beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro Reviews

best headphone i ve listened to

i had audio technica and akg and some other famous brands and i ve been mixing for 5 years on headphones and monitors

and i am sure i will use those for a long long time it seems just like using monitors the bass and the low mid are a bit lower but this make it more real like near to the monitors exprience when mixing and with sonorworks you can get it fixed but i like the original frequncy range because its so comfortable to do the job

Amazing

I have a home "studio" in the living room therefore my room isnt suited for serious mixing or mastering work and I went with this headphones for serious checks and detailed sound design. Well, they are amazing. I dont have any experience with proper headphones as these are my first but the clarity of sound and the stereo image I get with them are simply amazing. It feels like the sound is coming from all around me and behind me...great stuff really. I can already see the difference in my production sound wise. The low end is also nice and clear. I would only mention, since I read before buying that people said they can work for hours and hours with them, I can't. After 1,max 2h they feel a bit heavy on my ears and head. But in the end I take that as a reminder to make breaks...

I strongly recommend to anyone that cant afford to blast their speakers or doesnt have the budget for proper speakers. I would compare this to Adams speakers for clarity for sure. Anything below that the headphones can top it.

Great for the price but needs some tuning

Let me preface by saying that I'm mostly and IEM guy due to the detail they can provide. However, my best IEM has been the Xiaomi Hybrid Pro HD. Despite not being a bass head I do think that bass is the base in music and usually provides the "body" of a song and is what adds energy to a song. I love being able to hear every single detail in a song as well. A tall order for 115 euro headphones I'm sure. I usually listen to (pop) punk, hardcore, hiphop and jazz and I also bought these for gaming. I tried on a ton of other headphones before trying these so I'll give you an overview of those quickly:

Sony MDR 7506: Not sure what the hype is about, these sounded so bad for me. Analytical but it hurt my ears listening to songs and didn't make for an enjoyable experience

Shure SRH 840: Ok but a bit muddy, also didn't like it that much, sounded worse than my Logitech G430 in my opinion.

AKG K245: These didn't sound too bad. Good bass and mids, highs sounded a bit harsh to me but so did most headsets. Probably the closest to the DT 990 Pro

AKG K275: Absolute trash. Don't even try it. I've seen some good reviews but wow this thing hurt my ears and was not fun to listen to at all.

AKG K361: Not bad but I didn't like the sound signature. Focused more towards vocals. I'd say between the K245 and K361 I'd go for the K245 which has a somewhat warmer sound

Audio Technica ATH-M40X: The sound was good, I preferred it over the M50X which sounded a bit more muddy to me. Build quality is really meh and comfort wise also not the best

Audio Technica ATH-M50X: Marginally better built than the M40x but didn't like the sound as much. Definitely warmer than the M40x, closer to the AKG K245 I'd say.

Audio Technica ATH-M60X: Really good sound for closed backs but the earpads were a bit on the small side. My ears barely fit inside and I can imagine these to be more like on-ears for some people.

Beyer Dynamics DT-770 Pro: Oh wow what a mess. I tried all the different versions and they all sounded like complete crap. Highs were piercing and the bass felt like it was all over the place and recessed. Definitely not a good experience. Would rate these like the AKG K275, terrible and I don't really see what the hype is about.

Beyer Dynamics DT-880 Pro: Overall good sounding headphones, pretty neutral but with a good tone. These sound similar to the DT-990 Pro but a bit warmer.

Sony Fidelio X2HR: Comfortable for my head but they sounded pretty muffled to me. I'd compare them to my cheap 5 euro pair of Xiaomi Piston which has a V-shape. The bass on these is a bit clearer but it's not something I'd listen to analytically. Good for hiphop but ultimately expensive for what they offer.

Beyer Dynamics DT-990 Pro/Edition: Wow, the only pair of headphones I tried on today which I wanted to take home with me. Sound wise nothing came close. Sound stage is wide (though I've heard wider) and imaging is good, it felt like I was at the performance. Bass is really good and detailed with some deep extension, but it's not loud. I don't know how to explain it properly but . Highs were crisp and detailed, not fatiguing at all. Mids were definitely recessed but nothing an EQ couldn't handle. I didn't find the highs piercing at all compared to most other headphones I tried but high hats kinda sound fatiguing. These headphones are good enough to pick up badly mastered songs.

