An excellent mid-range solution for unaltered listening

Building upon the tremendous success of Beyerdynamic’s DT 900 Pro headphones, the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X promises unaltered listening on any device without the need for external amplification. Priced at Rs 28,999, the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X is an open-back circumaural pair of studio headphones designed for professional musicians, DJs, audio engineers and audio mixers. Wedged between the DT 900 Pros and the DT 1990 Pros, the DT 900 Pro X is a mid-range solution that we were excited to try out. Let’s find out how it fared during our testing.

Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X: Build and features

The Beyerdynamic feel more luxurious than their cost; right from the plushy velour ear pads to the brushed metal headband, the DT 900 Pro X exudes a premium air. At the same time, the headphones don’t look ostentatious, allowing them to easily blend with other equipment in a studio or your home set up. The open-back design means that the cups are well ventilated but this design does allow for leakage and ineffective passive isolation, so it is best to use them in a closed studio.

The build also uses plastic for the outer covering of the headband and the ear cups, but it doesn’t come across as cheap. The usage of some plastic allows the company to keep the weight down to 345g, but these are still heavy headphones that do cause some fatigue after a couple of hours of use. We especially felt a hot spot on the top of our head build up in a while, which can get quite uncomfortable. We would have preferred if the headband’s cushion was slightly more voluminous. On the other hand, the memory foam ear cups were supple and extremely comfortable over the ears.

The headphone extends considerably, so even those with large heads won’t have much of an issue with the fit of these headphones. The clamping force is pretty good and the headphones stay put even when you walk around your apartment briskly. These are pretty comfortable studio headphones but we’ve experienced a higher degree of comfort on some of Sennheiser’s studio offerings.

There’s no folding mechanism and the ear cups don’t rotate, so these aren’t easily portable headphones. Either way, not many will venture out with these studio-grade headphones on a daily basis, but if you do need to transport them, Beyerdynamic provides a cloth carrying case in the box.

Speaking of the box, the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X comes packing two swappable 3-pin mini-XLR cables in the box with a 3.5mm jack for your device at the other end. The cables are of different lengths – 3-meter and 1.8-meter. Beyerdynamic also includes a ¼-inch adapter that screws onto the 3.5mm connector, so you can connect the headphones to an audio interface if needed. Additionally, the headphones come with an array of replaceable parts including the headphone, ear pads, and even the STELLAR.45 drivers, but sourcing them in India may be an issue.

Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X: Performance

The Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X are open-backed studio headphones which means air and sound move freely through the grills on the ear cups, allowing for more natural and open sound. This often comes at the cost of isolation. Open-backed headphones also are more prone to leakage, so keep all these things in mind before purchasing the DT 900 Pro X or any open-backed headphones, for that matter. 

Sporting a low impedance of 48Ω (ohms), the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X can be powered by most devices including mobile phones, laptops, tablets, PCs, and audio interfaces. There’s no real need for external amplification as was the case with previous Beyerdynamic studio offerings with an impedance of 250 ohms. The headphones come packing Beyerdynamic’s STELLAR.45 drivers with a frequency response of 5 Hz – 40,000 Hz.

The Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X is meant to serve as an unaltered audio playback solution for sound engineers, mixers, and critical listeners, and it does just that. For the uninitiated, the sound can be a bit jarring, because these headphones don’t attempt to reproduce sound in a pleasant, enjoyable manner but as it is. So, there are times when you will hear overly harsh high notes, the unpleasant rumbling of low bass, that consumer headphones usually tone down. But all of this is present in all of its glory on the DT 900 Pro X because its job isn’t to shelter you from unpleasant frequencies but to give you an honest, clear representation of sound.

The result? You will hear details in tracks that you’ve never really experienced before on consumer-grade headphones. In songs such as Pull Me Under by Dream Theatre, you can hear every guitar pluck or drum hit to perfection – and sometimes, you can even catch mistakes on old recordings. It really lends a hand in allowing musicians and mixers to create the best-sounding track possible. Of course, higher-range studio headphones produce this unaltered sound with slightly more precision and a wider soundstage. The soundstage on these headphones is quite limiting which may bring out some inaccuracies in imaging. However, for the price, these are natural-sounding studio headphones that can be driven by most devices you own. 

Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X: Verdict

The primary difference between the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X and the original DT 900 Pros is that the former brings with it improved comfort, replaceable parts, and reduced impedance. If these features aren’t vital to you, it would be prudent to buy the DT 900 Pro instead and save over 15K of your hard-earned money. However, if these features make a difference, then what you’re getting for the price is a clean and natural-sounding pair of studio headphones with a robust build and the ability to be driven by most of your devices. It is one of the best mid-range options you can find on the market for sound engineers, mixers, DJs, and musicians. An excellent alternative from the Sennheiser camp is the Sennheiser HD 600 which provides accurate sound reproduction as well.