Possible to get DT990 and DT880 for the price of one? You bet! (Frequency response testing included)

[JamesM]

[size=10.5pt]Over a loan from a friend yesterday afternoon, I was able to get my hand ona DT990 for a few hours. Finally, I could not help but take it into pieces for its astonishingly resembling sound quality of DT880, yet with more dynamic and bass. Some may think DT990 would beat you more on comfort, though the pleasing sound of DT880 remains irresistible. In the end, I carried out an interesting experiment.[/size]
 
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]Taking it apart to begin with:[/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]Just like other high end Beyerdynamic products, ear pad designs of DT880 and DT990 are more or less the same. They may be removed manually along their fitting edges.[/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][/size]
 
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]Then removing the plastic ring cover. [/size][/size][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]Use some small, hard gadget to gently poke at the fitting edge. The seal ringshould then come loose. After that, gently knocked on the back of the outer ear cup. [size=10.5pt]The driver plate should then come out by itself.[/size][/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][/size][/size]
 
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]Now you can get to see the entire driver. The structure of rear magnetic ring in Beyerdynamic driver is truly something which comes under the spotlight.[/size][/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][/size][/size]
 
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt] [/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]Upon opening the driver came a observation of interest. This DT990 driver and that of my DT880 are exactly identical, including letterings on the side of the moving coil from what can be seen in the slit. The only difference is that the face of DT880 driver is pasted with a slice of relatively thick cotton fabric, while that of DT990 is a lot thinner. [/size][/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size]
 

 
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]After that, I gathered some of the nonwoven fabrics which came with previous CD purchases,[/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt] [/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]and cut them into similar shape of DT880 VR. I then stacked up 3 pieces for thickness imitation. [/size][/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt] [/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]Subsequently, the headphone was reassembled for frequency response testing.[/size][/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]During the test, I made use of a strepitus scan with a higher degree of environmental adaptability. The curves would show diminishing effects, though they should not hinder comparisons.[/size][/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][/size][/size]
[size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt] [/size][/size]
 
[size=10.5pt]Off the curves, we can see DT990 exhibits a great deal of resemblance to DT880. While it is true that some parts of the curves vary slightly, it is certain though such a material can absorb a wide range of frequencies for acoustic mimicking purposes.[/size]
([size=medium]Some information enclosed herein come from the web.)[/size]

 

[JamesM]

yippee

 

[Lumos]

Wow very interesting! same drivers... I just wondering if pro and premium series uses very same driver also...
 
congratulations you contributed very much to destroy marketing hypes

 

[pp312]

Quote:

congratulations you contributed very much to destroy marketing hypes

 
 
Really? I was always under the impression that they used the same drivers but with a different degree of damping, and I don't know that Beyer have ever contradicted that. Nice to see it confirmed, but I doubt if anyone (except perhaps yourself) is surprised.

 

[Lumos]

Quote:

 
 
Really? I was always under the impression that they used the same drivers but with a different degree of damping, and I don't know that Beyer have ever contradicted that. Nice to see it confirmed, but I doubt if anyone (except perhaps yourself) is surprised.

look, you are told to buy dt990 around 370$ yes? and dt880 for 300$, (250ohm-s premium version) because only some sort of [size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]cotton fabric, which itself costs cents. is it fair? - for me absolutely NO[/size][/size][/size]!
 
And if the pro version uses same driver but again only damping materials are different and costs 180$, ask yourself is it fair to pay for premium version 300$ and more. I would not pay. 

 

[Lorspeaker]

The cups are different...
One is diptirium louvres...the other is perforated septirium.

 

[Lumos]

Quote:

The cups are different...
One is diptirium louvres...the other is perforated septirium.

oh... can you explain what is diptirium louvres and perforated septirium? some alloy? I found many thread here claiming that sound is absolutely same, 880 pro=880premium.
 
However Beyer says: buy Premium because I named it premium and I am ripping you off!

 

[pp312]

Quote:

look, you are told to buy dt990 around 370$ yes? and dt880 for 300$, (250ohm-s premium version) because only some sort of [size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt][size=10.5pt]cotton fabric, which itself costs cents. is it fair? - for me absolutely NO[/size][/size][/size]!
 
And if the pro version uses same driver but again only damping materials are different and costs 180$, ask yourself is it fair to pay for premium version 300$ and more. I would not pay. 

 
Let's not confuse ourselves. The damping material is not different between Premium and Pro; the only differences are clamping force and cord (coiled on the Pro). I have no idea why Beyer charge more for Premium or why they seem to be implying on their site that Premium is superior for home use when it's the same headphone. I think they should be asked to explain on pain of a fine, but it's probably not going to happen. All I know is that the DT880 Pro is a superb headphone at a giveaway price, and I'm astonished at how many discussions take place here about the best phone under $300 (or even $500) where it's not even mentioned.
 
Incidentally, where do you find DT880 Pros for $180?

 

[JamesM]

hi there,
 
let's be crystal clear that the choice of what to use for damping materials is a doctrine matter first.
 
also, despite the same driver used, the process of tunning requires expertise and is what the extra value comes into play.
 
i've found in the market that Marshall utilizes it as a marketing ploy.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/662178/marshalls-new-cans-the-monitor-headphones#post_9405680

 

[Lumos]

Quote:

 
Let's not confuse ourselves. The damping material is not different between Premium and Pro; the only differences are clamping force and cord (coiled on the Pro). I have no idea why Beyer charge more for Premium or why they seem to be implying on their site that Premium is superior for home use when it's the same headphone. I think they should be asked to explain on pain of a fine, but it's probably not going to happen. All I know is that the DT880 Pro is a superb headphone at a giveaway price, and I'm astonished at how many discussions take place here about the best phone under $300 (or even $500) where it's not even mentioned.
 
Incidentally, where do you find DT880 Pros for $180?

yes sorry damping are same on 880, I was thinking 990pro and 990 premium, cups different...  

Here you go - like new for $174.00 http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001B1QENY/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1367596956&sr=8-1&keywords=dt880+pro&condition=used
 
and you always can find 990 pro for 180$, sometimes price is even less

 

[Xprime4]

Ive got the 990 pro, so does your mod work? Same drivers? Whats different from 990 pro vs 990 premium? Since the cup seems different i guess ther might differnt drivers to accomate thm

 

[JamesM]

Personally I can't tell the difference between 990 pro and 990 premium in terms of sound quality. Does anyone here think otherwise?
One thing for sure though is that 990 pro feels tighter on the ears.

 

[khaine1711]

Quote:

Personally I can't tell the difference between 990 pro and 990 premium in terms of sound quality. Does anyone here think otherwise?
One thing for sure though is that 990 pro feels tighter on the ears.

Because they use the same driver (if we're talking about the 250 ohm 990 pre), and the main differences are in the clamping force and coiled cable 

 

[Xprime4]

I just modded my dt 990 pro. They already had a thin felt pad on them covering the whole cup. I remove it and replace it with a thicker shure 840 felt pad and close them back.
 
The highs are definitively less obstructive, but i need more listening time.
 
how come no pictures from this thread look like my dt 990 pro? the felt pad look alot more like the one in the dt 880 pictured

 

[Mdraluck23]

Wow that seems so simple. Anyone who has heard a DT880, do they really sound the same after this mod?