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
With that said, I recommend the Fiio A5. It's very powerful and portable. Compared to the Fulla 2, it has almost 4x times the power at 300 ohms (150mW) and has more voltage output (14.96Vpp = 5.2Vrms). The Fulla will be maxed comparatively whereas the Fiio will have plenty of headroom and you won't have to worry about your music clipping.
If your budget was a bit more ($200), I'd recommend the iFi nano Black Label. It's also powerful enough to push the 6XX (output of 3.5V) and has a better DAC section and supports more filetypes and bitrates over the Fulla. It's also portable and battery-powered (about 10 hours) and has some other features built-in: a USB purifier (helps eliminate jitter) and iEMatch for sensitive IEMs that tend to hiss. It's also balanced with 3.5mm TRRS if one was inclined. The nano also works well in desktop mode since you can fully disable the battery and run it right off USB (reduces battery wear).
If you're on an absolute budget, the Fulla is good for its price. However, if you spend just a bit more, you'll get more on your investment with better quality sound.