Sundara and tygr go a bit head to head. Sundara definitely has the soundstage and air but tygr has the insane laser pointer 360 degree accuracy. Sundara does well enough on imaging but it’s not the best… tygr has about as much stage as akg k702 so its pretty large… it just doesnt have alot of air or depth.
It got shilled hard, which honestly irked me a bit as I bought it due to those recommendations. It is good but quite the many issues imo. Then again I would tear into other gaming headsets flaws much much worse lol. I try to be fair and unbiased but if it’s bad in my opinion I’ll definitely call it out.
Yep and they are quite literally opposite sound signatures lol. Warm vs bright.
I love them to death for music and casual but the staging for the 600 series is so narrow I find it hard to recommend them to people as I feel they may run into potential issues. Small fps are fine but anything remotely larger or above the average it can become apparent
Ad if your not a bass fan and can so without and prefer things around average for stage and image in its price range with the mids and highs being the focus point, sundara if you want fantastic cinema like sound quality and bright clear sound with recessive bass(can be fixed through certain methods), tygr if you want a warm full sound with heavy accuracy.
Comfort of all 3 is subjective. Build quality is… well they all aren’t the best on that honestly lol
Nope, I get asked for streams, discord, g tag, all that I keep private. I prefer to keep things a bit separate and peace and quiet is nice lol. Everything here as stated to another from my name and everything is placeholder
Just wanted to give feedback but first of all a very big thank you Falenkor for all the work you put into this and your willingness to share your knowledge over and over again.
So my DT880 Pro and DT990 Pro arrived and it didn’t take me 2 hours to make up my mind.
As i was planning to keep 2 pairs a decision had to be made between 4 Headphones for mostly competitive but also casual relax gaming and music and movies all runnning through a Fiio 5K Pro.
Basically the do it all thing.
Very often the TYGR is recommended as it does indeed do it all,very comfortable right out of the box, has fantastic imaging for pinpointing steps but also sounds just great and a little warmer then the DT990 Pro while taking out the treble peak many people don’t like.
I wholeheartedly agree with that statement and for anybody looking for only one pair to do it all in the Beyer lineup just go for it.
Btw it is available on the official Beyer shop as of this morning in Europe again.
The other option was a HD560s which also sounded great, less soundstage and at least for me just unconfortable thus making its way back into the box.
Then the DT880 and DT990 arrived both in 250Ohms Pro versions (couldn’t get the 600 yet cause of my little amp) and oh my…
Maybe it’s my age or my loud music listening for too many years but i couldn’t hear any higher treble at all and straight away fell in love with both of them.
They are all people say they are and a little more.
For my ear at least the DT990 sounds clearer and yes a little less warm then the TYGR but basically for me it is a better version of it , which makes sense seeing that it is a 250 Ohm vs a 32 Ohm of the same driver and i think by placing the Amiron Wireless internal pads and TYGR earpads one can get very close to the TYGR sound if you so wish.
They also felt extremely comfortable out of the box, the clamp is indeed tighter then the TYGR but not by much and made it feel more secure on my head thus more comfortable somehow.
The DT880 on the other side was in direct competition with the HD 560s which makes sense when you check theyr FR’s and was also a clear winner.
In my little world i have found the perfect matching pair for my use for the moment and look forward to see where the journey will take me from there.
Also something i wanted to mention about the Fiio 5K Pro.
I have no knowledge about amps at all but i read somewhere that it seems to give an ever so slightly warmth which could explain why i don’t feel the dreaded treble on the DT990’s.
I cannot compare it to anything else unfortunately but it may be something to think of for people in Europe getting into the hobby on a budget as the Fiio is readily available in EU for a good price.
Thanks again to all of you for the fantastic reading over the last couple weeks and especially to Falenkor whose commitment i deeply respect.
It’s definitely the more warm signature tuning… Though in terms of bass quantity and impactfulness the 990 is actually tuned to be bassier, iirc it was 600 ohms with the naturally higher bass tones but 250 ohm 990 has that raise in the lower mids upper bass by a big margin.
RIP, pretty much my experience with them… boring to me and not comfortable enough.
