Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro X review

Beyerdynamic’s wired headphone pedigree is impressive. Take a peek at our list of the best wired headphones, or indeed our list of the best audiophile headphones, and you’ll find quite a few members of the 100-year-old German brand’s roster holding firmly on to coveted positions on each respective rundown.

To some, it’s a name that’s synonymous with wired performance, a reputation it has earned thanks to mighty chart-toppers such as the premium Beyerdynamic T1 (3rd Generation) (currently £899 / $999 / AU$1599) and the formerly Award-winning Beyerdynamic Amiron (tested at £545).

Beyerdynamic seeks to build on that admirable legacy with the DT 990 Pro X. A follow-up to the five-star DT 900 Pro X, the weight of expectation sits heavily upon the open-backed cans’ metaphorical shoulders. If they can evidence more of that stellar wired DNA, however, they could be yet another success for one of the most dominant players in the wired arena.

Price

The Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro X cost £189 / $199 / AU$399, a lower initial price than the launch cost of the established DT 900 Pro X we tested a few years ago at £219 / $299 / AU$369.

That makes them something of a mid-range proposition in wired headphones terms. If you want to step up to something more expensive and stick with an open-back design, the Award-winning Grado SR325x are available for around £330 / $295 / AU$419.

Alternatively, you could go cheaper by seeking out the closed-back excellence of the Røde NTH-100 (roughly £109 / $150 / AU$189) or the Austrian Audio Hi-X20 (£120 / $150 / AU$250). Beyerdynamic offers a closed-back alternative at the same price, the DT 770 Pro X.

Build & comfort

Whether you’re huddled in a sweaty studio trying to get all of the pieces of a tricky mix to come together, or you’re happy just to sit at home enjoying your favourite tunes, the DT 990 Pro X are superbly comfortable and well-made headphones.

We said the same thing about the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X when they dropped in 2021: yes, these are billed as ‘studio’ headphones, but there’s very little stopping you from enjoying them in a non-professional setting.

The newer cans barely deviate from their older counterparts in terms of design, sporting the same circular earcups and accommodating headband as their more established siblings, even if they add a few small embellishments such as visible fastening on the headband’s exterior and contrasting grey lettering for their proud DT 990 Pro X logo.

What we’re most pleased to see is that those soft velour earcups are back, additions that make it feel as though our ears are receiving a big hug from a friendly polar bear. They’re furry and soft, yet rather remarkably, they don’t seem to cause too much on-ear heat during extended listening stints – a big bonus in our book.

On the surface, the DT 990 Pro X look like rather substantial headphones. Weighing in at around 292g, they’re not feather light, yet their overall weight distribution and clever ergonomic design mean that we never really feel the cans hanging heavy on our head. Their weight is evenly distributed, with a well-judged clamping force adding both comfort and security to our testing sessions.

We’ll repeat our usual warning that the Beyerdynamics employ an open-backed design, so they will leak sound like a Cold War spy leaks government secrets, all while letting a considerable amount of sound in. They’re not quite as bad as the sieve-like Grados in this regard, but bear in mind that if you work with other people, they’ll be able to discern whether you’re listening to Slipknot or Sabrina Carpenter from across a quiet office.

Beyerdynamic’s wired over-ears come with a detachable 2m cable with a locking mini-XLR connector at the headphone end. A 3.5mm jack is fitted as standard, though there is an included 6.3mm adapter for connecting to a wider range of source players and hi-fi equipment.

Externals aside, what’s going on when you take a peek inside the DT 990 Pro X? Beyerdynamic’s oft-used Stellar.45 drive units, the same ones as found in the DT 900 Pro X and the wireless Aventho 300, are once again called into action.

The brand’s signature driver design uses a layered Polyether Ether Ketone (‘PEEK’)’ thermoplastic polymer diaphragm coupled with a Neodymium motor system, with Beyerdynamic promising a wide frequency range to deliver “premium sound regardless of the playback device”.

That’s all well and expected, but we’re struck by the brand’s candid revelation that the new cans' design “reveals acoustic imperfections” – acting, as Beyerdynamic puts it, as “a sonic magnifier” to shine a light on each recording’s given particulars. That sounds a touch odd on the surface, but when you realise that the brand envisions these as studio-worthy headphones, it makes a lot of sense.

