Legendary Audio – A Beyerdynamic DT 880 and 990 Pro Headphones Review

The song ‘Going to California‘ by Led Zeppelin is such a relaxing and heartwarming song that it makes you think of the positives. Then, when it’s time to feel like a total badass, ‘When the Levee Breaks’ just makes you feel like you can accomplish anything.

Memories, emotions, and time are trapped into the music we listen to and I’m not sure we could function without it. Music speaks to us and helps us progress as a society. If we were in a classroom where I asked those to raise their hands if they listen to music while working, I would bet that nearly all of them would raise their hands.

We all have our own taste in music, but I personally want to hear a story in the lyrics. The song should speak to me and it shouldn’t be as much as singing the same lyrics over and over again. Plus, there should be a beat that I can move along with; just like the song ‘Say You Love Me‘ by Fleetwood Mac.

One of the reasons I enjoy Rock and Roll so much is because each and every song tells you a story. The lyrics are not like modern pop where they are the same lines over and over again, instead, they tell you a story about the band and their lives. Look at Pink Floyd’s ‘Have a Cigar‘; a song that is composed of the words record labels told them when they went building to building.

Many years ago, I used to use my Toshiba laptop speakers for everything I did. Gaming, video, and music were sent through the tinny and cheap laptop speakers. At the time, I didn’t know that I could do better and so I dealt with it. A case of ‘I didn’t know there was anything better, so this felt normal to me’.

My first headphone purchase was the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro headphones. They were a little higher in price at the time, but their ‘handmade in Germany’ claim, followed by the product packaging art, won me over almost immediately. I didn’t even bother reading any reviews on the product either; it was an impulse buy.

That single purchase was one of the best things I could have done. The Custom One Pro headphones had led me down a path of true and quality audio and listening to anything else felt dull and less superior. To this day, I still continue to use Beyerdynamic headphones for practically everything I do and with a large selection of Beyerdynamic reviews on Tech Support Forum, each and every pair of headphones has done an excellent job at proving their worthiness.

Up next in the spotlight is a new Beyerdynamic lineup of headphones. The DT Pros are the new triplets in town and while they look similar and appear similar, their abilities and functions differ greatly.

From the DT 770 Pro closed dynamic headphones, to the DT 880 Pro semi-open back, to the DT 990 Pro fully open backing, it’s time, not to put them head to head, but to find out what has allowed Beyerdynamic to be the “audio setting standard for 30 years”.

Welcome to my review of the Beyerdynamic DT 880 & 990 Pro headphones.

Design

In the review today, I will only be covering the DT 880 Pro and DT 990 Pro and the DT 770 Pro will remain absent in the review. That said, the design between the three is similar.

Beginning with the DT 880 Pro, they are a handmade German masterpiece. Constructed out of a steel headband with aluminum forks, there is serious build quality in these headphones.

Black and silver is the color scheme on the DT 880 Pros with most of the body being black and the silver found on the ear cups.

On the ear cups, there is an aluminum mesh that adds a premium feel to the product when in the hand. This mesh also contains a screen-printed DT 880 Pro logo in gray lettering, but I would have rather seen this logo be more pronounced.

I’m not the type of person who wants the world to know what I am listening to, but I do want a cool looking design. As depicted in the pictures, the DT 990s have this cool side-badging that even shows the ohms of the device, but on the 880s, the logo seems like it was an afterthought.

There is barely any plastic found on the 880s and only in the pieces that are more durable than most. The attention to detail in the manufacturing of the headphones is unbelievable.

Moving on to the DT 990 Pro, they too are a handmade German masterpiece. Again, the DT 990s are using a steel headband with aluminum forks and a minimal amount of plastic.

I find the design on the 990s to be more stylish than that of the 880s. The design is very similar to the highly rated and well-reviewed DT 1990 Pro headphones; a pair of headphones that I absolutely loved when reviewing and is one of Beyerdynamic’s top headphones.

The body is mostly black with the inner layer behind the ear cups slits being a white or cream color. The ear cups also have a stylish band that tells the world that you are using the DT 990 Pros with 250 ohms.

These two headphones share a lot of design characteristics and I will now be speaking about them in a general sense instead of individually.

Even with an immaculate attention to detail and superior building quality, nearly every piece can be replaced on both units. Ear cups, padding, cables, forks, headbands, you name it. Beyerdynamic has made it a goal to ensure your new expensive toy continues to function for multiple years, just in case something was to fail.

The comfort levels of both of these headphones are absolutely unbelievable and those words are not to be taken as a joke. Starting with the headband, there is a ton of thick and soft padding that is enclosed in a removable leather wrap. With a headband such as this one, I don’t think you could ever have head discomfort.

Then…then there are the ear pads. As I said earlier, I’ve reviewed a lot of Beyerdynamic headphones and headphones in general. Heavy and light models, premium to inexpensive, some that have all leather, and some that are made from wood. Nothing comes close to the ear pads on the DT 880 and DT 990 Pro.

The ear pads on both models are made from a plush and soft foam that is then surrounded by an extremely soft microfiber material. It’s soft on your face and encloses around your ears so well that words cannot describe it. Let’s just say my words on their comfort levels is out of this world and should be taken as a literal understanding.

