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Tired of trying to mix music or listen to studio masters with audio gear that has its own sound signature, boosting the base, muting the highs, or forcing you to use an EQ to try and achieve a flat response? The Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro over-ear studio headphones are just what you need, and whether you get the 80-Ohm or the 250-Ohm edition, you'll be happy with the clarity and precision of these simple, elegant audiophile wired headphones.
Check it out at: https://amzn.to/3OItLmf
Then please visit Dave's Q&A Web site: https://www.AskDaveTaylor.com/
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0:00
Affordable studio headphones with great sound? Let's check these out
0:12
Oh, Dave Taylor here, and I'm listening to and really enjoying these
0:16
These are the Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro over-ear studio headphones, and they're very different to most of the headphones that I check out
0:26
because they don't have active noise cancellation, they're not Bluetooth, they're not wireless, they don't have an array of buttons and features on the side
0:35
there's no built-in microphone. This is designed to just give you a really accurate sound reproduction
0:43
Now, they feature 45mm dynamic drivers, which give you an amazing 5 to 35,000 Hz of frequency response
0:52
which is way better than my hearing and probably better than your hearing
0:56
but suffice to say, there's a lot of music coming out of these
1:00
Now, I have the 250 ohm version, as you can see on the side here
1:05
but they also have an 80 ohm version that's a little more expensive
1:09
Now, the thing about 250 ohm impedance is you need to drive it with a fair amount of power
1:14
so what I'm using here is I'm using an in-line headphone amp
1:18
This is the IFI Audio Go Bar amp, and it's a little spendy
1:23
but it makes a lot of difference because it gives the headphones a chance to really shine
1:29
by giving it a really big, strong signal. Now, more specs, the SPL is 96 decibels, and total harmonic distortion is less than 0.2%
1:41
so precision and accuracy is what these headphones are all about. These are really more about, like, you're listening to music and you want to hear what they recorded
1:52
or you're working on your own music or recording your own content
1:56
and you really just want to be able to hear very precisely what's going on
2:01
That's what they mean when companies talk about studio headphones, where they don't have, like, they're not boosting up the bass
2:08
they're not changing the sort of frequency or the characteristics of the highs
2:13
They're just giving you what's really a flat response, and then your audio source you can use to adjust things
2:20
Just imagine you have, like, a mixing board and you're at a recording studio
2:24
and you can adjust, let's put a little more bass, let's get that hi-hat a little bit sweeter, you know
2:30
and that's exactly what these are for. These are giving you very accurate music response
2:35
Now, that is also something not everyone's used to, because a lot of the gear we get, they actually have tuned the sound signature to give you more bass
2:45
to give you a big rockin' bass, or to, you know, bring out the mid-range or something
2:51
So these don't do that, so you really want to know that. Now, in terms of the design, it's pretty interesting
2:57
It's sort of a combination of plastic and metal. So this is metal, but a lot of it is actually plastic
3:03
but it still has a good feel, and it feels like it's going to last a good long time
3:08
but these aren't really portable headphones. You're not going to be tossing these in your bag
3:13
These are going to sit on your desk or by your stereo, probably on a headphone stand or just sitting like that
3:19
and then you'll pick them up, and notice there's only a wire on one side. That's really convenient for putting them on, super easy, nothing to get tangled
3:27
and you take them off, and it's, I mean, really, how hard is that
3:31
The earpieces are replaceable velour, but the cord, if the cord goes south for any reason
3:39
you can't replace that. That's worth knowing. Now, speaking of the cord, let's look at it
3:44
because it's a pretty darn long cord. It's actually 3 meters or 10 feet, because it has this great coil
3:50
which gives you a lot of ability to swing around in your chair
3:54
and slide down to that other mixing panel or whatever. They're gold-plated plugs. This is a 3.5 millimeter
4:02
and, of course, it also comes with a quarter-inch adapter. If you have a device that uses that old-school headphone jack, you can use that
4:10
but I think probably 95% or more of people that get these headphones
4:15
are going to be using that. That's certainly what works best with the IFI Audio amp
4:21
So, easy enough, I just plug them in, and I'm good to go. Now, what else can I tell you
4:27
