DT 990 - 32 OHM

The short version of this review is that I am 100%, absolutely pleased with these headphones and would buy them again.The long -What do I like?Sound - Pristine reproduction, almost completely uncolored. Pure, clean bass and excellent sound imaging. Instrument / performer location is nearly transparent with these, creating a wide soundstage. A great test album for these 'phones is the Bill Evans Trio album "Exporations". "Nardis", "Israel" and "Elsa" feature some very low acoustic bass from Scott LaFaro and very delicate brush work on the drums. These are the first headphones that I have heard that reproduce this so well. Classical music sounds excellent as well - John Eliot Gardiner's recording of Beethoven's Symphonies on period instruments is ridiculous on these. It sounds so good! Modern rock is also handled with ease - uncolored and clear. Perfect bass response, and when you want a boost in the bass, the DT990s handle the extra kick easily. I used the EQ on my headphone amp to boost the bass as a test, and found no problems or muddiness. IMHO, these phone do not need the bass boosted - they sound great with no EQ.Comfort - The most comfortable headphones I have worn. I don't think there is any problem here for anyone.Construction - Okay, these are only a few weeks old. I cannot attest to the long-term durability. I can say that they appear ot built very well. The cord is heavy and appears to be durable. The constuction is solid, yet lightweight. I think it'll do just fine over time.Comparison - I do NOT own 43 different pairs of expensive headphones. (As it seems many reviewers claim to own!) I have one other pair of "real" headphones; Grado mid-priced (~$100) headphones that sound great as well. The DT 990 kills them, leaves them in the dust so to speak - as they should for the price difference! (But I still love the Grados!) What I was able to do a few months ago was visit this absurd electrincs shop in Tokyo (Akihabara) and audition a ton of 'phones with my own MP3 files. The DT 900s were among them. The only headphones that I thought were this good were the Sennheiser's with "wood-trim" and the DT 880. (Sorry, I forgot the model number of the Sennheiser) I cannot give you a run-down of this model compared to that model ad infinitum. The DT 990s sounded better (to me) than many 'phones costing quite a bit more - some AKGs (I think the Quincy Jones model) and Audio Technica were hundreds more expensive and IMHO were inferior to these. I can tell you that I love the sound of these and do not regret buying them.I am not going to comment on noise isolation. These are open type 'phones, as anyone intelligent enough to read has already discovered in the product description. If you are reading this and don't know what that means, do an internet search on that term.Plus that, they are GERMAN made and engineered! (If you don't know it by now, literally every product made in Germany is superior to similar products made elsewhere with one exception - dental floss.) This product again reinforces my admiration for German engineering. Simply awesome product!I hope that this review helps you to decide what to buy. I had a very difficult time deciding, and had the good fortune of being able to visit Tokyo prior to buying. I was able to audition dozens of headphones in a store there, Akihabara. I don't think that you will find that here in the US. (If there was a store like that here, all of the audition headphones would either be broken or stolen, sadly.)Update - December 30, 2012 -Fantastic 'phones!!!! I am fully aware that nearly all headphones exhibit some type of "break-in" where the audio qualities may change slightly after some hours of use. I can only say that the Beyerdynamics sound better to me than they did a month ago. Hard to qualify that, really... I think that they sound more "open" and transparent. Excellent 'phones, no change in my opinion from earlier. Just a very fine audio product and the best headphones I have heard. Easily in the category of "Would buy again."Update - January 2014 -Better than ever - cannot knock these at all. Worth the money, sound great, look and feel as good as the day they were new. Sound better than new. Very happy with these after living with them a bit now...I recently bought the much cheaper Bro' of these Beyerdynamic DTX 910 Stereo Headphones for Portable and Home usage (Silver Black) for use away from home, and am very pleased with those for $70.

I have read plenty of reviews on many different brands of headphones. Thanks to a few gift cards I was able to shop for some quality headphones. I narrowed it down to either the Sennheiser hd 598's or the 32 ohm Beyerdynamic 990 dt's. I heard both are great but I settled on the beyer's. It's been over a month and in total I have burned in my new phones about 70 hours using my ipod playing overnight and the static from unclear radio stations. I listen to them about 2 hrs a day, everyday. To sum them up in one word...PHENOMENAL!! I love these things. For a while I wasn't listening to my music anymore. Don't know why. I own about 300 CDs. I listen to almost everything but prefer metal(too many genres in this department to list), along with hardcore,punk,ska,rock,rap,r&b,reggae, and speedcore. The 990's make me want to listen to all of my CDs all over again as if I was hearing them for the 1st time! I have heard my CDs a thousand times over and with the 990's I can hear things I have never heard before!! Absolutely ridiculous!! I have adjusted to the digital age and crammed all my CDs into my iPod Classic . I use the EQ a bit on it to see how the different genres sound. When I want a little more bass I'll use the R&b or hip hop setting. This setting sounds great with most of my music. Although on some of the grind core I listen to, I have to tone down the bass a bit cause it sounds distorted. With the classical EQ setting, it makes the grind sound tame but in a really great way. The bass is crystal clear!! It's mind blowing! The speedcore is even tamed as well on this setting! If that is possible because that type of music usually destoys any kind of speaker due to it's rumbling bass, ear piercing pitches and digital drums/drum machine. The 990's excel with that genre and by no means are these phones bass emphasized. But when put to the test with extreme music, they can handle the chaos! And with the right eq setting,any genre of music is enhanced. They can definitely handle a lot more power than my iPod. The 32 ohm version was made to cater to portable devices. That being said, I have to turn up the volume to about 85% on the iPod to get it where I want it. Almost blasting my ears out but not quite. I am curious to see how a good amp/dac combo would enhance the experience. The 990's have a 250 and 600 ohm version as well. I would assume those 2 sets would surely benefit amped up. A few more notes on the 990's. They are incredibly comfortable and can be worn for hours. They are sturdy as well. Another thing I noticed when listening is the treble sounds incredibly high even with the EQ adjustments. Almost ear piercing high. I've heard the term bright used by other reviewers when describing the treble. And the bass, I just want more. Like i said, they can handle whatever is thrown at them. I'm already spoiled with these, hehe. I recommend the 990's to anyone who loves music and wants it to come alive! I know they are expensive. I couldn't have got em without a little help, ie gift cards and those horrible credit cards!! With this economy and now obamacare! Who can pay things off anymore??!!Debt is great ain't it!! All in all if you love music, get these. Also looking into getting the Phillips Fidelio X1 or X2. Not sure but need to do more research and start saving up. Hope this helps! UPDATE: Had these for a year and they are goin strong!! Still sound just as good or better then when I got em! BTW, I did get a $50 Samson headphone amp. After combining the Beyer's with the amp, I didn't notice much of a difference. They did not improve the sound quality, the only thing that changed was the volume. The phones sounded louder but that was it. The bass, mids, and highs were not clearer or sounded any different. Perhaps one of the various Fiio amps or a tube amp would help? Need to do more research to find the right combo. Maybe I'm just nitpicking or being too critical. Don't know enough about headphones and amps and prob never will. But I do know I love the Beyer's. Either way, just get these headphones. Their awesome!!Take it easy:)