beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro Open Studio Headphones

For reference, I own or have owned DT880/600s, DT770/80s, T90s, HD600s, 598s, 712Pros, and have spent a goodly amount of time with the LCD-2s, HD800s, and the DT1990's big brothers, the T1/v2s. I have been amping the dt1990s with all kinds of stuff, but have found the best synergy with the Beyerdynamic A20 and the Lake People RS 02.I listen mostly to 1950s-1960s jazz. Think Roach and Brown, Ammons and Stitt, Blakey, Silver, Mingus, Ellington, Gillespie, Monk, Peterson, Davis, Coltrane, Coleman, Green, Montgomery, Hubbard, Shorter, etc. etc. A lot of Zorn (mainly Masada) and some contemporary classical (Reich, Riley, Bryars, Arnalds, Frahm, Guonadottir). When I'm listening to pop, it's usually stuff by Nick Cave, Greg Cartwright, or Jason Molina (RIP). Oh, also, Thee Oh Sees are the shiz.Let me just say that the DT1990s come ready to rumble no matter your tastes. Simply put, they just feel "right." That is, from the moment I put them on, I had the sense that I was finally hearing the music as the engineer intended. No coloration. No tricks, no treats. Just the straight business (for better and worse, depending on the quality of the original recording). It puts you right in the studio, in the first few rows of the concert hall, or at that corner table close enough to share your drink with the drummer. As transparent a set of headphones as I've ever heard. Now, I've always loved the HD600s for jazz (personally, far more than the HD650s), but I always felt that something was missing...a more robust low end. In this sense, the DT1990s deliver fully on the promise of the HD600s. Just as neutral, just as precise in terms of imaging, but with a more rock solid and effortless delivery (and much better built and loads more comfortable on the head).Ultimately, these headphones are miles beyond the other headphones I own (with the HD600s a distant second [though still a terrific set of phones]) The HD800s are fantastic, but in truth, I always found the soundstaging too exaggerated for the sort of small ensemble/chamber stuff I listen to. Really, they always took me out of the scene instead of putting me there as the DT1990s do. Personally, I've never found planar magnetics to play all that well with jazz and the LCD-2s are no exception. Just a tad on the slow side for my taste. I always felt like they were playing catch up through really busy sections, and frankly, just a touch dark. The T1s might be more detailed, but not $400+ more detailed IMHO. I say skip the T1s and invest in these bad boys instead.And regarding the price: sure, it seems a bit steep. But like all passive transducers, these headphones should last you decades. Hell, I'm still in love with (and have never felt compelled to replace) my mid-90s JBL monitors. Do yourself a favor and skimp on that new TV (which, if not relative junk from day one, will be obsolete in 4 years or dead in 8) and treat yourself to these, your new best friends for life.Oh, and by the way, I've never reviewed a product on Amazon before. With that in mind, the very fact that you are reading this review right now does these headphones more justice than my words ever could.yeah. these. you need these.

