beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO MKII Premium Tesla Studio Headphones for Mixing, Mastering and Editing (Open)

Exceptional headphones. Plenty loud without an amplifier on a laptop or desktop. Fabulous quality and clarity. I am no sound engineer but if these get lost I will be buying more.

This one is better than original, sound is fuller more dynamic. Separation is better, soundstage is better. Better fitting too I have both these and original these are best headphones for crystal clear sound. I tried 10 other headphones from 2k price to 200 dollars and 1990 tops them all.

These are my favorite headphones so far because the bass feels nice when you EQE it properly.

Fantastic headphones. Very comfortable. Great for both music and gaming. Low impedance so you wont need an external amp to drive them. Overall, steep price but very happy with purchase.

Like your same old best friend who has lost a little weight since you saw him last.The MKI's magic is all here, but with much less harmonic distortion.

I’ll start this review by stating that I am approaching it from the perspective of a mixing and mastering engineer. There are a plethora of headphones in this price range that you may be considering for this purpose; however, the only other pro level open phone that I own is the Avantone Pro Planar (second version). Obviously, these are two different technologies, but the target audience is the same, and I want to use something as a reference to make this more useful. You can read to your heart’s content about harmonic distortion and frequency measurements on a site like rtings: what I aim to do is make a direct comparison between these two headphones based on competing criteria.Any decent pro headphone can be eq’ed to make the response flatter. Likewise, any pro headphone can be eq’ed to be a more consumer “exciting” headphone for casual listening. I will offer my thoughts without any eq AT THE END OF THE REVIEW: however, I will be doing the comparison with relative eq adjustments to get each headphone to the Harman Curve. I am eq’ing these headphones with the “Harman over-ear 2018” setting that can be found at autoeq.appFor all impressions I am using my Metric Halo ULN-8 3D as my DAC and streaming with Tidal.Also, I switched out the Beyerdynamic pads from the “Producer,” which come pre-installed, to the “Mixing/Mastering” pads (included in the box). To my ear the mixing pads have a tighter low end response, which is more of a direct comparison to the Avantone’s planar magnetic driver. Note that it was kind of a pain to switch pads, read the instructions and follow them. It was enough of a pain that I don’t see the average user switching them back and forth on a regular basis. I know I won’t. My parameters are being set with the “Custom Parametric Eq” from autoeq.app to take full advantage of the Metric Halo MioConsole EQ12 settings. It is pointless to share my eq settings unless you have the exact same interface as I do.I wear glasses, but that should only minimally affect the balance of open backed headphones.Review Domains:Soundstage/Imaging: REPLACED with the following terms due to the aforementioned’s general opaqueness and confusion (thanks to Arve via Reddit for the more granular terms and descriptions) –* Spatialization: The ability to present a 2/3-dimensional space, and convey the spatial dimensions present in the recording. This is probably similar to what people mean when they say "sound stage.” * Localization: The location of direct sources of sound within the spatialized sound field: In other words - the location of a sound in a sound stage. This is usually what people mean when they say "imaging.” * Diffusion: How "spread out" the localized source of sound is in space – this is the hardest to articulate and define. Roughly, it’s determining the size of the localized source, and how precisely it can be located inside a localized space.Detail RetrievalBass, Mid, and High Definition and Transitory ZonesBuild QualityComfortAnd, now, on to the review!Songs Used (“Shine On You Crazy Diamond” – Pink Floyd, 24/192 FLAC) (“Bohemian Rhapsody” Remastered 2011 – Queen, 16/44.1 FLAC) (N.Y. State of Mind – Nas, 24/44.1 FLAC)Spatialization: The Beyerdynamic is good, but the Avantone produces a wider stage, not by much but it’s there. It’s also slightly “deeper” and more 3d.Localization: It’s easy to pick out instruments within the field on both. I’d call this a draw. Diffusion: Due to the wider “sound stage” of the Avantone the diffusion is slightly greater.Detail Retrieval: In all honesty I think they are pretty equal. You can get greater detail by tuning from the factory or eq’ing, but it’s really about bumping frequencies. See my final thoughts for more about this. Interestingly the Avantone put Freddie’s voice more forward in the mix compared to the Beyerdynamic.Bass, Mid, and High Definition and Transitory Zones: There is a definition advantage that the Avantone’s possess in this domain. The unscientific term would be just a little less smeary than the Beyerdynamic in transition zones. Especially with bass. Both are really good, but the bass to mid definition is noticeably higher with Hip Hop on the Avantone. This of course can be attributed to the planar magnetic drivers. Out of the box without eq’ing the Beyerdynamic have better high frequency definition, which can be especially beneficial for mixing/mastering.Build Quality: Hands down, the Beyerdynamic has a better build quality. It feels like a truly premium headphone and if history is any indication, these can take a beating around the studio. In fact I had the first version of the Avantone Planar and the headband broke with very gentle use (Avantone was fantastic about the warranty, and sent me version two no charge). On the Beyerdynamic the metal is matte, almost powder coated looking, and exudes quality. The headband is plush. The case it comes with is super high quality. It just comes across as a premium product compared to the Avantone.Comfort: The Beyerdynamic is lighter, has a much plusher headband, and on paper should be more comfortable. Honestly, I find the Avantone more comfortable though. It feels like it has slightly less clamping force, and my ears breathe a bit better. This is highly personal though, everyone has a different head shape.Final ThoughtsThe one thing I haven’t mentioned is that the Avantone NEEDS eq. Out of the box on most genres the Beyerdynamic would win. But, once you apply eq, Avantone takes the lead. If you aren’t going to eq, the Beyerdynamic is better. In fact, applying eq to the Beyerdynamic didn’t make a huge difference. It did smooth out the “peakiness” in the higher frequencies, but it is pretty fantastic straight from the factory. However, like I said, if you eq the Avantone, it wins. Especially in the bass category – there is simply more noticeable clarity and tighter definition across frequencies – it’s hard to compete with planar drivers in my opinion. And, of course, it costs $200 less than the DT 1990 Pro MkII. I wanted to love the DT 1990 Pro MkII, and it really is a good headphone, but it has stiff competition at this price point, and as we’ve seen, even lower.

So right from the start, these not inexpensive headphones. But are they worth the cost? If you intentions are to use these for mixing and mastering I'll say they are the best headphones I had heard. But they are not for every type of use. I have many pairs of headphones because I do a of of recording and mixing/mastering. Even with these headphones, which are great at mixing, I still use my "go to" headphones during actual recording. I play a lot of bass, and there's I only one headphone I use for that.These are 30 ohm headphones and cant handle the high bass volumes I use. Don't mistake that to mean they aren't fantastic headphones. They are . When mixing or mastering you need to have everything in balance. Buy while recording, especially bass guitar, It's is a LOT louder when monitoring the the instrument than you would normally have in the final mix. So, if you want to use them for mixing, 100% get them. I use them along with using near field mixing monitor speaker. Using both gives you varying perspectives on the sound.As far as comfort goes, I have been getting very partial to the velour type ear pads. So I like that. They are comfortable, but feel a bit heavier then some other headphones.. They also include 2 sets of velour ear pad and 2 cables. One cable is coil type, the other is straight type. Both are very long length, which is great. One other thing is that the jack that plugs into the headphones are a proprietary type. It's not just an 1/8 or 1/4 inch jack. So be sure you have the right cable for these headphones when you go to use them and do not lose the cable! Bottom line are they worth the cost. If the best sounding mixing/mastering headphones are what you are looking for, then the answer is yes. Just keep in mind they are not for everything.