Another user here described the sound as "but in absolute terms the sound is at best muffled -- thin, lacking in clarity, transient response and bass" and I do kind of agree with the headphones sounding a bit thin and veiled. In the first week I thought "wow yeah I can hear mostly every detail, even in the bass, but I'm not really having fun listening to my songs. It was lacking body/power in the bass. Yesterday I messed around with my PEACE EQ, added around 7dB to 39hz and 4dB to 78hz (with -3dB on the pre-amp), slightly lowered the highs and added a tiny bit of mids and WOW do these things come alive. The bass feels like a proper closed back now and I had so much fun listening to my songs that I stayed up until 05:00 in the morning just listening to my favorite songs. It's amazing for the genres I listen to and really shines with Jazz and hiphop now. After these EQ changes it also meant that I could listen at lower volumes because I wasn't chasing the bass and in turn made the sound less fatiguing. These can be driven by an iPhone 6S but it's not as good as using a dedicated dac/amp. I drive these with a Scarlett 2i2 2nd Gen.

Build quility wise the only thing that worries me about the Beyer Dynamics are the plastic sliders for head adjustment and no removable cable. Every Beyerdynamic in the store had cracked sliders. They're cheap to replace but still not the best design obviously. Comfort wise the Fidelio X2HR and the DT880 and DT990 Edition were better but these are a close 2nd. Clamping force is somewhat high but the pads are super comfortable (though my ears do touch the driver side). The coiled cable is heavy but feels sturdy enough.

Conclusion: Good headphones but need some EQ work to reach their full potential. If you need something for home use in the €50-€200 range I wouldn't hesitate to go for these over any of the other options, otherwise I'd recommend the Audio Technica ATH-M60X.

Simply great if you know the sound signature

I changed my 770 80ohm to these and the 990's sound clearer and overall better. I recommend.

my recommendation for best overall headphones

these headphones are regarded as the best among many sectors like audio mixing, music listening and instrument player as they are "balanced", but in my listening it helps everywhere especially in games I can tell the difference, they are very comfortable to use for long hours, and the open-back design make your ears breathe and i don't get the "pressurized ear-headache", but in order to get the full sound potential of your headphones, you need a powerful amp, don't cheap out it will make the difference.

the build seems sturdy that it will live long, the earpads are "cold" compared to other fabric pads. i am very glad i picked this.

Good sound, very comfortable.

The sound is very good for composing melodies and ok for mixing.

The comfort is absolutely heavenly. An auricle paradise.

I absolutely love waring them.

Quallity is also good, So far seems durable but I don't really know 100% because as with most my gear I treat it carefully. :)

Excellent quality audio, comfortable, good for mastering

I use these headphones primarily for mastering. The are comfortable and I have no problem wearing them for longer sessions unlike many other headphones I have tried. I also have the closed backed version of theses (DT-770) which I use for recording, and I find that these DT-990s give an ever flatter sound and a greater sense of space, something that is very important for mixing and mastering. I would highly recommend these to anyone who needs to be able to mix or master using headphones, or for any audiophile who wants to hear music the way it was mixed and not with loads of added bass that most headphones muffle music with.

Okay for the price

I bought these for a friend and had the chance to use them for a few hours. I can only compare them to the Sony MDR-7509HD which I have for more than a decade and am very fond of (granted, they're of another price range but they're closed-back and of almost 2 decades old technology).

Good things first -- build quality is quite good, accessories are nice and the fact ear pads are replaceable is very useful in the long run. Too bad the cable isn't removable but given their price I think it's reasonable. Comfort-wise they felt okay, maybe a bit stiff on the ears but they were steady and you always felt like you could move around. Lastly, as an open-back design, it felt like they still provided some isolation from the environment and didn't spill too much as well.

Next, the not-so-good things -- well, I just can't relate at all with the remarks by others here about the clarity or balance of these headphones. They sound okay for the price, I guess, but in absolute terms the sound is at best muffled -- thin, lacking in clarity, transient response and bass. I didn't crank them up, so I don't know if they distort at high levels. I also felt they weren't revealing enough -- a couple of tracks I know exhibit subtle mid-range distortion in a couple of places just didn't come through. The amp I used was a Drawmer MC2.1 monitor controller, but like I said, sound-wise I'm comparing to the excellent Sonys which sound great on that amp (actually, anywhere I've used them all these years), so YMMV.

Ultimately, their biggest advantage is their price and potential longevity due to replaceable ear pads, but they just don't have a sound I'd call usable in any serious context.

fantastic stuff

all around amazing studio headphones!

Great headphones for this price range

The best thing about these headphones is, in my opinion, their build quality, which is amazingly good considering their price.

Next thing is comfort, which is also pretty good, no questions here.

Sound-wise they are pretty decent, but their highs are a bit too sharp to my taste, and after mixing music in these for 30 minutes, or so, I get ear fatigue, so after taking them off, music from my monitors sounds dull and I have to take time to readjust.

