For @TheBlueBlurb
DT1990 Pro vs Edition XS
There have been a few reviews that summarize each well individually: DT1990, Edition XS, so I’m just going to pick out a few points of difference. Since these use different driver types, this video might be good viewing for you as well.
Ergonomics:
The Edition XS has a very loose clamp depending on the size of your head. I’ve found it’s fine when sitting upright, but laying back on a bed or couch the cups slide backward out of position. I’m not sure how much flex the headband will take, so I’m unsure how much this can be remedied by brute force. That said, it is comfortable to wear sitting, and the low clamp force probably helps some complaints with jaw pain that can be found in the similar Arya and Ananda headphones. Since you’ve handled the 1990 I can skip describing that - I had no issues with it in any position.
Soundstage / Imaging:
The XS sound like a pair of speakers. It’s a much more open design than the DT1990, with much better definition of depth and a larger space to place sounds. The XS seems to have deeper Left/Right fields compared to foward/back - it reminds me of the AKG K7xx series. The DT1990 feels even on all sides, with perhaps a little better cohesion on forward imaging compared to the XS. The XS seems to gave better separation, giving a more “discrete” feeling to instruments / elements of the sound.
Presentation:
Both have good presentation of bass. The XS is more detailed but both have enough bass quantity. The bass impact is somewhat different; I’d describe it like the DT1990 feeling more “focused” and the XS more “diffused” this is probably just down to driver technology. Neither is bad.
Treble on the DT1990 is aggressive and fatiguing over long listening sessions. This is common of most Beyerdynamic headphones, part of a sound that is useful for highlighting details when mixing, or listening for footsteps when gaming. When I was using the DT1990 casually, I used third party pads or a foam disc insert to reduce the treble energy and reduce instances of sibilance. I haven’t found any issues with the treble on the XS, and I’ll leave description of the mids to the reviews at the start of this post.
Power:
The XS benefits much more from extra power. I’m running both headphones off a Schiit Jotunheim 2. As decribed by Wavetheory’s review the single-ended (TRS) out has a warmer sound compared to the balanced out (XLR). The SE out also has about 1/3 the amount of power available of the balanced out. Due the warmer character of the SE out, I preferred to use this with the DT1990 and didn’t notice any impairment compared to balanced (my pair was modded, so I could use either). While the XS sounded adequate off both outputs, I noticed more power in the low end presentation moving from SE to balanced. I think you’d be doing yourself a disservice running the XS from most $100 amplifiers. Comparatively, you could run a DT1990 from an S1220 motherboard if you had to, although that still comes with a performance penalty.
I’d suggest getting a Schiit Asgard 3 or better. Wavetheory has a comparison of entry level amps that will be useful.
Overall, I think both are good headphones depending on how you tolerate treble. The Edition XS is better in a few ways, but has a higher cost of ownership due to being pickier with amplifiers. Since this is your first foray into the hobby, it might be worth looking around at cheaper stuff if your DT1990 doesn’t pan out. If you’re set on getting the XS, make sure you don’t underpower it.