These are very well built headphones. Made out of metal and it looks like it could last for a century. The package includes a case for headphones, two detachable cables (straight and spiral) and an extra pair of ear pads.
Headphones are not very light but they are very stable on the head and comfortable. They might be a bit tight at the beginning but that will improve after a few hours. Suitable for longer sessions.
DT-1990 has a relatively large and detailed sound but it is not neutral at all, which made me wonder how it could be suitable for mixing and mastering (that is what is actually written on the box). Balanced ear pads, which come on the headphones give kind of a “V” sound. There is a very obvious bass boost and big treble spikes around 8kHz and around 10kHz, or 11kHz. The extra pair of pads, the analytical pads, are softer and they put the bass down to normal making a larger area of the frequency response much more neutral. However, the spikes in the trebles remain almost the same. It is worth saying that it is not easy to replace pads and switching from one to another cannot be done very fast.
DT-1990 is officially an open back headphone but it is not actually completely opened. It has many holes on the cups but it is not as open as HD-600 is or K-702. When you put DT-1990 on, you can hear that your surrounding sounds become a bit muffled. The sound of DT-1990 feels a bit like a much more improved version of Beyerdymamic’s closed back headphones (DT-770, for example). Bass is very good (with the analytical pads), fairly detailed middle but the trebles are something that people will either love or hate. It is so called, “the beyer sound”; it will add an extra detail to certain records but it will make a lot of records sound harsh and on the edge of pain.
I thought of taming trebles with an EQ, which is possible and to use DT-1990 as a Hi-Fi headphone but the main question was whether it was all worth the price. The price is kind of justified with the case and two pairs of ear pads you get with the headphones and if you like piercing trebles and “the beyer sound”, this can be a great headphone. For me, those trebles were harsh on too many records.
So, the conclusion is: DT-1990 for listening to music? Maybe, for some. For mixing, mastering and critical listening? I do not believe so.
