Beyerdynamic DT 1990?

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by not_currawong, Sep 23, 2016.

  1. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    Hey.

    I think it depends. You can actually bend the headband of the DT1990 as well as that of the HD600/650, so the clamping force really is up to you. For instance, I have my HD580/600 very loose on my head because I wear glasses and having less clamping force is better for me. Most others would actually prefer to have even more clamping force, and a stock HD600/650 is basically "death grip" to me, so... you can just imagine how far you can bend that headband.

    But the thing is, you have gotta be careful. The headband is made to be in a specific shape, and if you use too much force, it'll break. I'd say try sandwiching a stack of books with the headphone for a while and then progressively increase the thickness of that stack until the clamping force gets to where you want it to be.

    The reason why I'm saying all of that is because I don't think the DT1990, or any Beyer DT headphone for that matter, actually sounds even the least bit similar to the HD600. They are more like the opposite side of the spectrum. If HD600 is mid-centric, then any random Beyer headphone is very much the inverse of that. It's their house sound.

    If you want an HD600-like sound but with "different" comfort, I would actually suggest that you try something like the Audio Technica ATH-AD2000 or ATH-R70X, or HiFiMAN HE-400S (gotta swap in Focus Pads A) or HE-4XX (gotta wait for Massdrop to ship them) with some other alternative pads.
     
  2. angpsi

    angpsi New

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    Hmmm, for the price it goes the HE-4XX screams "show me the money". I'm not sure my OTL Elise plays nice with the HiFiMan though...
     
  3. ipm

    ipm Acquaintance

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    It does not match for me. The clamping force is noticeably less on my DT1990 vs. my HD650; however, the DT1990 sit differently on my giant head which makes them feel secure. You may notice that its different for you depending how loosened your cans are. The DT1990 are very comfortable.

    Also, I got my DT1990 a few hours ago, and I have had my HD650 for years. Doing a comparison is going to be cool. So far, the DT1990 sound is a very nice contrast and the DT1990 is certainty worth trying in particular if you like a nicely extended bass, and more higher frequencies revealed at what, off hand, sounds like a noticeable difference at about 9kHz or 10 kHz. I may have this wrong since I have not had time to dig deeply into this yet but I hope I will soon as the DT1990 cans break in and I get more familiar with what they do.

    You may want to consider the AKG K712 as a compliment to the HD650. The AKG provides a very nice presentation with a wider sound-stage than the HD650 and a nice bass response. Personally, I would not give up my HD650 for the K712. Look around and see what reviewers say about the K712 mids relative to the HD650. The K712 is good but it is different.

    The clamping on my K712 is very loose compared to the HD650 I have, and the AKG cable I use seems to get underfoot, literally, at times. The K712 cups seem gigantic compared to the HD650 and, if comfort is a consideration for you, the K712 is more comfy than my HD650 in that respect. Overall, I like the AKG headband for comfort. It agrees with me for some reason more so than what other manufacturers provide.
     
    Last edited: Aug 20, 2017
  4. angpsi

    angpsi New

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    Good to hear, the DT1990 look fabulous and get consistent positive remarks from whoever is using them. Without trying to derail the thread, I just fitted the HD600 with Brainwavz Sheepskin leather pads and now they seem to sit more comfortably on my head (albeit clamp is still there). I don't know if it's the memory foam or the thicker padding on these but first impressions are good—they even tighten up the sound a bit. I'll be sure to keep the Beyers on my list though, I'm still smitten with their looks. Also thanks for the suggestion on the AKG, they were on my list before I got the HD600. Hopefully I'll get a chance to listen to them someday, possibly at a local meet; so many people seem to own a pair.

    I think I mentioned this already: the HD600 / Elise were my first venture in headphones so I don't really have any relative experience except for my stereo background. That is, unless you count my pair of Etymotic Hf3s.
     
  5. Melvillian

    Melvillian Friend

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    The HD600 pads will get softer as you use them and will be more comfortable. Im doubtful of the brainwavz pads having a positive influence on the sound of the HD600.

