Took a gamble on Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO 250 ohm. Have I been pranked?

[The Chase]

I'm wondering if anyone has settled into these headphones after poor first impressions. Or if headphone break-in is a thing.

Took the plunge on these since the series been well-reviewed my whole life. To my surprise the treble is... like impossibly bad. I thought it must be faulty but I imagine a defect would only affect one driver.

Obviously the series and Beyers in general are known for being bright but I was expecting a more balanced/broad-sloped brightness and not a smeary/sibilant sharp peak at what sounds like 10khz.

Should I hear them out? Or try to sell them and crawl back to AKG?

[BertKoor]

Took a gamble

Uh oh... I'd personally never buy headphones without trying them out. Same with shoes, they must be a personal fit.

Or if headphone break-in is a thing.

I personally don't think so.

Should I hear them out?

All headphones sound different, and will take you some time to adapt to. Like with shoes. If they are not comfortable at the first try, chances are slim you'll like them in the long run.

[cryophonik]

BDs sound a lot different than AKGs, so you probably just need to allow your ears to adjust. Also, what are you using to power them? 250 ohms isn’t excessive, but they won’t sound that great on an underpowered headphone amp. My DT880Pros sounded pretty awful and quiet on my old MOTU 828mk3 interface’s headphone output, but adding a dedicated monitor control system with adequately powered headphone outs (Drawmer MC2.1) made a huge improvement in the sound of the DT880Pros.

[an-electric-heart]

BDs sound a lot different than AKGs, so you probably just need to allow your ears to adjust. Also, what are you using to power them? 250 ohms isn’t excessive, but they won’t sound that great on an underpowered headphone amp. My DT880Pros sounded pretty awful and quiet on my old MOTU 828mk3 interface’s headphone output, but adding a dedicated monitor control system with adequately powered headphone outs (Drawmer MC2.1) made a huge improvement in the sound of the DT880Pros.

I was just about to say the same thing. If they're under-powered all the bass comes out, so that might explain them being too bright. I use them as my main mixing headphones and think they're great, a real upgrade from AKG 240 Studio that I was using previously.

[slackhead]

You might also want to try them with a plugin like Realphones or Sonarworks or Morphit. Any of which will help flatten the response.
I have a pair of DT990s (amongst others) powered by a Topping HPA which I use with Realphones and switch between the "corrected" response and normal response. I find having the two gives useful different views into my mixes. Sometimes the brightness of the normal response helps reveals issues which otherwise would not be obvious.

[The Chase]

Thank's y'all

I'd personally never buy headphones without trying them out.

Neither would I if I had the choice. Texas has strict laws regarding headphones though. No trying them out and no returns.

The only places I've seen where you can just walk in and try out headphones are high-end boutique stores, not sure if they have special licenses or just eat the fines.

Also, what are you using to power them? 250 ohms isn’t excessive, but they won’t sound that great on an underpowered headphone amp.

I was just about to say the same thing. If they're under-powered all the bass comes out, so that might explain them being too bright. I use them as my main mixing headphones and think they're great, a real upgrade from AKG 240 Studio that I was using previously.

I'm going soundcard into a DJ mixer so I'm good there. I've actually never had headphones with high enough impedance where I could turn the knob more than a third up without dying, the knob resolution/control is pretty nice

The bass does kicks ass. A little too much oomph for what I'm looking for in studio monitoring, actually more the low end I like in DJ headphones. But really solid accuracy.

And the comfort oo la la

I'm about 15 hours of listening in and I think I'm going to give them to my boomer rocker dad and just eat it; he has little high frequency hearing but a weirdly astute ear in the midrange.

[cryophonik]

I've never used the DT990s, but my understanding is that they have a bit of a hyped sound that's better for audiophile use/casual listening, whereas the DT880s are the more neutral sounding cans that are better for clinical use (e.g., mixing). When I compare my DT880s to my AKG K701s and K240s, the AKGs have a more open and airy sound compared to the DT880s, which have a more flat/dry and boxy sound, if that makes any sense.

[pizzatime]

I absolutely love them, used them for what must be hundreds of hours now and no complaints.

