Introduction

If you are like me and laughed like a 12-year old when you saw the word "Ploopy" then you have that in common also with the two men behind the Canadian brand. Phil and Colin got together a few years ago and decided the world needed more open-source hardware that people could also build themselves. Thus came the Ploopy mouse our mice editor examined two years ago and the same philosophy continued when Ploopy decided to turn its focus to headphones.


The Ploopy headphones are unlike anything else we've covered on this website before. It's a completely open design that you can build yourself from scratch using parts you can purchase based on a list provided by Ploopy, assemble yourself by purchasing a headphone kit from the brand, get a pre-assembled version to play with the firmware and accompanying DAC/amp with built-in EQ filters, or even tinker around with the firmware to make the headphones sound like you want to. Needless to say, there's a lot possible with the product and this is also why I chose a photo of the various kit components as the review thumbnail to indicate the novelty on offer. Ploopy reached out to me for a review and I chose the pre-assembled version thinking it would save time. Little did I know I'd end up contributing to the firmware and final tonality of the headphones after spending a good amount of my own time on this. It's a cool project that may not be for everyone and yet should be interesting enough for our readers to know more about. Thanks to Ploopy for providing a review sample to TechPowerUp as we begin our coverage with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Given Ploopy is quite literally made of two people who also live in different parts of the country, I wasn't sure what to expect as far as the unboxing experience goes. A cardboard box with Canadian newspaper all around a large plastic zip-lock bag was still strange, but not surprising. There's also a note which informs you the pre-assembled version still requires some slight assembly given Ploopy allows you to choose between a small or large headband. As such, you are led to this page which provides easy instructions with plenty of photos on how to setup the headphones. It's as simple as pushing each side into the headband until it clicks in place!


While you do get a cable for the headphones, which we will examine on the next page, more important—at least in my opinion—is the accompanying USB DAC/amp. You can also opt to get the USB Type-C to Type-A cable for an additional $5 CAD or use any decent cable you may already have which provides power and data alike. As with the headphones, the DAC/amp uses a 3D printed chassis and has a Ploopy emblem on it. There's a 3.5 mm TRS analog output on one side and a USB Type-C digital input on the other, hence why this is a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) too. Two screws hold this accessory together and removing it allows a closer look inside.


I don't think Ploopy is going to win any awards for how premium the headphones or accessories are, this is purely function over form and the 3D printed DAC/amp board chassis works plenty fine in that regard. I do wish there were heatsinks over the crucial elements though, especially when you realize later on how demanding the headphones are and how this tiny board is being pushed so hard. This is a custom PCB designed and made by Ploopy for the headphones and uses the Raspberry Pi RP2040 USB microcontroller for all the compute processes ongoing. A Winbond 2 MB flash module adds storage for the firmware on board, among other things. Ploopy also uses a Texas Instruments PCM 3060 audio codec to aid in the DAC and USB bridge functionalities and there are nine Texas Instruments OPA1688 op-amps for the amplification.