Do keep in mind, that signature -does- change when you go to different ohms. If it helps heres what your hearing from the current 250 ohms. 880s chart then 990
Nah, your probably like me in that regard as I have zero intolerance to them… everyones different when it comes to treble… good to know you fell in love with them lol.
detail monsters, soundstage is like always large with beyers, and their ability to image is ridiculous
I believe I have a post clarifying on this somewhere actually as I sat and did this test myself. Yes, the tygr 300r is actually the DT 990 same driver and everything… the primary differences is the dampener and some slight additional foaming inside the unit… the different housings, foam/dampener, and a think there might be an ever so slight tuning change gives it that sound… and yes, you can get the 990 relatively close to the tygr. The tygr 300r uses EDT 990 VB pads which are the same pads that are on the black DT 990 as well as the black DT 880(and I believe chrome, don’t remember on that one). It is because of these changes with the tygrs foam filter that having a pair of those amiron wireless inserts is a great way to change around the beyers sound… you can even put them in the DT 1990 which works well to dial in the 8k peak that people don’t really like. I have sat down and been able to make the 990 even sound practically dark so they are very changeable when it comes to their sound signature… just be wary when it comes to the 990 explicitly it can get some pretty bad bass bloat or bleed into the mids quite easily same with tygr.
Been a while since I sat with that fiio, it’s possible but I don’t remember it’s traits too well… Liquid spark is normally the one I recommend people when it comes to 990s for that very reason though as the treble roll offs help alot.
again, very happy that the choice made suits you perfectly… if you have other questions down the way, do feel free to chime in and ask.
So this is great man. I even went as far as reserving the PC38X but I’ll be cancelling that today. What sucks is that the Tygrs have shown to be out of stock and even the bundle (which is clearly an attempt to charge more for demand) seems to be out as well?
Anyway, no worries on wanting to keep things private. Just know I enjoyed your help tis all!
Yeah. The Tygr’s are only available in the US it seems. Since in the EU we only have the bundle with the mic for over 300 euros or the country isn’t available in the EU shop for beyerdynamic. I can’t get it to Sweden at least.
It was out of stock everywhere I looked, unfortunately. I’m actually looking to see if the DT1990 is similar or better with the higher price tag as I’m willing to buy them. As long as it isn’t a detriment to R6S or overkill I may opt for those over the Tygr
According to tests and other reviewers, the 1990 pros are easier to drive, has a detachable cable, 2 sets of pads, a bit bit less comfy due to the extra weight. 0,2lbs more. The sound is less piercy than the 990 pros. The imaging is about the same I think but the soundstage is wider. For me personally. The price would not be worth it. EDIT: Just comparing the 990’s since they are a “successor” of them.
Ahh, thanks for the context here. So for me, I think while this kind of goes past a max, I may end up just using this for general desktop use past gaming so I think I’m going to pull the trigger. Honestly thanks @TigerLeon and @Falenkor
I’ve been trying to dive into this to replace my 700x and I think the DT line (since the Tygr isn’t available) with the DT1990 fits my needs and more when it comes to gaming in maps that go from intimate and somewhat larger. What really sold me was the imaging that’s constantly cited on their DT line!
I’ve been reading a bit more and I’ve found out that 990s are also a great option, I’m kinda undecided between both and I’m planning to order both and try them out…
I do not own any amp or dac, but I’m planning to purchase them along with the headphones… I also own a pair of powered speakers, Edifier R1700BT, which I would love to connect to the dac.
Is there any amp/dac combination in your opinion that work for both of them? 880 and 990?
Do you recommend strictly the 600ohm version or would you consider a lower ohm version a good deal?
it happens alot… they restock after roughly every 3 weeks following the out of stock day, if your wanting one I would just keep an eye on it or search the used markets as they do appear from time to time for quite a bit cheaper, usually around $150. I ended up getting a B stock tygr 300r as a gift for someone before christmas for $150 so not bad at all.
I have heard a lot of people enjoying the pc38x and I am glad they do, I definitely don’t though lol. Then again, I am quite a bit spoiled at this point I suppose.
yep yep, I am more than happy to help others if I can.
You can only buy the tygrs by themselves directly through Beyerdynamics shop or from 3rd party off another person… they will appear being sold by other people through places like ebay, amazon, reverb, here on hifiguides in the buy sell thread, head-fi, and other places… you can use hifishark that will scour the multiple websites in order to find one. Direct beyer websites are here TYGR 300 R: Open-Back Gaming Headphones|beyerdynamic
Great headphone, just a pain to get lol. ^ above here I mention there are ways to get it… it just is a bit complicated… I have seen a few being sold around the area for Sweden through the 3rd parties… just please remember if yall are buying third party… always ask for pictures showing proof of ownership(that means a time stamped card with todays date time and their username so the picture can’t be faked) and you should be able to use paypal… so just go through paypal and request the invoice from him so you have proof of purchase… as paypal will protect you from fraud.