However, these headphones have a very detailed sound and if your monitors are not good enough (for instance, if you can't hear reverb tails or other small details properly), I recommend that you use these headphones in conjunction with monitors, i.e. you can check details and nuances on headphones, but use monitors for overall sound balance.

Beyerdynamic does there job very good

feels like top notch headphone

will suggest for ppl who look for mastering and critical listing

So cool headphones

As soon as I put them on, I was freaking out. The sound is so clear that I can't put it into words. I have worked on different headphones, but this is the first time I hear this quality!

These are the Best headphones!

Almost perfect. A industry standard I guess. Rely on these to check my mixes. Home studio needs some work on acoustic to be able to rely on monitors. So these help me to keep things under control for now. Would be perfect if cable could be removed.

I have long dreamed about such headphones (beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro) and here it is - done! Headphones came to Russia very quickly. Everything is carefully packed! It can be seen that the team of masters is working! The assembly is very high quality and strong, but if you have something broken from the parts of the headphones, you can buy it separately! Headphones delight me every day! I use them to mix music and just listen to good music in great headphones. When I put them on my head. I don’t feel them at all!

You will have to get used to the wire in the form of a spiral. In fact, it is long, but twisted into a spiral - it is not always convenient, but it’s nothing!

The sound is great! The store is super! Soon I will buy Cubase Pro 10.5 and studio monitors, wait for me to shop;)

Absolute classic in the genre

There should be a reason why those headphones can be seen in almost every studio. They really sound as neutral as they can without 'colouring' the sound excessively, and still have this 'baller' sound to it. I also own DT-770 Pro and they definitely sound slightly different, but they are closed back and are more suitable for recording in a booth where you don't want to bleed the track into the microphone, while these aren't suitable for that. If you need a second opinion for mastering a track, 990 are definitely in it's stride for the job.

Pros:

All of them

Cons:

None of them

Conclusion:

Just buy them, you would never regret this purchase.

Great, but need tweaking for comfortable listening

Use cases: Gaming, listening to different music genres, watching videos

The good:

- Build quality. It feels rugged for the most part, except the connection between the headband and the drivers.

- Replacement parts are super easy to find and readily available.

- The sound is, after tweaking EQ a bit, wonderful

- Comfortable, although not for too long in my experience. The head band starts to hurt my head after a while, just like the Edition version of these headphones did.

- Very nice soundstage. Not too wide, but everything can be pinpointed perfectly, whether it's enemies in games or elements in music/videos.

The bad:

- Non-detachable cable. The cable feels very sturdy though, but I like being able to switch between coiled/straight cables.

- The highs were so sharp they started to hurt my ears while listening. This can be reduced by tweaking the EQ a bit, but this is my main reason for returning them.

Totally recommend

The best headphone I ever tried

no more headset

Arrived in 14 days but due to current situation it is acceptable

Almost perfect

I use these headphones in my "home studio" if you wanna call it that, for general computer use as well as recording my own music.

Pros:

-Amazing sound

-Basically flat EQ / gives a good impression of sound image

-Very comfortable 99% of the time

-sturdy

Cons:

-Depending on how I place it on my head, it sometimes puts a bit too much pressure on the side of my head, but it happens very rarely and might just be that I have an odd headshape

All in all, I can most definitely recommend these headphones for any usecase that I can think of

It's probably one of the most comfortable headphones I've ever had, feels light to wear it. I do however have a problem when it comes to mixing, everything sounds deceptively great, then I check the sound on other devices (speakers, other headphones) and it's somewhat horrible. So I always have to go back and forth until I get it right.

Best Headphones I've ever tried

Having owned a lot of different (studio & non-studio) headphones over the years and using them for different things (mixing, listening & playing guitar) I can honestly say that I've never tried better headphones for playing guitar through and amp and mixing.

The open back provides a lot of clarity & the soundscape is enormous. You can hear every bit of background noise though so keep this in mind, these are headphones for quiet areas, like studios.

If you want something with a bit more protection against outside noise I'd go for the DT-770.

The 250 Ohm impedance might deter you from going for this instead of the 770 with 80 Ohm, but I didn't even have any issues with driving these headphones through my Oneplus 6 3.5mm jack. These days a lot of devices have built-in soundcards capable of pushing enough power through.

The cups are very soft and large enough even for big ears. They can get a bit warm, but nothing uncomfortable, even in 25 degree weather. The weight is also distributed in such a nice way that I don't feel it at all, even after 4-5 hours of non-stop use. The clamp keeps it in place even when bending down.