I've been using 990s since my freshman year of college in 2016. I use them for everything at my pc. Thousands of hours through them and they're still an amazing set of headphones. 10/10
Nice review. This is a good example of entering the "diminishing returns" level of headphones. DT 990 Pros, while polarizing, are a great headphone for the prince. The DT 1990s are better, but not 2.5 times better than the DT 990s. A better amp can oftentimes make these differences clearer - bass slam, instrument separation, sound stage, etc. I agree that most people will be very happy with the DT 990s or 880s and $300 in their pocket rather than the DT 1990s. I have all three! Nice review.
Yeah, and You also must consider what content you're gonna use them for. Games and compressed audio from RU-vid? Well then maybe not worth the price gap. I myself returned mines and using the much cheaper Beyerdynamic TYGR 300 R (what a name lol) because they felt way more comfortable mostly due to less weight and clamping force but still gives me good enough sound. They're also open back and do seem to have better build quality then the DT 990's, never owned a pair though.
@@badgerjeff6081 I just got some K712 Pros today and they'll be going back. That's a $400 dollar headphone and I compared them to my 880s. Once again the 880s destroyed them.
Good review! I have the Beyerdynamic T1 Gen 2. It would be interesting to redo the review using a different DAC/Amp. For example, I used to use the Magni/Modi 3 for the 600 ohm T1's, but switched to the Asgard 3 Amp and noticed a significant difference in sound quality. It is quite possible the dt1990 requires a bit more juice than your current setup is allowing. I also think it is worth mentioning not all the dt990's are the same. The different ohms versions of the 990 all sound a bit different (32, 80, 250, 600).
Thanks! I have no doubts the quality and power of the amp will make a difference. I noticed the sound got better when I moved from my GoXLR to Schiit Magni 3+.
You can wash those pads and pinch them around when they're wet to restore the cushion thickness. I do that once every month or two and they're still like new.
I just bought these for 420USD. I have the 990s as well. A little worried now as you said the difference is so slight, but very excited to see how they turn our for me :) Appreciate the honest review!
Great review, had my dt 990 pros for 2 years now, recently broke because of the wire, wanted to upgrade to 1990s but I think I’ll just buy another pair of 990s!
I would recommend to buy the 990s. I do love the 1990s, even more now that I've worn them for over a week, but its hard to argue that you can buy 3 990s and still have left over money for the price of the 1990s. The 1990s are better in almost everyway, but only by a small margin (to my novice ears).
@@5wappy yeh that is true, ive just ordered a new pair of 990s and gone ahead and bought a new amp along it it :) awesome review once again! keep up the great videos
@@5wappy went ahead and bought a Fiio K5 PRO, was looking at the schiit magni but they don't ship to the uk im pretty sure heard good things about the fiio hopefully lives up to its words
Thanks man i’ve ordered the dt 990 pro and it still not delivered tho thanks on this review you comforted me because i was going to blame my self for not taking the dt 1990 pro when i saw it on the thumbnail
I loved the DT 990s. All the reviewers trash them. I returned numerous 600$ + headphones in favor of these. (HD 660s / Audeze Mobius..etc). I also had the DT 880 600 ohms...which had a bit more clarity in the highs/mids...but lower bass. I returned those too because the minor clarity boost just wasn't as good as the 990's. I just got Focal Clears for a whopping 1500$ 2 days ago. They are very good and certainly an upgrade. (Bass is great and everything is beautifully clear) but I certainly question the price tag and will probably return these too. I also need to EQ the Focals or they sound strange (everything but bass sounds dampened) to me. For a reasonable price I can't find a good value upgrade to the 990's. The 1990's were a set I haven't tried yet..so I am glad you posted this.
