AudioChainsDB
Beyerdynamic

DT 990 Pro 80 Ω

headphones

$200

Used market: $155*

Manufacturer datasheet

Specifications

2 of 7 values have a recorded source
Connector
3.5 mm + 6.35 mm adapter·
Form Factor
Over-Ear·
Is Closed Back
no·
Impedance ohms
80
Transducer Type
Dynamic·
Detachable Cable
no·
Sensitivity dB mW
96

Expert Audio Engineering Commentary

Tonal Profile

The 80 Ohm DT 990 is the version people actually buy for a laptop, and beyerdynamic ships it with a straight cable while the 250 Ohm gets a coiled one — the fastest way to tell them apart secondhand. Same lifted treble as the 250 Ohm; the difference is current draw, not tuning.

What the datasheet actually says

Quoted verbatim from the manufacturer’s own page, with the date we checked it. We state what is printed, not what anyone intended by it.

One figure, several models
«Nominal SPL . . . 96 dB»

The DT 990 PRO datasheet lists two impedances — «80 Ω / system» and «250 Ω / system» — with separate weights and separate cables for each, then prints a single sensitivity for both. Two voice coils that differ by a factor of three cannot share one figure in either unit: read as dB/mW the 250 Ohm version needs 5 dB more voltage, read as dB/V it needs none. The sheet also never names the unit; beyerdynamic spells it out on the Amiron home as «102 dB (1 mW / 500 Hz)», which is why we read this as dB/mW.

checked 8/5/2026

* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~78% retained value). · checked on 8/5/2026