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'm using my UD-301 in a home studio setup (utilizing the XLR outputs), and it works flawlessly. The noise floor is inaudible and it's the cleanest, clearest sounding DAC I've ever owned. Prerecorded (commercial) music reveals things I'd never heard before, and it's one of those DACs that makes a very good recording sound amazing, while poorly engineered recordings sound ... well ... like crap. In a near field, studio setup though, the UD-301 will blow your socks off. Since that's the only way I've ever used mine, I can't comment on how it might sound in a more conventional/home setup.
The headphone amp is a little weak, in terms of driving power. I'm using a pair of AKG K712 Pro headphones (62 ohms), and while the headphone amp sounds incredible, on some source material, and unless I remix it (crank up the gain), the UD-301 headphone amp just doesn't have the power to drive my cans to the levels I would prefer, especially in the bass department. I have another DAC in my setup I can use though, if or when I need more power.
All things considered, I would buy the UD-301 again in a heartbeat. I have a LOT of 24-bit/192Khz recordings, and the well engineered files sound incredible. The TEAC UD-301 is worth every penny, and then some. After owning and using mine in a studio setup, I would have paid $500 or more for it. At $350, it was a GREAT buy and I can highly recommend it.