I’m an avid music lover who enjoys a good headphone that can make music playback a joy to experience over and over again. I listen to anything under the sun so I’ve no qualms listening to even the most eclectic, dubious, and questionable musical content so long as the recording isn’t a bunch of rubbish, and today I’m going to publish my first ever headphone review which concerns the Beyerdynamic dt990 Pro (250 ohms) model which was re-released in 2012. In my forays through the world of headphones, I have often come across criticisms about the Beyerdynamic dt990s overemphasized and harsh highs that make it an extreme pain to listen to for extended periods. However, in my initial listening tests on these cans I find that they are anything but. These are an exceptional pair of cans whose pros far outweigh its cons.
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| The Beyerdynamic dt990s. Photo courtesy of Kenrockwell.com where another review is located. |
Build
Firstly, I’ll start off with build quality,
and honestly I can say with the utmost confidence that it’s build is sturdy,
sleek, and comfortable. When I first saw these cans, the first thing that
caught my eye were the louvered aluminium grilles that hinted towards its
open-back design, and upon closer inspection I saw a filter hidden behind the
grilles, and was assured that the drivers would remain relatively safe from any
unnecessary dust particles that may enter and damage the drivers. The fork
shaped aluminium supports didn’t exactly give me a good feeling, at first,
because it seemed pretty thin, and felt like you could bend it with a decent
amount of force; however, this is forgivable due to the Beyer dt990s aim to be
light and comfortable. The headband which is aluminium coated with memory foam
(so they say), and rugged looking pleather is pretty decent despite the fact
that it doesn’t cover a larger part of the aluminium supports. There are also
some areas with plastic like the rest of the driver covers, except the grilles,
but the high –quality plastic used for its construction is shows that it was
made with a great amount craftsmanship so you need not worry about any possible
damage from powerful impacts. I’d be willing to bet if you stepped on the
driver cover, you wouldn’t even make a dent on it. The cable is where my main
problem with the Beyerdynamic dt990 lies, and it’s not because its construction
looks dubious, rather it lies in the fact that the cable is not detachable. Not
only does this increase the possibility of cable damage from the part where it
is attached to the headphone, but it also makes cable replacement near
impossible unless you’ve got the guts to solder a new wire in yourself. Considering
the slim chance that you’ll be able to solder a new wire in yourself, you’d
merely be forced to buy another headphone altogether, but fret not the included
“leather” case (This is what Beyerdynamic claims) will keep the cans, and its
cables relatively safe from harm to keep it alive, well, and slaving over your
ears for years to come. The velour pads are a nice detour from the pleather pads
of most other headphones. Even though it “looks” kind of cheap, the quality of
the pads is not to be doubted because they feel smooth and light over the ear,
unlike cheaper ones which tend to feel furry, fuzzy, and can get itchy over
extended periods. However, be warned that velour tends to be a dust, dirt, oil,
and water magnet so make sure your face is clean if you don’t want these pads
to deteriorate too quickly.
Comfort
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| The Velour Pads. Gaze in the black abyss of comfort~ |
The comfort of the Beyerdynamic
dt990 Pros is a force to be reckoned with. No headphone I’ve ever tried on
feels like it’s not even there when you listen to music so rest assured that
you audiophiles with tons of free time can listen for uber-extended periods,
and not feel a thing or even forget you had these things on. The lightweight aluminium
construction, high-quality velour pads, and memory foam headband all lend to
this amazing feeling you get the moment you put them on. All I can say is that
these feel like they’re designed to work hand-in-hand with your ears, scalp,
hair, and skin, and not go against the natural workings of our bodies unlike
many other headphones that have extremely shallow, small, and clampy ear cups
that could cauliflower your ears as if you’d been hit on the ears too many
times. THEY. JUST. WORK.
Sound
Quality
The sound quality of the
Beyerdynamic dt990 Pros, in my opinion, are a pair of “fun” sounding
headphones, and are in nowhere near the word “neutral” so if you want reference
cans, go look elsewhere. The Beyers sound signature is very much different from
what I was expecting from it. I was, at first, expecting, and dreading the
so-called “harsh treble” of these cans, but I heard no such quality in the
highs. The highs are present, but not overpowering. They are smooth, clear, and
pleasing to my ear. Bass is clean, and
tight although a bit boomy for my musical sensibilities (nothing a bit
of Eq’ing can’t solve, but I know some people scoff at Eq’ing their cans), but
the boominess doesn’t necessarily equate to muddiness, and incoherence because,
just like the treble, the mid-bass is just emphasized (not overemphasized) to a
level where you will be able to hear the clarity of the clarity of drum impact
with enough detail to reveal the subterranean layers that only a great
headphone can produce. Sub-bass may not be on par with the mid-bass though,
because it just lacks the presence of the mid-bass, but nonetheless offers a good,
clean, and tight sound for you to enjoy. The Beyers are in no way basshead cans
like the Phillips Fidelio X1, but for an open-back headphone, the amount of
bass is more than enough to satisfy any audiophile yearning for a full bodied
low-end. Mids are perhaps the best the Beyerdynamics have to offer because this
area of the frequency curve is not at all overshadowed by the emphasized lows
and highs, but rather the recessed mids create a sense of distance between the
listener, and the vocals that impose upon the listener a greater sense of sound
staging. With the frequency curve over with, I’d like to introduce sound
staging which is where the Beyers excel at for their price point. The
soundstage simply envelops, and mesmerizes. To me, the song “Bluebirds” by The
Wilderness of Manitoba shows exactly this quality at its peak. The vocals are
heard with an almost airy, cleanliness that resonate inside the small forest
(which is the soundstage) along with the bird chirps. Each guitar pluck, and
strum is heard with a kind of reverberation that only a small room where a gig
is being held can create. Imagine being in a private performance with the
artist with you being 10-12 seats away from the stage, and that’s basically the
Beyerdynamic dt990s soundstage. These cans’ detail retrieval and instrument
separation is simply breath taking for its price point. For this purpose, I
used Sara K’s excellently recorded album “Play On Words” where instrument
separation is paramount. I mean imagine hearing not only a violin’s note, but
also the sound of the contact with the string. Imagine each Gipson guitar pluck,
and strum heard cleanly, and separately. Imagine hearing the piano’s tiny
hammer hit the string along with the note. Imagine hearing a drum kit loud and
clear as the impact resonates through the studio while also being able to
determine the distance from the mic. Now imagine all these instruments being
played at once, with all those qualities I just iterated present in the music. Simply.
Eargasmic.
Conclusion
The
Beyerdynamic dt990 Pro (250 ohms) are worth every penny you can put into it if
you don’t have enough money for the more expensive Beyerdynamic dt990 premium
(600 ohms), but I recommend the Premiums if you have the money to spend for a
more capable amp because most budget amps just won’t cut it at this point since
if you have the premiums you might also have some other exceedingly difficult-to-drive
headphones lying around (e.g. Stax Electrostatic cans, Hifiman HE-600 *shudder*,
and etc.) However, there is a much cheaper alternative which is the
Beyerdynamic dt990 Portable (32 ohms) for your music player. If you don’t have
one of these, go get one now! Your missing out on a good opportunity in your
journey to audio nirvana my friends. The journey is where the joy is so don’t
take shortcuts.
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