Sound

As every British child knows – or ought to know – it was Oliver Cromwell who, upon being asked what kind of royal portrait he would favour, declared that his visage should be presented “warts and all”. Apocryphal or not, it’s a nice story about a man not concerned with artifice or smoothing off any rough edges – that the truth, no matter how challenging, was far more important than a sanitised lie.

The Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro X's promise of acting as a “sonic magnifier” rings true from the moment we get them up and firing, and while a prudent running-in period softens them just a little, that essential nature never fades away.

That’s no insult. Their outstanding resolution levels are properly impressive, and if you’re planning on using the DT 990 Pro X for studio use, you’ll be thrilled by how much information they unearth. For us home listeners, feed them a half-decent recording or pair them with a capable source and you’ll be knocked out by a pair of headphones that pursue detail and clarity like a bloodhound with a fox’s scent in its nostrils.

We stream music from Tidal and Qobuz via our Lenovo Thinkpad laptop and an iPhone 15, and also play WAV and hi-res files from the five-star Astell & Kern A&norma SR35 portable music player. We also pair our cans with the Award-winning Audioquest DragonFly Cobalt DAC when listening from the laptop. We find that no matter the source we use, the 48-ohm Beyerdynamic are able to stretch to accommodate their partnering equipment while retaining their own signature sound.

Their stellar detail levels are a real trump card. Whether it’s the sorrowful piano on Nick Cave’s Bright Horses or the delicate, bluesy guitar on Jeff Buckley’s So Real, there’s so much texture that we feel as though we can reach out and touch the instruments being played.

Switching back to the older DT 900 Pro X just confirms how far Beyerdynamic has come in this regard. The newer headphones are noticeably clearer, more detailed and offer a more pleasing balance, making their five-star predecessors sound just a little muddy and unrefined as a result.

The new cans are spacious and immensely well-ordered operators, laying out our tunes before us and inviting us to hear each component in its entirety. Their reproduction of Alice In Chains’ live rendition of Down In A Hole drops us into the intimacy of the recording and makes the contrasting vocal strands feel distinct and separate, all while evoking the mournful sincerity of the two lead performances.

Muse’s Madness, meanwhile, comes across as impressively well-ordered – the building layers are managed with careful precision, but not to the extent that the resultant reproduction sounds clinical or overly restricted. It is, to be all Goldilocks about it, just right.

Admittedly, that relentlessly insightful nature can be a slightly double-edged sword if you’re used to headphones that smooth over any rougher edges, as the DT 990 Pro X won’t sugarcoat lacklustre or raw recordings, and will happily highlight the quirks of more challenging sonic fare.

The DT 990 Pro X don’t shy away from the industrial stabs and distorted high notes of Avenged Sevenfold’s We Love You, for instance, refusing to smooth over those harsher tones in favour of an informative, honest yet always entertaining approach.

Either way, the DT 990 Pro X are strong across the frequencies, and their nimbleness at the lower end deserves particular adulation. We marvel at how impressively they handle the bassline on Muse’s Hysteria, teasing out each bass pluck with so much agility that we can only sit back and admire how clearly and ably they give each tricky note its own distinct space.

Dynamics are impressively handled, too, another area where the newer DT 990 Pro X outshine their predecessors. The Beyerdynamic over-ears certainly don’t over-egg the pudding in this regard, but they’re talented enough to tease out the low-level dynamic variations when we switch back to Madness. Again, they’re composed, clear and precise, but they don’t fall into the trap of sounding emotionally distant or unengaging.

Verdict

The Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro X are some of the most revealing and detailed headphones we’ve heard at this price, making them ideal for anyone who wants to hear exactly what’s going on with their music while also offering excellent long-wearing comfort.

While some ‘studio’ headphones can sound distant or overly clinical, the DT 990 Pro X strike a stunning balance between analysis and entertainment. No matter your musical taste or intended use case, they come highly recommended.

Review published: 15th September 2025

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Comfort 5
• Build 5

MORE:

Read our Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X

Also consider the Grado SR325x

Read our Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X review

Best over-ear headphones: wired and wireless pairs tested by our in-house experts