Dang you buy more headphones than me. I still love the DT 990s too, they are the best value out there for excellent open backs. I do really enjoy the 1990s but haven't listened to much HI-FI yet, it's on my todo list. :-)
Fun fact: regarding 2:40, most of the "openings" in the 990 really only reach a round plastic shell with a hole in the middle, so it's barely as "open back" as people usually assume it is. The real power of open-back headphones come from the extra air supply for the speakers as well as the way the sound reverberates/escapes the enclosure, and *not* necessarily the fact that you can hear more through them. Even if you could hear your voice decently loud enough through the headphones I would still recommend doing the "one can off" method for recording, if doing vocal work.
is the sound coming out of the 990 PRO loud enough to screw my microphone recording? I'm afraid to be recording a video and instead of taking only my voice, the sound of the game will be captured as well
I have the DT990 Pro and a Fifine K678 Mic. I can tell you one thing, if you add a noise gate and suppression to the mic input on OBS you wouldn't have to worry about game audio being captured or even keyboard and mouse sounds (unless you mash super hard and your mic is directly beside your keyboard)
After listening and reading so many reviews on these two headsets I was undecided until now and your review. I love these 990 PRO for my gaming and music as well. Thanks
Glad I watched this, it helped me decide to cancel my order on the new 900 x. They’re around £100 more than the dt 990 and they’re supposed to be in between the 1990 and 990, but as you couldn’t hear any drastic differences between these 2 headphones I can’t see the 900 pro x being greatly different from either of these. I’ll wait until there are more reviews on them before taking the plunge!
From your comment replies it looks like you’ve been using the 1990s quite a bit. Would be great to know how you would compare the two now you’ve had more time with them
Look into Dekoni pads, you can adjust the sound changing the pads. I want a bit more bass and less highs from my 1990 pro, so I changed the pads to get what I want. I will say, both of these headphones are being held way back with the crap quality coming from the Goxlr. The goxlr is easy, not good.
Thanks for the recommendation on the Dekoni pads, I will check them out. I'm now using a Schiit Magni 3+ amp to power the headphones (coming out of the line out of the GoXLR). It does sound much better.
From stuff I have seen the Dekoni Elite Velours are supposed to drop some of that Beyer Peak and make them a bit more flat by picking up the bass a bit.
@@phattemu2070 At the time of the video it was a GoXLR. Now I use GoXLR line out to a Schiit Magni 3+ Amp. Adding the amp definitely improved the sound.
@@guyoninternet7015 I'm really enjoying the Schiit amp. Really makes a difference, even coming out of the GoXLR. I would love to try one of their amps, but with my GoXLR setup for my mic and mixing it's not easy to configure.
I personally think for $200AUD the DT990 are built exceptionally well. Honestly think they're an amazing deal considering some of the headphones I've seen that are worth more money sound just bad and are built worse (looking at you beats by dre).
The thing is, you really gotta give them some time for your ears to adjust. Once they are used to it, when u go back to the 990 the resolution and detail level of the 1990 is far superior. Not 3x superior as the price of course, but damn. Also the 1990 has a lot more enjoyable sound to my ears too, much more full and engaging, as the 990 seems kinda steryle tbh. Something else to consider, is that these characteristics of the sound, such as detail, texture, etc really does come to life depending on the production of the songs. Tool has a very "analog" feel to it, sounds very "dirty" and full (in a good way of course, its their artistic choice). But if you take a listen to more precise sounding songs, as an example the latest taylor swift album, that has an out of this world production, especially the songs cardigan and exile, the 1990 clearly shows its vast superior detail capabilities. I'm a metalhead and I'm listening to a lot of taylor swift recently just because of the production, its fucking amazing lol
These are really good points. You can't judge headphone (or most things) with only a few minutes of use. That's why I titled the video first impressions to try to lessen the focus on sound since I need multiple hours/days to really determine the difference. I'm a secret Swifty (well not anymore), so I will give her new album a listen to see if that helps isolated the differences between the two headphones.
@@cutedoggo4419 What type of information are you looking for? I'm not an audiophile so my advice there won't help much. I really do like the headphones, but honestly I don't get everything out of them since I don't listen to much hi-fi music. I mainly wear them for gaming and they are great too, but for the price I would recommend the DT 990s for gaming.
@@demon-ll9eg It depends on what you primary use will be. If it mainly gaming and spotify listened then you can beat the value of the 990s. If you are going to be listening to HiFi music then the 1990s extra cost may be worth it (I'm not an expert). If you don't care about cost I like the 1990s more, with the build quality and sound are better. But if you aren't listening to hifi music it's hard to justify the 3x additional cost of the 1990s.
