[thapchild]

I've been eyeballing Open Back headphones for a while. I purchased my JH Audio 16v2 IEMs 6 or 7 years ago, I love em, but now that I'm working from home I've been wanting a larger sound stage and higher resolution. I don't have to worry about audio bleeding out, or volume levels.

I decided to go with the DT 1990 Pros. To make sure I get an authentic pair, I decided to not order off Amazon and order straight from the Beyerdyanic website. I could have them the next day with Amazon, but I don't ever want to question if they were fake, so I'll wait the 7 extra days. (1 to 2-day shipping has me spoiled).

Cans arrive today, I'm so excited. Open the package and the box looks like it's been through a war. My first sign something isn't right. I do collect all the boxes for my electronics and toys, but it's ok, I can live with a beat-up box.

Open them, and they are in a protective case, that looks undamaged. I pull the headphones out, open a cable plug it in, and .... wait, is sound only coming out of my left ear?... tap tap tap. Right ear flutters for a second but nothing. Oof. Maybe it's just the cable?... right? Swap from the coiled cable to the straight cable. Nope, same thing. Tapping and wiggling won't get the right headphone to flutter, it only worked once.

I call Beyerdynamic. No answer, wait an hour, call back... no answer. On the 4th call I finally got someone on the phone. They offered to send me a return label to my email, but wouldn't cross-ship, even if I provided a credit card they wouldn't cross-ship. I asked if I could just purchase another pair then, and if they would be willing to overnight, or at least 2 day mail them... but nope. The only thing they would do for me is provide the return label, and if the product was defective after review, ship me another pair.

I then explained I could order a pair from an authorized retailer (listed on their website) off Amazon next-day shipping, but they were unwilling to budge.

I was very polite the entire time, it's not the Customer Service agent's fault I got a faulty (beat up box as well) pair of 1990s. They weren't rude so to say but came off as very unsympathetic. They didn't really care how I bought direct, or it was my first venture into Beyer... or seemed to even care it would be a month or more before I got a set of headphones.

I semi-regret my decision to get the Beyerdynamics now. I was also eyeballing the Hifiman Xs (same price range). Maybe I just swap.

Does anyone else have Beyer stories? Good or bad.

Edit:
Commented Updates #2 and #3 below, as well as comparisons

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

No experiences with buying direct from Beyer, though it does not surprise me that their policies in this regard are less forgiving than Amazon's. I bought all my Beyers from Amazon, no issues but if I did have any it'd have been easy to resolve since Amazon is straightforward and customer friendly when it comes to all that. I use the DT-880 and DT-990 600ohm as well as the DT 900 Pro X and a set of DT-770 250ohm I've had for about 12 years now, and I just gave my kiddo my old DT-990 250ohm and he's loving those. Sorry your experience with the manufacturer direct was not what you had hoped, but I wouldn't let it put you off the headphones themselves. I feel Beyer makes excellent cans.

 

[cementnothing]

I haven't had this issue with Beyerdynamic headphones. I had the 770 Pro 250-ohm for a little while, bought from Amazon, and they came perfectly shipped with no issues. My issue with Beyerdynamics is that I haven't ever listened to one that I like lmao

 

[thapchild]

A little update for anyone interested: After the phone call with the Beyer rep Friday, per her instructions, I submitted my return request (instantly). It's now Wed without any response from Beyer. I called around 4 pm Monday and left a message, I called around 2 pm on Tuesday and left another message. Zero response to the email or voice mail.
I ordered another set of 1990 Pros from Amazon (an authorized dealer.) and they arrived. The only difference I could tell from the ones I bought off Beyer's website were the extra set of ear pads were stacked differently, and there was a verrrry tiny blemish in the paint on the bottom of the left ear cup near the mini xlr port. If they were opened and used it wasn't much, they still had the same tension, and I didn't see any obvious fingerprints or scuffs other than the one. They felt new to me. I got those on Saturday Morning, about 8 hours after placing the order. Amazon for the win.

As of today, still no return label from Beyer. No contact from Beyer. Their customer service so far is a 3 out of 10. Review of the product aside, I learned to not buy direct I guess. Amazon's, or Local only from now on. As of right now, I have spent $1000 for a working pair of DT 1990 Pros. I think I should have just nutted up and purchased the HD 800s.

 

[baneand]

The 1990 pros are left in good memory with me, they were my first "better" open back headphones and each next headphone I got is a tiny improvement or change in other direction for a lot more money wasted (reading lots of overly-excited discussions on forums about good headphones tricks brain into buying more stuff). So this experience from the topic must be related to the specific people working in that BD shop which is unfortunate and totally unacceptable for such a great company.

