Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro Black Edition EQ settings

Parametric EQ correction for the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro Black Edition, derived from measurements by Auriculares Argentina. It moves the measured frequency response toward a neutral target.

How the DT 990 Pro Black Edition sounds before EQ

Measured against a neutral target, the DT 990 Pro Black Edition comes out bright. Treble sits ahead of the bass, which reads as detail at first and fatigue over time.

The air region, openness at the very top, sits about 14.4 dB forward of neutral, so the very top sounds airy and open (measurements this high up vary between test rigs, so treat the exact number loosely). The treble region, cymbals, sibilance and sparkle, sits about 6.6 dB forward of neutral, so cymbals and s-sounds can sting. The sub-bass region, rumble and the weight under kick drums, sits about 6.0 dB behind neutral, so kick drums lose their weight. The bass region, punch and bass lines, sits about 2.6 dB behind neutral, so bass lines sound thin.

The largest single move in the correction is 15.8 dB around 20 kHz, on top of a broad tilt of up to 6.6 dB. That is not subtle. This model benefits clearly from correction.

These figures are read from the correction itself: whatever the EQ lifts, the headphone lacked, and whatever it cuts, the headphone had too much of. The target is the community's neutral reference, and how far above 10 kHz you can trust any measurement varies by rig. More bright models.

The correction curve

The solid line is the full measured correction (all 10 filters). The dashed line is what Atrium applies: the same shape at 65 percent strength, capped at 6 dB per band, so the headphone keeps its own character instead of being forced flat.

What the EQ fixes

Summed across every filter, these are the changes the correction actually makes, largest first:

• At the top of the range the correction cuts everything above roughly 10.2 kHz by up to 15.8 dB.
• Around 5.8 kHz the correction cuts the sibilance range by 7.1 dB, over a broad band about 1.9 octaves wide.
• At the bottom of the range the correction lifts everything below roughly 110 Hz by up to 6.1 dB.

The preamp of -6.1 dB offsets the boosts so nothing clips at full volume.

Parametric EQ settings

This is the published correction for the DT 990 Pro Black Edition, unaltered, in AutoEq format. It pastes straight into Equalizer APO or Peace on Windows, and into most parametric EQ apps. Enter every row, including the ones that cut. These are the values to use: the numbers are not rounded off or simplified for the page, because changing them would change the result.

How to use these settings

Manually: enter the preamp and each filter into any parametric EQ. On Windows that is usually Equalizer APO with the Peace interface. On a Mac, eqMac or SoundSource. Set the type, frequency, gain and Q exactly as listed.

With Atrium: pick your DT 990 Pro Black Edition in the app and it applies a tuned version of this correction: 65 percent strength with a 6 dB per-band cap, which fixes the rough spots without erasing what the headphone does well. Atrium also measures how you hear with a short listening test and layers your personal hearing profile on top. Two people with the same headphones do not hear the same sound. Headphone corrections are part of Signature Edition; the app itself is free.

DT 990 Pro Black Edition vs other Beyerdynamic models

Bass and treble are each model's average distance from the neutral target in that range. Positive means more than neutral, negative means less.

Headphones that sound similar

Closest matches across all 4,332 measured models, by distance between their deviation curves. Useful if you like how the DT 990 Pro Black Edition is tuned and want alternatives.

More Beyerdynamic EQ settings