Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO MKII Headphones Review

The Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO MKII have a similarly premium design to their predecessor, the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO. Their ear cups and yokes are constructed from mixed materials with a dark gunmetal finish. They also have a leatherette headband with exposed stitching and soft velour earpads. While they retain the silver detailing with the product name on the side of the ear cups, the manufacturer's logo has changed slightly on the headband base compared to their predecessor.

These headphones are comfortable and have plenty of padding. They have a good amount of padding in their headband and earpads with a soft microfibre-like velour finish. Additionally, there's padding on the inside of the earcups in case your ears touch the drivers. That said, like similar products in Beyerdynamic's studio line, these headphones are heavy with fairly high clamping force, which might cause fatigue over extended mastering sessions.

These headphones aren't very portable. While you can reduce their footprint using the headband adjustment notches, they're still too bulky to carry around. They're also not foldable, and their ear cups don't swivel to reduce their bulkiness.

These headphones come with a large hard case that protects them from drops, scratches, and light water exposure. While it's quite bulky and cumbersome, the case provides a safe method for transportation, along with ample internal storage for all the included cables and extra ear pads. The case also has good-quality zippers that close easily.

The Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO MKII have excellent build quality. Part of Beyerdynamic's premium reference headphone line, these headphones have a metal frame and plastic cups. Both the headband and ear cups have adequate padding. The yoke hinges around the ear cups have stable, smooth articulation with no wobble, while the metal frame can extend from the headband using click adjustments. The included cables are both well constructed, with high-quality rubber sheathing for the plugs. One potential shortcoming of the headphones' construction is the minor lateral movement of the metal yokes that click into the main headband.

These open-back headphones are decently stable. Thanks to their fairly substantial weight and clamping force, they stay put during light headbobbing. That said, they aren't stable during high-intensity movement, so don't plan on dancing around with them if you want to keep the headphones from falling off.

• Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO MKII headphones
• Producing earpads (attached)
• Mixing earpads
• 2x 1/8" to 1/4" screw-on adapter
• 1/8" straight cable (3 m / 9.84 ft)
• 1/8" coiled cable (~1 m / 3.28 ft un-tensioned; ~5m / 16.40 ft tensioned)
• Carrying case
• Quick start guide

The Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO MKII have a balanced sound profile that suits a variety of content. Typical of open-backs, they lack the thump and punch of the low- and mid-bass found in closed-backs like the Beyerdynamic DT 1770 PRO. That said, their slightly elevated high bass adds body to their overall sound. The mid-range matches our target extremely well, so vocals and instruments sound clear and detailed. However, there's some inconsistency in the treble. Depending on the instrument, uneven peaks and dips between neighboring bands can cause the low-treble to sound under or over-articulated, while the mid-treble sounds alternately dull and sharp. A noticeable drop in the upper high treble reduces sparkle in the upper harmonics of percussion and whistle notes. We lose sensitivity to high frequencies over time, so not everyone will notice the lack of high treble.

These headphones also come with a second set of ear pads meant for mixing; they produce a flatter profile that underemphasizes the frequency response of the bass to low-mids. Compared to the original Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO, the MKII sound quite similar—with both using their respective producing pads, the most notable differences are in the treble range. The MKI have fewer but more noticeable dips relative to our target curve: in the low-treble, vocals and instruments may lack some detail compared to the MKII.

These open-back headphones have excellent frequency response consistency. Between listening sessions, you'll get consistent sonic performance from them even if you wear glasses or have longer hair.

The Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO MKII have excellent compliance with our target curve in the bass range. As expected from open-back models, these headphones struggle to bring as much thump and punch in the low and mid-bass as closed-back headphones. That said, they have a good helping of high bass, which brings body to the cannons featured in Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

Their mid-range target compliance is fantastic. The headphones follow our target curve almost perfectly, ensuring that complex orchestrations like the love theme in Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet are clear; the string melody remains present in the mix even when accompanied by the soaring french horn.

The Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO 2's treble compliance is satisfactory. While there aren't significant amplitude differences from our target in the treble range, the contrast of highs and lows across frequency bands can cause the low-treble to sound slightly under or over-articulated, depending on the instrument. Meanwhile, sibilants in the mid-treble sound alternately dull and slightly piercing. The drop in the upper portion of the high treble also reduces the sparkle and shimmer of hi-hats and whistle notes.

Their peaks and dips performance is good. The headphones control their sound signature well in the bass and mid-ranges, so instruments from double bass to viola are accurately represented. That said, the treble range contains notable fluctuations in frequency response from band to band. Depending on the pitch of the harmonics, vocals and instruments will lack detail, while sibilants will sound alternately dull and piercing.

Like most Beyerdynamic headphones we've tested, these headphones have outstanding imaging. In keeping with Beyerdynamic's reputation for good quality control, the headphones have low weighted group delay, ensuring they reproduce tight bass and transparent treble. Meanwhile, our unit's L/R drivers are well matched in phase, amplitude, and frequency—audio objects are accurately positioned in the stereo image with no holes. That said, imaging can vary from unit to unit.

Their passive soundstage is reasonably open and immersive. These headphones have an open-back design, so sound produced by their drivers isn't trapped within the enclosure—contributing to a more open soundstage. While the headphones interact with your outer ear to simulate an open stereo speaker setup, they don't sound as open as the Audio-Technica ATH-ADX3000 or as speaker-like as the Sennheiser HD 800 S. Although the headphones' enclosure allows audio to escape, it isn't loud enough to interact much with your room.

The Beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO MKII have great weighted harmonic distortion performance. There are minor peaks in the low bass and low treble. That said, these audio levels are quite high, meaning you likely won't notice distortion at healthy listening levels; instead, you'll experience clean and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when used in this configuration.

These headphones are open-back, so they don't isolate you from noise. They only passively attenuate higher frequencies, like the upper harmonics of ambient voices and whirring fans. Anything lower frequency will make it through, so you'll hear the kitchen exhaust or your refrigerator's compressor kick in.

These are open-back headphones that aren't designed to block out noise. They allow most noise through their enclosure, only slightly attenuating higher-frequency sounds. You'll notice car and airplane engines when traveling and coworkers chatting at the office.

These headphones are open-back, meaning their ear cups don't trap sound. As such, they leak sound—anyone sharing the room with you will hear a thin-sounding version of the track or podcast you're enjoying.

These headphones have two Mini XLR to 1/8" TRS cables. Each comes with a dedicated screw-on 1/8" to 1/4" adapter. As expected, the headphones have virtually no latency, making them suitable for live monitoring during recording sessions.

These headphones work with PCs when connected to their AUX port, though you'll need an external microphone or an aftermarket cable with a mic for audio input.

These headphones work with PlayStation consoles using the controller's AUX port. For audio input, though, you'll need an external microphone or an aftermarket cable with a mic.

These headphones work with Xbox consoles using the controller's AUX port. For audio input, you'll need an external microphone or an aftermarket cable with a microphone.