Beyerdynamic - DT 990 PRO X

Maybe the 990 pro x fits your budget, the difference between pro and pro x is that the pro x all have detachable cables, and a newer/better driver

1990 MK2 is great, 990 Pro X treble is HORRIBLE for games. join the HD 490 gang.

Hi guys, quick update: First of all, thanks to all of you who gave feedback in this thread. I was surprised by the kindness of everyone who replied!! Today, I went to a shop in japan and tested the Sennheiser 550 HD, Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO X, and the MMX 330 Pro which were the most recommended in the replies. I could not tell the difference in sound quality or crispness. To be honest, it was not a very quiet environment and also I did not have the need to do exhaustive testing. All sounded good, so it was a draw for me. In the end, I got the HD 550 for the reasons mentioned below, but it was a close fight. Price: Listed below are the final prices after the TAX-Free 10% discount. Also the japanese yen is extremely cheap today, so it was a good deal. -HD 550: 43641 JPY  (270 EUR / 306 USD as of today).  -DT 990 PRO X:  35064 JPY (203 EUR / 241 USD as of today).  -MMX 330 Pro: 53550 JPY  (301 EUR / 376 USD as of today).  Build quality:  -HD 550: It looks and feels very cheap. Same plastic used in the PC 363 D. But mine was fine after 10 years of heavy use (as I mentioned in OP, what was falling appart was the ribbon of the mic boom, that the HD550 does not have). So it is not bad quality plastic. It just does not feel and look like a headset of this price. -DT 990 Pro: Looks clearly more premium, but adjusting the headband was a bit of a hassle. It offered way to much resistance. The pads are plushier and softer than the Sennheiser, but round instead than oval. -Comfort: This was a total win for the HD 550. It feels like the PC363D that I loved. Soft clamp, velvety pads, and headband that is easy to adjust but does not loses the adjustment like my current razer does. The problem with the Beyerdynamic is that the circular pads were not big enough for my ears, so while plushy, didn't feel as confortable. -Mic: I wanted to buy the HD500 BAM recommended in the replies, but it was out of stock unfortunately, so I will need to get it at the european price. The guy from the shop offered me a cable that uses the DT 990 connection and has an integrated mic and DAC, but it was out of stock as well, and the mic was an inline (hanging / lapel) mic, not a boom mic, so I was not interested. It might be an option though for those of you who have the DT 990 or other headsets with similar connector.

I'm loving the Beyerdynamic DT 990 pro X. The ear pads are just next level to me.