Continuing on, both units are quite light with the DT 880s at 10 ounces (295g) and the 990s at 8.8 ounces (250g). I personally liked the DT 990s because of their feather-light weight and it felt as if I had nothing on my head. Whereas I knew I was wearing the DT 880s in a blind test.

It says it on the product boxes and I’m going to repeat it; “the incredible attention to detail makes the DT 880 and DT 990 Pros a world setting standard for other headphones”.

Functionality

Testing the DT 880 and DT 990 Pros was an enjoyable experience because I got to listen to more music. The testing configuration and methods were as follows. Each set of headphones was broken in by playing low volume music for three hours.

Then, for the actual test, each pair was connected through the following setup. My computer uses a G1.Sniper Z97 motherboard that has an Asus Xonar DG soundcard. This soundcard passes the sound to a Schiit Modi 2 Uber DAC which then transfers the sound to the Beyerdynamic A20 headphone amplifier. Both headphones are connected to the amp using a 1/8” gold-plated jack.

For those who are novices in the audio world, the sound is generated from the computer and sent through the higher quality soundcard which adds a virtual 7.1 surround sound and tunes the sound based on a Dolby Headphone configuration. Then, the DAC converts the digital audio signal to an analog one. This analog sound is smoother and allows for better sounds to be processed by the A20 amplifier that can boost sound volumes.

A collection of music and sounds were tested with both headphones. A majority of the test was done with a Pandora Plus account with a 192kbps bitrate, however, local high-quality music was also tested on both models.

Starting with the DT 880 Pros, they are a semi-open back that are more of an enclosing sounding than other semi-open headphones I have used in the past.

Semi-open headphones attempt to give you the best between open and closed back headphones, but sometimes it can fall closer to one side or the other.

In the case of the 880s, I found them to be closer to a closed back design than open, but that doesn’t mean they don’t share the same aspects of open headphones. The aluminum mesh I spoke about acts as a breathing hole for the dynamic neodymium magnetic speakers.

I enjoyed listening to music on the 880s more than anything with the deep tones and rich media sound from the speakers. The sound is impressive and lively and sometimes I don’t want to take off the headphones to use anything else. If it wasn’t for the 10-foot coiled cable, I would use these everywhere I go.

With a 250-ohm impedance, these headphones should be powered with something more than just your smartphone. I have them connected to an A20 amp that can handle 250 ohms for these headphones and it sounds perfect when used by the amp. You can use the DT 880 Pros with any device you like, but it may not be as loud as it should be when using an amp.

These are meant to be studio grade headphones and they offer everything you’d want in a studio headphone for mixing tunes or creating sounds. The neutral sound lets you hear every little detail in the exact way it was created. You can pinpoint in a song when something isn’t right or hear small rendering mess-ups.

Lastly, lows, mids, and highs are perfect. I found everything I listened to has a natural and smooth sound and the headphones had no trouble whatsoever on bass. It’s not head pounding bass like the Custom One Pro, but strong and present.

Next, there are the DT 990 Pro headphones. These are fully open back headphones that allow the speakers to have a full range of sound and people sitting next to you can easily hear what you hear at high volume. You can also easily hear things around you.

These too are 250 ohms and will require something nice and powerful to use what they have to offer. While they will function off a 3.5mm headphone jack, it may be slightly lower than expected.

I preferred using the DT 990 Pros on basically everything, but particularly liked them for watching videos or listening to voices. They are extremely clear and almost as if what you are hearing is inside your own head. Everything is clean, natural, and quite real.

What I find interesting is that the DT 990 Pros are a lower price than the DT 880 Pros, but I find the DT 990 Pros to sound better and offer more in more applications with better sounds and standouts.

Once again, lows, mids, and highs couldn’t be more spot on. It’s almost as if these headphones are tuned before leaving the building they are built in. As for bass, it is present, noticeable and much stronger than the 880s. I quite prefer the response from the bass in the 990s.

Just like their design, the two pairs of headphones share more similarities than mentioned above.

On both, you will find a dynamic transducer with their respected operating principle. The frequency response on both is a massive range of 5 – 35,000 Hz with a 250-ohm impedance. SPL is rated for 96dB with T.H.D 0.2%.

Finally, both units have a 10-foot non-detachable cable that is coiled up. At the end of the cable is a 3.5mm headphone jack, but the cable can use a screw-on 6.35mm adapter, all of which is gold plated.

My Final Thoughts

For what these headphones offer and for how well they are built, it’s amazing at how inexpensive they are. At $217 for the DT 880 Pro and $157 for the DT 990 Pro, they are more than easily purchasable by most and worth every penny; I would have easily recommended them at double the costs.

The design and build quality of both models are fantastic and I couldn’t ask for more. Handmade in Germany is a staple of Beyerdynamic and I believe it allows them to say that they are the audio standard of the world.

As for the sound, it’s clean, clear, loud, crisp, natural, and every other positive word in-between. I prefer the DT 990 Pro for better sound, but that shouldn’t take away of what the DT 880 Pro pushed out of those speakers.

Like my story of how I purchased the Custom One Pros without knowing much about them, the new Beyerdynamic DT lineup is the modern-day Custom One Pros. Both units get the stamp of approval from me and I doubt anybody could find something they dislike about either unit.

Buy it now:

© 2017 Justin Vendette