    The DT1990 is comfortable like most beyerdynamic headphones. I suggest listening to one before buying though as beyers have a very different signature compared to the HD600. I didn't find the DT1990 as bright or fatiguing as other beyers I've tried but it still had that "cold" and "grey" sound that I don't find engaging at all. They do look beautiful though and their build quality is superb.
     
  6. ipm

    ipm Acquaintance

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    You did well to get the HD600 first instead of the K712. The HD600 provides a good basis to compare against later. You may learn to like or dislike the HD600 sound but either way, using the HD600 signature as a baseline is very useful.

    Regarding pads, I would put only genuine HD600 pads on that headphone. Pads can make a big difference in sound. The stock pads do get softer on the HD650 and HD600. If you want to mod the HD600, buy an HD650 stock cable and use that on the HD600. To me, its a better, more substantial cable.
     
  7. angpsi

    angpsi New

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    Thanks for corroborating on the main reason I picked the Senns over anything else. That, and the fact that I got them second–hand for €210, which is an unbeatable value for what they offer—that is, disregarding the fact that they got me to spend additionally a substantial amount on amping, top-tier tubes, DAC, etc. because they scale so extremely well.

    To be honest, perhaps getting softer may be exactly the problem I'm having with the HD600. As the pads get softer the cups sit quite uneven on my head, with most of the pressure being applied under the lobe of my ear. In addition to that, my big ears don't really fit well inside the cups so I have to re–adjust every now and then. The Brainwavz pads create more room for my ears to fit well inside with a nice seal around them, which I guess is partly due to the memory foam as well.

    You guys are probably right to question the effect the pads have on the HD600 sound signature, because there's definitely an influence. First impressions I think the velour pads sort of diffuse the sound to make it more coherent, whereas the leather pads create a crisper sound signature, probably because of the reflections on the leather vs. the diffusion against the velour. However I'm not sure I'd call this a bad effect; in fact it feels like my ears sit at a more appropriate position against the drivers so I'm getting more of a direct sound, and therefore more of what they are able to reproduce. I get the feeling it might be the anatomy of my skull or the shape of my ears that get me in trouble with the original Senn pads. The Brainwavz actually get me a circumaural result, whereas the Sennheiser pads don't. Still, lucky for me, I have both to experiment in time.

    I also tried to see whether having more room and reflections around my ear creates a reverb effect but so far it feels I'm just perceiving more direct sound than reflections. Double-padding the drivers with the Sennheiser foam layer on top of the Brainwavz got me back to a more diffuse (strangely, not muffled) sound, but very quickly I decided I liked the sound I got from the Brainwavz single-padded better. Bear in mind that these are initial impressions. I'll get back to the velour pads in time when my head is adjusted to the Brainwavz and see if the sound changes for the better.

    In the end, this whole thing got me wondering whether perhaps I'm well suited to try the Beyer sound, especially if they tend to lean towards a crisper sound signature than the Senns.
     
  8. ipm

    ipm Acquaintance

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    Regarding the HD600 vs. DT1990, try the videos from metal571. He has a few comments that may be worth considering on that topic. The 1bentley4ever channel also has a DT1990 review that compares the DT1990 to other cans. Both of those reviewers seem even handed.
     
  9. angpsi

    angpsi New

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    You mean this one? Yeah, I'd already seen it from when I was researching the HD600, but I paid more attention after you mentioned it and now I know more about my issue, thanks! Same goes for the DT 1990 video; as I said, lots of good vibes over this one!
     
  10. ipm

    ipm Acquaintance

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    Its certainly worth revisiting reviews from time to time after you have the headphones so that you can see if you agree or disagree with the reviewer and to see how your own opinion changes over time. The same is true of the frequency response curves and data in general.
     
  11. ipm

    ipm Acquaintance

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    I bought some replacement pads for the DT1990. I got two pairs of analytical and two pairs of balanced. One pair each from two sources.

    These pads are apparently not that easy to find. In Canada, Long & McQuade carry them. The stores seem to know of the headphones but they seem to take a bit of pushing to look up the pads in their supplier catalogues. The item is apparently somewhat obscure to them. Keep asking and they will find them. I got mine from the Bloor Street store in Toronto.