Thanks! My general recommendation is if buying mainly for gaming, then get the DT990s. I love the DT1990s, they do sound a little better for gaming but are much better for music when powered with a good amp. But hard to justify the 3x cost if mainly used for gaming.
Thanks, not sure I will do one though. I don't think I have the right ears to really do a sound comparison (and give the 1990 a proper review) which is what most would want in a full review.
Did adding the Schiit 3+ to Goxlr line out make a huge difference.. or is the Goxlr good enough to power 250 Ohms 🎧 thanks dude, enjoyed your video and the comments.
I would say it opened up the headphones a good amount. The GoXLR does a decent job but just doesn't have enough power hear everything. I feel I hear more detail down with the better amp.
You can buy a replacement for mostly all parts of the dt990 Pro. They are also easy to disassemble and fix. I fixed broken cables on dt770 pro and dt990 pro's a couple of times now.
I'm glad I kept mine after I learn and really listened to both closely with different genres of music I could clearly hear a difference. Now is it worth the 3x cost...depends on how much you like music. For me I'm happy with the purchase.
Great review I have the DT990 250 OMS they sound amazing with The IFI Hip Doc amplifier use to play music on my iPhone 11 I would like to buy the DT770 the DT1990 are to expensive for my budget the High and the Mids are more important to me am not a bass head
If all you do is gaming or watching youtube, you don't need a better headphone than a 990 Pro... but if you actually sit back and listen high fidelity music with a proper DAC/AMP, the DT1990 Pro is just a COMPLETELY different level.
Could you hear an immediate difference when listening to high fidelity, or is is a learned skill? I swear once I added my Schiit Magni 3+ amp the headphones sounded better, but I can't pinpoint why.
@@howglucosemoves depends on what you plan to use them for. If for gaming, you can't beat the value of the 990s, if your an audiophile and you play high fidelity music then the 1990s. Gaming on the 1990s is a little better, but not worth the 3x higher price.
Hey, i Produce music with Beyerdynamik.. first on Dt 770 pro and now updated to 1990 pro.. and the 1990 are three times more detailed, and a Little Bit louder.. and very precise too ... i think it Stands for Music Production.. and things like that....one Little minus for the Comfort.. over longer times.. the 770 pro and 990 are More comfortable. But now a Big Fan for the Pro 1990 . 👍🏽
@@enterthevortex5883 its overall More detailed.. it came with two different pairs of earpads.. the One Pair have More Bass the other is more flatten.. the prize speaks for it self… Test it and have a listen. I Love them in combination with Sonarworks Headphone Edition. 👌🏽
It really depends on what you plan to use them for. If for mainly gaming I would stick with the 990s, you can't beat that value. If you also listen to hifi audio and/or you have the money (and a good amp) then the 1990s are a solid choice.
Good info and valid points! I'm also a stout guy with a big, bald head (7 5/8 hat size) and was wondering how they fit, feel on your head now that you've had them a while? Do the pads on either pair pinch the tops or bottoms of your ears? Thanks!
I wear between a 7 3/8 and 7 1/2 hat and they still put more pressure on my head than I would like. I wear them during a working day around 10 hours and it does bother my head from time to time (couple times a week). But I would say they are getting better the more I wear them. I also never had this problem with the 990s.
I’ve don’t know for sure on quality difference, but have heard there is a little. The main thing with Ohm is what type of devices can power it. 250 ohms means your phone won’t be able to well.
Thanks for this man, I think I might pick these up after my DT 990s break but until then I will just leave it. I am driving my 990s with a JDS Element II and honestly switching to lossless music and a decent amp/dac really brought another level out of these headphones.
Great review, are your Beyerdynamic DT 990's 250 ohms or 80 ohms? P.S How are they for watching movies I'm looking for a good pair of Home Theater headphones?
if you already had the 990 pro's would you pick them up? im either looking to upgrade or get a new set of pads as mine are super gross and worn out. i was also thinking about the HD6xx or the 600s or 660s but ive heard mixed things about gaming
I absolutely love the 990s and would buy them again. I only bought the 1990s to see if they were that much better. Overall the 1990s are better but really depends on what you use them for. Gaming I would stick to the 990s, they are amazing.
