Which headphones of Drop's currently available?
I have some rewards points to burn but there's no obviously good options on Drop right now for headphones Contenders Ultrasone - maybe? I don't own any Ultrasones, so curious. Looks like garbage travel headphone which could be useful also. Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro. - Maybe? I have the DT 880 Good price point, really uncomfortable headphones but could be interesting to try the upgraded version. E-MU - strong contender but $400 is a bad price point for what it is. Which of the above would you choose and why? Nothing else on Drop is relevant to my interests, because Already own 6xx 820 800 s Ether cx Garbage / Consumer grade Meze 99 - garbage bass canons, hard pass No gaming headphones obviously Sennheiser wireless - no to wireless/bluetooth Hifiman - I have 2 of drop hifimans and they make really bad cheap shit on Drop, hard pass on HE-R7DX Aeon - I own the closed, Drop refuses to address #padgate so no reason to buy open Beyerdynamic 177x - wireless, nope Too similar 8x / 560s...
Mar 28, 2024
Assume the individual needs to keep it under $300. I always thought it would be more important to get a really good DAC and something decent enough to drive your headphones.
Headphones>Amp>Source Files>DAC
Keep in mind that I started with a decent sound card (Sound Blaster Omni) so upgrading to a cheap DAC (the Modi specifically) did not produce any audible results. IMO, you're much better off getting a good amp with an okay DAC (Matrix M-Stage or Asgard/Modi) than an okay amp with a good DAC (Magni+Bifrost for example).
In that price range, I'd recommend buying what I am using right now: Audio-GD NFB-15. I've been through several Amps and DACs and I don't feel the need to upgrade anytime soon. I know that if I do, I'll need to spend a LOT of money for not a lot of improvement. The Q701 and the NFB-15 is a price/performance sweet spot for me.
As always, subjective, YMMV, etc.