[Bill-P]

I can feel my wallet and conscience sharpening their tools. But... my curiosity just keeps tickling me.

So, the story is, I absolutely love the sound out of my DT990 Pro. Really, wouldn't trade it for the world right now, and especially since I got it from another Head-Fi'er at quite a good price. However, the audiophile in me would like to know what to get next so that it would be a noticeable jump.

I listen mostly to classical, with lots of piano, string, and flute, and sometimes some rock, country, and pop, but mostly classical.

In terms of sound signature, I think the midrange of the DT990 Pro is just about right for me. I would like for the treble to be slightly less prominent but more extending. As far as bass go, I would really love to hear something that has even more bass punch, but either remains the same tightness or improves upon it. I have read that soundstage on these pair is also not the best, so I'd love to get more of that as well.

Budget won't be a problem. If the headphones require an amp, please let me know which one you think would fit it best.

Sorry, quite a broad inquiry, but I'm sincerely very curious.

 

[Eraldo Coil]

You could always go all out and get the Hd800. 

 

[BattleBrat]

I've heard a lot of people who like classical like the HD600's I use a Lisa III XP to amp my HD650's, but you might want to get a stationary amp.
 
The DT990 Pro's... how hard are they to drive? What do you listed to yours on? I had been thinking about picking up a pair for years but haven't yet, are they worth it?

 

[KG Jag]

Are you thinking of staying in roughly the same mid-fi price range or of jumping up to at least $450 to $500?
 
If you are staying mid-fi, the Denon D2000 (closed) will give you the extra bass punch, but I don't think it meets your other requirements.  Have your heard the DT 880 Pro?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I can feel my wallet and conscience sharpening their tools. But... my curiosity just keeps tickling me.
So, the story is, I absolutely love the sound out of my DT990 Pro. Really, wouldn't trade it for the world right now, and especially since I got it from another Head-Fi'er at quite a good price. However, the audiophile in me would like to know what to get next so that it would be a noticeable jump.
I listen mostly to classical, with lots of piano, string, and flute, and sometimes some rock, country, and pop, but mostly classical.
In terms of sound signature, I think the midrange of the DT990 Pro is just about right for me. I would like for the treble to be slightly less prominent but more extending. As far as bass go, I would really love to hear something that has even more bass punch, but either remains the same tightness or improves upon it. I have read that soundstage on these pair is also not the best, so I'd love to get more of that as well.
Budget won't be a problem. If the headphones require an amp, please let me know which one you think would fit it best.
Sorry, quite a broad inquiry, but I'm sincerely very curious.

So, I'm assuming your not using a headphone amplifier with the DT990 Pro 250-Ohm?
What source(s) are you plugging the headphones into right now?
 
 

 

[Bill-P]

Hey, thanks for the replies, guys. Will look into the suggested headphones.

As far as ease to drive, I can plug the DT990 Pro into my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro directly and get decent volume, but midrange and bass impact would feel lacking that way. I'm using the Fiio E11 right now to amp them, and anywhere from level 2 to 4 on the E11 is comfortable listening to me. Small edit: oh, and I forgot to add, I don't have Bass Boost on because it seems to mud up bass in the DT990.

As far as music that I listen to, it's mostly classic piano performances, mostly by Lang Lang, or sometimes Jim Brickman. When it comes to Rock, I'm still in explore mode, so I'll listen to pretty much anything from Deep Purple, Scorpion, Beatles, to Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, and so on... I also sometimes listen to R&B (Michael Jackson, Craig David, Trey Songz come to mind here), and sometimes some electronic and new age... I have tried throwing all of those at the DT990 Pro, by the way, and they have held up pretty well. I haven't found any genre that they feel lacking in.

I'll most likely look into purchasing a better amp next, since I feel I'm not getting as much out of the DT990 as I can with just the Fiio E11. The only reason why I'm also asking for headphones is to get a feel for how much I'll have to stretch my wallet (for both headphones and amp) to jump to the next level.

 

[Spadge]

I went from the 990 Pros to the Ultrasone 900's and feel that they have improved upon everything that you have mentioned. Might be worth a look.
 
Paul

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hey, thanks for the replies, guys. Will look into the suggested headphones.
As far as ease to drive, I can plug the DT990 Pro into my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro directly and get decent volume, but midrange and bass impact would feel lacking that way. I'm using the Fiio E11 right now to amp them, and anywhere from level 2 to 4 on the E11 is comfortable listening to me. Small edit: oh, and I forgot to add, I don't have Bass Boost on because it seems to mud up bass in the DT990.
As far as music that I listen to, it's mostly classic piano performances, mostly by Lang Lang, or sometimes Jim Brickman. When it comes to Rock, I'm still in explore mode, so I'll listen to pretty much anything from Deep Purple, Scorpion, Beatles, to Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, and so on... I also sometimes listen to R&B (Michael Jackson, Craig David, Trey Songz come to mind here), and sometimes some electronic and new age... I have tried throwing all of those at the DT990 Pro, by the way, and they have held up pretty well. I haven't found any genre that they feel lacking in.
I'll most likely look into purchasing a better amp next, since I feel I'm not getting as much out of the DT990 as I can with just the Fiio E11. The only reason why I'm also asking for headphones is to get a feel for how much I'll have to stretch my wallet (for both headphones and amp) to jump to the next level.

Here I am, sitting here using my DT990 Pro 250-Ohm with the Fiio E11 which is using the line-out from my Essence STX (using it's DAC).
The Fiio E11 is doing a fine job.
One thing you might try is a tube headphone amplifier.
On eBay they sell single tube headphone amplifiers for $50 to $130, about $80 is where the better ones start.
They ship from China, takes 10 days,
You would also need a digital multimeter (DT830 $8) to fine adjusts the voltage.
Tubes usually add "warmth" and "soul" to music, the tube add harmonics which the human ears like.