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
As a stand alone DAC, I don't have much to compare it to, but it is much better than the only other DAC seperate I've owned - a Cambridge Audio DacMagic. I think the Hugo probably could get a lot out of hi-res recordings, but honestly, I mostly listen to Spotify and CD converted AIFFs. Happily, the Hugo, unlike the Cambridge, is very forgiving to these - pulling out detail that is there, but not really highlighting weaknesses. It's also actually pretty good with video games.
Long story short - I think the Hugo can reasonablly be seen as a bargain (when compared to other hi-end DAC/Amp combos or even separates), but it could also be reasonably seen as overpriced. I don't know of any other portable DAC/Amp combos that are can easily drive an LCD 3/HD800, or can so effortlessly fit in with a much more expensive loudspeaker setup (and certainly not at this price) - but most people don't need their portable DAC/Amp to do these things.
In the end, I don't think I would pay full price for this myself, but I am very happy with it, and for what it offers, I think $1700 could be a very good deal for some people.