Well...well...well..., what can i say about the legendary beyerdynamic)))) DT990/600; that i bought from B&H a few months ago?
How about... simply remarkable for the price/performance ratio.
The journey actually begins with my firstly acquired audiophile headphone(which was also a Beyerdynamic) but it was the variant DT880/250ohm model. I thought the 880's were superb,detailed, and crisp all-rounders,but my experience with them for the first 2 months(before purchasing the 990's shortly after) was that they were some-what lacking in the bass department, the musicality and the authoritative oomh seemed nowhere to be found.
The DT990 fix all that + give a much more in-depth realism feeling without any signs of being too bloated/over-aggressive.Granted, the mid-range on these headphones are not the best, they are still incredibly detailed, warm and inviting. Quite frankly, i think burn-in drastically opens up the mid range on these cans. Fishsk113(a well known head-fi member who also loves the 990's) has said that within 100 hours or so, the mid range becomes more prominent; and I agree 100%.. I have read many many people commenting on the fact that the 990's bass was just too over-whelming and ruined the music for them. It seems to me that they either a) had the inferior '250ohm' model'[which is known to have its errors] or..b) The amping/sourcing was inadequate. or...c) The bass quantity wasn't their cup of tea.
From my perspective, I feel the bass on the 990's is "perfect" to my ears. Yeah, it has the characterisitics of a wild Kodo Beast(bad warcraft joke
) and can get a bit thick and muffled on bad recording/bass heavy tracks, but it's never over-emphasized in my opinion. Led Zeppelin has never sounded this awesome!. From the face melting mainstream guitar solos that will rock your socks, to the well balanced, low-end, soulful delicate sub bass sound spectrum of Classical Rock, the DT990's will never miss a beat as long as you stay true to your source.I remember going into discussions with driftingbunnies(another dt990 user who posts once in a while) he use to mention about the bass texture, quanity and quality of the Sennheiser HD650's. I recall him saying the Senn's had the quantity, but the beyer's had more refinement, better attack and a smoother rendering to it. I actually couldn't have said it better myself ! But i would love to try the 650 one day and do a full comparison of the two.
TheWuss has the soundstage & misc areas covered, so I don't really feel the need to get into it too much + I could give my fingers a break ^_^ But let me tell you guys, the 990 scale extremely well with gaming and movies. The open airy atmosphere will leave you breathless; some days you might feel like hovering on water with all the much needed instrument seperation and crisp clean tracking. FPS games are a plus for these cans. If you play big hits like Modern Warfare 2 or Battlefield Bad Company 2, the indepth surround sound is phenomenal. The 880's might be more precise and have better accuracy, but gaming on the 990's is a dream come true. Throw in a decent tube amp in the mix and be astounded by the weight, body and circular bass motion that these headphone's will deliver. Truly immersive experience !
Conclusion: What can i say about the Beyer DT990's? They are one of the best headphones i have ever owned in my entire life. But people who want a neutral/balanced presentation should look away, as these are more of a muscially engagning, fun, dynamic, rhythmically fast paced headphone whilst still retaining most of its timbre, clarity and over-all features that the younger DT880 brother possess. Honestly, It just can't get any better than the DT990's. Well.... it can. *hint hint* JVC DX1000 / Denon AH-D7000 *hint hint*, but why pay more when you can get something that hits the "sweet spot" and coasts 1/3 of the price? I'll be looking to upgrade my Little Dot Mark 3 amp to one of the Woo Audio models (preferably the wa6) in the near future, The thing i love about the Beyers is their hidden potential to sound incredibly eargasmic as the quality of the amp rises. Truly Terrific/Under-Appreciated headphone that will be in my stable for a very long time.
How about... simply remarkable for the price/performance ratio.
The journey actually begins with my firstly acquired audiophile headphone(which was also a Beyerdynamic) but it was the variant DT880/250ohm model. I thought the 880's were superb,detailed, and crisp all-rounders,but my experience with them for the first 2 months(before purchasing the 990's shortly after) was that they were some-what lacking in the bass department, the musicality and the authoritative oomh seemed nowhere to be found.
The DT990 fix all that + give a much more in-depth realism feeling without any signs of being too bloated/over-aggressive.Granted, the mid-range on these headphones are not the best, they are still incredibly detailed, warm and inviting. Quite frankly, i think burn-in drastically opens up the mid range on these cans. Fishsk113(a well known head-fi member who also loves the 990's) has said that within 100 hours or so, the mid range becomes more prominent; and I agree 100%.. I have read many many people commenting on the fact that the 990's bass was just too over-whelming and ruined the music for them. It seems to me that they either a) had the inferior '250ohm' model'[which is known to have its errors] or..b) The amping/sourcing was inadequate. or...c) The bass quantity wasn't their cup of tea.
From my perspective, I feel the bass on the 990's is "perfect" to my ears. Yeah, it has the characterisitics of a wild Kodo Beast(bad warcraft joke
) and can get a bit thick and muffled on bad recording/bass heavy tracks, but it's never over-emphasized in my opinion. Led Zeppelin has never sounded this awesome!. From the face melting mainstream guitar solos that will rock your socks, to the well balanced, low-end, soulful delicate sub bass sound spectrum of Classical Rock, the DT990's will never miss a beat as long as you stay true to your source.I remember going into discussions with driftingbunnies(another dt990 user who posts once in a while) he use to mention about the bass texture, quanity and quality of the Sennheiser HD650's. I recall him saying the Senn's had the quantity, but the beyer's had more refinement, better attack and a smoother rendering to it. I actually couldn't have said it better myself ! But i would love to try the 650 one day and do a full comparison of the two. TheWuss has the soundstage & misc areas covered, so I don't really feel the need to get into it too much + I could give my fingers a break ^_^ But let me tell you guys, the 990 scale extremely well with gaming and movies. The open airy atmosphere will leave you breathless; some days you might feel like hovering on water with all the much needed instrument seperation and crisp clean tracking. FPS games are a plus for these cans. If you play big hits like Modern Warfare 2 or Battlefield Bad Company 2, the indepth surround sound is phenomenal. The 880's might be more precise and have better accuracy, but gaming on the 990's is a dream come true. Throw in a decent tube amp in the mix and be astounded by the weight, body and circular bass motion that these headphone's will deliver. Truly immersive experience !
Conclusion: What can i say about the Beyer DT990's? They are one of the best headphones i have ever owned in my entire life. But people who want a neutral/balanced presentation should look away, as these are more of a muscially engagning, fun, dynamic, rhythmically fast paced headphone whilst still retaining most of its timbre, clarity and over-all features that the younger DT880 brother possess. Honestly, It just can't get any better than the DT990's. Well.... it can. *hint hint* JVC DX1000 / Denon AH-D7000 *hint hint*, but why pay more when you can get something that hits the "sweet spot" and coasts 1/3 of the price? I'll be looking to upgrade my Little Dot Mark 3 amp to one of the Woo Audio models (preferably the wa6) in the near future, The thing i love about the Beyers is their hidden potential to sound incredibly eargasmic as the quality of the amp rises. Truly Terrific/Under-Appreciated headphone that will be in my stable for a very long time.
