Beyerdynamic DT1990 PRO MKII Headphones Review – Premium Studio Quality HandMade In Germany
Beyerdynamic DT1990 PRO MKII is a $649 USD pair of premium studio monitoring headphones designed and handmade in Germany, with a large TESLA.45 dynamic driver at the core, superb wearing comfort, and workmanship that’s the work of dreams. Today we will review the latest iteration of the world class DT1990 PRO Headphones, and also compare them with other similarly priced headphones including Sendy Audio Egret (799 USD), HEDD D1 (799 USD) and Grell OAE-2 (599 USD).
Introduction
Beyerdynamic needs no introduction as it is unlikely that this is the first time you’ve heard about them. Beyer is a leader in studio and music production equipment, and there’s a huge chance that your favorite music, be it rock, metal or pop, was produced using both Beyerdynamic headphones and microphones. Beyerdynamic has one of the most stringent build quality levels in the whole world, being known for offering absolute precision and some of the best warranties out there.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4b5n2Qh
Build Quality – Design
Beyerdynamic spent years and incredible resources to refine their DT1990 PRo, now the MKII being the second generation of the popular premium model. At the core of the new headphones we can find the new Tesla.45 Driver technology, making the new MK2 perfect for mixing, mastering, editing but also for music enjoyment.
Just like the MK1, DT1990PROMK2 is an open-back pair of headphones with a natural, spatially wide and holographic sound, with the Acoustic engineer Ante Mihalj stating that they went for a balanced sound, as modern productions have complex treble frequencies, with the new MK2 being tuned for a smoother top-end than the brasher sounding predecessor.
To achieve this, the new 45mm Tesla dynamic driver system will hold even better to high volumes, and the new MK2 has an impedance of 30 OHMs, allowing you to power them from a variety of portable and low-power sources. All drivers and transducers are manufactured at the Beyerdynamic headquarters in Heilbronn Germany. Knowing how hard it is to get a mix or master right, Beyerdynamic made the MK2 to work for several hours of usage in a row, with a flexible steel spring inside of the headband, and skin-friendly velour earpads along with a soft memory foam headband covered in leatherette, both headband and earpads being replaced when needed.
In fact, as a testament to how easy the earpads are to replace as well as to enhance the versatility of the headphones, Beyerdynamic includes two types of earpads with the DT1990 MK2, with the Producer sound, velour earpads that are installed by default delivering a full sound thanks to a slight bass boost. Inside the case you will also find the Mixing and Master earpads that offer a more analytical signature with less bass. You also get your choice of two cables, one being 3m straight and one being 5m coiled, with a 3-pin Mini XLR plug on the headphone end and a 3.5mm single ended connector on the jack side.
There is software support for the DT1990 PRO MK2, which is the beyerdynamic Headphone Lab, offering better mixes. You will also receive a professional Pro transport hardcase for the DT1990 PRO MK2, which helps a lot if you travel or do live mixing. We will also explore them for music listening as I work both with music production but listen to well-made music more.
Subjective Usage
Wearing the Beyerdynamic DT1990 PRO MK2 is pleasing, they are one of the few headphones that get larger than my head needs at max size. They are super lightweight, feel comfortable, with no strong clamping force or hotspot on the earcups or headband either. In fact, it is a huge pair of headphones from a comfort point of view, my ears have tons of space inside the earpads, without touching the drivers or the earpads, with a good fitting. They will not be fatiguing even after 30 hours of continuous usage if you have to do an all-nighter mix master production run.
The seal is good, and once you find the sweet spot, you never feel loose or like the DT1990 Pro Mk2 feels off. In fact, regardless of what you do, they will feel and sound similar regardless of how you wear them, which is great for a production pair of headphones. This being said, they are open-back and live mixing won’t work well as even with music playing I can hear myself typing. Leakage is moderate, too high to use them while recording a track, but low enough for most professional work without being annoying to your housemates. It might be too much if someone is sitting in the same room as you.
I prefer th
e straight cable, but it is slightly sensitive to bends and will be a bit kinky after it’s been bent. I like that the DT1990 Pro m2 does not feel hot on my head and at 26.2C I can wear them without feeling the top of my head getting hotter. The straight cable is a bit microphonic, and will transmit sound if it is brushing against my clothes.
Sound Quality
Pairings – Judging from the technical data of the DT1990 PRO MK2, and having a bit of experience with the original, I believe they deserve a high quality source, so you’re best using something good and juicy for driving them. I did pair them with the latest DACs, AMPs, and DAPs I’ve reviewed, including FiiO K17, Argon Audio SA-2 Amplifier Driven by FiiO Warmer R2R, Acer Nitro 18 AI Laptop (with 3.5mm adapters), iBasso Kunlun, FiiO Snowsky Echo DAP, Orchard Audio Valencia driven by Musician Pegasus III and Luxsin X9.
