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
In my opinion, they are the best lightweight, walkman-style portable headphone available.
The bass is quite strong for an on-ear lightweight, but not very articulate. Similar to Grado SR-60i in bottom end character. The mid-highs are recessed, and the upper treble is very natural, slightly dark, with no harshness whatsoever.
They are very efficient, and can play at loud levels from portable devices. If you like rock/pop/country and you like to play it LOUD, then I think you'll like this headphone for on-the-go use, as its tonality and slightly recessed treble prevent fatigue at high volumes.
The darker character and lack of fine detail and bottom end refinement make these less suitable for classical in my opinion.
The only thing that has changed on these phones since they were first introduced in 1984 is the color and the cord. Unfortunately, the thin-gauge cord Koss introduced several years back is sonically inferior to the original from the first couple decades of production.
Since the 2000s, some folks have claimed the Sennheiser PX-100 give the PortaPro's a run for their money. The long discontinued original PX-100 had a better character in the bottom end and less of an upper-midrange dip, but a thinner overall sound and scratchy highs. The Sennheiser PX-100II is a totally different phone than the original PX-100, with a tonality very, very close to the PortaPro, but with a lot more bass distortion than the Koss.
The Grado SR60e sports improved efficiency (more sound output for a given amount of power) than the prior i series, and is a better sounding can than the PortaPro. If you don't mind spending the extra money, and you don't mind having a larger more fragile contraption on your head, the Grado is the way to go for casual portable listening IMO. But, if you want to exercise with headphones on, or have a much smaller walkman-style headphone package, I have never heard anything in its class that tops the Koss PortaPro in the 34 years it has been in production.
Highly recommended product for what it is.