# Bayerdynamic DT 990 Pro Impressions



## Soumik (Jun 14, 2013)

Hi All, 

I just got my new headphones, the Bayerdynamic DT 990 Pro. So i just thought of putting up my first impressions of the device.
I do plan to use this primarily as a gaming headset, so i might buy in some stuff to simulate virtual surround later, or figure out some way to do that through software. If anyone knows how to... please enlighten me. 

So, i got them today afternoon, and spent rest of the entire day testing it by playing a variety of stuff. This do take in a lot of hours of burn in.. which hasnt happened yet offcourse. On with my short review then*.

Package*
I got a standard package from amazon, which was large, but well packed. The box for the headphone is pretty standard, nothing fancy. I was happy to see atleast some product marking made at its origin in Germany, and not some Asian country. Inside, there was nothing other than the headphone, a guarantee card and a small info card. The 3.5mm plug comes with a larger diameter adapter for usage in stereos, music instruments, studios, etc.
My rate : *7/10* (would prefer something a little more for a headphone that is held in such high regards, then again, not really necessary)

*Build Quality*
The build is pretty impressive. The headband is completely made of spring steel. The cans are housed in plastic casing, but you could almost mistake the plastic to be metal as well. They are open earphones, so you can see inside the cans, but some sort of cloth hides the wires and stuff. The ear paddings are made of thick velour and and feel really premium. Unlike my old earphones, holding these gives a much more solid and up market feeling. There is good amount of strain relief in the wire, and it also has spiral coils for xtra strain. The wire isnt as high quality as that of gamecon, but then, this is a very old model. 
My rate : *9/10* (Very happy with build. May be preferred metal holdings, but would have increased the wt may be)

*Design*
Its a personal thing. Nothing much i can comment on it. I loved the looks, the model branding, the duotone color scheme and overall nice design. Probably not to worn outside, but i plan to do so anyways, and infact, it wont actually make me stand out as the nerdiest guy in a crowd. 
My rate : *10/10* (Again its personal, i loved it, someone might hate it.)

*
Comfort* 
To be honest, i think i have a pretty large head. None of the headphones seem very comfortable to me. I had a tough time with my gamecom headset until it conforms to my head, and same here. the velour isn't really a supreme comfort for me as my previous headset already had that. Still, the headsets are pretty light weight. They cover my complete ears, unlike the gamecom, though they are pretty much of the same size. So, in that way, they are a lot nicer.
My rate : *6/10* (For the time being. May be better with more use. Dont know wats straining me, but for now, i cant wear it more than 30 min at a stretch. For an open headphone, my ears are getting surprisingly stressed out.)

*Sound*
Am not an audiophile, so, i cant give an accurate review for this. I dont even know if i will getting the terms right.  And these havent been burnt in yet. What i can say is, its miles different than my gamecom headset. It might be better for many people, and honestly, some tracks sound phenomenal even in youtube. For the different regions -
Lows : Very deep and dominating bass. I had to reduce it in my sound blaster control panel. Its not the vibrating type like that of beats, but its certainly very strong. To me, i prefer this over beats anyday.
Mids : I was hoping it would shine here. It does, but after reducing the bass. This is where open headphones are better than closed ones, and it pretty much does enough for me, even without the burn in. But i am definitely expecting more to come out in time in the soundstage department.
Highs : Crisp and clear. Am nt very fond of this region anyways, but i need it to be clear. It anyways takes backseat once the bass kicks in. Some equalizer tweaks are required to make this shine as well. And as much as i hate, this headphone makes me love the trebble region as well.
Now for different sounds -
Movie : Dominating bass and brilliant sound staging means great movie experience. 
Songs : Depends on genre, but i tried rock, dance, dubstep, metal, pop and Hindi movie songs, they all seemed great to me. Atleast a great improvement on my old headphones. I cant ask for more. My ears wont be able to handle. 
Games : Now this was my main aim. I couldnt get virtual surround working on this, even though many people say it does. Its working in stereo, and does its job. Positional cues in NFS: Run and Hot Pursuit were pretty accurate, though not as good as in the gamecom. Game music seems a lot better. Crysis 2 in game, there was hardly any difference. The sound was very much improved and a felt a lot more atmospheric and more engaging, but hardly any difference in the surround mode. Probably it wasn't working in full 7.1 even in the other headset, just the stereo mode.
My rate : *10/10* (It does what it says it does. Its not a gaming headset, so i cant expect it to work that way without me putting in some extra effort.)

*Overall rating* : *10/10* for me. I know its early, but the comfort issues should go away once i give it a couple of weeks, and the sound is just supposed to go better with time. I will definitely invest some mroe money to get surround working on it, and perhaps, if needed, some clipon mic to use in multiplayer games.

*Pics *


Spoiler



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*i43.tinypic.com/o94gsw.jpg


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## prudhivisekhar (Jun 14, 2013)

Congrats Bro... The last pic of headset along with Alienware looks sexy


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## somebodysme (Jun 14, 2013)

Price and place of purchase please??


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## Soumik (Jun 14, 2013)

@prudivishekar -  thanks man!!! 

@somebodysme - Amazon is having audio month over here right now in June. Loads of discounts on audio products. Got it for $169 discounted from $299.


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## somebodysme (Jun 14, 2013)

Thanks for the info man & congrats on your purchase. 
Great headphones.


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## Soumik (Jun 15, 2013)

@somebodysme - Thanks man


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## anirbandd (Jun 15, 2013)

good review!! 

and congrats for the purchase


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## Soumik (Jun 16, 2013)

@anirbandd - Thanks mate!


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## powerhoney (Jun 16, 2013)

Man, those are some sexy looking headphones!!! 
Btw, are you studying in Newport?


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## dashing.sujay (Jun 16, 2013)

Naam hi kaafi hai 

The look is executive, perfectly pictured by thy hands 

What upgrade options have you planned for this beast, as this is going to be inevitable ? 250 ohms baby !!


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## Soumik (Jun 17, 2013)

Thanks powerhiney and dashing.sujay 

@powerhoney - Not really.. i work in New York City, and i stay in Newport as.. its where most of my team mates stay. (Its super expensive though ) 

@dashing.sujay - Well i was just able to get some sort of 5.1 mode on with the sound blaster control panel. Its not as effective as the gamecom's virtual surround... as i saw by testing the individual channels, but it works. I started Dead Space again just to test it out. And.. well, as i said, it works. Not as good as my prev one, but it works. But the better sound quality definitely increases the scare factor a lot .
So, may be now, i will just think of an amplifier or sorts that will make it sound good with my galaxy sII. I dont know how the ohm factor comes in, but right now, my smartphone is able to drive the headphones, but it doesnt sound nearly as good as when its plugged into the laptop. Volume is also pretty low. Why dont you suggest me some upgrades for these?


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## dashing.sujay (Jun 17, 2013)

^Well the difference is obviously due to different quality sound cards.

You planning on a desktop amp or a portable one ?


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## Soumik (Jun 18, 2013)

Yeah probably. I could hardly make out the difference between left rear and left front, and same with right. Front was definitely different, and as there was no dedicated rear channel, they didnt stand out positionally from the rest. You have any suggestion on how to get a better surround out of my system?

Preferably portable, which doesnt take up much space , and can be doubled up to use with phone as well. But if there is any dedicated hardware piece with both amplifier and a better sound card, i would think about it. Price off course will be another deciding factor.

I saw some suggested Bayerdynamic audio unit, for surround and amplifier and something other stuff... it was over $1000 :S Am nt an audiophile, something that makes surround better than the prev headset, and some Dolby Live tech (DD effect) would do.  Dont plan on taking these out to office everyday yet.


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