Which headphones of Drop's currently avialable?
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. Beyerdyanmic 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
Setup: AKG K701 headphones + Macbook pro (latest model, which some say has a good DAC) + Tannoy Reveal 501A active studio monitors (so they have built-in amps) .
My main requirement besides improving the sound quality (the volume is fine, I just care about the quality). I would like to be able to easily switch between headphones and the monitors.
The DAC is optional, AFAIU the Macbook pro's DAC is pretty good and it's unlikely Spotify or Apple Music will start playing DSD files. I also don't like that with an external DAC I cannot control volume with my keyboard ...
Budget: I would not like to spend more than $400 for my first amplifier.
I've narrowed it down to a few choices:
I really appreciate your feedback or suggestions for alternatives. Without trying these, it is really hard to make an informed decision. Thanks!