An open-back, dynamic-driver studio headphone with a 250 Ω Tesla driver, two velour pad sets and a nearly all-metal, made-in-Germany chassis. Sources broadly agree on the pillars: deep, fast, well-extended bass that out-reaches the Sennheiser HD 600 in the sub-bass; a slightly warm, near-neutral midrange (with a small upper-mid dip that can push voices back); pinpoint directional imaging that keeps it on gaming lists; a reasonably wide, believable stage; and good long-session comfort despite a firm clamp and warm velour. It needs a proper amp, and being open it isolates nothing. The disagreements are the decision-relevant part. Every measurement rig shows a narrow treble peak at about 7.5–8.5 kHz, 5–11 dB above the HD 600; about half the weighted voices find it sibilant and fatiguing, a quarter hear it as energy and air, and a quarter say EQ, a passive filter or a pad swap turns it into an excellent headphone. Critics argue that peak manufactures some of its famous detail. Its punch is widely praised, but Audio Science Review measured driver limiting when sub-bass is boosted. Reviewers call the build a tank, while owners report dead or distorting drivers, channel imbalance and crumbling headbands after months or years. And value splits evenly between a premium do-it-all and a treble problem that cheaper, smoother rivals don't have.
About this product
The original open-back, 250 Ω Tesla studio over-ear from 2016 — the one that ships with two velour pad sets (Analytical and Balanced) and a single-sided, detachable 3-pin mini-XLR cable, sharing its driver with the closed DT 1770 PRO and the Amiron Home. Not the cheaper DT 990 PRO it descends from, and not the end-2024 DT 1990 PRO MKII, which uses a 30 Ω driver, different pads and a different tuning, and has replaced it in Beyerdynamic's lineup.
Beyerdynamic's DT 1990 PRO was the 2016 flagship of the classic DT studio line: a made-in-Germany, 250 Ω open-back built around the Tesla driver it shares with the closed DT 1770 PRO, aimed at mixing, mastering and critical listening. It arrives loaded — a hard case, straight and coiled cables, and two velour pad sets, “Analytical” and “Balanced”, that audibly change the bass and treble. After eight years it was replaced by the lower-impedance MKII, and the original now sells mostly renewed and used.
Reviewers agree on a lot: deep, punchy bass for an open dynamic, pinpoint imaging that made it a gaming favourite, a slightly warm, near-neutral midrange and a chassis that feels indestructible. The argument is the treble. A narrow peak around 7.5–8.5 kHz shows up on every measurement rig, and listeners split three ways on it — too hot and sibilant, an energetic feature, or a real flaw that EQ, a passive filter or a pad swap fixes. How much of its famous detail is real, whether it is still worth the money, and how durable it is over years of owner use all carry quieter versions of the same split.
