thanks for this overview jemmons, do you think you’d buy them again if you lost them?
No, but the problem is I have a lot of headphones combined with very little reason to travel anymore. So I don’t, for example, find myself reaching for the little white earbuds for anything, either. But if I did, I’d consider these as a solid step up.
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AKG K371 would be my recommendation. They are very comfortable and in my experience sound quality wise on par with the ATH-M40x (which I owned before)
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I use BD DT1990 Pro, I think they are my most impactful, important purchase. I make all my music on them currently as the room shape issues are just gone and I don’t have any volume anxiety.
I’m not even sure if would be possible to make my box shaped room sound as good.
When I played my first gig I didn’t have much option other than to trust them when preparing and my trust was well placed. The sound check was easy and the music transferred almost seamlessly to a PA.
Yes, they cost about the same price as a good monosynth or effects unit, but as someone who produces in a residential property but also plays gigs they are absolutely indispensable.
250ohm is not a problem in the studio at home, though I do use a nixing desk that may have a preamp on the headphone line
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this accurate?
Mine are 1990, not 990, but what he says about smoothness spot on.
I feel like everything is there, full and clear. When I wear them, I feel like I’m up in the range of good club systems and treated rooms, etc. I am very clearly listening to pro kit.
An example would be if the volume creeps up as it does, I know before I look that I’m one light higher than I should be on the mixer meter, and I’ll be able to here the sound that’s pushing it up.
I don’t have massive amounts of experience with all this, but I know that transferring music from bedroom studio to live gig can be really tricky and it just wasn’t, but, I also accept that more experience may show me that actually I could have done a bit more and make the sound better.
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I left them on my head today for a work standup and everyone’s voices each had a unique musical tone which was certainly harder to hear beforehand. It was actually a bit disorientating, especially when mixed with the visual clarity I’m getting from the glasses I started wearing this week too lol
I don’t know how I could get better sound in a typical square bedroom with neighbours all over.
Some others have mentioned Audeze. Never tried.
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Both DT990 pro and DT250 pro have blew me away. My next phones will be 1990 pro’s.
I had Focals before hand which sounded nice but a bit muffled compared, foam pads disintegrated and Focal don’t sell spares. The clone pads made the phones sound shit so give 'em away, still got some Sen HD25s and Grados which I use for tablet use in bed etc. Sound ok ish. Woulnd’t buy them again though.
Also had some P7 B&W phones which were shit. Uncomfortable fit and sounded naff. Broke shortly after the warranty period and the repair fee’s were too high so threw them.
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I like the DT990s. They’re in pretty regular rotation for me. But as the guy says, they are not very flat or neutral, so I’m wary of mixing with them. They definitely impart a tone that you can like or dislike (I find them harsh, especially after listening to my HD600s which are, themselves, veiled on the top-end) and a balance (mids are a touch distant, and highs prominent) that may not reflect the your mix.
So if this is a “I want some cans for listening to jams” thread, yeah! They’re amazing. Definitely some of the best in their price range and can go toe to toe with many in the next tier up. Super comfortable and well built (though the fact that the cable isn’t removable/replaceable annoys me — it’s just a matter of time before I roll over it with my chair and ruin it).
But if this is “I want cans to mix with”, I go to the Sennheiser 580, 58x 600, 6xx, 650 camp every time.
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I had to stop after he said slick and sweet 10,000 times. But yeh, they’re keepers. The DT990 250’s are the kind of phones you can plug into a mixer and later on you won’t be wondering what went wrong.
On the DT1990’s. I use them for listening to classical and stuff like Kate Bush. I think they’re overkill for recording. Though, I always use them when playing piano.
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anyone tried these?
raises hand I have the HE-400S in my regular rotation. I’m sure you’re shocked 
There’s something magic about planar magnetic headphones. They’re just so quick and render detail so well. It makes them my go-to for electronica or super digital pop.
But it’s quite easy for them to range up into the multiple thousands of dollars. The trick of the 400 series is hifiman’s cut every possible corner in manufacturing and build quality to make planar magnetic affordable. That’s both amazing and terrifying as hifiman has never been known for their build quality to begin with.
My 400S’s are getting creaky and a touch brittle. And I’ve heard the 4xx are worse, the headbands snapping or flat-out coming unglued.
But man, do they sound amazing. Is it worth treating them with extra-careful kids gloves, walking on eggshells around them (and wearing really goofy looking headphones made even more goofy by the gaffer tape holding them together)? Only you can say.
Though, again aside from the creakiness and kind of cheap plastic feel, they’re nice and comfortable. Very light, spacious cups, etc. Sound-wise i wouldn’t call them flat, per se. But PMs don’t have the same thump as dynamics in the low end. The lows are all there, and very detailed, but you don’t feel it the same way. This gives them a bit of a reputation for flatness when really, “just not V shaped” might be more accurate.
Oh, another thing to mention about PMs is they’re just vibrating a flat sheet of filament-lined plastic back and forth. So if you think about it, they’re generating just as strong waves away from your ears as towards them. That means open-backed models like these are louder than usual for bystanders. Anyone else in a quiet room with you will be able to make out what your listening to with great clarity.
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This goes down as fetish for me 
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Want to ask about the Ollo S4…how do you rate them?
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I really like them, but just sold them, so hard not to argue they’re not among my favorite.
I absolutely love their simplicity and repair-ability. They were easily the best looking headphones I owned. And sound-wise I think they’re great mixing cans.
But ultimately, I feel like they cover a lot of the same ground as the Senn HD series (which is high praise!) The Senns are a touch more spacious and airy while the S4s feel more accurate and just a smidge closer — to use completely made up headphone words.
But their round cups just rubbed me the wrong way compared to the Senn’s oval ones. Maybe it’s a glasses thing? Maybe I’m just used to ovals? 
I don’t think its a design thing, I think it’s just personal preference.
Also I got some (completely different sounding) Meze 99 Classics, and it’s kind of like… how many walnut headphones can I have?
So in the end I’d say: really great mixing headphone. Stellar build quality. Terrific support — Ollo is a great company. Easily one ups any other cans in its category with respect to style. But hard for me to rate it above, say, the HD58-/6–, sound wise, and the Ollos just don’t fit my goofy head as well.
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kind of off topic but then again is it?
anyway as usual, I’m late to the party
like a boss…
Anyone tried these yet?
I just got my DT770pro 32ohm, which I chose because I read that they have an overall better sound profile than the 250ohm version and I found them on sale new for 110€.
Man, they sound very nice, much better than I remember (I thought the DT770Pro were way too harsh on the top end when I tried them years ago). These are lovely closed back headphones for 110€ for sure.
just FYI these are reskinned 560s, they will sound the same, Sennheiser themselves said that, when someone asked about differences to 560s.
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