    In the USA, the Beyerdynamic office in New York State can provide them (see Google to find their contact information). The USA office ships to Canada from New York state if anyone is interested. I did not ask, but they may also ship to locations in other USA states. I ordered from them as well to see how this would work out.

    Ordering from the USA New York office requires a company name and a purchase order number. I made up a company name and purchase order number. They shipped the pads with no issues.

    Note that the EDT1990VB pads ship with an extra pair of mounting bezel rings that look like they can be screwed into the headphone cups so that the pads can be fitted to them. I did not try this.

    For reference, the pads are catalogued as follows. Knowing this may save you some time if you are ordering. These numbers should be verified before ordering. They were mentioned to me as the numbers (and are on the packaging) but your experience may vary.

    Analytical (fewer holes): Model number is EDT1990VA Catalogue number is 917699
    Balanced bass-boost (more holes): Model number is EDT1990VB Catalogue number is 916900
     
    Last edited: Sep 26, 2017
  12. Ox Cart

    Ox Cart Facebook Friend

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    I daily drive the LCD2C Classic and HD 600. I love the smoothness, bass and timbre of the LCD2C, but sometimes find them too dark. I love the comfort of the HD 600 and find that they sound decent with just about anything I throw at them, but the bass doesn't extend as well as I'd like and sounds a little loose (though much better than my previous HD 598), and I do miss the soundstage from the 598. Plus there's a graininess to the HD 600 that I don't love, especially compared head-to-head with the LCD2C. In particular, I find that neither the LCD2C nor the HD 600 do as well with orchestral and metal music as I would like.

    I've seen a lot of complimentary reviews of the DT 1990, some of which claim that it's a relatively neutral headphone in the vein of an HD 600 but with better extended bass and better soundstage. However, other reviews warn of the elevated treble, something that seems borne out by measurements like these from Solderdude. Having previously owned an HE-400i and having really had trouble with their 8K treble spike, I think of myself as treble sensitive so I'm concerned about the DT 1990's treble. Of course, the measurements I find are all done with the (B)alanced pads, and the (A)nalytic pads supposedly sound somewhat different (though the reviews are all over the place on how exactly they sound different).

    From time to time, I see the DT 1990 on sale for $499 on the Walmart website (sold by Electronics Expo). Since I've seen them list for more than that on Ebay, I decided to take the plunge and see for myself.

    [​IMG]

    I'm going to acclimate to them for a few weeks and then do a proper review and measurements, but here are my initial impressions:

    Packaging, accessories and build seem very nice. They've got a screw-on 6.35mm adapter, I love those!

    I put them on. Hey, there's that hotspot on the top of my head that one reviewer mentioned. Hmm, lengthen the yokes, try again. Ah yes, that feels better.

    I initially listen to a Rachmaninoff piano concerto, a Sibelius violin concerto, some Dream Theater, some solo acoustic folk rock (Danny Schmidt) and some large ensemble Jazz from Snarky Puppy. The DT 1990s sound okayish, with noticeably good instrument separation on the orchestral stuff, the timbre seems okay (nothing immediately off), and the grain from the HD 600 is pleasantly absent, but overall they just sound kind of dull. Worse, on Dream Theater, the cymbals are too much for me. While listening to Sonia Dada, I begin to realize the problem - the mids went on vacation and never returned!

    The DT 1990s come with the B pads installed by default. Time for a pad swap! A lot of reviews said that this is a pain, though one reviewer suggested reading the manual before doing the swap. Lo and behold, there's a method to it, and 5 minutes after a quick glance at the manual, I've got the A pads on there.

    Now this is more like it! Listening to Snarky Puppy and Sonia Dada again, the bass no longer overshadows the mids and I realize that I can turn down the volume and still hear the detail in the voices and guitars that I missed before. A bonus to turning down the volume? The treble isn't so bad anymore. Going back to Dream Theater, the cymbals have become tolerable (though still riding the edge of what I think is comfortable).

    This'll be a fun couple of weeks!
     
  13. Ox Cart

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    Okay, posted my impressions and some measurements on Reddit.
     
  14. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Nice.

    Yup, the DT990 and it's love child the DT1990 make "the listening experience physically painful".
     

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