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
Pros: +No harsh treble +Fun but clear bass +warm lower mids and polite upper mids. +low masking and decent resolution for the price +S-Logic works, fairly clear and good soundstage in a closed headphone +High sensitivity = easy to drive from laptop or smartphone dongle. +cushy headband +lightweight +most of the weight and clamp is distributed. +folding +easy to clean, pads aren’t sticky +my sample came with a 6.5mm coiled “studio” cable, a 3.5mm cable, and another 3.5mm cable with TRRS connector and an inline microphone on the cable for smartphone and gaming use. +sparkling gray circles around “Signature X” logo add fun pizazz. Cons -“No Nonsense” studio build reminiscent of Sennheiser HD 280 Pro, tough and light plastic but creaks when adjusting. -Firm clamp. -Folding mechanism allows earcups to flop around when not in use. -The type of circumaural pads that press the edge of the outer ear flat on your head, so some of the clamp pressure is on your ears. Overall: I think people looking for a closed-back headphone that sounds more open than cheap closed headphones ought to take a look. It’s a good headphone to wear while walking around. The warmer sound signature was not what I was expecting from the brand, the tone is overall a pleasant surprise. The S-Logic 3 does seem to add a more “speaker like” feeling of soundstage, combined with the bass grunt. My first two cons aren’t really a problem while wearing the headphone, and I feel like it would survive school life or most studio life (folds to fit into a small bag, but the included case is nice!). If you want a artsy object, get the Meze Noir… but the rough and tumble Ultrasone sounds less “small space” and more open. I think it’s important people expect this to be a closed headphone that probably touches the outer edge of the ear, making YMMV very true here: I know some people can marathon this style of earpad, but I like to take a break and let my ears relax after every hour of listening. Anecdotally, my wife specifically found these earpads MORE comfortable and less weird than my fully circumaural headphones like the HD 560S. I have kept coming back to it because I’ve been enjoying the sound.