I just saw a review Josua Valor did for a comparison between the Focal Elex and the Beyerdynamic DT1990. I was surprised at this as i thought the Elex was way ahead of the DT1990. But ive always been curious of the DT1990. a lot of people seem to think its the best Beyer has to offer. Even better than the Amiron Home or the T series. And its drop in price lately to under 500$ makes it very attractive. I was afraid of the treble peak everyone talks about with the DT1990 but Valour says he tamed it with the Analitical pads and a foam filter. So what do you guys think? Which is better? the DT1990 or the Elex? Heres his video:
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I kinda still am with what I said in earlier posts before, as in that the elex is more impressive technicality wise but it really comes down to preference.
My DT 1990 is definitely a keeper but will getting the Elex this year sometime. Looking forward to hear the difference. Unless I come up with another absurd reason not to buy from them…
Beyer’s are headphones I can appreciate for what they are, but I really don’t want to listen to for more than a few minutes.
But this is where the whole personal preference thing comes in
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Yeah but they can be modded to remove that treble peak. would you be interested then? or do you lean more towards warm/dark headphones?
bought the dt 1990 had for about two weeks, and had to return, it got really fatiguing listening to just regular YouTube videos and movies, you could really hear every little detail. Also tried the dekoni elite velour pads, but it didn’t help much. Just bought a used elex, excited to hear how that sounds.
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Curious to see what you think of the elex 
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I love detail and treble. so im thinking about getting these. but i think it might be redundant since i already got the Elex. If my Elex breaks down and i cant fix it i’m gonna get this to replace it.
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I’m not particularly interested in modding.
I’m as much interested in what the designer intended as I am the sound, it’s why I’d never poo poo the Beyer’s, they are very good for what they are, it’s just not for me.
I just want to listen to music with my gear, I didn’t buy an RME ADI2 because I don’t want to deal with all the settings.
I’ll listen to almost anything and for most things I can appreciate them for what they do, I do have a somewhat pronounced treble sensitivity, and I listen to enough bad recordings, I try and stay away from bright headphones for regular listening.
FWIW I’d consider building a headphone from scratch and I’m considering jumping in with this https://www.head-fi.org/threads/open-alpha-t50-3d-printed-headphone-project-from-mrspeakers.825868/. I have a T50 lying around I don’t listen to, and I think it would be more of a learning experience, I would have no delusions of ending up with anything special at the end of it.
It’s just I like to immerse myself in things, when I started with 3D printers 10 years ago I built a Kit, I then designed a printer and built it from scratch, I then wrote firmware for it and Slicing software, all just to better understand the challenges in building a good one. I’ve designed and built many since then. These days the off the shelf stuff is so good there is little point.
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I kinda already agree, also if you are sensitive to treble as you say the 1990 might be too much for you unless you eq it
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For me, the fact that the 1990s are even in the same conversation with the Elex re sound quality is a beautiful thing. The 1990s are smallish, non-heavy, all-metal rugged, beautifully crafted, and – thanks to their malleable headband – they fit me like a glove.
The 1990s’ full name is DT (dynamic transducer?) 1990 PRO. If beyer would simply copy the Elex/Clear frequency response but change absolutely nothing else about the 1990 PROs, then market this as DT 1990 AUD at the same price, I think they’d have a killer product.
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Well this headphone is supposed to be for studio use. Maybe they could do that with the Amiron Home or the T series.
I think they should leave the 1990 alone but make a new flagship with something like this. But then it begs the question why not get a clear and get better technicalities?
Because … price? I love the Elex, and hope someday to hear Clears.
I love the DT1990 … with the Solderdude filter leveling Mt Beyer. I am older and probably less treble-sensitive than most (or many) here, and still I use the filter and the Dekoni Elite Velours with the DT1990.
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That’s what I’m saying. The Amiron and T series are their recent attempts to sell to the non-studio market. These have not been well received. All they need to do to create a successful home/enthusiast product is to start with the 1990 design then change nothing else but the FR.
Because of what you would be getting at the lower price point. LOL – wagstaff just made the same point while I was typing this.
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I’m mainly just saying that I think beyer’s aren’t designed to sound like the clear or elex, just pointing out that if you want a focal, just pick up a used elex for like 500 or wait for them to go on sale, you can already get a focal at this price point. I personally don’t think that a beyer tuned like a focal would be something I personally would enjoy because it would be lacking what makes the focal sound special (dynamics, presentation, and the imaging + soundstage that’s different)
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I suppose I’d love to hear a more Elex-ish FR with the DT1990 imaging and presentation. And price. Esp once it gets to used. Dif’rent strokes.
Yeah the 1990 are better for pinpointing a sound where the elex are better at recreating a space imo
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That’s a valid point that the Elex can be had used/sale for same price as 1990s. I also understand that the Focals have their own quality of physicality elements like fit and finish. But they’re bigger and non-adjustable in certain key respects that make me question whether they’d even fit my small head. The 1990s also come with excellent cables and more reasonably priced earpads from what I’ve gathered.
I also gather that the HD 600/650s were the all-purpose FR kings until Focal found a way to do the same thing but without sacrificing sub-bass. So if beyer can’t sell a mid-fi home/enthusiast open-back that has a unique-to-beyer tuning, I’m saying they would have better luck using a tried-and-true all-rounder FR.
Of course you’re welcome to prefer something different. Why would a change in tuning necessarily effect dynamics and spatiality? Does EQ’ing the 1990s to a Focal-like FR effect those non-FR things?
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The way focal designs their drivers is the main thing I am talking about. Just saying that I feel that the elex fr on the 1990 would sound off without having those sonic aspects that the elex has. Just saying their tuning might sound strange with their larger than most dynamics. The 1990 would have different aspects that might make that frequency response not sound as good because it’s not as dynamic and presents different. Kinda like if you had the same body of a car but had a different powertrain, it would drive different