What's new
Carbonite

South Africa's Top Online Tech Classifieds!
Register a free account today to become a member! (No Under 18's)
Home of C.U.D.

HeaDphone Discussions. (Audiophile and Gaming)

PandaAttack1

ooh wee!
VIP Supporter
Rating - 100%
119   0   0
Joined
May 9, 2013
Messages
6,712
Reaction score
5,668
Points
11,405
Location
Pta East
So since we do not have a dedicated audio section on the forum, smacktalk will have to do.

I recently bought a DT990 600ohm, and my goodness is it amazing for gaming. The soundstage is super wide and the separation is insane. It is light and the pads are among some of the most comfortable I've experienced. Had them on for around 6hours yesterday with 0 discomfort at all. Only moot point for me is the non detachable cable, but I will mod that eventually.

If the 250ohm are anything close to this one, it's a no brainer for me. At their price point, it will be tough to beat for gaming.

Your thoughts @Ninja_Theory ?
 
So since we do not have a dedicated audio section on the forum, smacktalk will have to do.

I recently bought a DT990 600ohm, and my goodness is it amazing for gaming. The soundstage is super wide and the separation is insane. It is light and the pads are among some of the most comfortable I've experienced. Had them on for around 6hours yesterday with 0 discomfort at all. Only moot point for me is the non detachable cable, but I will mod that eventually.

If the 250ohm are anything close to this one, it's a no brainer for me. At their price point, it will be tough to beat for gaming.

Your thoughts @Ninja_Theory ?

What headphone amplifier are you using with these? 600ohm is hectic [emoji14]

Headphones like these are really lovely for the sound stage and quality of audio.
Did you add a mod mic to them for VoIP?

Sent from my ANE-LX1 using Tapatalk
 
What headphone amplifier are you using with these? 600ohm is hectic [emoji14]

Headphones like these are really lovely for the sound stage and quality of audio.
Did you add a mod mic to them for VoIP?

Sent from my ANE-LX1 using Tapatalk

I’m using the 250 ohm DT990 Pros. I have an Asus DLX that can drive 600 ohms though and I also have a SoundBlaster E3 that can drive 600 ohms. So thank goodness I’m sorted in that area.

Edit: Just was now that the question wasn’t posed to me lol [emoji38]
 
Last edited:
What headphone amplifier are you using with these? 600ohm is hectic [emoji14]

Headphones like these are really lovely for the sound stage and quality of audio.
Did you add a mod mic to them for VoIP?

Sent from my ANE-LX1 using Tapatalk

I am driving them with an external ADL GT40 dac/amp. Gets them nice and loud. Getting a Valve amp soon as well to add some oomph and colour.

I think the HD598 comes close at the price point, but there is something to these DT990s...
I mainly use my HD600 or HD58x though, but these are more expensive sets, so not really fair to bring them into the discussion.

The 990 seems to tick most boxes. Would love to get my hands the 250ohm variant to compare. I assume most people would find this much easier to drive.
 
What headphone amplifier are you using with these? 600ohm is hectic [emoji14]

Headphones like these are really lovely for the sound stage and quality of audio.
Did you add a mod mic to them for VoIP?

Sent from my ANE-LX1 using Tapatalk
Forgot to add, I use an external mic on a mic stand next to my computer. So I can easily switch between headsets and never have to worry about the mic or extra cables. There are enough cables as is. 🙈
 
Forgot to add, I use an external mic on a mic stand next to my computer. So I can easily switch between headsets and never have to worry about the mic or extra cables. There are enough cables as is. [emoji85]
Yeah, that would definitely make things easier.

At least then you can have superior headphones for audio and superior microphone.

Sent from my ANE-LX1 using Tapatalk
 
I am driving them with an external ADL GT40 dac/amp. Gets them nice and loud. Getting a Valve amp soon as well to add some oomph and colour.

I think the HD598 comes close at the price point, but there is something to these DT990s...
I mainly use my HD600 or HD58x though, but these are more expensive sets, so not really fair to bring them into the discussion.

The 990 seems to tick most boxes. Would love to get my hands the 250ohm variant to compare. I assume most people would find this much easier to drive.
The DT990 performs above its price point. I think the HD598 and 600 should come into the discussion... They’re all entry level audiophile headphones.

Edit: @PandaAttack1, if you’re in Jhb then hit me up on pm. I have some travel coming up so you can borrow my 250 ohm DT990 Pro if you wanna compare with the 600. I’m also super interested to know as all my kit can drive the 600...
 
