It has a natural and nice sounding spectral balance and works beautifully with tone controls.

Both have a nice spectral balance and to a small degree a soft seductive sound.

Its low end spectral balance is nicer than that of the Beyerdynamic (2nd Gen) but comes with a boomy bass.

The bass extension is not as good as with the balanced pads, but it's still good

The bass extension is not as good as with the balanced pads, but it's still good

I cannot say enough good things about these for the cost.

However, the biggest thing to take note of when buying these headphones is its open-back design, which produces wide, breathtaking sound stage which paramount for tracks with many layers of tracks (symphonic, classical, Wintersun-type stuff).These cans are just amazing, and there is not one thing bad that I can say about them, well maybe the price, but they are honestly well worth it even to a broke college student like me

The balance of lows, mids & highs is perfect and the cool thing is the "layers" (for lack of a better term) of the music, you can mentally see exactly where each instrument is.

The soundstage is relatively controlled in order to preserve detail, and the imaging is very competent as well

I find myself listening to well-produced electronic music in a trance, marveling at the incredible bass and imaging of these productions

The stereo imaging on these is good for an open back headphone, but it won't slap you in the face like the HD800

Separation of instruments is outstanding and the imaging is very good

Incredible detail/speed/imaging, with a natural yet spacious soundstage

I tried it with a few "budget-friendly" models like the Topping A30, Beyerdynamic's own A20, and the SMSL M6 (DAC+Amp)

The only thing of interest here is that the B&O H6 is good for escaping the recording studio's acoustics and the Abyss

Tiers 5 through 10 are too far down in transparency compared to the top models to recommend.

The HD650 is a muffled version of the HD600.Why buy the top tier models?

You buy the top models so that you don't have to upgrade when your depth of perception improves.

The bass extension is not as good as with the balanced pads, but it's still good

I prefer the balanced pads much more because the sound is not cold and dry

The pads are a bit soft and compress easily as a result, so I'm guessing these will need to be replaced periodically due to the notable clamp

The headband has plush padding on the bottom and pleather covering the top in a tastefully simple scheme

side note the A pads are a little softer and bring your ears a little closer to the driver, the B pads seem to be stiffer but after about 3 days they really soften up

I own the HE-400i, Fidelio X1, DT-880, DT-990 Pro, DT-990 Premium, K712, vintage K270 and LCD-2 cans; THESE new Beyerdynamic DT-1990 headphones, with the "critical" earpads installed, are simply the best I have ever heard.

The bass extension is not as good as with the balanced pads, but it's still good

RECOMMENDATIONS:$200 - Beyerdynamic DT880 - Moderately bright sound$550 - Beyerdynamic

I mostly use them while mixing and mastering music and I’ve always felt I can trust beyerdynamic to know what’s going on with my mix

Also, the BEYERDYNAMIC DT 1990s are very comfortable to wear

Thankfully, the cables are mini-XLR, so you could scrounge up a spare AKG cable for a more portable cable

Cables: the cables are very nice, made of a nice soft touch plastic, the curly is a perfect length for moving around the house with your smart phone

Both of them are good cables, but not very convenient for using outside the studio

The bass extension is not as good as with the balanced pads, but it's still good

Build quality is top notch and with the detachable cable design I suspect it has a good chance of outliving

I got the headphones with a bundle containing a free amp (Fiio A5), free hard case and free MicroSD card

Paired with a good DAC/Amp ( I use a Jotunheim), they have been a real joy to listen to.

(I'm using a Schiit setup with a Yggdrasil and LYR2, but I've used the A20 and it's an excellent amp.

The bass extension is not as good as with the balanced pads, but it's still good

It will be doubly cumbersome since most people will need to also carry a portable dac/amp or have a dedicated audio player to use it (I'm driving these headphones with a LG V20, and it's handling the load flawlessly).ComfortFor the most part, these are comfortable stock

They are great at everything, build quality is amazing, and the comfort is the cherry on top

Tone controls do not degrade sound quality, not even to the slightest degree

I have been using a few great quality high-end (but low impedance

I have been using a few great quality high-end (but low impedance

With a high quality "built like a tank" construction, it's built as good as it sounds

Elevated bass over the analytical pads, mid-range is overshadowed ever so slightly by the bass, and treble is just as present as with the analytical pads

Without EQ, the highs are ridiculously and painfully overkill, and the bass from 100Hz down is anemic

The bass extension is not as good as with the balanced pads, but it's still good

basically the A Pad to my ears lands a little more highs, and the treble is perfect, with some very warm and tight bass.

The bass is rich and tight with no muddiness to be seen

Outstanding detail, dynamics, imaging and sound stage are hallmarks of this fine set of headphones

Unbelievable clarity and details.

The bass extension is not as good as with the balanced pads, but it's still good

The Beyerdynamic DT1990 is supplied with 2 pairs of ear cushions, one with 20 vent holes for bass boosting and one with 4 vent holes for best bass detail.

This is just my experience, but I hear details in the low end I didn't percieve at all on most other headphones I have used (with the exception of the DSR9BT, although the DT 1990 is still cleaner) without compromising on volume, which impresses me a lot since the HD600 and cousins mostly fall flat as far as low end goes

To install the 4 vent hole cushions retract the ear cup/headband extensions and remove the installed cushions.

The 20 vent hole pair is the one that comes installed on the headphones and it mechanically tunes up the bass.

If you have tone controls and want more bass detail you then install the 4 vent hole pair.

The only thing of interest here is that the B&O H6 is good for escaping the recording studio's acoustics and the Abyss

The Beyerdynamic DT1990 is supplied with 2 pairs of ear cushions, one with 20 vent holes for bass boosting and one with 4 vent holes for best bass detail.