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I have some DT990s--I think they are 32ohm but I'm not sure. I know people describe these as "bass heavy" cans but that's not the way they sound to me. I always found the sound to be a little lacking in terms of bass and impact. So ... any mods out there to improve/deepen the sound of the bass with the DT990s?

 

[DangerClose]

Turn up the bass sliders on an equalizer.  Swap the pads for pleather ones.

 

[xskugga]

  Turn up the bass sliders on an equalizer.  Swap the pads for pleather ones.

They don't EQ well, I've tried with many different EQs but the Windows generic driver bass boost might help. This was the reason I dumped the DT990s and continued my search. I have tried many others, but only the HD800s compare so unless you got that HD800 money a solution to the bass issue is necessary. The problem here is that the drivers just aren't good with sub-bass, it sucks because they're a hell of a good pair of cans. 
 
As far as mods go, there is a mod that is known to help bass with drivers made in a specific way. It is reversible too (not aesthetically though) and only will take a few minutes, there is a guide for it here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/250313/simple-dt990-mod
 
Although, it does have a step where there is felt laid in the cups. By doing this you are making them semi-open which may reduce soundstage, especially since there's already felt covering most of the open part and just a small open hole. A thinner membrane may be better than felt, so maybe play around with that if you want. 

 

[DangerClose]

I use Equalizer APO and it's great.  Make sure to lower the opposite sliders instead of increasing the ones you want to increase, or lower the pre-amp slider.  
 
Otherwise, pleather pads would have to add more bass.

 

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Thank you all for responding!
 
Quote:

  Turn up the bass sliders on an equalizer.  Swap the pads for pleather ones.

 
Never had much luck using software equalizers. In my experience all you do is get a larger presence for the bass you already have: i.e. if you have thin sounding bass, then you get more thin sounding bass. Never heard an improvement to my ears.
 

  They don't EQ well, I've tried with many different EQs but the Windows generic driver bass boost might help. This was the reason I dumped the DT990s and continued my search. I have tried many others, but only the HD800s compare so unless you got that HD800 money a solution to the bass issue is necessary. The problem here is that the drivers just aren't good with sub-bass, it sucks because they're a hell of a good pair of cans. 
 
As far as mods go, there is a mod that is known to help bass with drivers made in a specific way. It is reversible too (not aesthetically though) and only will take a few minutes, there is a guide for it here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/250313/simple-dt990-mod
 
Although, it does have a step where there is felt laid in the cups. By doing this you are making them semi-open which may reduce soundstage, especially since there's already felt covering most of the open part and just a small open hole. A thinner membrane may be better than felt, so maybe play around with that if you want. 

 
Thanks for the link! The person who came up with that mod seems to have wanted to reduce the presence of bass, not increase it, and reading through the entirety of the thread it seems like the whole effect could be something of a placebo, but what the hell, I might as well try it. Reversible as you said. I modded my Denon D2000s with felt to cut down on sibilance and it actually helped a lot.

  I use Equalizer APO and it's great.  Make sure to lower the opposite sliders instead of increasing the ones you want to increase, or lower the pre-amp slider.  
 
Otherwise, pleather pads would have to add more bass.

 
I'll have to look into this Equalizer ... but I think the winner here,  as Danger Close also suggested, are pleather pads ... that sounds like an option I'll have to try. The question now is ... where do you get them?

 

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Just a quick follow up ... bought some pillow-sized pleather pads and I'm a lot happier with the sound. So thanks to Danger Close for the recommendation!