Had someone private message me thinking I didn’t own these… one sec
dt 1990 is a bright headphone with a changeable signature. Very accurate imaging and a large soundstage… essentially a theoretical step up from the DT 990s and to some people a step up from the DT 880s. It has two sets of pads that allow it to have a signature like both headphones respectively… B pads for DT 990 as they give it a V signature with bass and A pads for DT 880 as it makes it neutral bright with a peak to it. DT 1990 responds well to tygrs or amiron home wireless filter inserts allowing it to dial back that 8k peak incase of pesky sibilance issues and the headphone responds impressively well to any pad swap for a variety of signatures including warm, dark, V, Harman if you include some EQ, and of course Bright. As far as placements goes Tygr and 1990 are about close to even on imaging with the 1990 winning that comparison due to bright advantage, sound quality, equalizer capability as it’s not as picky, sound versatility, and absolutely definitely build quality as 1990 is a complete tank with the entire build being made of steel.
It’s absolute overkill, but I love it nonetheless lmao. To me, least in my opinion… I never really stick to one fps… I look at it as eventually I will go to another FPS which means different sound engine… I don’t like the idea of potentially having a headphone that may be good for this smaller fps but the moment I challenge something a bit bigger or a better sound engine suddenly then my headphone isn’t so good anymore if that makes sense.
250 ohms at about the same sensitivity as tygr… so no 1990 is harder to drive but it is easier than the 990 and 880 respectively. 2 sets of pads would be Analytical and Balanced… mentioned above what these do. Less piercy is debateable and depends on the ohm comparison… the peaks are in different spots if you compare both 250 ohms so it would depend on the persons perception in that regard.
it does indeed have a larger soundstage than 990 and tygr respectively not by a whole lot but it is there
It’s… debateable… as someone who owns all of those I actually really enjoy the 990s but not for like a $600 price tag. I snagged my 1990 at $390 and to me personally… I think it depends on if music is involved… Is it worth it? eh, depends on the person most definitely.
^ this, precisely
It’s not so much just the DT line… it’s just beyerdynamic. I have sat with practically everything on their lineup excluding the wireless amirons and like one other I believe it was ear buds or something. Everything has impressive imaging and soundstage excluding for some reason the Custom series which is kinda meh.
I would recommend the trial of 880 and 990 for atleast a week if you can with a return policy on them or something… if you feel they are lacking in some ways… yeah step it up to 1990. If you do end up going 1990… well, for the most part you can forget about needing a potential upgrade later less you jump down the rabbit hole… not many best the 1990 in competitive from my experience so far, least not those that I would deem worth the pricetag. My own headphone does better than 1990 in my opinion and I prefer it(T1.2) but it’s discontinued and demands a beefy amp and dac setup.
the speakers would end up going into the preamp of the amplifier’s back ports if it has them. depends on where your from… I am not at home to look at which have these ports… Entry level units are
Monoprice Liquid Spark Amp + Topping D10, Monoprice Liquid Spark Dac, Topping E30, or Donald Dac
Schiit Magni 3+ or Heresy + Modi with or without multibit
JDS Atom stack
Topping L30+E30(they are currently having issues with L30 blowing up. be wary on this if you go for it contact the company they have wonderful customer service)
Combo Units
Ifi Zen Dac(cannot power 600 ohms without use of it’s balanced port… balanced requires special cabling) this does have a step up as well as a stacked amp unit for more power. Amp is called IFI Zen Can
Soundblaster G6, this has some of the lowest sound quality but is quite cheap and capable of driving the 600 ohm headphones with some gaming additions like voice morph, 7.1 surround, recon mode for footsteps, etc. Good for if your not an audiophile and just want something that’s going to drive the headphone just keep in mind better amps can help with imaging and soundstage too.
Do keep in mind that with respective separate amp and dac you will need a cheap pair of RCA cables to connect them unless in special cases of the higher end units when they have balanced cable ports.
990 I immediately recommend the liquid spark as entry… 880 spark or magni. If you can’t get these ^ the list up there works out…
250 ohm and 600 ohm work fine. Don’t go lower than 250 ohms as the sound quality takes a large hit. Please keep in mind and this goes for others here reading that the 880 has 2 variations of it in 250 ohms. The Black Limited Edition 250 ohms has a different tuning… I do not recommend going with this headphone please avoid it… it’s too bassy and the sound quality just isn’t quite there… this may be from the pads and dampener but still it’s worth noting, 600 ohm black 880 is just aesthetic.
