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
Like others have said, Jotunheim with Dac and be done. ($499), Also Schiit Vahalla 2 for $350 (plus a dac) or if you really have the money go for the Sennheiser HDVA600 ($1599).
I love my crack+speedball. And I recommend it for anyone looking for an awesome tube amp for under $1k.
But it if you are budged constricted I would look at the choices mentioned above.
Just whatever you do, remember that if you want to hear what all the "audiophiles" rave about when it comes to the HD6X0, you have to feed it good, clean, powerful signal.
Sennheiser these headphones to be used with the $1599 HDVA-600 amp I mentioned above.
So you will get what you put in them. If you are just going to listen from your phone, there are way better options out there under $150.
I personally recomend the Philips SHP9500S
Honestly, there are tons of third party companies that make them also, generally much less expensive. Occasionally, Massdrop sells the ZY HD6XX Balanced Cable for around $65 if I'm not mistaken. You might also look into "Best in the Verse" cables to custom build a cable to your exact preferences.
Remember that these headphones have 300 ohm resistance and a 600 ohm spike around 100 hz. So the power that the amp can supply at that resistance is what matters. The Vali 2 puts out 270mw at 300 ohm. Enough to get them loud. But not enough to unlock their full potential. These cans have so much more to offer. Way more.
To to unlock the pure music nirvana of these headphones I recommend a minimum of 500mw at 300 ohms. But my personal standard is what the Vahalla 2 offers,
Thats power. And so fresh and so clean. This is what you want if you want to experience your new headphones at their amazing potential.
Or for $50 more you can have a Jot for more power, more fresh, and more clean.
Oh yeah it has a completely balanced topography (that means it is two completely separate amps, one per channel) and for $100 you can add a Dual-Mono Dac.
The Jot + HD6X0 = Mind Blown. Get it, and we will be BFF'S.
You are welcome.
I really like the the sound of the built in DAC in the Jot, but the Modi2 multibit is a better DAC with more features. The only advantage the built in DAC has is that it is balanced (one dac per channel) and that adds to the channel and instrument separation. But the benefits of having a multibit DAC I think outweigh that.
And on reviews of people I trust the number 1 recommended DAC for the Jot/HD650 combo is the Modi Multibit. So you are halfway there already.
After I upgrade to a Modi2 Multibit I will be set with audio equipment for the time being. Then my sights are set on my End Game rig: Stax L700 + LRS 353X. That $1400 for the ear speakers and $1000 for the Energizer. Now that I have listened to that, nothing else comes close.