Nice review, but one thing to add 1:00 you do get a bag with the dt990 , you said "no case or anything like that" i know what you mean and that anything like that is a saying but just wanted to add this.
After reading some of the comments to see where you stand after some time...how much of a difference does the magni3+ make on the 990? Does the sound get equally better on the 990s as it does the 1990s? I’m looking to get a new pair of headphones over my hd6xx, and beyer seems to be a good buy. The 6xx is worse than my 598 for gaming by far, so I want to see where better highs takes me.
Just picked up a pair of 990s, in terms of longevity my dt770s just broke at the wire. Good news is though I’ve had them since 2013 and they have been amazing up until now. Ran over the cable with my computer chair, RIP lol
Im kind in a dlilemma atm. i got my dt770 80ohm this weekend and i kinda like them, sound is nice but i need to return them since they are unusable for me while gaming. Because i cannot for gods sake talk properly when i cant hear my own voice. i get louder and quieter, i stutter and breaking up words even. its rediculous. So i have 3 options now, get 990s get 880s or save a little more and get 1990s. I think the 770 have a little too much bass and treable but i fear the 880s might have too little bass since i dont want completly flat stuff either.
For gaming I highly recommend the dt990s. Though do note if you get the 250ohm you will need an amp. You will love them and you won't have any of the speaking issues since you will hear yourself just fine. I had your exact problem when I used Audio-Technica ATH-M50X which were closed back as well.
@@5wappy I ll roll with the 880 edition 250 instead. see if i like them. But from what ive heard and read, they should in theory fit me better than the 990. I like it to be a little more flat instead of vshape. treables on 990 sound really harsh. Thats actually something i dont really get with people. i listen to alot of bass heavy music (not just) and people keep saying: 770 is awesome for that, but what ive experienced is the exact opposite. imagine you eat something super spicy. What would create a more well rounded dish? if you add something a little sweet to it to make it to balance out or if you add a bunch of wasabi to an allready spicy dish? And thats exactly how i felt when listening to bass music on the 770. I could not stand it at all without heavily EQing the bass down because it was simply to much. But on the other hand if you listen to something that has not alot of bass, those bass heavy 770 will balance that out really well.
So I’ve looked at the frequency response for the worn in (old pads) on the 990s vs the 1990s, and it would appear that they have a flatter and more preferred response (dt 990).
That is interesting. Now that I've been wearing the 1990s for a few days I will have to go back and test again to see if there is any difference (even though the 1990s are fully broken in yet).
Hey, is there any difference between using the smaller 3.5 connector for something like the go xlr or the bigger one soundwise? Like does the bigger one supply more power and therefore they are louder or is it the same, just a smaller form factor? Would help me a lot!
I love the 1990s when powered by a good amp (using now Schiit Magni 3+) and wear them everyday for work and gaming. I primarily use them for gaming and some spotify music, so definitely not getting the most out of them. If you are planning to use them mainly for gaming my recommendation is the 990s due to the value and quite honestly they are amazing for the price.
@@5wappy appreciate the reply. I actually purchased the 990 figuring it was the better value. Unfortunately, the high treble was hurting my ears and I had to return them back to Beardynamic. So I'm still using my 598 for gaming and music.
@@melantus ah that is a bummer the treble was too high. I actually like a little brightness as it's better to hear sounds in games vs. the pounding of bass.
I use the line out from the GoXLR that goes into the input of my Schiit Magni 3+. That way I can still use the mixing of the GoXLR and hear it through my headphones.
Should I go for the dt990 pro or the sennheiser HD650? The real choice is the 990s with a decent amplifier or the HD650s with the cheapest amp available. What headphones are going to sound better the dt990s with a good amp or the hd650 with the cheapest 50 dollars amp? If it's better to go for the 650s what amplifier for 50 bucks do you recommend? And if you think the 990s are better what amplifier do you recommend in the 200 dollar range? Btw: my budget is around 400 dollars!