880 and 990 also have some nice aesthetic variations too if you prefer that… if your from Europe you have access to Manufaktur variations… but in the USA we have things like Chrome and All Black.
@Falenkor Thanks a lot for your recommendations! I’ve checked out what’s available for what price and I’ve found out that I can order the Monolith Liquid Spark Amp for 150€ and the TOPPING E30 Dac for 140€. The Liquid Spark Dac would take probably over a month to be shipped, and that’s even uncertain, so I guess I’m skipping on that one unless its a masterpiece.
I’m thinking about ordering that Amp + Dac combo, and ordering both 880 600 ohm and 990 600 ohm to understand my own sound preference… Damn I don’t even know what to expect from it… I’ve lived an entire life time with regular shitty headphones…
Thanks for letting me know about the aesthetic options out there, but I’m looking for quality and comfort before design!
Besides the RCA cables that you’ve mentioned, do I need anything else? What’s the best type of connection when connecting the dac to the computer? Optical? Usb? Doesn’t matter? x)
Lastly I’m trying to understand if I will be able to connect my speakers, to the Monolith Liquid Spark Amp… Can you explain me? I guess “I” stands for Input but “P” Pre-amp?! o.O
wouldn’t say it’s a master piece lol but it is a nice amp.
keep in mind, combo units will be weaker than dedicated units for amp and dac and in most cases the sound quality will be better having both as separate units. The amp and dac are more of an investment, they last for a very long time much more than your headphones probably will.
Shouldn’t have to worry about build quality on beyers like, at all lol. As for comfort… that’s quite subjective but I haven’t had issues with them. I do like the aesthetics of the chrome versions though…
in some cases the purchase of a dac will not include the secondary cable connectors that go to PC. I believe E30 was like if I recall correctly and I needed another usb cable to fully set it up as it has one usb for power the other usb for the pc. I would just say look into the unit and what’s included so you know if you may need something. In most cases, you don’t really need anything extra and if you do it’s not too expensive. Optical is more for like… consoles, usb is for pc. Cables will matter but they have the least impact on sound(yes, cables will improve sound quality but only to some degree).
lol yes, those are preamp ports for your powered speakers.
I always recommend starting small… you need to find your headphone preference when it comes to sound signature, comfort, build quality, and even driver preference as some people really don’t like tesla drivers like beyer uses. Personally, huge fan of tesla and planar not as much dynamic… all these headphones sound different even if in the same signature category… measurements only go so far… they don’t speak on air, soundstage, imaging, separation, detail retrieval, bass quantities, if theres any bleed issues, what the shape of the stage is, is the imaging 3d full circle, etc etc.
My own starter was with the 990s at 250 ohms driven off the spark… it’s what drove me this far as I wanted more in my mids and a wider soundstage, I ended up trying sundara which led to my hunt for a soundstage with more width and depth. Just don’t get too hyped up yeah? something to note is that all headphones and amps are playing the same note, they just have different characteristics… we hear things quite differently though so it could very well be quite a good surprise.
I would recommend starting at the bottom to kind of figure out what your looking for… The entry levels are a great way to get into this hobby but a great way to really get a ton of enjoyment out of your games and music.
I have had this asked before but… my setup usually goes…
Beyerdynamic T1.2 for competitives. To explain a bit on this i went from 990 and it was a touch too sharp, went to 600 ohms and it was just right but I felt something missing… turns out it was the mids. I took a step up and sideways trying 880 and 1990… 880s I felt lacked that air and soundstage I loved from 990 so I skipped them… 1990 had what I wanted but again… not enough bass or mid presence and the B pads just didn’t do it for me… this led me here to the T1.2 which has inbetween bass of the two pads of the 1990, raised mids, and smooth wonderful highs brighter than the 880 but similar in that they are smooth paired alongside the largest soundstage of the beyers and that crazy accurate imaging
Nighthawk Carbon / Audeze LCD-2C for my metal and rock or sometimes movies and games that are more explosive such as doom
Aeon Open-X I plan to get the RT variant later… this is my chill harman tuned headphone of my favorite tuning and amazing comfort… I absolute adore this headphone it works practically everywhere but needs an amp that can really open up it’s sound and dynamics
Newer editions: I finally have a Focal Clear in house these days which is practically making my 58x Jubilee redundant entirely.
