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
Way more powerful. If you ask me there's no point of spending more than like $100 on a DAC. They all sound the same. If you listen to a $2300 DAC and can tell the difference it's either your mind lying to you, or they're playing 192kbps or less music when it's plugged into the computer and FLAC when you plug in the DAC. I'm not talking about amplifiers though, if you have a 600 ohm headphone then buy a $400 amp.
I would be frankly shocked if you couldn't tell the difference between my $800 Gustard X20U and my $100 Schiit Modi 2. The difference is huge. But then I also own hi-fi headphones and quality amps which will clearly reveal the differences.
Why do expensive DACs sound better? Differential balanced topology (lower noise, greater performance), custom filtering, quality input stage (isolation from external noise, superior jitter supression, higher resolution dithering/sampling, etc), real output stage (zero feedback, dynamics, bass, analog filtering, etc) and a real power supply (overbuilt transformers, quality components for pristine power delivery, properly drives the high end clocks, analog/digital stage power isolation, etc). Your're little baby Chinese shovelware $100 junk is often nothing but a chip and an XMOS controller stamped onto a PCB running off god-awful USB power or off a power brick with outputs driven by some chip amp. Pure trash! They are only better than motherboard DACs for no other reason than motherboard DACs are completely compromised by EM/RFI and power rail noise in the PC...and generally newer DACs all at least have TCXOs.
https://www.amazon.fr/SMSL-M6-Audio-DAC-Argent/dp/B017VXS0UA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1488592364&sr=8-3&keywords=SMSL+M6
https://www.amazon.fr/SMSL-M6-Audio-DAC-Or/dp/B017VXS12C/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1488592364&sr=8-4&keywords=SMSL+M6
https://www.amazon.fr/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=FiiO+E10k
https://www.amazon.fr/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=SMSL+M3
Frustrating as it might be to hear, consider saving up to purchase a setup that's more expensive but will have the power that you need, will do what you want it to, and won't leave you disappointed. Schiit Audio has been mentioned several times here, they make very good equipment, and have distribution in Europe. > http://schiit.com/faq/international The Magni 2/Modi 2 component "stack", while a little out of your budget, is a great combination that will meet your desktop requirements. And if you want a device that's built a little closer to home, look into the similarly priced, single-box Objective2+ODAC manufactured by Swiss-based Head 'n' HiFi. > http://www.headnhifi.com/
Take your time, do your research, read reviews and threads on Head-Fi.org. There's an old saying, "buy right or buy twice", and it's a very appropriate one when it comes to audio gear. Cheers!
While I own several other amps and DACs, I've only spent a little time listening to the O2+ODAC and haven't owned it. Please look up and read a few of the threads on Head-Fi.org and other websites for lots of other perspectives. Cheers!
I personally heard big differences in DAC. Howeve, I hear very little to no differences between low end Dac. So I always recommend getting at least a mid level Dac (>$100). I'm not a big fan of jotunheim either. It's not bad, it just does't sound any better than its competitors and definitely not a high end amp. It's a versatile and powerful decent mid range amp at midrange price.
P.S: about the price+transport i checked it will hit about 150$ for micca origen+ & Monoprice and Fulla 2 from the european website hits 135€ so kinda the same price tag approx...
Well, its really a shame that you pick the wrong forum to go around shitting on $100 DACs when people like us find spending $800 on a DAC pretty insane!
But, in all honesty, I think what you said can be true also, just that this is the forum for people like me to get cheap audio gear and save with the masses, not go full out HD 800S insane haha!
I would strongly recommend you not to go around and crapping on the entry level stuff that we have, and recommend a few options that you feel sounds good at a reasonable price that we might consider! Maybe there may be a company that makes good products with quality components at a reasonable price?
Let's be optimistic! :) Hope you have a nice day!
"JoshMorr JoshMorr Friend Friend
@Kattefjaes does the list of destroyed cables include the one that was provided with the Fulla? On my Fulla the PCB with the usb jack is mounted .5mm too high making it diffucult to insert and remove the micro usb cabe. I slightly loosened the crew on the bottom to fix this problem."
http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/schiit-fulla-2-released.3439/page-13
Unfortunately it is an expensive hobby even if you buy lower end stuff...