While not quite as hard to drive as Grell OAe2 or Lily Audio Genesis One, DT1990MKii is hard to drive and will still require a powerful source to really achieve the highest dynamic range, best contrast, resolution and impact. They sound best with desktop DAC AMPs and will sound underpowered, vague, loose, or distorted if not powered quite enough.
Overall Signature – While the original DT1990 Pro is one of the most popular headphones in the whole world, loved by almost everyone who hears them, Beyerdynamic steered the new MK2 in a different direction, with a more neutral, more reliable for music production tuning. You can expect a brighter treble, more neutral midrange, a bit less bass, though still quite a lot, and it sounds just balanced, natural and perfectly in equilibrium with every sonic aspect, without exaggerating anything in the mix. It is perfect for both music production and also for listening to music if you want an honest, true to life render of what your song sounds like.
Bass – At their base, DT1990 PRO Mk2 has a more neutral sound compared to the original, but by itself has plenty of bass. Despite being more neutral, they have a more complete bass with better extension than the MK1, being better at rendering sub-bass and revealing micro details in the bass, textures and reverberations, much better for fine bits of music and although the bass quantity is less than the original, the quality has increased. Bass is bouncy and plenty in amount, even when compared to the market, it is not basshead, but it is plenty for EDM and Pop tracks. There is almost no warmth, so big and boofy bass will not sound that big, but the texture that bass is supposed to have will be revealed precisely.
Midrange – As usual, Beyerdynamic came with a sweet, vivid vocal range for their DT1990 PRO Mk2, which plays an amazingly realistic, true-to-life vocal. It emphasizes male and female voices equally with a contrasty presentation, and while the dynamic range can get incredibly wide, it is not unnaturally enhanced. There’s a good balance of lower midrange and upper midrange, and it feels like Beyerdynamic followed the same overall tonal balance of the MK1 in the MK2, and that all elements are about as present and as forward. Mk2 can sweeten male voices slightly, give female voices emotion and drama, and it reveals complex music nicely. It does have a tendency to not exaggerate any characteristic of a song, so everything is in exactly the right balance you’d expect from the mix and master. Some songs really shine while others, the ones that were not produced that well, will sound a bit dull as Mk2 is a very transparent and honest pair of headphones.
Treble – It feels like the treble has the biggest changes on the MK2, as they sound quite a bit brighter and more airy, sharper and more brilliant. One test song that for me reveals a headphone well is the cover of Eskimo Callboy of the California Girls song, because it was mastered and mixed so bright and harsh that a headphone that generally just sounds relaxed will usually sound relaxed with this song if relaxed is their tone, but sound really aggro with it, like DT1990 Pro Mk2. More recent songs from the band like Elevator Operator sound just fine, so you can quickly notice how DT1990 MK2 scales with the song and has very little of a self character it would impose on music.
Dynamics And Textures – As expected, DT1990 PRO MK2 has a huge dynamic headroom, but it is not the kind that expands on the DR of a song, rather it will show exactly what the song has. I noticed that I more often hear the dynamic compression in modern pop and metal, but for better mix and mastering, you will hear a wide DR, with good contrast between the quiet and the loud passages. Songs like Enter Shikari – Sorry You’re Not A Winner sound super detailed and crisp, as despite the song being super old and one of the first from the band, it had a really good mix and master process applied. The texture of the DT1990 PRO MK2 is fast and detailed, a bit characteristic of the bomby, bouncy style that dynamic drivers tend to have for textures, it can render weight and micro details really well, but never sounds harsh or dry, rather fast in a dynamic way.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – Sound gets more balanced, more dynamic and more bouncy, with better bass presence and more vocal balance, at louder volumes. The sweet spot is between 100 and 130 dB, with very low distortion at both extremely loud and extremely quiet levels. At quieter levels, mk2 sounds brighter and sharper with less bass, which I believe is what many people are recording. Happily and sadly I enjoy music at higher levels so for me I cannot say I really notice the decrease in bass as a disadvantage compared to the Mk1.
Soundstage – Staging is wide and holographic, with a focus on keeping the information in the song rendered faithfully. This means that compared to most headphones that tend to have a way of presenting the stage, Mk2 makes you search for music that has a wide stage in the recording if you want to hear that and will warn you if the song does not have enough width mixed and mastered. This is not an issue for me as I generally enjoy a lot of music with a wide stage, but you really notice it with some songs that were recorded in a smaller room and mixed to sound as such. Quite interesting, but because the treble is a bit brighter and has shiny reflections, some people might interpret the soundstage as wider than on Mk1.
