[Review] Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro

a top review SenyorC!

we both are seemingly in a minority, as I would love to have for most headphones a coiled cable. As long as they are not already over 700 gramms on their own :slight_smile:

your perspective was very intersting to dive in, for me

3 Likes

I also appreciate a good coiled cable. That was one of the ā€˜benefitsā€™ of choosing the Focal Clear Pro.

2 Likes

Very detailed , and excellent review @SenyorC!

I agree with many of our friends here, your pro use perspective was a great treat filled with tremendous insight.

Thank you.

5 Likes

I was not aware of the coiled cable, coming with the Clear Pro set!

In general, I simply love the safety aspect of coiled ones and the short footprint. Most of the time a over 1,75m cable is, for me at least in the way, and I look for the best way, to lay it out in a save snake shape, the moment OCD kicks in

as long the coiled one is not stretched and most of it lays on my sofaĀ“s armrest, the additional weight is not an issue.

3 Likes

Muy rico, SeƱor. :clap: :clap:

Your perspective clearly demonstrates how a tool designed to be used in the PRO (studio) world was turned into a hype for audiophiles, and how this generated ideology fights of some sort. Note I tend to use (home) PRO stuff for personal listen myself.

In the meanwhile, the underrated T1 is just 100 bucks more, can be run balanced, has more soundstage and more punch, has that treble :hear_no_evil: , and I donā€™t see many talking about it. Thatā€™s the one on my radar btw. :eyes:

Iā€™m very happy I chose the HD660s in that regard. It gets frequently beaten up when compared with the DT1990 PRO. However (my impressions to date):

  • Detail is there but it fades away after a few minutes, and it turns into a laid back and non fatiguing experience (YMMV, as usual);
  • I donā€™t need any EQ;
  • It can be run balanced;
  • It was listed on a summer sale. :money_with_wings: :money_with_wings: :money_with_wings:

Great stuff.

4 Likes

@Chronoā€™s hollywoodean take on this phone:

5 Likes

Did I hear that right? Less instrument separation than the HD660s?

1 Like

Oh, you heard that right. The soundstage and imaging is without a doubt better on the DT 1990 Pro. However, I found the HD 660S to distinguish the layers in each track much better.

Also, can you guess what I am reviewing next?

1 Like

Thanks for sharing it!

1 Like

Sounds like an obvious answer. Allow me to try though: SkullCandy Crusher?

3 Likes

HOW DID YOU KNOW?! I might to review something different now :scream:

3 Likes

Plan B, review the 660S :wink:

3 Likes

That is coming up next haha

2 Likes

Really great review @SenyorC. Very comprehensive and full of detail. Great stuff.

3 Likes

Hey, does anybody have some experience how long the pads of the DT 1990 Pro last?

Hereā€™s a good review about using the DT 1990 Pro for a year (with a mention to the pads):

1 Like

Hello all!

Has anybody tried to use or heard of this passive headphone filter for the DT 1990 Pro (and many other headphones)? It EQā€™s the treble peak down via hardware and still preserves the rest of the frequency response.

DT 1990 Pro EQ Revision 12-05-22

This EQ is an experiment with the Harman Target Curve. It religiously contours to it from the frequencies of 900-8000Hz notably the critical frequencies from 3325-4350Hz. Outside of those frequencies are my own deviations. Here is a graph of the Frequency Response after my EQ overlayed with the 2018 Harman Target Curve:

I did not just follow the Harman Curve blindly but was at one point in fact opposed to many aspects of it until through trial and error and experimentation I found that adhering precisely to it showed me that there is ā€œSOMETHINGā€ about this darn Curve that is right on them money. It seems to have everything you need and nothing you donā€™t. Chicken skin from songs Iā€™d heard 100s of times before!

The sub bass extension is a true one that extends leftward in a straight horizontal line instead of a drop off for true bottomless sub bass impact. 80Hz is emphasized to allow kick drums to cut through the mix and provide punch and slam. 300Hz and 575Hz are emphasized for the top ends of kick drums and the meatier parts of snare drums respectively. The ā€œBeyerdynamic Peakā€ is eliminated and some added sparkle is present at 14kHz and up.

Channel: all
Preamp: -6.5 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 17 Hz Gain 2.55 dB Q 1
Filter 2: ON LSC Fc 39.5 Hz Gain 4.7 dB Q 0.69
Filter 3: ON LSC Fc 40.2 Hz Gain 0.71 dB Q 4
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 80 Hz Gain 7.74 dB Q 1.41
Filter 5: ON LSC Fc 85 Hz Gain -1.61 dB Q 1.2
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 230 Hz Gain -6.05 dB Q 1.3
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 300 Hz Gain 3.7 dB Q 2
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 575 Hz Gain 2.3 dB Q 4.5
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 750 Hz Gain -0.7 dB Q 4
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 900 Hz Gain 1.55 dB Q 0.7
Filter 11: ON PK Fc 1000 Hz Gain -0.9 dB Q 1.2
Filter 12: ON PK Fc 1250 Hz Gain -1.35 dB Q 0.9
Filter 13: ON PK Fc 2800 Hz Gain -1.3 dB Q 3.2
Filter 14: ON PK Fc 3100 Hz Gain 0.6 dB Q 1.2
Filter 15: ON PK Fc 3650 Hz Gain -0.4 dB Q 5
Filter 16: ON PK Fc 4000 Hz Gain -0.25 dB Q 4.5
Filter 17: ON PK Fc 4250 Hz Gain -4.4 dB Q 6.5
Filter 18: ON PK Fc 4300 Hz Gain 9 dB Q 5.2
Filter 19: ON PK Fc 4500 Hz Gain 2.8 dB Q 6
Filter 20: ON PK Fc 5000 Hz Gain -1.2 dB Q 4
Filter 21: ON PK Fc 5525 Hz Gain -1.75 dB Q 4
Filter 22: ON PK Fc 6200 Hz Gain 1.25 dB Q 4.5
Filter 23: ON PK Fc 6500 Hz Gain 0.6 dB Q 6
Filter 24: ON PK Fc 7300 Hz Gain -7.15 dB Q 4
Filter 25: ON PK Fc 8300 Hz Gain -6.2 dB Q 3.5
Filter 26: ON HSC Fc 12500 Hz Gain -7.15 dB Q 0.8
Filter 27: ON HSC Fc 13500 Hz Gain 4.26 dB Q 1.65
Filter 28: ON PK Fc 19500 Hz Gain 4.35 dB Q 0.5

The amount of bass can be easily tailored to your liking by adjusting Filter 5 to taste and then resetting the Pre-amp value back to -0.1.

I know that there are a lot of filters and Iā€™ve been impugned for that on many occasions but I have an anal retentive ear for detail and precision that I canā€™t ignore. With the attached .txt file you can simply import it into PEACE so as not to have to manually enter any values! Iā€™ve been working in sound engineering for over 25 years and Iā€™ve never heard sound degradation from EQing. Though I am a proponent of EQing I do not, by any means, intend to convey that you must EQ. I just like to do it personally. YMMV. Nuff said about that.

So finally, try this EQ out if youā€™re curious and maybe youā€™ll like it! I am not selling anything, I am merely sharing an aspect of this headphone hobby we all love so much! Happy listening!

Blessings,
-Jonne

1 Like

Focal Elegia is better than Dt1990 pro?

Ordered 1990 recently and was disappointed. Thereā€™s significant rumble in right earcup in the lower frequencies. Before that I was using 990 for a long time, and there were no problems. So eventually I had to order Sennheiser 660S2. Itā€™s totally impossible to work with this rumble with 1990

1 Like