The fact that one can pick up a good second hand DT990 Pro (or non-Pro) for R1500 is pretty awesome. I wonder what you’d need to spend to match the soundstage and sound separation of the 990’s.. upward of R5k? They’re to headphones what the 2500k was to CPUs in its era (and well beyond) - timeless (yet affordable) classics that never stopped delivering.
 
Beyerdynamic make excellent headsets!

I have the DT 770's, got them dayum, maybe 5 years ago. One of the best audio purchases I ever made. I went with the 32 ohm version as it becomes portable without a portable amp.

I sold my Onkyo AVR at home, going the DIY route with amps and speakers and have a MiniDSP etc So now I need to get a headphone amp, probably going to go with one of the LJM headphone amp kits. Even the 32 ohm version performs far better with a proper HP amp.

I also swapped out the standard pleather covers for the velour ones and I felt it made a big difference in terms of comfort and sound quality too. Initially the bass was a bit much and overpowered the mids a bit, with the velour pads it tames the bass a little and clears up the mids quite nicely.
I honestly do not use them nearly as much as I should, however mostly use my speakers. It's more fun and more tactile and easier.
Headphones only on when I cannot make a noise - which is not often.


The 250 vs 600 ohm versions, I recall reading some reviews on Head Fi I think it was when looking at various headsets to decide on a pair and people seemed to think the sound quality differed a bit between the two. Obviously the 600 ohm would be a bit harder to drive as well.
 
Beyerdynamic make excellent headsets!

I have the DT 770's, got them dayum, maybe 5 years ago. One of the best audio purchases I ever made. I went with the 32 ohm version as it becomes portable without a portable amp.

I sold my Onkyo AVR at home, going the DIY route with amps and speakers and have a MiniDSP etc So now I need to get a headphone amp, probably going to go with one of the LJM headphone amp kits. Even the 32 ohm version performs far better with a proper HP amp.

I also swapped out the standard pleather covers for the velour ones and I felt it made a big difference in terms of comfort and sound quality too. Initially the bass was a bit much and overpowered the mids a bit, with the velour pads it tames the bass a little and clears up the mids quite nicely.
I honestly do not use them nearly as much as I should, however mostly use my speakers. It's more fun and more tactile and easier.
Headphones only on when I cannot make a noise - which is not often.


The 250 vs 600 ohm versions, I recall reading some reviews on Head Fi I think it was when looking at various headsets to decide on a pair and people seemed to think the sound quality differed a bit between the two. Obviously the 600 ohm would be a bit harder to drive as well.
What speakers are you running at the moment?

Put me in line for one of those kits as well when you decide on one and order parts. I'm also keen on building one.
 
I stand to be corrected, but I recall reading that the 600 ohm has a slightly more neutral sound signature with a little less colour on the bass. Both have moderately exaggerated highs. I quite like the subtle colouring of the bass on the 250 ohms though. I’d love to hear the difference myself or get someone’s thoughts on here that has heard the difference themselves.
 
I stand to be corrected, but I recall reading that the 600 ohm has a slightly more neutral sound signature with a little less colour on the bass. Both have moderately exaggerated highs. I quite like the subtle colouring of the bass on the 250 ohms though. I’d love to hear the difference myself or get someone’s thoughts on here that has heard the difference themselves.
I heard the same. Although I have not noticed that any base is missing on the 600ohm, but they do sound super neutral. I will have to do more listening though.
 
I heard the same. Although I have not noticed that any base is missing on the 600ohm, but they do sound super neutral. I will have to do more listening though.
Yeah doubt the 600’s lack bass. I just meant more natural (less colour). I prefer the bass of the DT’s to that of the lower end Sennies, like the 558 and 598’s. I haven’t heard higher end Sennies yet though - but that’s a different price bracket completely.
 
What speakers are you running at the moment?

Put me in line for one of those kits as well when you decide on one and order parts. I'm also keen on building one.

Yeah sure, drop me a PM and then when we order can get a kit for you as well. We can split the shipping then too etc.

Currently running a pair of DIY X15 speakers - not really meant for home use and certainly not the best in terms of high fidelity, but they're not bad.
It's P.Audio 15" mids and then a P.Audio compression driver with a Faital horn. High efficiency of 100db 1w / 1m.
EQ the bass and it is a lot of fun, even without a subwoofer and the fact that it is only ported to 50Hz or so. Limited excursion of around 4mm.

