Whether you have “normal” or “trained” ears, you can tell when something is off. Think of how many times you’ve been in movie theatre and you can hear some buzzing coming from above your head, or there is just something missing that you can’t quite put your finger on. When you then take those problems and put them directly over your ears, it gets exponentially worse. Beyerdynamic are here to give you a set of cans that can be used for any audio need that may arise. Everything from gaming behind your desk to mixing some songs behind your desk.
Professional Audio at Consumer Price
The DT 990 Pro comes in at a whopping $179.99. This prices them right into the sweet spot for headphones that get you great audio quality at a great price. The particular set of headphones that they sent me were the 250OHMS version. It comes with a 3m (9.8 ft) coiled cable that is terminated with a 3.5 jack. A ¼” gold plated adapter is already screwed onto the end for any ¼” outputs that you may have on your audio equipment. Along with that, they have included a branded nylon bag that also has a section to put your information incase you lose them somewhere.
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Open Headphone Design
I put this as a con, but it is 100% a personal preference. There is, and always will be, a debate about open and closed headphones. Let me give you the quick definition of each. Open: allows for some outside noise to be heard. Closed: designed to isolate your ears so you don’t hear what’s going on around you.
As these headphones are designed for the studio, I wouldn’t personally use them frequently for mixing. I prefer to do my fine tuning with closed headphones, so I can hear more of the actual music itself. I don’t want any outside noise while doing these fine tunes because I want to make sure that my EQing is spot on. I use open headphones to get more of a feel of what the end user is going to hear, to make sure that my EQing and mixing is going to hold up for when they’re sitting in an airport listening to the track.
With this design, I do not suggest them for LAN parties or large public events. I have used these before in live production and too much crowd noise was coming threw, so I had to crank the music louder to make sure I heard the individual microphone loud enough to check on issues. I suggest this, and other Open headphones, to anyone that has a family or needs to be able to hear what’s going on around them, as well as what’s going on in the game.
That German Design
As per normal, Beyerdynamic has knocked it out of the park with their design. High quality steel runs entirely through while a nice padding surrounds the headband for many hour of comfort. With the steel being pressed so thin, it wants to fold in on itself, like most headphones. With the oversized earcups, there is some pressure that is put around your ears while it clamps around you. After around an hour of using these, I had to take them on and off a few times to give my head some rest.
Both the standard 3.5mm tip and the ¼” adapter are gold plated and give perfect conduction in any application that you put it through. The coiled cable is hardwired into the headphones, so you can’t interchange it with a smaller one for ease of use at your desk. The earcups are oversized, so they fit nicely around your ear and don’t bring it any unnecessary pressure on your actual ear. They are made of a very comfortable foam and have a good amount of give.
Pump, Pump The Jams
Let’s get down to the good stuff, the audio quality. Beyerdynamic have stepped up their game these past few years and these headphones are no exception. The frequency range is everywhere you want it (5 - 35k Hz) and you can hear everything you want, in the right location. Like I said before, I personally believe that Open headphones will never give you the full effect because it’s allowing outside noise to mix with what you’re working on in your ear.
The root of the DT 990 Pro’s was for studio use. With that in mind, it makes sense why they have Open and Closed versions, not with the same model name/number. I was able to play my games, talk to my friends in Discord, and still hear my wife when she was asking for me. If I wanted to tune her out and just have my brain focus on the game, I would have had to have turned them up more than I’m comfortable with to overpower the noise that was coming in from the rest of the room.
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Final Thoughts
These headphones bring studio quality to your gaming setup. Larger drivers produce a wider range of sound that helps you hear better and hear more. As far as Open v Closed headphones goes, you just have to make that call for yourself. Are you someone who will only use them in your house and you still want to hear your dog when they need to go out, or are you the hardcore LAN attender that needs to only hear your computer and not the stuff going on around you?
Between the quality of the sound, the comfort of the headset, and the price point, the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pros are a great way to start a journey into more high-end headphones while not spending half of your paycheck.
Pros
- Oversized ear cups
- Fabric ear cups
- Spring steel headband
- All parts are replaceable
Cons
- Open Dynamic Headphones (Reviewer’s Personal Preference)
The product discussed in this article was provided by the manufacturer for the purposes of review.
