The practical stuff, answered straight

Every product ships with a full 30-day trial. Listen at home, on your own gear, with your own music. If it isn't right, start a return from your order email and send it back in the original packaging for a full refund. No restocking fee, no interrogation. We'd rather you return something than keep the wrong gear.

Orders over $99 ship free (tracked and insured). Below that, flat $12. Standard delivery is 2 to 5 business days; express (overnight to most metro areas) is $29 at checkout. Everything leaves our Portland warehouse the same business day if ordered before 2 pm Pacific.

Yes, to most countries, with duties and taxes calculated at checkout so there are no surprises at the door. International orders get the same 30-day trial; return shipping is on us for warranty issues and on you for change-of-mind.

Warranty terms are set per product and shown on every spec sheet, from 1 year on accessories up to 5 years on Halvorsen flagships and Voltbridge Class-A amplifiers. We handle all claims directly: no being bounced to a manufacturer, ever.

Mechanically, drivers relax slightly over their first hours of use. The change is measurable, tiny, and mostly inaudible. The larger change is your ears adjusting to a new tuning. Our advice: listen normally for a week before forming strong opinions, and don't run pink noise overnight expecting a different headphone in the morning.

Check two numbers on the spec sheet: impedance and sensitivity. Under 50 Ω and over 100 dB/mW generally means no amp required. Planar magnetic designs and anything over 100 Ω will audibly benefit from one. The rig builder flags mismatched pairings automatically. That's what it's for.

Please do. Our Portland listening room stocks every product on this site, wired into reference chains and ready for your own playlist. Walk-ins welcome Tuesday through Saturday; book a private hour on weekends through the contact page.

No. Drift Audio is a fictional demonstration store designed and built by SearchPod to show what a specialty e-commerce site can be. Products, prices, reviews, and people are all invented. No orders are fulfilled and no payments are processed.