My actual speakers are a DIY build as well, simple though. An old vintage Philips 12" full range with a whizzer cone in a sealed enclosure. Also a higher efficiency of around 95db 1w / 1m. I'd love to get some Beyma TPL 150H's tweeters and then possibly the Beyma 12p80nd v2 mid drivers and build maybe a TQWT for the mids and use those as my mains - not cheap drivers and not available locally either. So that will need to wait for now, hopefully sometime in the near future.
When I get a place of my own, provided the roof allows for it, I'd love to do an infinite baffle subwoofer build. Get a few cheaper (possibly Faital) 15 or 18" drivers and build some big subs in the roof and cover the area with a grille or sorts. Depending on the room size, I reckon 4 would get you flat to 20Hz at 110dB or higher. Would need lots of EQ but nothing my MiniDSP couldn't handle. For now I could only imagine how great it would sound.

I am currently looking at building some Mini Karlsonator's (take a look here: Mini Karlsonator (0.53X) with Dual TC9FD's - Page 229 - diyAudio). I will be doing the 0.53x build, so dual 3" drivers. Was going to use the Faital drivers, although that LaVoce driver intrigues me so if it sims well I will give that a go. I may have 4x 3fe22 drivers on their way to me already which I am unsure what to do with if I go the LaVoce route. I also have 2x 3fe22 drivers for my car, so I def won't need all 6 if I go with the LaVoce drivers for the Karlsonators.

If you're keen on that build as well, drop me a PM with your number and I can add you to my very small WhatsApp group where we're arranging the drivers for the Karlsonator build (just myself and 3 friends really). I will then see if another friend would be willing to help us out and CNC route the enclosure panels for us, so we just need to glue and clamp them together and BOOM! Build done. You can make it look prettier too if you'd like.
 
PandaAttack1
Which 990 are you referring to? Pro?
Looking at new prices on amazon and this is just under $180, so that puts it in a similar price range to the 6xx, 58x, k7xx, k702, he400i. Thats tough competition tbh

I've never used the 990 but I'm very keen to try, the non detachable cable stopped me from buying a set a few months ago
 
PandaAttack1
Which 990 are you referring to? Pro?
Looking at new prices on amazon and this is just under $180, so that puts it in a similar price range to the 6xx, 58x, k7xx, k702, he400i. Thats tough competition tbh

I've never used the 990 but I'm very keen to try, the non detachable cable stopped me from buying a set a few months ago
I am referring to the 600ohm variant. But the differences would be subtle to most. I got over the cable thing and took the plunge. Not a moment of regret so far.

Yeah, the competition in entry level audiophile headphones is crazy. Its a great time for the hobby. (Thank you massdrop!)
 
The DT990 (in my case, 990 Pro) has a mid-treble spike (8-10dB) around 9200Hz. I can't really mess around with it until tomorrow evening, but it may be worth tweaking a little. On the low bass side, I'm gonna test a 2-4dB tweak around 20Hz. Sauce is our friends over at Rtings: Treble frequency response and bass frequency response
 

Attachments

  • DT990 Pro Treble.PNG
    DT990 Pro Treble.PNG
    45 KB · Views: 19
  • DT990 Pro Bass.PNG
    DT990 Pro Bass.PNG
    44.1 KB · Views: 20
Looks like I'm picking up a set of headies tomorrow that I've wanted for a long time. If all goes well, I'm gonna put my AKG 553 Pro's up for sale.

Edit: I have the X2’s in hand. The 553’s are going up for sale this evening once I can sort the sales thread.
 
Last edited:
Yoh i realy want to test thos x2.

Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk
 
Could you drive them through an AVR, and would there be any downsides to doing that?
 
X2 are 32 ohm so should be easy to drive

Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk
 
Could you drive them through an AVR, and would there be any downsides to doing that?
You could, but there would be many downsides as opposed to a dedicated amp.
Could you drive them through an AVR, and would there be any downsides to doing that?
It can be done in the right hardware. I'm sure there are people that are more than happy running through their receiver. As a friend just explained to me on another forum; Usually receivers use the same circuitry for all outputs, so they lower the headphone power output with resistors. But it is usually not nearly enough for low impedance headphones to function properly. The headphone out is done as an after thought, and not the main function of the amp. Ultimately you will be losing out on quality, or have interference (for lack of a better word).

Nothing matches a dedicated headphone amp. But in a pinch, a receiver would alright, especially if it's high impedance phones.

A headphone is more important than a dac is more important than an amp is more important than the source.
 
Last edited:
I have the X2 in hand. Will be testing this evening with my little E3 providing some extra juice.
Yay toys!
Let us know how your thoughts. Do you have avforum account Ninja?

Please, this thread is available for hi-jack.
 
Let us know how your thoughts. Do you have avforum account Ninja?
Yeah I will for sure. I have an AV account under the same name - I haven't been very active there though. Decided to change that now that the damn audio bug has bitten me hard again. I ran a production studio called Platform Music with a mate in Cape Town in the early 2000's... thought I had left that all behind. Clearly not :p
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom