and a clearer treble response due to the Equinox cable. Now comparing the Dt990s to the HD590s I have to say that I hear details in the high end that I never knew were in the recordings, the bass goes deeper and tighter (controlled) and the mids flow naturally forming a sonic landscape. Some claim that the Dt990s sound like having an old LOUDNESS engaged and that might scare some who are looking to have the flattest and most accurate set up. In my humble opinion, this is just an illusion, you either end up having a flat source with a colored amp or visceversa, along with a pair of colored or flat headphones. Obviously the recordings play an important role her because of the dynamics, unfortunately, due to compression effects.......the dynamic recordings are scarse, unless you find an audiophile label. Think about this, a flat source, a flat amp and a flat pair of headphones, along with a average quality recording?? Does this sound attractive to you?
We, the headfiers tend to point to headphones like Grados as an inaccurate pair of headphones because their response is colored......On the other hand we rave about the discolored Hd600 and Hd580s....... And when I refer to them as discolored and referring to the veiled high end they provide to make them sound "natural".
According to the Fletcher-Munson Equal Loudness Contour Curves you need to considerably tip up the bass and the treble to get the audio to sound flat at lower volumes. Well, with the Dt990s you can listen at lower volumes without sacrifying bass or highs, which is wonderful. Some others classify them as too bright, well, they are not brighter than Grados, plus they are very balanced. I remember the old days bleeding my ears trying to get a decent amount of bass out of my Grados Sr325s......
The bottomline is, if you want to enjoy your music ( not meaning that crappy recordings will sound better......) and you want to be engaged into music as I am now, well after all this must be the main purpose out of this headphone madness........ at least give them a try, you will be pleasantly surprised.
The Hd650s compared to the Dt990s sound way darker and bassier in the mid and high bass section of the spectrum, both go as deep as no other can gets even close. To my ears the best bass I've heard is through the Dt990s.
The mids on the Senns have more presence, but again, doing a/b comparisons the mids on the 990s sound naturally good and not recessed.
The high end of the Dt990s is as detailed and refined as the top Grados, you will hear every nuance in the treble region. The treble in the Hd650s is virtually non existant to my ears....
The Akgs are very light on the bass region and that's unfortunate because the high end, mids and soundstage are very good in these cans.
Compared to the Hd590s, the Dt990s are way better in terms of clarity, tonality, details, bass (deeper and tighter) and the comfort out of 10 is 9.
Additionally I would like to mention that I tried the Beyers DT880s old edition a while ago and I did not like them, their mid bass response was poor.
I listened to some classical music with these headphones and I was mesmerized!!! the Dynamics were unbeliavable. Their wide soundstage and 3D were fenomenal.
Jazz was oustanding, the clarinet, cymbals, bass and female vocals were so real to be true.
Rock sounded punchy and articulated. I never cared about TOOL (HDCD) until I listen thier last album with this heaphones, it has to be heard to be believed.
The Emmeline Xp7 (AD797) drives these cans wonderfully, as I said before.
Right now I am sampling my entire collection through these cans and that is something........
