[emba4]

ive been shopping around for something to tide me over while my Mobius make the long journey back to the US to be debricked following the current firmware update debacle and while browsing eBay ive seen a lot of what seem to be "collaborations" between Massdrop and various companies like Hifiman or Focal, for example there seems to be "Massdrop x" versions of the HE400 and Elear but at much lower prices.

how do they stack up to the real ones? are they copies or official products? who or what exactly are massdrop? they have a confusing site that looks like some sort of catalog shop

Likewise im interested in peoples opinions on Monoprice stuff, they seem to offer some very reasonable prices for pretty high end tech (a pair of rather LCD looking planar magnetics for under £200, a pair of electrostatics for under £500 etc)

 

[Allegro maestoso]

My audio journey started on Amazon, then progressed to Massdrop, now known simply as Drop. Their products are the results of official, authorized collaborations with manufacturers. Items I have purchased from Massdrop include the wildly popular Cavalli Tube Hybrid amplifier, Focal Elex, MrSpeakers Ether CX, and Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee headphones.

Many MD products are newer versions of existing products: the Cavalli Tube Hybrid was inspired by Alex Cavalli's Compact Tube Hybrid amp, and the Elex headphones took the Focal Elears as their starting point. Often the quality comes very close to or exceeds that of the original, at least as far as I can gather from reading and watching reviews. I see MD as a kind of gathering place for audiophiles (and other hobbyists and enthusiasts) on a budget. Their items are affordable, and all of the ones I have purchased are of excellent quality.

Of course, nobody's perfect, and Drop has struggled a little here and there. The THX AAA 789 amp is a good example. Demand has FAR exceeded supply, and production delays have frustrated many buyers...

I don't know much about Monoprice...

Cheers and good luck!

 

[turbomustang84]

Well I own the Hifiman HE-4XX as well as the HE-400 original blue model and prefer the Massdrop version by a large amount .

And the Sennheiser HD-6XX is the same as my HD-650 but I prefer the dark blue Massdrop edition .

Then they make the HD-58X and it is a truly remarkable headphone with very little near the Quality of sound at triple the price out there .

I kind of sound like a Massdrop Fanboy but if I buy something from them that is crap I would absolutely say so .

 

[Object113]

dont expect any miracles , there is a reason its cheaper ( not always) , there is a lot of corner cutting on those products,
my hd6xx ( not blue) its simply black plastic not even finished, right from the mold. sound is good but looks like cheap plastic .keeping them just as reference point.
my akg sucked big time , sold them .
if you want to save money go for it , if you want 100% go for original .

 

[emba4]

honestly i was expecting reports saying they were really low quality seconds or something so im quite pleasantly surprised, ill make sure to keep an eye out on there in future

 

[Delmetrice]

MD is like the gateway drug for spending a lot of money on the non-MD things later on. Just do it.

 

[emba4]

I very nearly did especially as I got an email a few days ago saying they now have a European warehouse (sadly no hifiman there yet) but I managed to pick up a pair of M&J electrostatz from the forums here, they'll be arriving very soon, my mobius are due back today and I repaired my etymotics so I have plenty to be listening to for the moment (at least until I can afford a pair of those fostex)

 

[Bigbeat]

It is nice to hear that (Mass)Drop has its European warehouse. If their product breaks within the warranty period, which country shall the product be sent for repair to?

 

[shiftywxm]

It is nice to hear that (Mass)Drop has its European warehouse. If their product breaks within the warranty period, which cointry shall the product be sent for repair to?

Unfortunately, Drop closed their European warehouse a few years ago.

 

[Bigbeat]

Shiftywxm: Thanks a lot for info/correction.
If I decided to buy a Drop co-product despite this fact, would I have to send it in case of a warranty repair to the USA? Or is it possible to have such a product repaired by its actual producer (e.g. Sennheiser) here in Europe?

 

[Willy 2 Streams]

Warranty?...it is to LAUGH. I've got a pair of HD 58XX's which I love. I figured since my original 580's have lasted 30 years, this was probably a pretty safe gamble. But anything possibly needing warranty repair, I'd deal with the original, if possible

 

[drews]

Drop.com is very slow to ship as well, I ordered a set of Earsonics Purple recently and it's been "DHL awaiting processing" for over a week now...