šŸ”¶ Beyerdynamic TYGR 300 R

Looks like itā€™s just for NA. Europe site has the TYGR as part of their BF sale but unless Iā€™m missing something, thereā€™s no price drop. Still at ā‚¬140 like itā€™s always beenā€¦

Anyway I wanted to asked owners of both the TYGR 300 R and Fidelio X2/HR, since both seem to be quite similar in sound - which one would you keep and why? Iā€™m looking for the best all-rounder between these two.

From what Iā€™ve gathered between the two is that:

TYGR >>> X2/HR purely for gaming, due to X2ā€™s weird shallow front-to-back soundstage and poor imaging. Just how poor are we talking here?
X2/HR >> TYGR for music and movies but theyā€™re close so it may be a tossup.

Also thinking of the HD 599 which seems like a safe compromise between these two. Or should I pony up a bit more for the 560S? Should note that Iā€™m upgrading from a Superlux 668B and quite like the airy, trebly leaning sound of these. The TYGR and X2 are said to be warm and I do like my details - am I even looking at the right cans here?! Halp!

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@beyerdynheiser The TYGR, X2 and 560s are all different sounding headphones.

Avoid the 599. These are outright terrible headphones. Their warmth is so overexaggerated in the headphones it drowns out all the detail. I never understood why people recommend them. I have been acquainted with a group of people who know more about audio than me (one if them is a sound engineer who knows a ton about headphones) and they all agree the 599 are bad.

I have tried the TYGR and X2 and I would preferably stick with the TYGR. For some reason the X2 is praised for itā€™s soundstage and imaging by others but I find it lackluster. The soundstage sometimes feels artificial wide and sometimes it doesnā€™t. Imaging is decent but the TYGRs are much better. By quite a big margin.

In terms of music: i find the bass being very bloated and the treble being sometimes peaky/grainy, however you want to call it. It tries to be great in nearly all frequencies but fails to do so. Tygrs are very passable for music but the vocals might fall a bit behind due the recessed mids.

The TYGRs imaging is laser accurate and the soundstage is pretty wide. For their price they are amazing.

The 560s is one I havent tried yet, but in terms of sound it will be different than the previously 2 mentioned. More brighter and analytical and less bass. Not sure about their imaging and soundstage.

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+1

+2

+3 absolutely.

+4 but the recessive mids arenā€™t as severe as the 990s tend to be which makes it a bit more passable.

+5 more so due to the sale price.

tygr wins on the soundstagea nd imaging, would not call the 560s analytical(just my opinion on that) really but brighter yes with around neutral on the bass.

Completely agree on this remark with you. Well said.

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could this be explained by tygrā€™s cushons taming the highs compared to the 990 and getting a comparatively more even presentation?

Been looking at these ($169 sale) vs the x2hr ($130 sale hoping close to $100 for black friday).

I know you said they have very different sounds so its hard to compare but as a complete noob to audio just wanted some more insight.

Headphones will be used for casual music listening, discord, youtube, and casual gaming like mmo/arpg no fps or competitive. Music will be alternative rock, metal, edm, drum and bass. Both will run off mobo (asus x570-p) audio with no immediate plans to amp. Currently using a pair of JVC HA-RX700.

Been leaning toward the x2hr for the bass and lower price. Just wondering if I go with the more expensive choice will I be able to even appreciate it and will it be a better choice for my music/gaming needs.

So, the Tygr 300R is just the DT 990 at 32 ohms with itā€™s respective black pads named ā€œEDT 990 VBā€, some foam you find on the amiron home placed over the driver, a different housing, and some very minor other changes inside of the driver. Itā€™s definitely not just the pads causing the differenceā€¦ the pads arenā€™t the ones taming those highs to a large degree itā€™s that foam insert as we see this exact same thing with the new T1 third generation as when you remove that dampener itā€™s brightness goes from dark sounding to quite bright sounding.

x2hr I would skip unless around $80 or $90 as it has been known to sell for.

itā€™s a bit harder to explain when itā€™s the HR version of the x2 as that is also a warm headphone much like tygr.

highly recommend an amp later down the road thenā€¦ even if itā€™s just a cheapo amp dac such as like a $60 Fiio E10k as those can power up to 250 ohms.

