Is it weird that I prefer my Beyer DT 990 Pro's without an amp ?
May 16, 2011 at 12:58 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 9

Thommohawk

100+ Head-Fier
Joined
May 13, 2010
Posts
420
Likes
45
As the title of the thread, when I amp my headphones I find it just too much of everything, slightly overwhelming, definitely on the harsh side.....sometimes it's good but most of the time it's just not something I'm liking. 
 
When I use them unamped I get the volume, but the response is a lot more muted. Basically starting with the bass first everything is less harsh and if anything is a much more pleasant listen as I still get the clarity and amazing soundstage.....so I'm finding they're an amazing listen unamped.
 
So I'm ordering the DT 880 tomorrow and amping those. Hopefully I won't have to send them back as I cannot demo them first. 
 
May 16, 2011 at 1:02 PM Post #2 of 9
Perhaps it's a combination of bad headphone/amp synergy and bad song recordings for that type of headphone and amp combo.
 
Even with a warm tube amp and good dac, my DT990s sound rather harsh as well on some rock recordings that are mastered for loudness.  With the right songs though, they sound very good.
 
May 16, 2011 at 1:43 PM Post #3 of 9


Quote:
Perhaps it's a combination of bad headphone/amp synergy and bad song recordings for that type of headphone and amp combo.

 
That's true. Synergy is of great importance. What amp are you talking about? And have you been listening a long time unamped before you bought an amp? It could be that you are used to the sound of the DT 990 unamped and you need some time to get accustomed to this combo.
 
 
 
May 16, 2011 at 1:50 PM Post #4 of 9
What is your source? If you're double amping then I would say that's totally normal.
 
May 16, 2011 at 2:00 PM Post #5 of 9


Quote:
Perhaps it's a combination of bad headphone/amp synergy and bad song recordings for that type of headphone and amp combo.

 
X3
let us know which amp/combinations you have used with them. 
 
May 16, 2011 at 2:00 PM Post #6 of 9
What is your amp? Do you mean a speaker amp with a high ohm headphone output? If so, that's normal. My 990s sound horrible through my Technics amplifier.
 
However, they sound muddy unamped. It's nothing tragic but compared they do sound mellow and soft with my PC headphone out.
I did notice some harsher highs with the Beyerdynamic A1 headphone amp - which is definitely proper amping. Maybe that's what you mean?
 
May 16, 2011 at 2:51 PM Post #7 of 9
Oh why didn't I mention that in the original post lol, silly me! Well to be honest I only started this hobby properly within the last 6 months and so my amps aren't exactly uber expensive....before I sold my PC I used the Xonar Essence ST for amping the headphones and for portable use I used the Fiio E7 for amping. 
 
I see what you guys are saying though about harsh rock recordings as that's mainly all I listen to (well rock, electronica, little hip hop) and some stuff sounds amazing to me eg red hot chili peppers, linkin park, guns n roses - but I'm finding it's mostly catchy tuneful stuff that also makes use of the soundstage imaging rather than hard rock and therein lays my deal, it still sounds amazing unamped....strikes me as weird because you are supposed to amp these headphones (and all headphones @ 250 ohms and above of course) but these particular headphones have bumped bass and treble by default so no doubt that's umm amplified a lot when I use an amp lol but I definitely prefer the way the DT 990 Pro sounds unamped as the bass and trebles are a lot more muted by comparison and it just sound a lot more neutral and balanced to my ear but the bass is still there to an acceptable degree. And this is straight from the TV out as well as laptop out sockets too. 
 
I'm still new to the whole amp deal though so I'm still cutting my teeth on those....but I'm wondering if I didn't actually prefer a more neutral than not presentation to begin with.....I'm unsure because I've had lower priced Sennheiser's before that lacked a lot of bass and were far too distant sounding and I didn't like those.
 
I'm buying the Beyer DT 880 tomorrow though so that WILL answer a lot of my questions based on what I've read!  :)
 
May 16, 2011 at 3:58 PM Post #8 of 9
The problem with cheap 'amps' is that they raise the volume so unnaturally that they degrade the sound quality, something like this may go unnoticed on darker/veiled headphones but anything detail oriented will expose them. We all prefer a different sound but I would image the DT880 to be even worse than the DT990, they receive a lot of criticism for their piercing highs and missing bass, but then this is almost always from Fiio owners.
 
May 16, 2011 at 4:21 PM Post #9 of 9


Quote:
The problem with cheap 'amps' is that they raise the volume so unnaturally that they degrade the sound quality, something like this may go unnoticed on darker/veiled headphones but anything detail oriented will expose them. We all prefer a different sound but I would image the DT880 to be even worse than the DT990, they receive a lot of criticism for their piercing highs and missing bass, but then this is almost always from Fiio owners.



Interesting you say that, basically my plan was/is to purchase the DT 880 and basically if they aren't for me ship them back to Amazon within the week under the cool down period rule....obviously if I like them I'll keep them....I'm having to 'demo' them this way though because the 2 brick n mortar stores in my city do not stock Beyer DT line. So yeah try out the DT 880 and if they aren't for me then I'd be going for the premium version of the DT 990. Basically I want a Beyer with slightly better build quality (aluminium backs instead of plastic) so why not get a very similar - yet more refined - sounding headphone....as I say I just found it strange that I prefer the sound of my DT 990 Pro when it's unamped....it's up front or so I think, from high to low it's still full of detail and still in no way boring, and while duller sounding/muted it is because of this taming that it's absolutely not harsh in any respect and is still an exciting if much easier listen for me.
 
Oh and I was getting all sorts of nasty buzzing on my portable Fiio last night...plugged the headphones back into the tv jack and the signal buzz junk was gone. So I guess I'll need an amp upgrade down the line - I've had a fellow British guy's amps on my radar for a while now on ebay Neco I think he's called. Apparently his amps are good for the money.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top