I use these for orchestration and film scoring in my home studio with n RME Babyface Pro FS interface. These are open back, they are designed to leak audio, so you can't use these to track vocals or any recording situation where the mic will pick up the sound from the headphones. For that you'll want the DT 1770 closed-back cans.Let's get right to it:What's Great- The more "exciting" sound on the Beyerdynamics after decently taming them (info coming on that)- The Bass Response... I'm already addicted. It is TIGHT and punchy and has great clarity. I'll put the bass response up against any cans under $1K, but we're not talking hyped Beats junk. First time I listened to the 1990s after 10 straight hours of running an album on repeat to do some burn-in, the piece I listened to a film score cue which has this huge cinematic deep timpani/sound design hit ijn the beginning, and I honestly thought I had left my KH750 Sub on in my room. It was late at night and I leaped up from the chair to turn it off. It was off.- The Soundstage... wow. As impressive as the bass response. First time listening my mouth dropped! I also own DT 990 Pro 80 Ohm for my laptop which sound great and have really nice soundstage reproduction, but the different Tesla design on the 1990s is really something.- Clarity & Detail: wow, I am hearing things in recorded pieces I never noticed, I am just bonkers over that, especially coming from the Sennheiser HD650 veil which I now know exists. The 650s sound wonderfully glued together, but now the detail I'm hearing in the 1990s is so nice, I'm hooked and never going back.- Volume: My Babyface Pro supposedly runs best at 100-150 Ohm headphones for volume output. The 300 ohm (320 actually) HD 650s never seemed to get the volume and punch I wanted, but these 250 Ohm 1990s can get loud enough to blow my neighbor's toupee off, even louder than the 80 ohm 990s I have. So it's not just ohmage... whatever that Tesla technology in the DT1990's drivers does, it works amazingly in both timbre and amplitude. No, BD's Tesla technology has nothing to do with Elon.- Second set of earpads are included. They are named Analytical pads for a flatter response. If you really want 1990s for mixing, use these pads instead. I'm fairly sure that correction software with the more precise Analytical pads would work well for mixing, but I prefer the gray velour Balanced pads for that addicting bass response, which are the pads the 1990s ship with that we see in the photos. The pads are changeable without tools but it's not easy, so you can't switch back-n-forth in any quick manner. Better to make the commitment to the soundscape you want to hear.- Comfort: Any BD owner will tell you that when it comes to comfort, BD sets the bar. Most comfortable I've ever worn, and I have a big noggin.- Made in Germany. I'm a snob I guess. Build quality is so nice on the 1990s.- Cable Connector: A Mini XLR jack is used for the removable cable. Hold that thought, because the BD-supplied cables almost get stuck in the jack, very hard to remove. More on that in a sec.- Case: Comes with a nice semi-rigid zippered case, which has a pouch for cables and a well to hold a second set of pads (the Analytical pads are in there for shipping).What's Important to KnowIt is quite easy to tame the odd 8.5KHz spike, plus two other spots that need a tweak (I'll list below). Sonarworks will fix approximately 9 spots but I'd rather Tame & Learn, NOT sterilize. Some 1990 owners use Sonarworks and then dial it back, FYI. For mixing and mastering, again go with the Analytical pads and correction software, you'll get there much easier as opposed to correction with the Balanced pads. Otherwise, Balanced with some EQ smoothing is my absolute fave (settings are coming!).What I Can't StandThe supplied cables. UGH. What was Beyerdynamic thinking?? I like a straight cable and they do supply a long 9' cable, but the rubber is so stiff, the "memory" is horrible. I can hold up one end and the remaining cable hangs like a spring coil, and I can even shake the cable and it acts like a Slinky (there's a toy to look up, lol). Completely useless. They supply a coiled cable as well but I can't use it (nor would I want to), I need the long straight cable to route around my desk. BUT, here's the worst part: the cheesy Mini XLR plug on the cable doesn't fit right in the headphones, it's almost like you have to jam it in, and then to remove it I have to grab the left can like gripping a baseball, and with the other hand, wiggle and rock the mini XLR jack to finally get it to pop out. REALLY? I found a perfect replacement solution from an online place called Fog City Audio.How to Tame These CansThe 1990s have the notorious 8.5KHz spike but three easy setting on your main output tame them very well and now they sound amazing. The settings:Main Listening (playing, composing, tracking, listening to recorded music)225Hz Peak (not shelf): -2db, Q at 1.08.5KHz Peak: -10db, Q at 4.014KHz Peak: -4db, Q at 4.4Mixing (my EQ profile based on several frequency response graphs online, including Oratory1990 w/Balanced Pads)100Hz Shelf: +2db, Q at 0.7210Hz Peak: -4db, Q at 0.61.4KHz Peak: +0.5db, Q at 1.03.8KHz Peak: -1.5db Q at 3.05.8KHz, Peak: +2db, Q at 3.08.5KHz Peak: -12db, Q at 4.014KHz Peak: -6db, Q at 4.4Thes are definitely my desert-island headphones