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
The benefits of balanced tends to be double the voltage swing, and cancellation of common mode noise. However, there are drawbacks as well.
In most cases, balanced equipment doubles the number of components required and thus cost. Additionally, component tolerances for the two phases of a balanced signal must be tighter, thus adding to the cost. This will either make the balanced equipment far more expensive, or force the designer to cut costs in other ways.
I, personally, would rather see manufacturers focus on higher quality single ended equipment so that design choices can maximize component quality and value, rather than having to compromise for the additional design expense of running balanced.
Unfortunately few focus on really high quality single ended gear because of the consumer perception that balanced is always superior.