Comparisons
Beyerdynamic DT1990 PRO MKII vs Grell OAE2 (649 USD vs 599 USD) – OAE2 is about just as comfortable, comes with a balanced cable instead of the SE cable on the DT1990 MK2. OAE2 is much harder to drive and will not work where DT1990 will have no issue. You could say that DT1990 has a higher clamping force, which slightly lowers comfort, but this also achieves a better consistency for the fitting while with OAE2 the looser fit means that there is more variation from wear to wear. Sonically, both have a wide soundstage, but DT1990 PRO MK2 is a very honest, down-to-earth sounding pair of headphones that does not really color the sound much and presents music for what it is, basically truly transparent with excellent resolution, reveals more information, especially micro details and it really defines the dynamic range well, showing compression and extension well. OAe2 makes all music wider, but emphasizes the dramatic effect more, gives music always more dynamic range, does not reveal compression or mix mistakes like harshness, while beyer is much better if you need your mastering process to be precise and not make a mistake you’ll later regret. For music listening, dt1990 is more honest which can be interpreted as also a bit more less dramatic and euphonic, but it is at the same time more detailed which is very interesting to hear.
Beyerdynamic DT1990 PRO MKII vs Sendy Audio Egret (649 USD vs 799 USD) – Egret is a really nice pair of headphones with also a slightly looser comfort, less clamping force but slightly smaller earpads also. It is easier to drive the Egret well, while DT1990 Pro MK2 requires more power and likes a source with more juice for a higher headroom. Sonically, both are really detailed, but with a vastly different tuning. Egret is mild and warm, smoother and sounds relaxed, laid-back, while DT19990 PRO MK2 is at the center of center, it is not more aggressive than it has to be or rather, it is as much as your songs are, but also it is brighter, more neutral, more crisp and defined. Micro details are more evident with DT1990 PRo mk2, while Egret blends everything together in a sweet musicality much better. Both headphones are great deals and enjoyable but they appeal to different listeners.
Beyerdynamic DT1990 PRO MKII vs HEDD D1 (649 USD vs 799 USD) – HEDD d1 is theoretically also made for studio, but it is a comfortable, ergonomic pair of headphones but D1 is a lighter, more comfortable pair of headphones with a looser fitting. D1 and dt1990 pro mk2 are about as hard to drive, both like a source with a high power, both play well with detailed sources and both have a high resolution. Sonically, I prefer the DT1990 PRO MK2 for music work, mixing and mastering, because it is much more honest, less amiable and more precise while D1 is one of the most likable and easy to listen pair of headphones in the whale world, but this comes at the price of them not being quite as revealing of mistakes or critical of sound, which in turn makes them a better choice if you enjoy a musical and smoother, relaxed experience.
Value – Conclusion
Beyerdynamic had the DT1990 Pro model on the market for ages now, and it grew to be one of the most popular pairs of headphones ever created, yet they managed to keep the price consistent for all those years, and now as far as i can tell, they have just a very small increase of price, from 599 USD to 649 USD for the new model also, which is just brilliant. From a value perspective, even when you compare them with other mixing and monitoring headphones, the new DT1990 PRO MK2 has just as complete of a package, great of a sound and it is a top value pair of headphones.
It is great to see how Beyerdynamic can further refine an already super popular pair of headphones, making them even better for their main intended purpose, mixing and mastering, but also more revealing for listeners who want to delve deeper into the fine hidden secrets music holds for them. I fully recommend the new MK2 and see it as an upgrade from the original if you are looking for a more detailed, more neutral pair of headphones compared to the original, but it is different having less warmth and less bass, so it is a refinement with purpose not a general upgrade.
PROs
- Complete package with a transport case and two pairs of earpads
- Minor price increase compared to the original DT1990 Pro despite the increase in resolution
- Great option for mixing, mastering, and music production
- Also great for listening, having plenty depth and impact, plenty of power and a wide dynamic range
- Makes it really pleasing to listen to well-recorded and produced music
- Comfortable but stable on my head
- Bass can reach 20 Hz, with a pleasing sub-low impact
- Treble can reach 18 kHz with a bright presence
- Really good at showing dynamic compression and other mix / master issues
- Beyerdynamic offers top support for them
Cons
- Single ended cable only in the package, with jack just one one side, so cannot use a balanced cable
- Because it is a good mix / master headphone, it does not sound good with bad or poorly recorded / mixed / mastered music
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4b5n2Qh
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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