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 have a pair of Sennheiser HD600's (now 20 years old) which I currently use with a Yamaha RX-V373 receiver (silent cinema) for films, and it's excellent for the job. However, I recently got interested in new music again and it just sounded dull and boomy. I thought I'd try the smsl m6, not expecting much, and was pretty shocked by how differently it sounded. All the muddiness melted away. The toggle is easy to use, and it's loud enough for me at 28, with it going up to 60. There's also no background noise. I've connected it via USB to a 15 year old Windows XP computer, with the JRiver Media Center (via asio4all), and it plays back 24/192 files perfectly. I've also played HD files via optical from a Dune media player. Pleasantly surprised. Had expected to return it within the allotted 14 days, decided to keep it within a day.”
" I have just tested it on the hd650 it is definitely better sounding than the soundblaster zx i was using previously. I do not have much experience in different dac/amps but I can tell the headphones sound a little punchier down low and the music sounds smoother overall with more sound stage. The headphones sound pretty amazing with it to be honest. The volume the amp can go to is well and truly too loud to listen to so I assume that means it can now power the headphones enough where previously the sound blaster was quite loud but it wasn't as clear or dynamic. "
If you still feel you need a DAC later on, maybe you could look at a refurbished Oppo Sonica at $600 (new one is $800)
Note: With some units (including the O2-SDAC combo from Massdrop), you can use the « RCA Out » plugs as a « RCA In » when the usb in plug of the DAC part is not in usage, meaning that the unit may be used as an amp only. Is this the case with this SMSL? It doesn’t say in the description. Anyone? Bueller?
Of course you still are limited with one set of RCA jacks, especially if you're planning to run external speakers like myself. Still, there are options.