[MorrisL]

So, I've been living with DT 990 Pro for some time and I found that I might be sensitive to harsh treble. The highs are just too fatiguing and when listening to higher volumes I get some headaches which won't go away for hours. Sometimes those piercing highs are downright painful. I have been applying some EQ on it to make the highs tolerable, but I couldn't help looking elsewhere. I need headphones I can listen to for long hours with no fatigue. 
 
Now, I only listen to classical music (chamber, orchestral stuff) and with some research I found that HD 600 (which they say is a warmer headphone) is a long-standing standard for classical music. I know that HD 650 has even warmer sound, but most people seem to consider HD 600 to be better than HD 650, for classical. So, I am focusing on HD 600, hoping that it's warm enough for my taste. (I won't be in the States for some time and auditioning any of these is not an option in the country I am in.)
 
If my above assumptions are correct, then my question is the following.
 
Is HD 600 an upgrade over DT 990 Pro? (Sometimes 990 Pro can be sold for as low as $140, but I don't want to let the price tag fool me.)
I really wonder if HD 600 is better, apart from the treble roll off, in terms of general quality. And would the treble be a lot better compared to DT 990 Pro, or is it going to be an insignificant color difference?
 
P.S. The amp I am using is Presonus HP4, which has 4 headphone outputs and drives 990 pro to earsplitting volumes (not sure about the quality).

 

[chodaranger]

From what I remember, the Beyer's are flatter and more detailed. The 990's seemed so really present a soundstage. There's just something about Beyer's ingeneral that strikes me as natural, where Senns always sound hyped to me.

 

[Guomapi]

I think they're in same level

 

[PurpleAngel]

  So, I've been living with DT 990 Pro for some time and I found that I might be sensitive to harsh treble. The highs are just too fatiguing and when listening to higher volumes I get some headaches which won't go away for hours. Sometimes those piercing highs are downright painful. I have been applying some EQ on it to make the highs tolerable, but I couldn't help looking elsewhere. I need headphones I can listen to for long hours with no fatigue. 
Now, I only listen to classical music (chamber, orchestral stuff) and with some research I found that HD 600 (which they say is a warmer headphone) is a long-standing standard for classical music. I know that HD 650 has even warmer sound, but most people seem to consider HD 600 to be better than HD 650, for classical. So, I am focusing on HD 600, hoping that it's warm enough for my taste. (I won't be in the States for some time and auditioning any of these is not an option in the country I am in.)
If my above assumptions are correct, then my question is the following.
Is HD 600 an upgrade over DT 990 Pro? (Sometimes 990 Pro can be sold for as low as $140, but I don't want to let the price tag fool me.)
I really wonder if HD 600 is better, apart from the treble roll off, in terms of general quality. And would the treble be a lot better compared to DT 990 Pro, or is it going to be an insignificant color difference?
P.S. The amp I am using is Presonus HP4, which has 4 headphone outputs and drives 990 pro to earsplitting volumes (not sure about the quality).

 
I own the DT990s (Pro 250 & Premium 600), good headphones for the price (but there are better).
Your $130 Presonus HP4 with it's 4 headphone jacks I'm guess is decent for driving the DT990, but I would assume a better amplifier and I'm assuming a better DAC, would (should) improve the DT990 sound.
I've never listened to the HD600, but I would assume they are better music headphones (better over all and more balanced) then the DT990s (strong bass/treble and over shadowed mids).
So my personal option is replacing the DT990s with the HD600 would be a good idea for you.
But you really should consider getting a better headphone amplifier (and DAC), then what you have now.
 
This thread should provide helpful info from HD600 owners.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/538255/sennheiser-hd-600-impressions-thread

 

[MorrisL]

Thanks for the replies.
 
Thanks for the response, PurpleAngel. I don't really dislike 990. Coming from a $20 Sony mdr V100, this was like audio paradise for me. You yourself wouldn't be hanging on to two of those, if they were a bad headphone. I just can't believe a company as reputable as Beyerdynamic would make headphones with such harsh treble. And to think that the 990 was their flagship before T1 makes it even more puzzling. The eq fixes most of it for me, but under careful consideration, I found that it comes at a cost; and it's the unnatural distortion that eq brings... They said installing a layer of cloth on top of the driver can fix the 990 treble harshness and make it sound more like 880, with a little extra bass. I might do that, but I'll need another pair of headphones anyway and maybe 600 is it. I still wonder how significant its treble roll off is compared to the 990.

 

[Shaffer]

I own both (HD600 and DT990). If you find the 990s too bright, consider upgrading your source\amplifier. Good luck.

Edit: To answer your question directly, the HD600's highs are similar to the 990 in terms of tonal balance. Though the 600s, overall, are a bit more transperent, they seem less demanding of a partnering amplifier. To be clear, I am not implying that the HD600 will sound better fed with lower quality amp/source. Just the opposite.

 

[MorrisL]

I own both (HD600 and DT990). If you find the 990s too bright, consider upgrading your source\amplifier. Good luck.

Edit: To answer your question directly, the HD600's highs are similar to the 990 in terms of tonal balance. Though the 600s, overall, are a bit more transperent, they seem less demanding of a partnering amplifier. To be clear, I am not implying that the HD600 will sound better fed with lower quality amp/source. Just the opposite.

The kind of feedback I was hoping for... But I'm still confused why you think the problem is my source/amp. Isn't 990 supposed to be an unusually bright headphone to begin with? It's the first thing everyone mentions about them. I've spent days reading on them. )
 
If the 600 is like 990 as far as the strength of the treble region, then it's definitely not for me. Should I then shift my focus to the 650 instead? (I wouldn't like to do that since I already have a colored headphone with the 990, I'd like the second pair to be as close to neutral as possible, so I could do mixing with them.) I want to end up with just 3 headphones - 990, 600 (possibly) and DT 660 as a closed pair.

 

[Shaffer]

Most of the folks who refer to the 990s as overly bright are parroting someone else's impressions or are using the cans with a poor amp and/or source. All posts are not created equal, even though they all look alike. Start with this thread and have a look at the respondents' profiles.

 

[MorrisL]

Head-fi posts aside, just looking at their frequency graphs, it seems incredibly unlikely that you wouldn't hear much difference in their treble performance. The 600 clearly seems to be a darker headphone. If it's not, then these graphs are not only useless but absolutely meaningless as well.

 

[Shaffer]

For the most part, the graphs are useless and meaningless.

Edit: What are you using for the source? I saw a thread where you mention listening to vids on YouTube. Is that the usual fare?

 

[MorrisL]

For the most part, the graphs are useless and meaningless.

Edit: What are you using for the source? I saw a thread where you mention listening to vids on YouTube. Is that the usual fare?

I usually play ripped audio CDs I have on my laptop. Half of the time I play them through a Presonus Hp4 four channel amp (which drives my 990 pro to deafening levels), but even directly out of the laptop jack they sound loud enough, so I skip the amp most of the time. I do watch classical music concerts on Youtube and elsewhere online (usually HD quality) but not all the time.
 
Looking at your profile, I see you've pretty much got all the headphones I want to buy. For example, that A900 is on my wish list as a warm sounding closed back headphone. From what I have read I can think of it as a closed back alternative to HD650, without the extra bass, of course). Is that a fair enough expectation?