Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro vs DT990 Edition and ohm choice

[Kasenumi]

Hello guys

Trying to choose the best possibile headphones for under 200$ ( which I AM going to use for 5 years od more) I stopped by open back Beyerdynamic 990 ( previously also considered HiFiMan HE 400i, Philips X2, Sennheiser 650). 

My friends advice me to choose close back for better immersion into whatever I hear in headphones. Though I prefer hearing a bit what is happening around me, and I definitely hate not hearing myself. I used to have closed headphones before and this is just not for me. 

So my questions are: 

1) Should I choose DT990 Pro or DT990  Edition? What would be the difference? DT 990 Pro seems to be more popular and has that nice retro telephone cable .  

2) To experience DT990 true potential should I buy 600 ohm or 250 ohm would be better for home only use? I did not find a clear explanation about the difference. What else should I buy to power them?

3) What is the best "price/quality" DAC/AMP to have the mentioned above true potential? 

4) The most important question is if I AM making the right decision about DT990? After watching many reviews they seemed the best possibile choice  due to product and sound quality/price.

 

 

I need to order headphones and possibily the Amp tomorrow as my current headphones are falling apart and I almost do not hear anything while using them. 

 

And since there is still time to change my mind about Beyerdynamic and get something else, better for the same price I Ask you to help me with this. 

[rice guru]

the higher the impedance the harder it is to drive. with the 990 and 880 always go silver pads black pads tend to sound more sharp. premium editions tend to be more comfortable they have less clamp. for me the 880 and 990 both shine best paired with a monoprice liquid spark hence why it was my pick when I pu tit against the jds labs atom made them sounda bnit warmer and clamed the treble down a bit.  as for a dac the topping d10 has proven to be a pretty reliable choice. 

 

so interms of differences the 250 ohm vs 600 ohm  the 600 ohms osounds more refined treble and mid range wise as well as the bass being much tighter the 250 ohm is slightly less refined has slightly more bass but either way they sound great to me as a person that really enjoy's his 990. I wouldnt but the models below the 250  ohms though they simply just dont sound as good

[Light-Yagami]

Sadly, I can't provide you with any useful information, but this guy can, and he's really good at describing what he hears. Hope you find some useful information.

https://www.youtube.com/user/JimsReviewRoom

[Light-Yagami]

3 minutes ago, Light-Yagami said:

Sadly, I can't provide you with any useful information, but this guy can, and he's really good at describing what he hears. Hope you find some useful information.

https://www.youtube.com/user/JimsReviewRoom

Actually scrap that. I just realised there was I time I was asking myself exactly about this because I was about to buy the PRO but then decided I didn't need another pair of headphones.

 

Long Story short - buy those that you'll be able to drive. I recommend 250 ohm. Still possible to drive with a good onboard audio card. 600ohm probably sound the best, but they need an external amp to drive which can quickly get expensive. Whatever you do though, don't be the low impedance ones. I heard they sound muddy.. 

[Kasenumi]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

the higher the impedance the harder it is to drive. with the 990 and 880 always go silver pads black pads tend to sound more sharp. premium editions tend to be more comfortable they have less clamp. for me the 880 and 990 both shine best paired with a monoprice liquid spark hence why it was my pick when I pu tit against the jds labs atom made them sounda bnit warmer and clamed the treble down a bit.  as for a dac the topping d10 has proven to be a pretty reliable choice. 

 

so interms of differences the 250 ohm vs 600 ohm  the 600 ohms osounds more refined treble and mid range wise as well as the bass being much tighter the 250 ohm is slightly less refined has slightly more bass but either way they sound great to me as a person that really enjoy's his 990. I wouldnt but the models below the 250  ohms though they simply just dont sound as good

So you think DT990 Premium 600 ohm, powered by Topping D10 and Liquid Spark would be the best choice for me? I read that cushioning which is made of metal in Pro is more durable than the leather one in Premium. Have to be extra sure to order all this tomorrow evening and feel no doubts afterwards. 

 

[rice guru]

37 minutes ago, Kasenumi said:

So you think DT990 Premium 600 ohm, powered by Topping D10 and Liquid Spark would be the best choice for me? I read that cushioning which is made of metal in Pro is more durable than the leather one in Premium. Have to be extra sure to order all this tomorrow evening and feel no doubts afterwards. 

 

yes its a bitof atreadoff but what beyer does nicely is the ability to replace thinges when needed. at this point your trading long term comfort, sound  for durability 

the pro moel's headband'ds durability is it's ability to be easily replaceable. 

so for the 600 ohm premium edition you get a more refined sound, much more comfort  harder to replace head band padding, will take advantage of the amp's power. 

for the pro much easier to replace headband padding , much easier to drive, but is less comfortable.

here is the replacement padding fro the premium edition 

https://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/catalog/product/view/id/3000/

[Kasenumi]

On 4/13/2020 at 12:22 AM, rice guru said:

yes its a bitof atreadoff but what beyer does nicely is the ability to replace thinges when needed. at this point your trading long term comfort, sound  for durability 

the pro moel's headband'ds durability is it's ability to be easily replaceable. 

so for the 600 ohm premium edition you get a more refined sound, much more comfort  harder to replace head band padding, will take advantage of the amp's power. 

for the pro much easier to replace headband padding , much easier to drive, but is less comfortable.

here is the replacement padding fro the premium edition 

https://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/catalog/product/view/id/3000/

I am sorry for asking too many questions..
Delayed my decision till today (quick decision might be a wrong desision), now I am sure about DT 990 600 ohm so if I order in next 5 hours I will have them tomorrow. I have very little knowledge of the audio hardware. I am going to use headphones only with my PC and tomorrow will have my new headphones. What else do I have to buy to power them? Sound card, amplifier for 600 ohm and something else or only the AMP? 
Might be nice to order all necessary things at the same time 

[rice guru]

4 hours ago, Kasenumi said:

I am sorry for asking too many questions..
Delayed my decision till today (quick decision might be a wrong desision), now I am sure about DT 990 600 ohm so if I order in next 5 hours I will have them tomorrow. I have very little knowledge of the audio hardware. I am going to use headphones only with my PC and tomorrow will have my new headphones. What else do I have to buy to power them? Sound card, amplifier for 600 ohm and something else or only the AMP? 
Might be nice to order all necessary things at the same time 

So really just an amp will run you fine if you plan on running it off a motherboard you will need a 3.5mm to rca adapter. Hard to recommend a sound card I would personally spend like $80 on a topping d10 which isn't necessary if your motherboard sounds clean enough.  In which case you would need an rca cable. 

 

[Kasenumi]

5 hours ago, rice guru said:

So really just an amp will run you fine if you plan on running it off a motherboard you will need a 3.5mm to rca adapter. Hard to recommend a sound card I would personally spend like $80 on a topping d10 which isn't necessary if your motherboard sounds clean enough.  In which case you would need an rca cable. 

 

So the rca cable is enough to power 600 ohm headphones from the motherboard? How do I know if I need the AMP after all?

[rice guru]

3 minutes ago, Kasenumi said:

So the rca cable is enough to power 600 ohm headphones from the motherboard? How do I know if I need the AMP after all?

sorry I meant thats the way to connect your amp to the motherboard. you still need an amp to power it sorry.  what I meant to say is netyher and external DAC or an amp come with an RCA cable you you woudl need one as wellif you were to either get just and amp or an amp and an external DAC