beyerdynamicDT 990 Edition 600 Ohm Hi-Fi- Headphone

So this is an out of the box review of the 990 edition, so first 24 hours of ownership.I am a bit of a headphone nerd so can tell pretty quickly if I’m going to like a pair of headphones. I currently own AKG 702 & 7xx, senn HD6xx and Philips X2HR headphones so I am comparing the 990’s to those directly.I bought the “edition” version as I wanted a straight cable and the few other tweaks they’ve made to make them more “home friendly”.Build and design: so they look cool, better in person and feel well built (much better than AKGs for example). I would’ve liked the shells and grills to be metal but this would increase cost and weight so not necessary and purely aesthetic.Comfort: these are very comfortable. When you first put them on they don’t feel like they are going to be as comfortable as people make out but very quickly you forget you’re wearing them. I would rate them right up there on comfort out of the box. Most people rave about 650/6xx being comfortable, rubbish, those things hurt unless you’ve got a peanut sized head or you stretch out the headband which is easy to do. These need no “breaking in” in the comfort dept.Sound (most important bit): these are right up there with the best at under 500 dollars/pounds. They seem to tick all the boxes and combine all the best bits of the other headphones. They have plenty of bass but not too much, clear highs and have an airy feel to them or “wide soundstage” for all the audiophile nerds out there.Negatives: I have got the 250 ohm variant and they are a beast to power. I have the 300 ohm 6xx and the 990’s are harder to power than those. I have a zen DAC currently which powers them ok but I’ve had to crank it to over 2 O clock on the DAC to get a good volume level (I do listen to metal so quite loud). The zen isn’t the most powerful so your mileage may vary but a headphone amp is a must for these. Go for the lower resistance headphones if you don’t want to buy or do not have a headphone amp.I love these headphones and they are definitely going to be keepers. My 702’s have already been packed away!

The final upgrade to my system - see my other reviews. My old Beyerdynamic DT990 Pros (250 ohm) are 35 years old and the cable connecting the two headphones has become stiff, has split and is held together with insulation tape. They still sound great....I decided to buy the 600 ohm version also because this model is less tight on the head and doesn't have the coiled cable. To be fair, when the pads are new they are quite stiff and so they are not as comfortable until they are broken in a bit. Having said that with the other improvements to my system these have a wonderful sound, much sharper and defined than my old pair with a less pronounced bass end but still plenty of it. They will need some "running in" but very pleased with thr sound which is no doubt significantly enhanced by the cable choices on my system.

Im leaving these 4 stars as both my pairs came with a defect that had a small loose piece rattling about the right earcup but i will say that this has long been fixed.I loved the sound out of these, i would say fun sounding and crystal clear, really easy to listen to for long sessions and they feel like wearing a cloud yet are built like a tank as all bayers are. Spare parts are also easy to come by if you plan on keeping these for years to come.

I have been using dt990 600 ohm edition for a month now, so i am able to give my opinion in an honest way.Prior to dt990 i was using hd650 and neumann ndh20.These dt990 are in a different league alltogether.They have massive soundstage compare to 650 and even neumanns, detail, treble,sparkling top end and even bass are on different level.They are so spatial, that i could not listen back to hd650 at all.There is no sharp treble as sometimes mention in the others reviews.They are very very balanced soundwise and very light and comfortable too.I am thinking now of buying dt 1990 pro as my ultimate set of headphones, knowing how good dt990 is and thinking about those tesla drivers of 1990.I also need to mention, that my audio source is of high quality, bryston bda-2 DAC and SPL phonitor 2 headphone amplifier and also yamaha a-s1100 integrated amp.All of these parts plus dt990 premiums give me audio nirvana, i can listen to my music non stop and i am in my music heaven.From Mark Knopfler, through Mary Chapin Carpenter, Cheryl Wheeler, Celine Dion, Koto, all the 80s hits between others, sound terrific if, of course, it has been mastered proper way in the studio, without any clipping and distortions.Any mistakes from the mastering will be very easy picked up by the headphones too.In a few words,top quality sound.