Beyerdynamic - DT 1990 PRO

Now, this was one thing I was totally focused on on my HPZ visit on Oct 28.

I tried the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO and the Audeze EL-8 Titanium on a variety of sources: Schiit Fulla 2, Opus #11, Chord Mojo, Audeze Deckard. And we also threw other headphones into the mix, briefly: Ultrasone Edition 8 Ex, Audeze LCD-3 (IIRC).

We listened to a variety of different tracks: DSD, Hi-Res flacs and Gaana too.

We were listening to a DSD and a flac (TIDAL) composition back and forth.

Beyerdynamic DT 1990: As soon as I put on these, one thing I noticed immediately was how effortlessly open they sound. It never felt that there was something close to my ears that's generating sound. Neither did it feel like I was in a huge concert. It's hard to describe. Soundstage was just so so natural. Not too huge, very controlled yet the presentation and separation of instruments was amazingly precise. This was the best presentation I have ever heard on an headphone, including Audeze LCD-3. On the LCD I really felt the drivers emitting sound and somehow magically making it feel like it's coming from a bit far away. But on the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 it felt like there is no driver at all. It felt like the instruments are arranged around you and you are hearing them in person without anything on your ears. The timber of the Jello in that track, ahhh, just eargasmic. If there's a best way to describe it, it wouldn't still be able to. The extension of the spectrum too is amazing. Deep upfront bass (owing to the `balanced` pads that come factory installed), mids like never before heard, highs were so detailed and so clean. You can hear this can for days in a stretch and you will still want more of it. Its literally like your ears are having the best sex of their life.

A big congratulations to the headphone zone team. I bought DT1990 pro from headphone zone, along with Schitt Modi 3 and Magni 3. Allow me to describe my experience. I made numerous calls to these guys, many times an hour long conversation ensued. I literally grilled them with my curiosity. I was trying to compare headphones such DT 990, DT 1990, Sennheiser 660s, Portable Dacs/Amps like Chord Mojo and IFI Audio micro and nano, and Desktop Dacs/Amps like Schitt Magni and Modi. I literally threw a 100 question to them for nearly 10 days, with numerous long calls made, exhaustive discussions and technical inquiries, repeatedly, incessantly. I was a newbie who did not understand the world of high end audiophile grade music, and I did learn a lot from them. They never hesitated, were very courteous, polite, warm, welcoming, and always tried to answer out my endless questions, especially akash and salim. I really felt very comfortable, these guys really love their jobs and are passionate about their work. I will never buy audio products from anyone else, they won my heart, so they have earned a life long customer, i.e., me. These guys are thorough professionals, and even when they do not know something, they humbly accept it, get the clarification, and get back to us. A company is not a concrete building, it is the people inside who make the company for who it is, commendable service. I can without a shadow of doubt and with confidence affirm, it is not possible to get such good service anywhere else in India. Unfortunately, because of lack of time I cannot go on further, I wanted to write a very detailed review, but have to cut short now. As far as the headphones and DAC/AMP go, they are great, I have never heard such amazing quality music. I really thank headphone zone, thank you so much for everything, and very sorry, I cannot write a detailed review. Nitin

This is a distinctively neutral headphone. Not surprising as it is a professional equipment. But there is a remarkable difference between this pro headphone and many others that come under that category, and i.e the low range - bass will most often be less than that naturally should be present. Unfortunately an outlook got developed that being bass anemic makes a general headphone fit for professional use or a so called 'audiophile' grade product.
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro changes this whole concept. Here the headphone gives bass its own natural space to be present with great care and precision.Crystal clear highs gives this product a beautiful transparent sound while the non-pronounced mids adds realism to the singers voice. Regarding sound-stage and imaging the word that best represents this headphone is 'accurate'.The greats test of any headphone is to be detailed but at the same time sound integrated i.e be musical. Mind you it is a difficult task to fulfill, as even highly expensive headphone fail in this task. The strongest suit of 1990 Pro compared to others of the same rage is its genuine and authoritative sound but never letting that affect overall musicality of a musical piece.
This is indeed a great achievement.
Coming to the build quality, this has to be one of the best built headphone with generous use of metal while also being significantly light. Plus it comes with two sets of pads, and both produces sound a bit differently. The 'A'(analytical) pad mainly produces an absolutely neutral sound signature, whereas as the 'B' (balanced) pad produces a bit more warm sound adding to the overall grunt of the lows.You get a chance to choose sound the way you want according to need or mood.
If you are in search of good headphone in the market then definitely keep Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro in your mind.

Thank you HPZ. Kudos to you guys for delivering it while I was continually changing addresses. (Shifting to a new city).

This was a big jump for me, going hd598s to dt1990. The difference is like going from natural numbers to real numbers and it's an absolute delight, being able to listen to so many levels of details. Before these, I was never able appreciate how much thought musicians put into their music, and the sound these produce is very measured/precise. Out of the two sets of pads, I preferred the A pads. The build quality is second to none. They maybe a bit heavy, despite that they are very comfortable to wear.

I mostly play them off of my iPad (2018 version). It's capable to playing them at a very enjoyable volume. However I did get an opportunity to try them with Beyerdynamic A20 amp, thanks to Beyerdynamic India. And it does make a difference. The instruments and vocals have more room to play with, it's more airy, and music overall sounded more pleasant. Switching back to iPad I noticed how the sound felt more compressed. That said, for me, the difference wasn't a lot.

It was a big investment for me. So I literally read and watched hundreds of reviews, followed different forums, talked to Headphone Gurus, talked to fellow members of TIAF, and people from different subreddits before pulling the trigger.
I'll tell you this, if you know what you're getting into, they will deliver all that you expect from it and more.
I got it for 50k and for me, it's worth every paise.

Great sound quality (with "A" Pad), Good:Excellent Build quality, very comfortable & excellent Highs & Lows. Bad:Required very good AMP. Pad swapping is very difficult.