The DT1990 is already well into the area of diminishing returns in my opinion. The DT1990 build quality is excellent and better than some costing a lot more. It’s also well accessorised. And I find them very comfortable, genuinely circumaural and nice clamp force.
To go more expensive I think it is about taste, build and comfort, and the sound signature you like. If you like Beyerdynamic then try their T1 and T5p. Personally I would advise getting a model with a sound signature you like then fine tune with EQ so as not to lose anything.
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Very true, honestly it really just depends on the person tbh for how far it’s worth going.
Yes, it’s really all preference, you really want to have what you like cemented so you really know what you are after, you don’t want to go in blind in this performance bracket
Agree, smaller eq tweaks are a ok but trying to heavily eq to match a target or something can really start to get ugly
Could you suggest me some headphones for max 2k which has about same or slightly worse price to performance like DT1990?
Built quality / quality control / customer support is important for me, so I dont prefer Hifiman.
I like neutral sound or harman target.
I prefer not having smaller soundstage than DT 1990,
but it can be sacrificed if other things are done better.
I can buy from eBay (used market).
I can also wait 1 year for prices to drop or new technology.
I mean you are going to get way worse price to performance from just being in that range tbh
There are plenty of options that might be worthwhile then. I would say something like a focal clear and a better amp or something perhaps
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You won’t get anything like the same performance per $ at the $2000 price point as for the DT1990. The DT1990 is already in diminishing returns territory meaning you are paying a lot more for relatively small improvements. At $2000 it is questionable whether your money is buying better performance or buying exclusivity and design. The difference in sound between a good $2000 headphone and a good $500 headphone in terms of sound and build quality is nothing like the difference between a good $500 model and a good $125 model. Also, defining a price to work up to is probably not a good way to go, I would define what you want in terms of tuning and build then look for comfortable designs fitting what you want.
So the Focal Clear is higher tier than DT1990(?) and is around 1k on ebay (good deal?).
I have AuneX1s as Dac and Amp. Would that suffice?
If not, can you recommend me an amp which pairs with AuneX1s and Focal Clear?
I personally would say so but it is different. I would say amp wise you might want to consider something like a spl phonitor e amp (this one also has a dac too) would be a good neutral amp
Im from Germany and couldnt find anything here. Can you suggest me something more common?
Look for a Violectric HPA V280, that should be aval in germany
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A lot of people are recommending JDS Labs Atom, due to their excellent price to performance.
Can you explain me the difference between JDS Labs Atom and Violectric HPA V280 in terms of sound fidelity for Focal Clear? Is the Violectric HPA V280 so much better and worth?
For the clear yes. So the atom is great for the price, sounds awesome and easily something I could recommend. That being said, it would sound nice on the clear, but you wouldn’t really be getting the sound and performance you pay for without an equally as good amp. The Violectric is a much higher preforming amp, and imo will improve the clears performance a fair bit to where it becomes worthwhile. Higher end headphones are designed to be used with appropriately tiered electronics, so they are meant to be paired with a higher preforming amp as well. If you were just using the 1990, I would not recommend the violectric as that doesn’t make sense, the atom makes more sense, but for the clear to get the most out of it you want a high preforming amplifier. By entering this range you are leaving the price to performance zone a fair bit, that being said it is rewarding to do so if you can afford it
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I think the big difference on higher end SS amps is their handling of lower level input signals, they tend to do a better job of portraying low volume high frequency transients and that leads to better timbre, generally cleaner sounding treble and improved spatial presentation.
Most of that is very subtle and potentially in audible with headphones that don’t resolve that detail well.
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Just realised the JDS Labs Atom doesnt have the right connector for Focal Clear. I would get the Aune X7s instead.
So in summary so far:
Setup1 (DT1990 setup): Aune X1s (200€) + DT 1990 (400€) = 600€
Setup2 (Clear+bad amp): Aune X1s (200€) + Aune X7s (200€) + Focal Clear (1k€) = 1400€
Setup3 (Clear+good amp): Aune X1s (200€) + Vioectric (1k€) + Focal Clear (1k€) = 2200€
Setup2 is 230% of Setup1, but how much is the audible difference?
Setup3 is 360% of Setup1, but how much is the audible difference?
Honestly I wouldn’t just swap everything all at once, buy the clears, they’ll sound different to the Beyers on pretty much anything, then pick up the better amp down the road.
Your also at a price point with the Vioelectric, that you can basically pick up a used one and if it isn’t a difference you find justifies the expense, you can just resell it at relatively little loss.
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Lets say
Setup4: AuneX1s + DT1990 = 600€
Setup5: AuneX1s + Clear = 1200€
Setup5 is 200% of Setup4, should I still go for it?
The AuneX1s wouldn’t do the Clears justice.
I would then rather wait a year or so and ask you guys again.
It’s impossible for anyone here to say what value something would have to you.
Everything has diminishing returns and people value certain aspects of a headphone over others.
I couldn’t live with a DT1990 at any price, the spike in the treble makes them extremely fatiguing to me, I can appreciate them as a headphone (they are very good for the price), but I don’t want to own them.
I do own Focal Elex (which you can’t get easily in Europe) which run a bit more than the DT1990’s, and I know people consider on entry level amplification that the Clears sound like a less V shaped Elex.
But hearing the real differences between the Focals requires better amplification.
I cannot ascribe value to a choice for you, the Focals do not sound like the DT1990’s they may be less or more attractive to you. I personally would take the Focals over pretty much any Beyer headphone, but I’m not overly value sensitive, and I own several higher level amps.
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Unfortunately no matter how long you wait, you will still be presented with the same problem. If you are looking for a significant upgrade, you will have to spend more for those extra % performance bumps as you go on, in this price range it’s rather unavoidable
Also an issue with the aune x1s and the x7s is that they have fairly high output impedance, which will affect the clears in a not positive way, adjusting frequency response and making them sound incorrect
I fixed the spike treble with EQ, it was also very harsh for me.
I’m an overly efficient person and i’m also very efficient with money.
That’s why my sense of value kicks in when it comes to diminishing returns.
I think waiting helps, look at the prices for DT1990 over time:
2016: 600€
2017: 550€
2018: 450€
2020: 400€
Technology advances in all areas, amps, headphones, dacs etc.
Prices drop.
EDIT DT1990 on eBay: 300€
I will avoid the Aune X7s.
Sure but go look at the used price for vintage Macintosh gear if you want to see the reverse trend. IME used equipment prices generally settle and can stay at those prices for a decade or in the case of the Macintosh gear decades. On rare occasions things fall out or into Vogue, but it’s not the norm.
If your spending 1000+ dollars on audio gear you really do want to look at used. It greatly reduces risk, since you can usually sell for what you paid or close to it, and it gives you a chance to hear different gear.
Maybe the right answer is to find a Brick and Mortar store with some higher end headphones to listen to, that will at least let you compare to the DT1990’s and give you a basis for “value”.
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