interesting but even 250 is too much for my budget…
got used to it. And my pads are fucked, fixed with adhesive…
Hey this is really cool actually, it’s a recent change from Apple (i originally posted outdated info) - can indeed support high impedance headphones properly:
You’re still relying on the DAC of the device (one of the advantages of using a headphone amp is that you often pair it with a high quality DAC), but I suspect the ones in the macbooks are going to be very decent. My DAC does up to 192khz but I don’t know who needs that
Just ordered for the same price as 250 ohm (142€) at Beyerdynamic’s shop, free shipping.
I still have a doubt concerning impedance choice as it is not precised in the receipt. The reference is 718033. Seems to be 80 Ohm, not sure…
I didn’t think they even made an 80 Ohm version of the DT990. The only ones on the Beyerdynamic site I see have this the first bullet:
- Circumaural headphones for professional mixing, mastering and editing, 250 ohms
Make sure that, coming from HDs, you give yourself time to get used to the DTs. I enjoy the heck out of my DT-990s and DT-1770s, but they are what I would describe as “characterful” in the low end — at least coming from Sennheisers. Everything I mix on them is just a mess in the bottom.
Nothing you can’t get used to and adjust for, but make sure when you first switch you check your mixes across a bunch of references to give your brain the chance to calibrate.
Or use sonarworks or something, I guess? I don’t have any experience with that but many swear by it.
That is sure. See below. I’m just not 100% sure of my choice before paying !
718833 reference, at least there is 80 in it !
That’s interesting - I wonder if it’s specific to the Black Edition - you have to choose the impedance before adding to your cart it looks like.
The normal DT990 pro’s just say they’re 250.
Indeed. Luckily I prefer the Black version !
Yes, but with 4 noisy children around I’m not sure what I did !
I chose them because they were not coloring the sound too much.
DT990 because when you mix for a long time, open cans are healthier for the ears.
HD25 is more my travel headphones, to be isolated from the ambient noise.
I have the 250ohm DT 1990s and while I can drive them from my DT, they sound better when going from my MOTU UL MK5 at the same volume levels.
I can’t say whether this is a difference in the DAC or the power, or both, but the difference is there.
Also on the DT the volume levels for the DT 1990’s are lower. It’s workable, but for some it might be too low. It’s pretty easy to have the headphone volume on Max on the DT with the 1990’s.
Just sharing this as from my direct experience (which isn’t much honestly ) headphones with less than 250ohm will likely work better on the DT and Digi boxes in general.
Other headphones I’ve used (not Beyerdynamics) are plenty loud on the DT/DN/ST and they are less then 250ohm.
Edit: One correction… I use OB, and just found that when NOT in OB and using the headphone jack, the DT 1990’s are plenty loud.
It’s always hard to A/B this stuff but this is also my experiencing comparing my headphone amp to my mixers headphone output.
Allen & Heath even advised me that the headphone output isn’t for ‘critical listening’ (implying it was more for cranking the shit out of your cans in a nightclub, although they had to be careful how they phrased this ), and to use the main output with a headphone amp.
Very possible. I’ve never mixed with 770s, so it could be I don’t know how good I have it
All I know is 990s and 1770s are pretty bumpy on the low end — at lest compared to my HD-600. And that seems to be born out by the FRs you posted. For comparison:
It wasn’t clear to me whether @sezare56 was using HD-25 or HD-565 for mixing, but the 565 profile is pretty in line with the 600 range. And either way, they specifically called out their current cans were lacking bass — if that’s the case, it’s good to be prepared for the bottoms served up from DTs so one can strap in!
Which, again, is nothing one can’t compensate for once one is familiar with one’s cans. The HD-600 has a noticeable “veil” in the upper mids that swallows hats, for example, but I still use them over 650s because it’s what I’m used to.
I just wanted to call out the difference in the profile because it caused me a few sleepless nights when I went through the same thing.
I used HD565 for mixing for a while, but then one driver started to vibrate with low end signals. I tried to improve it, and definitely fucked the driver. (No more spare parts, don’t know if HD600 drivers would work on it, maybe someone knows ?) So after I did everything with HD25, since maybe 10 or 15 years. I also have Yamaha MSP10 I plugged back today, cleaning a VERY messy desk, but usually I make music at night…waiting for the DT 990 !
So about your concerns about impedance:
I was told that when you mainly consume music 80 ohm is the better choice.
If you use pro audio equipment 250 ohm is better.
Of course I decided for the pro 250 ohm.
But while on 250 ohm some equipment just isn´t loud enough
my “pro” equipment can handle 80 ohm quite well.
I’m not who you’re asking, but I did recently try an impedance comparison in practice. I tried 250ohm and 80ohm versions of the same model of headphones (both Beyerdynamic DT770 in this case).
When using the 250ohm directly on an Octatrack or Digitakt headphone output, it was very low in volume. When connecting to a Mackie desk (old analog CR1600) headphone output it was fine.
The 80ohm worked well and had good volume directly connected to Elektron machines and also with the mixer.
This is not very scientific, but I had the chance to try them side by side, so I did. Personally I decided to get 80ohm for the flexibility of using directly on instruments. This is probably not at all surprising.
Maybe 80ohm is technically too low for pro audio, but that’s what I’m using.
Of course you have pro audio equipment only !
Thanks for precisions, I was sure I wanted 80 ohm, but I wasn’t sure if I selected the 80 or 250 ohm version before ordering ! Now I’m sure, after several searches 80 ohm model number is 718033 (only information on my receipt), and 250 ohm is 713368…
Thanks to confirm I made the good choice ! (I’m used to a 70 ohm HD25).
The 990 black and normal edition have either straight or coiled cable. Colour doesn’t bother me, but I can’t decide what cable would be preferable in my little studio: desk with desktop gear plus a low placed rack and a 2 keyboard stand on the side. Any opinions on that?