 

[Strayngs]

A lot of times the bigger the company the less stellar the customer service is. Thanks for putting this out there. I am sorry this happened to you.

 

[thapchild]

Follow up #3 for those interested:

Got ahold of Beyerdynamic customer support on Wed (6 days (4 business) after the initial call). The same person (they called her receptionist on the voice prompt) answered the phone as the previous Friday. Politely I reminded her who I was, and of our conversation to which she was rather silent not acknowledging that she remembered the conversation. I told her I never received the return label to which she responded (with an attitude) "We haven't received the product yet." ... I responded "I know, because I still have it, I sent the email as you requested and I've received no communication or label to return the product." Abruptly she put me on hold for around 7-8 minutes and came back still snippy "I sent you another copy of the return label."

The funny part is, when I emailed last Friday their ticketing system auto-generated a case number. When she put me on hold and generated a return label the system auto notified me that a return label was made. Then her email came in with the return label. She never sent one in the first place. Why lie about it? (I scoured my email multiple times, checking junk, checking EVERYWHERE prior to calling).

After confirming I got the email she semi rudely ended the call. I felt as if I was an annoyance to her. Zero sympathy, don't care about helping you, don't care if you sit on a broken product for days, I'll process your return when I feel like it. At this point, I'm just hoping they actually process my return in a timely fashion.

I wish the interactions were recorded. If I owned a business and had one of my employees represent my company so poorly, I would be embarrassed and very upset. They lost at least one customer.

So... the results of this interaction? Well, I bought the HD 800s. I'm returning the 2nd pair of DT 1990s that I bought off Amazon. I A/B compared the two, and this isn't a comparison review so I'll save that for another day. But for anyone reading, on the fence about buying Beyerdynamic you now have my experience. The pair I got from Amazon was real, it was from an authorized dealer, and their refund policy/procedure is standard Amazon. Don't buy direct. Hopefully it doesn't take 2 months to get my refund processed.

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

What a lame experience trying to buy a set of cans. Well, I hope you're pleased with the HD 800s - I for one would enjoy to hear your thoughts on that A/B comparison.

 

[KPzypher]

Sorry to hear that. This is why I always order my gear from Amazon whenever possible, even if I have to pay a bit extra. Returns are so much easier. The sad truth is, post purchase care is often neglected. Among the giants, the only company that went above and beyond for me was Bose. When I contacted them about my qc 35 that randomly turned on (known issue), which by the way was years out of warranty, they upgraded for free to brand new qc 35 ii. Among boutique companies, ZMF by far has the best customer service IME.

On a side note, as much as I like Sennheiser products, their distributor (Digital River) is the worst. Hope you don't run into issues with your 800s.

 

[thapchild]

What a lame experience trying to buy a set of cans. Well, I hope you're pleased with the HD 800s - I for one would enjoy to hear your thoughts on that A/B comparison.

I searched the web pretty heavily for a A/B comparison of the DT 1990 Pros and the HD 800s. They aren't in the same class ($500 vs $1700), which is why there probably aren't many comparisons.

Background for what my use case is: I'm a gamer, and I work from home. I'm a partnered Streamer, and YouTube content creator. So I wanted something that fit all 3 facets of my lifestyle. Gaming. Work. Content Creation. On top of all that, I've been an audiophile for as long as I can remember (more Home Theater and Loud Speaker).

I've been primarily using my JH-16 Pros (IEMs) for the last 7ish years. I absolutely love them. Hard to tell they are in your ears, and I can wear them for the crazy 20 hours sessions with no discomfort. That being said... they are IEMS, very little sound stage, lower resolution, and reduced imaging compared to cans. I've owned many gaming headsets and a few cans. My Logitech G933 is my favorite headset which I only use on a console. The nicest pair of can's I own is the ATH-M50x. So I wanted to upgrade the headphone department. Did some research and went with the DT 1990 Pros.

From a sound perspective, the DT 1990 Pros were everything you've read/heard about them. V-shaped signature. I favor a warm (v shape) sound so I found them very pleasing. I personally didn't find the highs harsh. A lot of reviews bashed the harshness, I do think it was a little elevated, but nowhere near as extreme as people made it out to be. Never did I get fatigued, or want to take them off because of the upper range. I think the DT 1990 Pros sounded very nice.