@@5wappy thx for your opinion:) I have decided to go for the dt 770 pro 80 ohms cause it's closed back and I chose 80 ohms because a lot of people say that the highs sounds worse on the 250 ohm. But I'm struggling to find a good amp and dac! When I look things up the fiio E10x seem to be a good dac, but I cant find a good amp! And the amps I do find is not available in my country! What amp and maybe dac do you recommend? Is the fiio E10x a good choice for a dac? Btw I also have difficulties trying to find instructions on how to connect your dac and amp to your phone. Maybe you know how?
Will ur mic pick up the dt990 pro noise leakage if using the goxlr? Despite noise gate, the lack of noise supression on the GOXLR means it picks up alot of the background as well.
I'm using a dynamic microphone (first Rode PodMic, now Shure SM7b) and haven't had any problem with picking up noise from my headphones. With the noise gate dialed in I rarely even hear my keyboard.
Hiya! Looking from some new headphones for my gaming/streaming setup and having been looking at both of the headsets you are talking about in the video. I do have a question for you, you said you use the GOXLR with the 990's, do you use anything else or have you just plugged them straight into the GOXLR without and amp ect? Cheers! PS: great video!
Thank you! For about a year I've had the 990s running only through the goxlr mini. It has enough juice to power them and get fairly loud. I just purchased a Schiit Magni 3+ amp and have it going out from the goxlr line out and it makes the 1990s sound better. Haven't tried the amp with the 990s yet though.
@@5wappy Cheers for the reply! Ok, i now have another question for you, have you tried the 1770 pro which has a closed back? And if so, how do they compare? Keep up the good work my friend! :D
Cool review....it would be nice if Beyerdynamic would make a 32 ohm version of the 1770s and 1990s, this would put good new competition to the forever growing low impedance headphone market and perhaps make a 1880 version of the 880s. Beyerdynamic is a reputable headphone manufacturer but they are losing their footing in the low impedance market. With the rise of high resolution audio portables and people still being mobile, most non audiophiles don't want to pocket an amp for high impedance headphones.
That would be interesting. I don't know enough about impedance to know what the impact of making a low impendence version would do to the overall sound?
friend of my has the dt770 what you can find in many studios world wide.. i own the 1990. and for 350 euros less... i must say the 1990 are good for the price.. but its insane what you get for 130euros buying the 770 lol
@@5wappy super true. i was always was a sennheiser fan.. you get what you pay for in every price tag. but i always knew beyerdynamics was also that kinda brand. but a 130 euros sennheiser beats beats by dr dre flawess.. but dang dt770 beats that sennheiser .. it always was a special series.. so many studios have them its insane..
Hello. Can you please recommend DAC for DT 990 pro? I wanna buy it with earphones just for music and games. Now i'm looking for smth for avg. 200$ (for DAC). Thanks in advance :)
I don't have a dedicated DAC, I use GoXLR for that, but do use a Schiit Magni 3+ AMP and would definitely recommend them if you are looking for DACs as well.
I use the Topping E50 DAC (~260€) with the Topping L50 Amp (~230€). This stack works extremely well with my DT 1990 Pro. It's very clean, precise and has good dynamics. I added +5db below 75 Hz and +2db at 100 Hz with Equalizer APO to give it a bit more punch. Can't describe how much I love it.
I tend to agree. I only heard a few differences for my use and doesn't warrant the 3x cost for the 1990s. I love both of them but depending on your usage the 990s are probably the best.
The 1990‘s are for mixing&mastering ! If you are‘nt a mixengineer you can‘t understand and hear the difference and importance of these headphones. So , 1990‘s only for professional audio work.
@@5wappy not an exact pair but soft fabric inside and leather outside pads are nice.. i have noname cheap pads since i just tryed them for fun and then i just kept them on...
I did keep them and love them. But only recommend them over the DT990's if you have money to spare and/or you use it for listening to hi-fi music. If just for gaming you can't go wrong with the DT990s.