Ananda broke on me(hifiman QC for you) AGAIN, so I am planning to try the new Gold Planar 2000 over there which is getting rave reviews
I have a buddy of mine getting a Zeus in soon and hoping to have that replace my tygr 300r
amps I have tried a wide plethora… but I rely on the big step up from the liquid spark which is called the Liquid Platinum. That alongside the Asgard 3 when headphones just can’t be balanced or the warmth of the plat is just too much. Planning to upgrade asgard 3 to violectric later and liquid platinum at some point whenever the hell I find something that does it’s job better lol maybe ifi ican
I have had a few message me asking about youtube videos, donations, etc…
look, I don’t take money from doing this… Please, feel free to quote me on this if someone asks… I gain NOTHING from helping others or writing this… this is done in my spare time when I can because I want others to share in that same enjoyment that I found in getting off these stupid gaming headsets. I found my games more enjoyable, immersive, my gunshots felt more realistic, I was completely captivated by my gaming… and no I can’t say well, if you get all this expensive stuff it’s going to make them better as they have limits but my music and casual gaming really took a step forward alongside the competitives gave me a good amount of advantage worth speaking about. Games like Tarkov especially are so unbelievably demanding that going from something like a 58x jubilee to something like say a Hifiman Sundara is massive just from the soundstage benefit alone. When you play a horror game and you hear that deep rumbling from two rooms away slowly walking towards you, it’s exhilarating and it’s something I never found from the gaming headsets outside of a very very select few. My journey progresses each day and I always try new gear… I get recommended to try things all the time. I try not to be biased towards Beyerdynamic honestly lol, I know some people have called me on that I appear to be… if anything it’s just that for the money in competitive gaming they are very hard to be beat… there are some competitors but not quite the many unfortunately.
The updated guide is taking longer because I am updating as I go and I have to sit down and re listen and re play with the headphones I am adding new to the list…
some people have made mention that well, he has headphones on here that are quite bad. At the time, I seen them as quite good… looking at HD599 and steel series up there on my list… just as an example those are indeed going to be removed as for what they are and what they can do… they just are not worth it.
I appreciate everyone’s kind words and, I guess generosity thinking they would prefer to toss stuff my way but I have to gratefully decline any offers or invitations. If you want to show any form of gratitude, simply posting on here your experiences and thoughts on the matter or somewhere on the forum is plenty. Thanks again guys, and whenever I stop being so dang busy and manage to finished the update, it has like… I think 8 more headphones to be added, I hope you guys enjoy that… it’s taking some time as I am implementing it into google.doc alongside frequency response measurements and myself personally rating it while sitting down with it.
Thanks again, and like usual… if you have any other questions… please feel free to message me or ask me on here. Happy gaming, Stay healthy, and take care.
Excellent write up! You’ve given me plenty to mull over for my next purchase of headphones. Like you, I’m waiting to see a bit more on the GL2000 as well since its right at my price cap.
I am wondering if I can somehow get a loaner on that one to see for myself… it has me wondering… it’s priced in the same point as the T1.2. My biggest concern with that is I am hearing the bass has the rumble in it… which is an immediate deal breaker for competitives without equalizing. There is far to little information on that headphone for me to give it any recommendation at this point in time… same with HarmonicDyne Zeus. Both are potential additions to this list with Zeus being a potential upgrade to the Tygr 300R and GL2000 potentially being an alternative to highest ends here.
Still, with the restock fees, return shipping fees, and custom fees all tacked into one just for trying it… I don’t feel like potentially losing out… granted I could very well ebay it or sell it on here I suppose… I will contend with thought later… At the moment I am waiting to see what @11_Clouds has to say on them in regards to this headphone.
It does irritate me that the reviewers are giving it praise and yet, the remarks given are quite vague all considering. I get that some of them may get affiliated and money gain from selling the product but at least go more into details on each aspect of the headphone…
Still the remarks that it may be better than an arya caught my attention immediately…
100% agree. I’m very analytical by nature and don’t buy anything without all knowledge I can possibly get, expensive or not.
Damn this is an addicting hobby that I’ve got myself into lol. For now I’m an outsider looking in till I really start to build a collection and preference. I realize at some point I’ll need/want to upgrade my Magni/Modi stack but for now its at the bottom of the list till I add more cans.
It’s one to burn the wallet lol. I wouldn’t worry about upgrading the amp and dac less you really jump into the rabbit hole like me. Once you get like 2 or 3 headphones rolling and you get those higher budget more demanding of better equipment headphones above the $400 point you may want to consider an upgrade.
)
