The Quality of these headphones is unsurpassed - absolutely superb and very comfortable to wear over long periods of time read less

Until Beyerdynamic's mighty T1 Tesla arrived on the scene, the DT-990 Premium ($369) was one of the firm's top two audiophile models (the other model sharing on of the top slots was the DT-880 PRO, reviewed in Playback 12).

The Beyer DT 990 is among the world's best open-back dynamic headphones. It has been a favorite among professional recording engineers and music lovers for 25 years for its great sound, moderate price and now solid build quality.

THE ONLY MAJOR MANUFACTURER I know of that makes the same headphone in different impedances, Beyerdynamic offers the DT-990 in a 32-ohm version for use with portable devices, a 250-ohm version for average home gear, and a 600-ohm version for high-end headphone amps.

Beyerdynamic recently re-released a bunch of headphones under their MANUFAKTUR program, which allows you to tweak the headphones' coloration, impedance, cord style, and other features. The DT 990s were one set of headphones that got this re-release.