Question: I thought the GoXLR only went up to 150 ohms(may be different, but I remember them replying to a question on Twitter saying you can’t do 250 ohms). Do you have a amp also hooked up? If not, have you had any problems with it?
I can't remember where, but they did officially state it can power the 250 ohm at a specific volume. It worked fine for me but wasn't super loud. I have since moved to a Schiit Magni 3+ amp to power my headphones.
Hi from Spain. I have the 990 PRO and the AKG k712 pro. Do you know if I can put something to reduce the high frequency on my 990pro? Something like foam or similar covering the driver. Thanks a lot.
Wow Spain, so cool!!! The only thing I could think of is try different ear pads. With the 1990s I noticed a difference in highs and lows when I changed from the well-balanced to analytical. The analytical had less bass the highs stood out more.
A lot of reviewers falsely claim 1770 and 1990 Pro are almost all metal. Literally have them myself, most of the black parts are high quality plastic. The decorative material on the cups, the black part of the cups and sliding mechanism they are all PLASTIC. Only thing that's metal is the actual headband itself just like in 990s and the metal grills under the plastic decoration in 1990s. I much prefer 990 Pro apart from not having detachable cable. Then again, I can buy 4 or 5 990 Pros for the price of 1 1990 Pro so there's that...
Hey about the DT 990 Pro: I've heard from other reviewers that they are great for gaming because they have high treble. However they also said the treble is too much sometimes...like they're bright. you said that these are good though but did you notice anything like that?
Depends on the person, but they’re brighter than average. I personally love them, but I can’t listen to them at high volume, because that’s when they start becoming sibilant.
The DT990 Pro are GREAT value for the buck, I absolutely love mine. Are the 1990 worth over 3 times as much? The 1990s cost ALMOST the same as my set of Adams T7Vs, so one has to take that into consideration and perspective. I have a relatively expensive Hi-Fi system do I find listening to a mix brings out extra over the Adams or for that matter the 990s? It depends on the music genre style. I make and listen to rock music, NOTHING and I mean NOTHING beats listening to Rock on a pair of Marshalls, none of them sound better. You cannot beat the real thing, something about those Vintage 30s those G12Ts and G12Hs. I now have a pair of 4x12s in the corners and a Bass speaker, who cares about clarity cos it matters NOT, except for acoustics and solo
For gaming, I can't justify the 3x cost - go with the DT 990s. For HI-FI, I'm not the right person to ask as I don't use them for that. Sorry I couldn't be more help. Sounds like you have a dup setup thou!
Not necessarily. More ohms doesn't mean better, just means it takes more juice to power them. But often if a company sells the same set at different ohms then the sound may be different between them.
I haven't tried the 900s, so can't comment on those, but my favorites are the 1990s. Both 990s and 1990s sound great for gaming, but 1990s is better for high quality music.
Lot depends on what kind sound you're after: Maximal "competitiveness" for online fps games, or more balanced sound for all around gaming. DT900 Pro X has quite neutral bass compared to DT990. While that's generally good for competitive fps gaming, for normal gaming neutral bass eats "fun factor"/immersion. Though not sure how well it works for gaming with binaural sound simulation. For example DT1990 Pro has level smaller soundstage than DT990 despite of more neutral lower end. Though DT1990 Pro gives excellent positioning and clarity of details is at "in your face" level. (clamping pressure is major amount harder than in DT990 Edition) Besides comfortable clamping pressure Amiron Home has more relaxed sound stage than DT1990, but still behind DT990. Though bass of new driver is superior to DT990.
The 1990s have much better bass. I cover this in my 1-year follow up video coming out later today. I haven't noticed the distortion on the 990s but I also don't use it at super high volumes.
@@5wappy I plan on buying 1990 250ohm but only because I know of deconi elite velour pads that fill the "hole" and cut the "mountain" present in highs. Since 990 experience I'm at loss finding right basshead audiophile headphones, sound pressure level of most is too low, 94dB is not enough, but I got wome cheap ones with 112dB and they do not distort at hi volume. Well, its not like I can afford audeze lcd4 with 130dB spl, so beyerdynamic got my best dynamic driver alternative.
