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Sound Quality |
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• Average frequency response.
• Very, very low distortion.
• Average tracking.
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Tour & Design |
Page 3 of 12 |
Isolation |
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About our testing:
For more information on our tests, read this article. It involves a head and torso simulator and an electroacoustic analysis program and a bunch of other awesome science stuff. If you like science or awesome stuff, you should, in fact, read the article.
Frequency Response (4.53)
What we found:
The DT 990s had an average frequency response. Since our current average is a pretty good result, consider the DT 990s to also be pretty good.
The DT 990s had a strong bass response that gently tapers off towards the middle frequencies, where it holds strong for quite some time. Then, just before the 7kHz mark (approximately) the headphones cut out slightly before getting suddenly emphasized. We often see an emphasis spike occur around 7kHz, since that's about where the attack on a snare drum is. Expect your drums to have a good presence. After this jump, the headphones maintain the boost for the most part, before tapering off towards the 20kHz mark. Typically we see the graph trend down before this point, which means the headphones aren't emphasizing sibilance well. Fortunately for the letter S, the DT 990s don't fall into this trap.
How the Beyerdynamic DT 990 compares:
What is frequency response?
Frequency response describes how each set of headphones emphasizes any given frequency. If the headphones add a noticeable amount of emphasis or deemphasis, they're said to have a dynamic response. Some people like their bass boosted, some like middle frequencies boosted for enhanced vocals, etc. Dynamic responses are great for people who listen to a specific type of music exclusively, or know their aural preferences.
How the test works:
We test frequency response by playing a frequency sweep through the headphones. The headphones are set up on our head and torso simulator (affectionately abbreviated as "HATS"), which records their output. This collected data is then sent to SoundCheck, our electroacoustic analysis software (developed by our buddies at Listen, Inc.). Since we know the original sound file and we have data on how the headphones alter that sound file, we can use magical subtraction to figure out what the headphones are doing to the sound.
For our purposes, a dynamic response is fine as long as it doesn't go too overboard. If the headphones boost or hush a frequency too much, it can impact audio quality. If you have a burning desire to know more about this or our other tests, then this is the link for you!
Distortion (10.88)
What we found:
Another set of low distortion headphones, another distortion section where we have nothing really interesting to say.
The distortion on these headphones is quite low. Average users and audiophiles alike should like these things.
How the Beyerdynamic DT 990 compares:
What is distortion?
Distortion refers to changes the headphones make to actual sound of your music. This could be something like adding noise or clipping the top or bottom part of the sound wave – there are plent of ways a set of headphones can add some form of distortion. Distortion will be much more apparent in some genres or songs than it will be in others. Acoustic music and opera, for example, will be impacted much more negatively by distortion than, for example, rock or punk.
How the test works:
This test is similar to the previous one in execution: we play a frequency sweep through the headphones, HATS listens, and we use these two data points to figure out what the headphones are doing to your playback. In this instance, however, we're not comparing volume levels: we're comparing the overall shape of the sound wave at each frequency. You should read more about our fascinating tests: link.
Tracking (7.81)
What we found:
The DT 990s had good tracking overall. They stay within a few decibels of dead even up until the higher frequencies, where the left channel suddenly gets a bit louder before see-sawing to the right. This 11dB shift is where the DT 990s lost the most points. In terms of user experience, this shift isn't a gigantic one. The vast majority of users won't notice it at all.
How the Beyerdynamic DT 990 compares:
What is tracking?
Tracking might be better recognized as "balance": it refers how well the left and right channels on the headphones are balanced, in terms of volume. If you've ever worn headphones that consistently play louder out of their left ear piece, then you know how important tracking can be. Ideally, if an 8dB sound is being played through the left and right channels, both channels should output 8dB. For this test, however, it wouldn't even matter if both channels output 25dB, as long as each both channels were outputting the same level.
How the test works:
For this test, we play back a frequency response again. This time, however, HATS uses its robot ears to detect any volume differences between the left and right channels. If you find this description intriguing, we invite you to read more.
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