They are really light. They are 250 grams or 8.8 ounces, and this is also really important, because one of the things about this design
4:35
which is sort of a mostly open design, is that they're really, really comfortable
4:42
Oh, hang on. Let me pause my music. It's still chugging away there
4:46
So, they are easily headphones you could wear for multiple hours. They're very comfortable, and as you continue to wear them
4:55
then they'll even loosen up a little bit more, and because of the design, you still get a lot of the ambient sound around you
5:03
so these aren't going to be great on a train or an airplane, or in a noisy cafe or something, or even a noisy place at work
5:10
but if you have a quiet environment to enjoy music, these are going to be great
5:15
Now, here's what I have set up. I have the Google Pixel 6 Pro, which has USB-C
5:21
and then I have my headphone amp, and then I actually have the DT 990 Pro
5:26
and I'm just listening to Spotify, but boy, it's just giving me a really nice, clean reproduction
5:33
I've been listening to some early Al Jarreau, and it's just a really pleasant and enjoyable sound
5:39
There's a good soundstage. There's a real cleanliness to the sound. I mean, it's kind of hard to quantify what I mean by that
5:47
but it's just, I feel like as if I was in the studio
5:51
and they were just like mixing all the songs, and I was listening jacked right into that mixing board
5:57
It's just very precise. There is a lot of bass, and it sounds really good
6:02
but that's what's in the original recording. I'm not using any EQ settings or anything, though I could
6:08
You know, depending on my source, I could certainly adjust it if I had preferences where I wanted to get that huge drop or something
6:15
but I prefer a really precise sound, because I'm really interested in like, you know
6:20
just thinking that Al Jarreau was sitting in that mixing room with the sound engineers, and they were all working on it
6:26
and it was just like, let's play this through, and he's like, no, you know, I feel like the trumpet
6:32
should be a little bit more in the background, and then they adjust that, and they play it through again
6:37
and I feel like I'm part of the team now, and it's really an exciting sort of sense
6:41
This is very much an audiophile experience at a budget, because these are also remarkably inexpensive
6:48
so really, I'm a fan of these. These are a step up from the kind of headphones
6:53
most people use to listen to music, and it's a different thing if you are a real fan of GarageBand
7:00
or you record your own music, or you do your own podcast or something. These sort of monitor or studio headphones are a real win
7:07
Now, again, remember the challenge with this is this particular model is a 250 ohm impedance
7:15
so it needs a decent amount of power, which might not be what your device is producing straight out of the box
7:22
So amps are probably pretty darn important for this, but if that's an issue, or if it's something you're concerned with
7:28
you could also get the 80 ohm version, and the headphones are the same
7:32
and they have the same sound reproduction, they just work with a slightly lower power coming into it
7:38
which is potentially a benefit for many people. So all we need to talk about at this point is the price
7:44
although I guess I'll mention that in addition to that quarter-inch adapter
7:48
the box does include this little canvas bag for carrying. Honestly, I, again, just like with that quarter-inch adapter
7:58
I would guess the majority of customers see that in the box
8:02
and they go, huh, and they put it back in the box, and then they put the box on their shelf or put it in the garage or something
8:07
which is entirely fine. You don't need instructions, there's no buttons, there's no complicated Bluetooth pairing
8:14
They're wired headphones. It's easy, it's easy to work with, and they're really nice and clean and comfortable
8:21
and have a really good sound. So we need to talk about the price
8:25
But before we get to the price, I'm going to ask you if you could subscribe to my channel
8:29
Click or tap on that subscribe button, and turn on notifications, and we're connected. Great
8:35
All right, these are the Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro over-ear studio headphones, and right now I checked them on Amazon
8:45
and they're $139.88. So it's a pretty amazingly low price for headphones this comfortable
8:53
with this clean and accurate a sound reproduction signature. So if you want to up your game with your audio
9:01
I don't know that these are great for gaming. I'm not sure I would use these for Zoom
9:05
They don't have a built-in microphone. But if you just want your music to sound better
9:09
these are a solid step in that direction. And definitely worth checking out
9:13
That's all I got. I'm going back to my Al Jarreau, so there we go
9:18
I'll have to catch you in my next video. ♪♪♪��
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