[MarkJnK]

Hi folks, today I received my DT990/600 which I bought as a way to ease the pain of selling my T1's.   I couldn't resist the sale prices available at a few well known retailers.  At this price, I knew I could try them out guilt free.
 
I'll hold off on reviewing them fully until I spend more time (and burn-in) with them, but already, straight out of the box, these things are very impressive!  While they can't compete with the T1 in terms of accuracy and full spectrum performance, they sure do provide a tremendously fun sound and terrific value when you consider they cost 1/4 of a T1 (or 1/5 at the new T1 price). 
 
Right off the bat some things stand out:
Comfort, light and comfy with perfect clamping.
Single sided cable, thin and light weight.  (opposite to the "garden hose full of water" on the T1 )
Rich meaty sound with a nice sparkle to balance out the deep bass. 
I don't notice any recessed mids as described by some posts.
 
So why isn't there more chatter on the forums about these phones?  At the price they should be a hot topic in my opinion.  I did a search and most threads are quite old and refer to the previous generation, pre-600 ohm. 
 
Am I the only guy who thinks these are a sleeper hit?

 

[MacedonianHero]

The DT880/600s are the more popular version as they offer a more balanced / neutral sound. The DT990/600's bass is just a bit much to be considered "neutral". I prefer the DT880/600s.
 
The DT770/600s are also undervalued here IMO. They are the best balanced closed headphone I've heard to date.

 

[TheWuss]

dt990 lover, checking in!  

 
I'm with you, MarkJnK.  I wish the dt990 got more love around here. 
Okay, so it's bass heavy, and has a slightly recessed midrange.  sure.
 
but, a headphone like the d5000 or d7000 get tons of talk and praise.  and, ya know what, those are considered bass heavy, and with a slightly recessed midrange.
 
so, guys... tell me just exactly what it is that a d7000 does better than a dt990?  i'd love to hear from someone... 

 

[TwoTrack]

Beyer is a sleeper brand.  Great sound, reasonable prices.  The 990s at the Atlanta event were excellent.

 

[MarkJnK]

Quote:

The DT880/600s are the more popular version as they offer a more balanced / neutral sound. The DT990/600's bass is just a bit much to be considered "neutral". I prefer the DT880/600s.
 
The DT770/600s are also undervalued here IMO. They are the best balanced closed headphone I've heard to date.

Since I love the GS1000 so much, it was the reports of the heavy bass that attracted me to the 990's over the 880's.  I find the sound signature of the 990 is right in between the fun of the GS1000 and the neutrality of the T1. 
 
I'm learning something about myself, and that is I prefer sound with a bit of colour, a fun sound. 

 

[Skylab]

Great cans the 990/600. They were my everyday can at work for more than a year. Love 'em.

 

[TheWuss]

Quote:

 
 
I'm learning something about myself, and that is I prefer sound with a bit of colour, a fun sound. 

funny.  i said the same thing the other day.
 
sure - the dt990s aren't really all-rounders.
but, i can't listen to led zeppelin with any other cans now.
once i heard that sub-bass i was hooked!
 

 

[moodyrn]

They are not as balance as the dt880/600ohm, but they are definitely more fun to listen to. I'll take them over the dt880 any day.

 

[runswithaliens]

Good topic MarkJnK, as I was wondering the same thing myself but from a perspective buyer's point of view. I hope more folks will chime in with their experience of these headphones and comparisons to others such as I would imagine the HD650 would be their leading competitor in the open headphone category, and maybe the D5000 in the closed? I wonder how they compare. Are the highs of the bright fatiguing variety at all? They reach low, is it tight bass, or a bit boomy? And how are they with vocals? Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

I had a love/hate thing with the DT990/600s. Some days I thought they were perfect, and other days the imbalance between highs/lows and mids bothered me greatly. Ultimately, I reached for my Senns more often when I just wanted to listen to music, so the 990s were sacrificed to make room for T1s.
 
They're a great value at pretty close to $200, that's for certain.

 

[stang]

I guess some people prefer the neutrality of the DT880. I actually find the DT880 bass too much now and then

 In well recorded tracks, the bass goes deeep, but in poorly recorded songs,the bass seems a lot less prominent. I guess at the next meet I am going to have to compare them side by side to see which I really love

 

[fatal_crest]

nice thread..
i'll wait for ur review MarkJnk..as i consider to buy one of the 880 or 990.

 

[maruzen]

i have both, and i love the dt880 for everything! the dt990 is my metal and rock headphone: for those genres, they are very engaging and more enjoyable than the dt880...
 
but that was before i swapped the stock tubes for the mullards in my ld mkii...

 

[jp_zer0]

They're my main phone right now. No complaints from me.

 

[Brandon7s]

I really want a DT990\600, but I just can't justify purchasing one amid of everything else I need to purchase. I like my DT900\250, but there are a few issues with them that I hear are taken care of nicely by the 600ohms version.