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
I was initially very dissapointed and almost returned them after a week, but I have warmed up to them a lot since. They seem to have gotten a lot better with use.
Personal observations: Good: • Clarity is wonderful, instrument separation is excellent. • I use these mostly on Bart (really), with a good seal they isolate quite well and I enjoy them more than my Bose QC25 because they are so clear, the Bose are still better noise cancellers but the sound.... • I never use the slider to let outside noise in. • Batteries last a long time (don't ask for time-measurement please). • My ears do not get tired after using these for a few hours. Bad: • Bass is lacking, I need to use equalization to get bass. • The cable is quite stiff and can be annoying. • I find myself fiddling and re-seating often to get that "perfect seal".
My "goto set" these days are a pair of Audeze iSine 10, reasonably priced for what you get, and the separation/stage in these is better and to me sounds more like a live event. The SC1000s sound closer to the head but not really more intimate.
My usage: When using the SC1000 they are almost always plugged into an iPhone with Apple's lightning converter using Onkyo HF Player with lossless with 16/24 bit up to 96KHz. I sometimes use them with my iFi Nano or directlywith my MacBook Pro - they seem to nicer with the latter combinations. I'm not sure the quality is helped using the Apple lightning dongle... When I use the iSine 10 I am splitting equally using the supplied iPhone enhanced cable and an iFi Nano BL (which I like better but it is less portable), usually using Onkyo HF Player with lossless with 16/24 bit up to 96KHz and about a quarter of my listening time using iTunes AAC.
Would I buy them again? Yes most likely.