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
$350 is a good budget for a solid set of cans... my thoughts on a couple of MD options in that range:
1) The K7XX is reputed to have a great soundstage with a fairly linear sound if not somewhat unnatural. This (well it's predecessor the K701/2) is the only one of the original "Big Three" from Senn/Beyer/AKG that I've not owned so I can't speak to details. Should be a solid choice if you like a big soundstage and will be doing a lot of gaming. Moderately hard to drive due to it's relatively low efficiency. Some sort of amp would be recommended but is not necessarily "required".
2) HD6xx - this is basically an HD650 with new colors, cables, and a much lower price. The HD650 still holds the record for longest continuous listening session in my collection. This was my first +$300 headphone purchase and it still gets head time over a decade later. Really good choice if you like acoustic music and vocals as it sounds more natural than what little I've heard the AKG K series. The soundstage is deep and fairly tall but the instruments/singers tend to be packed a little closer to each other than some of my other 'phones (aka 3 blobs/groupings). I generally don't recommend this with a basic motherboard or low end HP output. Needs some sort of amping or higher voltage swing output.
3) HE4xx - seems to be a good deal based on other 4 series headphones. When I picked up the 500 it was a choice between the original 400 and the 6. While I wanted the HE6, I did not yet have an amp that could handle that beast nor did I want to part with the funds. The 400 was more bass oriented and a bit mid recessed IMO. The 500 is still as close to perfect as I've yet found as far as my preferred sound signature (not perfect, hence the stupid number of HP purchases I've made since).
If you've got no current amp/dac and only 350 to spend then I would go with the above options and spend the rest on some amping you may not appreciate the difference a DAC makes yet depending on your source.
Budget Stretchers:
If you like a bit of bass (the 40/40x are pretty neutral) then the Fostex X00's are truly wonderful but definitely not neutral. If you like things a tad more neutral then the new Hifiman Sundara looks like a solid choice and addresses some of the prior build concerns. My HE500's are several years old and I've had no issues but I'm also super protective of my gear.
I am currently on the fence between the HE4xxs and the K7xxs. What type of amp would you suggest me to use for the K7xxs? and would it be needed for me to get an amp for the He4xxs? is so what do you recommend for around 100$
I can't thank you enough for the previous response!
Objective 2 - Amp only $99 FiioE10k - Amp/Dac - $75 Fulla 2 $Amp/Dac $99
All of the above options should give you enough improvement to see if you want to dive deeper into electronics and should provide sufficient volume with the options I listed. I have an O2 for the office and it drives all but my 600 ohm T1 and my HE500 to good levels. I get enough volume with those two but the bass impact is lacking (not enough juice for dynamic bass peaks). I tend to use those headphones with a Gustard H10 and a Schiit Lyr.