1. The DAC/Amp. I wouldn't spend more than $300 on an DAC/Amp. The Topping Dx5 ii has everything one could need. 6.4W output (more than enough for every Headphones, measures flat, has Bluetooth and has built in peq. 2. There are so many Headphones out there, to buy the perfect one is not the easiest thing to do. My go to recommendation for a high-end pair of Headphones is the Hifiman Arya stealth (as refurb on hifiman webstore for $480 with the coupon) as it delivers a rather big soundstage, with a lot of details and overall good tuning (as long as you have no issues with a bit more treble but you've tested the Beyer's, therefore the Arya shouldn't be an issue) and with a basshelf (which you can add on the DAC/amp with the built in PEQ feature filter: lsq 130hz, 5db q 0.71) it sounds great. * Sennheiser HD 820 (Closed-Back) ($2,199.95 + $500-2,000 DAC/Amp = $4,199.95) (6-48,000 Hz) Not worth it at that price tag especially as you have to fix a couple of issues with EQ) * Sennheiser HD 800 S (Open-Back) ($1,999.95 + $500-2,000 DAC/Amp = $3,999.95) (4-51,000 Hz) Not worth it imo at that price range. There are better and cheaper options. I had the hd800. * Audio-Technica ADX5000 (Open-Back) ($2,199 + $300-1,000 DAC/Amp = $3,199) (5-50,000 Hz) No idea * Sony MDR-Z1R (Closed-Back) (~~$2,099.99~~ $1,899.99 + $200-500 DAC/Amp = ~~$2,599.99~~ $2,399.99) (4-120,000 Hz) Sounds great but the price is too high) * Beyerdynamic T1 (Open-Back) ($999.99 + $500-1,500 DAC/Amp = $2,499.99) (5-50,000 Hz) Not worth it * Audio-Technica ADX3000 (Open-Back) ($1,099 + $200-500 DAC/Amp = $1,599) (5-45,000 Hz) No idea * Beyerdynamic T5 (Closed-Back) ($999.99 + $150-300 DAC/Amp = $1,299.99) (5-50,000 Hz) No worth it * Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO MKII (Open-Back) ($699.99 + $200-500 DAC/Amp = $1,199.99) (5-40,000 Hz) Good Headphone, does a lot of things right but it's not a big upgrade compared to the mk1. Quite comfortable and well built. * Beyerdynamic DT 1770 PRO MKII (Closed-Back) (~~$699.99~~ $599.99 + $200-500 DAC/Amp = ~~$1,199.99~~ $1,099.99) (5-40,000 Hz) Do not like this Headphone. * Sennheiser HD 660S2 (Open-Back) (~~$679.95~~ $479.95 + $200-500 DAC/Amp = ~~$1,179.95~~ $979.95) (8-41,500 Hz) Not worth it. It's not a substantial upgrade over the og 600 series even though they ask 2-3x more. Get the 6xx over the 660s2 and add a bit of bass) * Audio-Technica ATH-R70xa (Open-Back) ($379 + $300-800 DAC/Amp = $1,179) (5-40,000 Hz) Haven't listened to it. * Sennheiser HD 650 (Open-Back) (~~$579.95~~ $349.95 + $200-500 DAC/Amp = ~~$1,079.95~~ $849.95) (10-39,500 Hz) (Artist Favorite) Warmer 6xx. * Sennheiser HD 600 (Open-Back) (~~$499.95~~ $299.95 + $200-500 DAC/Amp = ~~$999.95~~ $799.95) (12-39,500 Hz) Good Natural sounding Headphone but not exciting. Not for me. * Beyerdynamic DT 880 PRO (Semi-Open-Back) (~~$219.99~~ $209.99 + $200-500 DAC/Amp = ~~$719.99~~ $709.99) (5-35,000 Hz) The best Beyer out of the 700,800 and 900 series imo. The most balanced and still fun * Sennheiser HD 620S (Closed-Back) ($399.95 + $100-300 DAC/Amp = $699.95) (6-30,000 Hz) Decent closedback HP. In many ways better than the hd820 but not as resolving. * Audio-Technica ATH-WP900 (Closed-Back) ($699) (5-50,000 Hz) No idea * Sennheiser HD 490 PRO (Open-Back) ($399 + $100-200 DAC/Amp = $599) (5-36,000 Hz) The best Sennheiser Headphone at the moment. Great comfort and well tuned. Good Allrounder. * Sennheiser HD 560S (Open-Back) ($279.95 + $100-300 DAC/Amp = $579.95) (6-38,000 Hz) As refurbished available for $130 on their outlet. Good value. Does a lot of things right. Not the most comfortable (the 490 pro is a straight upgrade) but really good at that price tag. * Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO X (Open-Back) ($229.99 + $100-200 DAC/Amp = $429.99) (5-40,000 Hz) Not great. I would pick the 900 pro x over the 990 pro x. * Sony MDR-MV1 (Open-Back) ($419.99) (5-80,000 Hz) Haven't listened to it. * Sennheiser HD 505 Copper (Open-Back) ($329.95) (12-38,500 Hz) Seems to be liked by a lot of people but havent listenes to it. * Audio-Technica ATH-M70x (Closed-Back) ($329) (5-40,000 Hz) No idea * Beyerdynamic DT 700 PRO X (Closed-Back) ($319.99) (5-40,000 Hz) Great comfort, not that well tuned. Better than the 770 though. * Sony MDR-M1 (Closed-Back) ($269.99) (5-80,000 Hz) Haven't listened to them * Beyerdynamic DT 900 PRO X (Open-Back) (~~$319.99~~ $239) (5-40,000 Hz) Second best 700,800,900 tuned Headphone imo. * Sennheiser HD 599 (Open-Back) ($239.95) (12-38,500 Hz) Not good at that price tag. For und 100 it's okay. * Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO X (Closed-Back) ($229.99) (5-40,000 Hz) (Descendent of Artist Favorite DT 770) Terrible imo. Especially the og. Didn't like it. * Sennheiser HD 300 PRO (Closed-Back) ($199.95) (6-25,000 Hz) No idea * Sennheiser HD 569 (Closed-Back) ($179.95) (10-45,000 Hz) Not worth it * Audio-Technica ATH-R50x (Open-Back) ($169) (5-40,000 Hz) Haven't listened to it. * Audio-Technica ATH-M50x (Closed-Back) ($159) (15-28,000 Hz) (Artist Favorite) It's meh. * Audio-Technica ATH-M40x (Closed-Back) ($109) (15-24,000 Hz) It's meh Some other Headphones you can look in to Sub $300: Aune ar5000, fiio ft1 (pro) and Sennheiser HD6xx Sub $600: Hifiman Arya stealth, Hifiman Ananda unveiled, Hifiman XV and DCA aoen x closed, Audeze ls20 Sub $1000: Hifiman He600, Arya organic, Meze 109 Pro and Hifiman Stealth He1000Se I wouldn't recommend spending more than 1k on a Headphone. That my opinion.

Trust me these headphones are comfy asf. Had the DT 990 Pros for a couple years but the cushions got flat so I decided to buy a pair of DT 990 Pro Xs and I am loving them.

I got the new dt990 pro x from Beyerdynamic with a modi, magni, Loki stack and love it. The Loki allows me to dial in that treble peak really well and they are extremely comfortable. I tried the new audio technical atht70xa and while they were light and sounded good the headband design was abysmal for the cost.

If you planning to get dt1990pro mk2 or dt990 pro x versions -- then answer is yes, you can directly plug them into your pc, they are very easy to drive. For older versions it would depend on your integrated audio, some high-end motherboards have decent chips and can drive power hungry headphones. Regarding your questions about the best.. well, everybody who is deep into audiophilia-hobby are lurking for that BEST EVER thing, and let me tell you what -- there are not one definitive answer to that. When it comes to TOTL headphones it is all about personal preference. Latest versions of Dt990/dt1990 are very decent cans, they have low distortion levels and can take EQ very well, they are also well built and have a nice Beyers support, where you can buy every part of headphones separately. You would not be disappointed with them. As an alternatives to them you can look into: ATH r50x/r70x (beware if you have big ears, because they are for middle to small ones), Fiio FT1 Pro, Hifiman HE400se/Ananda/Sundara Open/Edition XS, Sennheiser hd6xx.

I have some Beyer DT990s i need to fix. My cat chewed the cable in half and so theyve been sitting in a box waiting for me to creck em open and replace the cable. In the meantime ive been using the HD599 from Sennheiser and they have also been great. 

It's worth it to save up for the DT990s. Bear in mind they are very comfortable and can be worn for long periods of time which is why I got them. They are not the most balanced (particularly spatially) and I need to use my monitors sometimes to balance sounds particularly leads or synths. But I like them for comfort and they work well enough. If your budget is low aim for comfort and balance and pick which is most important for you and lean that way. Comfort is more important than balance for me so I went with the BD 990s - as I can always go back to my monitors for balance and then back to headphones.