So, the issue here is technically I really cannot answer this for you. Only you know your full on preferencesā€¦ the headphones are both a warm signatureā€¦ x2hr has more present mids and balanced out treble however, it has bass thatā€™s uncontrolled, muddy, loose, and bleeds into the mids meanwhile tygr has slightly recessed mids treble that dips under neutral but peaks above neutral giving an impression that itā€™s slightly V shaped with an increased bass thatā€™s controlled and raised to close to the perfect degree as it stays out of the way for competitives. Both are great, I would highly take the tygr over the xh2 for not just sound quality but build quality though comfort would be more subjective because x2hr has a lot of padding to it. If anything you could always upgrade later and pick up the x2hr first see if you like it or notā€¦ find a return policy on the items and sit down with them for a few days would be your best bet in that regard.

my bad, i meant the foam insert not the pads, my english is not the best. So my question is: would taming the highs on the 990 with the foam insert give a more even FR making the mids ā€œless recessedā€ by comparison??

That is what myself, and one other forum member here are in the middle of testing. I am curious as to what the foam insert will do to the 600 ohm variation of the 990. Itā€™s very possible that the 990 could be converted to a higher grade tygr if that foam insert really does work as intended granted it would be the more expensive option.

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I feel like I need to sell some headphones after getting the Tygr. Its satisfying. If I moved up from an m50 to the tygrs, Id proclaim I reached the promised lands. Slightly warm, nice bass that doesnt bloat, mids that arent thin like some other beyers and highs that dont murder. ā€˜Portableā€™ open backs. I remember desperately wanting to have my 880ā€™s 600ohm as a portable solution and to my mind, this is that except its not neutral bright but slightly warm and smooth. Will be swapping the foam disk and pads over to the dt990 when I get the chance.

glad to hear you enjoy them. As for my end, I have my order in for all the stuff I needā€¦ so, whenever UPS decides to drop off all my stuff. Going to try the Filter inside my DT 1990 as well because why the hell not.

Sounds like a good plan. Well I decided to slap them on the 990ā€™s 600ohm and so far from an initial listen, Bass is well controlled, sounds slightly warm almost like the tygrs. the mids still sound a little recessed but not as much as they originally do and seem to have bit more body to them. Maybe less v shaped? Highs are clean and no sibilance from what I can detect. Really smooths out the 990ā€™s and makes them maybe less aggressive v shape and closer to the tygr. I will be needing some more new foam disk and pads now and some more time to listen to test.

Not as airy as the original sound sig with the new disk and pads installed.

I like the changes. Wish I had a 2nd pair of dt990ā€™s now. I really like the dt990ā€™s with brainwavz fenestrated pads with original foam insert for how much they tone down the harsh highs while boosting the bass. The new foam disk and pad mod is also a huge plus and its going to be hard to choose the configuration I like.

Will be slapping these into an old pair of dt880ā€™s to see how that goes as well.

well the mids should stay a little recessed and the overall signature will be different due to the different ohm but I am glad to hear it helps them quite a bit by dialing them back.

I would think that would just create a warm signature with respectable mids

Excited to hear your point of view when you get these things together.

Went back to stock dt990 and I realize that with the new foam insert and pads, I need more power to get the dt990ā€™s going. went from 12 oclock to 3 on the volume knob on my emotiva. So not as efficient with new insert and pads. Stock dt990 clearly more aggressive. New insert and pads has made the dt990 less fatiguing and made sounds seem smoother.

from:


Those that like the Beyer sound as it is but arenā€™t really fond of the ā€˜hotā€™ treble can improve that part by using 3 plies of soft toilet paper and position that in front of the driver. Below the ā€˜stockā€™ DT990-600Ī© and the same headphone but with 3 plies of toilet paper.

Has anyone tried this?

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Yep, common knowledge this works and what made me think tygr filter would be better. This does indeed work but it can deplete some bass too. If you wanted too you can make them even sound rather dark

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Curious if you are also using the tygr pads on the DT990 and notice any difference.

I believe he did mention the pads yeaā€¦ the pads on tygr are the same on the black padded 990s

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yeah pads and foam. Didnt think to slip the original pads on with the tygr foam so dont know how that will sound yet.

Oh okay, so I tested this theory. No, itā€™s not the same as the tygr 300r and I didnā€™t expect it to be.