[vitocorleone123]

The Beyers are so comfortable. I have the 880pro 250, but I always use them with Sonarworks / Sound ID to help take the top and loft the bottom (I set it and forget it at 60%). They do have hyped 8-12k. Most all headphones that aren’t planar have trade offs like that - just at different frequencies. And even planar can struggle with some frequencies.

[cantaloupe]

Beyers are made for people over 45 or otherwise people with hearing damage in the upper treble. There are ways to mitigate it (certain headphone amps, EQ, pad wear, ear anatomy) but might as well just move on.

The DT-880 are supposed to be one of the more neutral beyers, and timbre-wise it still makes a saxophone sound like something straight out of 'Alien'.

[lfm]

Also, what are you using to power them? 250 ohms isn’t excessive, but they won’t sound that great on an underpowered headphone amp.

I'm going soundcard into a DJ mixer so I'm good there. I've actually never had headphones with high enough impedance where I could turn the knob more than a third up without dying, the knob resolution/control is pretty nice

I think you should consider advice given.

To get perceived volume enough is not the same as still getting a flat response at that level.

250 ohm is enough where a headphone amp serves it's purpose.

Coils for speaker cones increase impedance with frequency, so at 10 khz it might be 10 000 ohm or something.

Often it is limited by voltage that phone amp is driven by.

30 mW is often mentioned as good enough power for phones.

So ohms law P=U*U/R and you can see dependence on voltage.
'R' here is to represent impedance calculated for a higher frequency and you soon see how much higher voltage you need to get 0.03W at all frequencies.

square root from 0.03*10 000= 17.3 V at 10 kHz.
root 0.03*250=2.7 V at 1 kHz(as impedance is specified for)

You still think you hear the music content flat?
Don't be fooled by volume.

Some mixers have 12 V inside, some 15 V.

The only decent phones outs as standard is probably Mackie Onyx mixers. But don't take chances there with 250 ohm phones either. But use 70 ohm ones for making sounds on synths etc.

I use headphone amp with 18V inside to power my HD650 for mixing.

[Vortifex]

Edited

[AdvancedFollower]

I don't think a better amp is going to make a huge difference unless something is seriously wrong with the current one. BD's aren't that hard to drive in spite of their impedance rating.

The 990's are probably the "marmite" of BD's. The highs are very hyped and harsh. Some like that because it does ensure you keep the highs tamed in your mixes, but they can be tiring when used for extended periods. I'd go with the 770 Pro's for bass heavy production or the 880 Pro's for a more balanced sound (I've used both). There are also the 1990's and 1770's which are excellent but cost more. Most of the difference is in the build quality however, although there is an improvement in clarity as well. I'm currently using the 1770 Pro's as my main headphones, but if I didn't need the extra noise isolation I would probably have kept my 880 Pro's.

[pizzatime]

I commented earlier but just realised mine are 1990 pro not 990 pro - 1990 pro are brilliant headphones but quite expensive. Before that I had Sennheiser HD650 and never really liked them as too soft / flat sounding for me.

[lfm]

I commented earlier but just realised mine are 1990 pro not 990 pro - 1990 pro are brilliant headphones but quite expensive. Before that I had Sennheiser HD650 and never really liked them as too soft / flat sounding for me.

But that I find a good thing for mixing, HD650 translate well when I turn to other devices later.

Before real phones and monitors, I probably did 20 mixes or so before getting it right. You save a lot of time having good monitor options.

To listen for enjoyment is another matter. Usually some bass boost is preferred, maybe treble too etc.

I had a pair of DT880 before the HD650, but then without preamp for them. This is how I learned importance of the preamp for phones.

Gear manufacturers don't spend $1 even on circuit for phones. It's not the product. I talked to Focusrite, and they did not even have specs for phones out on the TwinTrak Pro I had.

Good preamps, good setup with direct monitoring and a spdif for output. But no effort on phones part.

I don't even use phones out on any gear since then. I route line outs through patch bay to a Mackie Onyx mixer. Sounds good, real amount of volume as needed. A Yamaha drum module phones out does not have power to hear over hits on pads acoustically etc.