The main issue I had with the DT 1990 Pros was fit. They weren't deep enough to keep from pressing my ear down towards my head. After a few hours, my ears would start to hurt. The clamping pressure was very stiff, though easily adjustable as you can slightly bend/stretch the metal headband to adjust tension. The perfect circle ear cups vs the oval shape and depth just didn't do it for me. After a few days, I got "used" to it, and they didn't hurt quite as quickly, but 3 hours or so was about max duration I could wear them after the first 4 days of use. After a few hours, they had to come off for a few hours. It's just like a new pair of shoes. You never wear your new shoes on a trip or you'll end up with blisters. Same concept. I'm sure I'd "adjust". I just don't want to "adjust" to an uncomfortable headphone.

The first thing that caught my eye with the HD 800s was the ear cup shape. I dislike any part of the headphone touching my ear. I want "around" truly... "around" the ear headphone. The HD 800s looked like they were comfy.

HD 800s showed up, I had the DT 1990 Pros on at the time. Took them off and threw on the HD 800s. Instantly could feel the colder sound. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure that I thought it sounded "better". I'd say the sound is more "accurate" but accurate isn't always what you want or fun. I rocked a few different tracks, then I threw the DT 1990s back on... and instantly noticed the smaller sound stage, but enjoyed the warmer sound.

In complete transparency, I don't think the price jump is justified from the DT 1990 Pros to the HD 800s... at least not for sound quality. The improvement on the sound stage is noticeable, possibly slightly more resolution... could just be the dollar amount making me feel that there is more resolution. I feel there is, but it's not a $1200 jump in resolution for sure.

The reason I choose the HD 800s over the DT 1990's really boils down to comfort. The HD 800s don't touch my ear at ALL. Any part of it. The seal is 100% completely around my ears. I love the fit, I love the feel. There is some fatigue on Day 2 with the HD 800s right behind the back of the ears from the pressure of the pad circling "around" my ear. I think I'll adjust to that, I've never had a headphone rest on that part of my skull before. I've been using IEMs for the last 7 years. Rarely using cans at all, so I'm probably a little more sensitive than people who wear headsets/headphones regularly.

On a side note, I threw my Apple Air Pods Pro 2 in and played the same track at the same volume and was disgusted at how insanely cranked up the low end is on them and how bad they sounded. (Insert Puke Emoji)

I'm pushing the headphones off a Yamaha MG12XU Mixer. I'm rocking out at about 20% volume, and what's more interesting to me is that I can switch between my ATH-M50x (38 ohms), the DT 1990 Pros (250 ohms), and the HD 800s (300 ohms) and not have to adjust the volume at all. It's pretty even across the board. If I plug in my JH-16 Pros I need to turn it down slightly (They are super sensitive). I'm not sure if there is some auto adjustment for resistance built into my mixer, or if that's normal with a decent amp. I'd like to try different amps someday to see how the sound changes, but that's a whole other journey I'll take next year maybe. With 75% volume left, I feel there's plenty of headroom left and the amp isn't destroying the sound quality.

Using the MG12XU I'm able to EQ a little low-end back into the HD 800s to achieve the sound I'm looking for. Normally I'm against EQ'ing to get the sound I want, but these headphones will never leave my desk, they won't hook up to a phone or laptop ever... So it's a set it and forget it. I'm ok with that.

Things none of the reviews talked about: The cables for the DT 1990 Pro are stiff. The coiled cable is nice but very heavy. Using it on a desk, it's in the way a lot of times, and you can't lay your arm on top of it (it's too thick). The straight cable is very... very... stiff. It held coil retention for days and would suspend itself in the air because of the stiffness. It drove me nuts. I actually ordered a $50 replacement cable that I'm stuck with now (don't even have it yet, still in the mail) because the stiffness bothered me so much.

The Cables for the HD 800s - came with a 1/4" (6.35mm) attached, and a odd 4.5mm spare. My mixer uses 1/4" - so for me not an issue. However, I personally don't own any 4.5mm devices, the common size (at least in the US) is 3.5mm for most consumer equipment, and 1/4 for professional.... not sure why the 4.5mm cable (assuming just for the balanced cable) and no 3.5mm cable. I'd rather have the 3.5, or include an adapter for one of the cables to reduce to 3.5 ect. The cable has zero memory and is heavy. It rests on the desk nicely. However, they are THICK. Super thick chunky boys. 1/4" around.