So this filter seems to reduce that treble by a big margin placing it closer to what I would want to say is harman like which is interesting itā€™s still bright but nowhere near as sharp and has been smoothed. The bass is no longer so heavily emphasized you can clearly see how well controlled it is with this insertā€¦ Mids are still recessed but appear to be ever so slightly more present.

If anything this is a V signatured Tygr now with scaling to my ear. Not bad, not bad at all. Then again tygr is a good option because it doesnā€™t have that brightness issue like at all so I am not sure if this is a good recommendation. Going to spend some time with this

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Alright, I think itā€™s been long enough trying this. So after listening for the past 4 days to the 990 600 ohm using tygrs filters I think I can conclude that it depends on what your searching for. If you want Tygr to be more flexible and brighter to the point where you can tinker at your leisureā€¦ this setup works perfectly fine and is to the point if you change the pads it can become close to dark in sound with something such as a Suede or Leather pad. Itā€™s still have that brighter peak to it with the foam insert but itā€™s at the very least bearable and should be a consideration for some users of the 990 who find it to be a little on the too sharp side instead of using the toilet paper mod.

The mids are noticeably more present due to the dialing in of the other two frequencies. The lows do sound a little dialed back but they are slightly more forward than they were probably due to less air from the filter and treble reductions. Highs are smoothed out and less peaky but also reduced by a good margin around I want to sayā€¦ 25% - 35% if your comparing neutral to itā€™s regular state and goes up to around 60%-75% if you change the pads to my ear so itā€™s a drastic change if you use both.

It does lose some of itā€™s detail retrieval then again tygr isnā€™t a detail monster eitherā€¦ however, it keeps itā€™s imaging being spot on with that very large soundstage. The soundstage noticeably increases when you change the pads to dekonis just like most of the beyers though it depends on the pads.

The problems I see hereā€¦ well theres a few. First off this modification doesnā€™t deplete the treble entirely so for those who are treble sensitive this is not a viable alternative and I will not recommend someone do this if I know they have issues with treble by a good marginā€¦ Tygr will still be the better choice in this regard. Secondly, this modification comes at a more costly price from the 990s unless you buy the 990s 3rd party as they can be found around $125-$175 at 600 ohm though adding the filters and pad swap your still coming up to around $50 extra placing it over or equal to the tygr. Third, The fact you cannot completely deplete the treble to the tygrs point with the foam inserts less you eq or pad swap is indeed an issueā€¦ as if you go the pad swap route you increase the bassā€¦ this is a big problem for competitive gaming as the bass on the 990 is already slightly too much and after testing this is noticeably a large issue as the rumble becomes far too emphasized and definitely gets in your way at that point the other portion of this issue is simply put EQ at 600 ohms you are already pushing a lot of power and EQ requires even moreā€¦ to seriously get this where you want it I had to push even the asgard 3 quite a bit to get things where I wanted them. Fourth, the comforts remain differentā€¦ this could be a bit more because the pads are new but I feel the tygr may actually be slightly lighter and have a slightly different density on itā€™s regular stock padsā€¦ the clamp force is also quite a bit less on the tygr making them extremely comfortable for longer gaming sessions meanwhile 990 while relatively light clamp is still noticeable and even post breaking them in tygr wins in this regard so I believe an adjustment to the headband from beyer must have been done as I stretched the hell out of the 990 but once the tygr becomes a little more broken in it has less clamp than the 990 to my experience.

Overall it will come down to a preference. Do you want a V signature that can become sharper or to the point of a bass cannon warmth? 990 600 ohm with the filter + suedes or alternative leather padding will be right for you. Are you someone who wants a nice warm headphone, you are a bit treble sensitive, and play competitively + casually and ran amplessā€¦? tygrs are the better choice

In terms of musicality I will add that 990 does best tygr if you are looking for that clearer, crisper, heavily detailed, airy sound. Tygr is quite lovely but is on the warmer side of things. They fit in different areas for sure and they do compliment each other quite well. Though I did some further testing and I came out with better results from using this filter on the DT 880s than I did my 990s granted 880s of course have less soundstage and imaging than the 990 it still responded better and became closer to that warm signature the tygr possessā€¦ So at this point I am truly convincedā€¦ this really is a 990 with the 880 style housing but fully open instead

Whatā€™s more interesting was the test with the 1990. as like the DT 880s the 1990 becomes close to a warm signature, I will touch more on that in the 1990 forum respectively once I am done fiddling with it.

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