This is something that I have come to find that I like, as long as it is not overdone, as it (when the overall timbre is correct) helps give life to stringed acoustic instruments, such as acoustic basses and guitars. The over emphasis on the higher frequencies make hi-hats and cymbals sound unnaturally present, so many people loathe Beyerdynamic’s boosted treble response. The imaging on the DT 1990 Pro is also very good, as it makes it very easy to accurately discern the direction from which sounds originate. The DT1990 is great for classical music, and for me, especially important, for symphonic heavy metal.

If this peak was not there, or if it was at least smaller in size, the DT 1990 Pro would actually be a pretty enjoyable headphone. They have earned the trust and respect of music producers, sound technicians and broadcasters and have established themselves as a firm favourite in studios all over the world. It's a bit of an inelegant solution, but it helps noticeably in keeping the drivers away from my ears. For the majority of my listening I used the Analytical pads, as I found them to be somewhat closer to my personal preference target than the Balanced pads.This is really the only stumbling block for the DT 1990 in my opinion, and I think it is simply due to the age of the design in an era where headphones are getting more advanced with their ear chamber designs (think Sennheiser HD700 or HD800, and the Audioquest Nighthawk). Fairly linear, but there's a small hill going up 200Hz that sort of makes the midrange warmer than neutral.

We also love that Beyerdynamic includes two sets of different sounding ear pads so listeners can tailor the sound for different tasks. While a balanced sound is produced via the standard vinyl ear pads, the interchangeable leatherette ear pads provide an analytical sound instead. After a couple of weeks of gathering all sorts of information about reference headphones in the market, I decided to go for the Beyerdynamic's DT-1990 Pro.Trust us, there’s a very good reason why many audio engineers choose Beyerdynamic for monitoring and mastering sound. You have the likes of cheaper options like the Sennheiser HD6XX and Hifiman Sundara to contend with. Plugging the DT 1990 PRO into my laptop (and even iPad) let me hear what was going on just fine, but I had to crank to volume to 100% on those devices just to get to what would normally be around 70%. I actually find this very unfortunate for the DT 1990 Pro because this one peak throws off the headphone’s tonal balance completely.

With this treble quality, I see some owners describe the DT1990 as being very "revealing", "detailed" and "transparent" of a recordings' flaws. Male and female vocals (save for higher female pitch) are about equal in level, with good weight for each. That said, while we found the DT 1990 Pro to be a tad bit too bright at times they did not suffer from sibilance. The weight of the headphones is 370 grams, which is quite substantial, and likely due to the rugged design. We’ve reviewed older products like the DT 990 PRO to newer ones like the DT 700 PRO X, both of which are easy to recommend depending on your needs.But today, we’re looking at a years-old product that stands the test of time: the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO. Switching pads for the first time is an exercise in frustration, but you’ll quickly learn the best technique to rotate the pads to get them to seat properly. The 250 impedance makes the 1990s suitable for listening to on an OTL tube amplifier such as the Woo Audio WA3, Schiit Valhalla 2 or Bottlehead Crack. We tried the DT 1990 Pro with the WooAudio 3 tube amp and Schiit Audio Magni and both amps sounded great though, if we had to pick, we preferred the warmth of the WooAudio, which helped tame the brightness.