Other considerations. If you've never owned open-back headphones before you have to consider your environment. Everyone talks about bleeding and bothering people around you, but even in an isolated office, if there are noises they bleed into the headphone as well. An example for me is my air conditioner. It's not very noisy, but I'm used to my IEMS, and when I put those in I can't hear my phone ring 2 inches from my face. The result is I listen to everything at a lower volume and that causes
less fatigue. I think this is really just for the "new" to open-back headphone buyers that they may not take into consideration. I find myself listening to music at a higher volume than I did with my IEMs. Of course, the benefit is, now I'll hear my phone ring or my wife walk into my office. She won't tap me on the shoulder and cause me to have a heart attack wearing open-back cans.

TLDR:
Prefer the warmth (eps the low end) of the 1990s over the 800s. Able to EQ Low end back into the 800s.
Sound Stage is better on 800s, the high end is more balanced on 800s.
Imaging for gaming (placement of objects) they felt very equal.
Sound Bleeding - 800s were a very tiny bit louder, pretty close though.
Comfort - 800s win by a mile to me. Pads on the 1990 were super soft and amazing, but the shape (circle) put pressure on my ear (not deep enough) and the 1990s rested on my ear lobe (not oval shape to go around ear lobe). The 800s pads are a little "stiff" and nowhere near as soft as the 1990 - may look for a softer pad in the future, going to give the stock more break-in time.
Both are constructed very well.

Winner by Value DT 1990s

I kept the HD 800s - The price isn't as big of a deciding factor to me, and the comfort is pretty amazing. I can EQ the warmth, and low end back in, the sound stage is pretty amazing. Is it worth $1200 more for the HD 800s... probably not. But Comfort is just as big of a factor for me personally as I'm going to wear them 8-12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. Bonus for me, I think the HD 800s look "cooler"

Edit: In case anyone was wondering how they compared to the ATH-M50x... picture riding in a Dodge Neon SRT 4, and then you jump in a 911 GT3 Rs.

 

[Reputator]

Beyer used to have great customer service. In the early 2000s I had an issue with a pair of DT990 and they were very prompt and courteous about replacing it through the warranty.

I'd wager when they shifted their business focus away from consumers, anyone who isn't representing a business or organization gets the shaft. Bad customer service like this comes down to poor training, bad hiring, poor work conditions, or a combination of those. And if Beyer no longer cares about the consumer side of their business, those things are bound to happen.

 

[baneand]

Interestingly for me I didn't find them clampy but I did have a hot spot at the top after few hours of wearing them, and they were not heavy. And now on mm-500 I feel stronger clamp but it is totally fine I wear them for 8+ hours per day without any problem. For 1990 pro I always find myself pushing the low end, it was always missing for me, always adding low shelf under 80Hz.

 

[Runrunsmithfly]

I never owned a pair of Beyerdynamic headphones until I read about the DT880 600 ohm headphones here. I love them and their cheap $$$$.

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

I appreciate the comparison! Well, it's nice to know that the Beyers didn't get left in the dust as far as sound quality goes, I've always thought they are really unusually good performers in terms of quality per dollar both their older series (hey ssmith3046! loving mine too!) and the newer stuff, if the DT 900 Pro X is anything to go off of. Their modern "Tesla"-derived driver tech is impressive to me. But, if you can't get good customer service, that's a real shame, especially because I had heard in the past that they were actually good to work with and I wouldn't have expected all this from a situation just involving a customer trying to do a really normal process of a return on a defective item.

Hrm... Based on what you've said, I think you might enjoy the AKG K712 Pro - you can get them from Thomann for under $250, $400-600 elsewhere. They have excellent comfort and no ear contact, outstanding soundstage and a great frequency balance (IMO). But, I don't know that you need them now that you have the HD-800s...!

 

[Runrunsmithfly]

I appreciate the comparison! Well, it's nice to know that the Beyers didn't get left in the dust as far as sound quality goes, I've always thought they are really unusually good performers in terms of quality per dollar both their older series (hey ssmith3046! loving mine too!) and the newer stuff, if the DT 900 Pro X is anything to go off of. Their modern "Tesla"-derived driver tech is impressive to me. But, if you can't get good customer service, that's a real shame, especially because I had heard in the past that they were actually good to work with and I wouldn't have expected all this from a situation just involving a customer trying to do a really normal process of a return on a defective item.

Hrm... Based on what you've said, I think you might enjoy the AKG K712 Pro - you can get them from Thomann for under $250, $400-600 elsewhere. They have excellent comfort and no ear contact, outstanding soundstage and a great frequency balance (IMO). But, I don't know that you need them now that you have the HD-800s...!

I enjoy the DT990 600 ohm headphones too. Very lively, to say the least. Another $$$ value.