[Sonic Defender]

Given our baseline is no DSP, you can safely expect any DSP options will be... optional.

Most BT headphones sound terrible without their default DSP enabled, but because we designed Panda to be a real acoustic platform, any DSP you decide to add is building on a foundation of strong acoustics, not stacking band-aids on band-aids.

Great news, and given the legacy of the PM3 (which I owned and loved) the Panda is starting with a great base. I completely agree, the ideal scenario is a strong non-DSP dependant design starting point and the use of DSP allows for further tuning options. Colour me very interested.

 

[PopZeus]

I'm still on the fence about getting the Panda but I like what I'm reading in this thread so far. I loved the technicalities of the PM-3 but found the tuning to be far too mid-centric for my tastes. I'm hoping the default acoustic tuning, as well as any DSP/EQ enhancements, will yield a more fun, versatile headphone.

 

[cel4145]

We don't have any plans around this at the moment, but DROP now owns all PM driver tech, which includes the PM-1 and PM-2 designs.

I hope you guys will consider it after this project.

I use my headphones at home, so I'm not inconvenienced by a wire. But I would be inconvienced by having to charge my home headphones. And I'm not too keen on the idea of adding additional points of failure (electronics and batteries) in my headphones.

That, I prefer to use the D50S that I got from you guys along with JDS Atom amp

 

[WillBright]

I hope you guys will consider it after this project.

I use my headphones at home, so I'm not inconvenienced by a wire. But I would be inconvienced by having to charge my home headphones. And I'm not too keen on the idea of adding additional points of failure (electronics and batteries) in my headphones.

That, I prefer to use the D50S that I got from you guys along with JDS Atom amp

Panda has a 3.5mm input on the left earcup for wired use, the driver scales pretty well so we wanted to make sure folks have the ability to enjoy it with their system.

This is also one of the reasons we tuned Panda acoustically instead of via DSP for the default tuning. Same FR and THD wired and wireless.

 

[karmazynowy]

Does wired connection uses built in amp or its true passive mode? Can it be used passive when the battery is dead?

 

[WillBright]

Does wired connection uses built in amp or its true passive mode? Can it be used passive when the battery is dead?

True passive mode. Using the 3.5mm jack kills all internal electronics.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Panda has a 3.5mm input on the left earcup for wired use, the driver scales pretty well so we wanted to make sure folks have the ability to enjoy it with their system.

This is also one of the reasons we tuned Panda acoustically instead of via DSP for the default tuning. Same FR and THD wired and wireless.

Likely too late in the development process, but if it was possible, like the original PM3 if the cups and internal wiring could support balanced that would really make the Panda so incredibly flexible. Quite a bit to ask, but man if that was still a possibility ...

 

[WillBright]

Likely too late in the development process, but if it was possible, like the original PM3 if the cups and internal wiring could support balanced that would really make the Panda so incredibly flexible. Quite a bit to ask, but man if that was still a possibility ...

It was either balanced or in-line mic support. Because the driver is phase correct, it's great for gaming, and we decided to prioritize the gaming use-case over balanced.

 

[Sonic Defender]

It was either balanced or in-line mic support. Because the driver is phase correct, it's great for gaming, and we decided to prioritize the gaming use-case over balanced.

I can see the dilemma that you faced. Personally I can't help but think the largest market sector that the Panda will appeal to is with the audio enthusiast community, but certainly targeting a potential growth sector area like gaming would be appealing. If there ever is a new Drop issued for a variant the balanced connection would be great. Float that idea about and I suspect the response will be significant. The 4.4mm terminated cable would be the way I would go with any new balanced variant. All of the new DAPs feature 4.4mm input as that is what the market is craving and a Panda with killer wireless and 4.4mm balanced would make people salivate, especially if the tuning is ever so gently shifted toward a little more dynamics. Not very much, just that little breath of air to make the sound a little more engaging without being a brightish/detail monster.

I only say that as I have seen companies respond to critique's about a signature being muddied, or somewhat flat by overcooking the detail in an effort to respond to the feedback. Then the original core tuning of the headphone changes too much and the company gets panned for going to far from what made the original signature popular. Fine balance to strike for sure. Anyway, I am excited and looking forward to hearing the Panda for myself. I am intrigued if the THX amp architecture itself will provide some instant clarity benefit. I notice that with the AM3D module I have with my Q5s that the clarity of the THX AAA based module is exceptional.

 

[Gabsriel]

Hi,

Maybe it's another debate, maybe not, but I think the industry is really targeting the gamer in 2019/2020/2021. It's maybe due to the fact that audio enthusiasts have more than one headphones right now
Zeos made a difference between "fun gaming" (exagerated soundstage, bass impact, etc.) and something like "precision gaming" (accurate sounding, dynamics, deep imaging, etc.).
I'm not into a headphone that could do everything.
But if this Panda is better than a PM3 (wich is actually is not a simple task IMO), then it's already fair enough, and good in the "precision gaming" caterogy, dsp or not.

 

[AlwaysForward]

It was either balanced or in-line mic support. Because the driver is phase correct, it's great for gaming, and we decided to prioritize the gaming use-case over balanced.

I was told there’s no USB-C Audio option at the event yesterday. Is that true that the THX system is only for wireless? I would love to just cable into my phone/laptop and get lossless without a DAC/AMP

 

[JML]

It was either balanced or in-line mic support. Because the driver is phase correct, it's great for gaming, and we decided to prioritize the gaming use-case over balanced.

Probably a big mistake for audiophile listeners, who want to be able to push power to a planar. Just lost interest in the Panda.

 

[Gabsriel]

Probably a big mistake for audiophile listeners, who want to be able to push power to a planar. Just lost interest in the Panda.

Balanced is not that important for the audiophile.

 

[WillBright]

Probably a big mistake for audiophile listeners, who want to be able to push power to a planar. Just lost interest in the Panda.

When we analyze the discussions around balanced we find people generally don't care enough. The measurement people would rather spend the money on something that has a bigger measurement impact, the subjective people are mixed on the benefits of balanced.

The driver scales well with bigger amps (why we made sure to keep the passive-in) but it's an efficient driver so you'll have more than enough head room with the power levels available in unbalanced amps.

No worries if balanced sound is the Crux of your system, but this isn't an HE-6 or K1000, no speaker taps included.

 

[WillBright]

I was told there’s no USB-C Audio option at the event yesterday. Is that true that the THX system is only for wireless? I would love to just cable into my phone/laptop and get lossless without a DAC/AMP

Correct, there's no audio over USB-C, so the connection to your phone/laptop is BT.

Given the headphone measures the same THD + FR in active and passive mode (only HP on Earth with the same THD) you're not losing anything by switching to Bluetooth provided the chipset in your laptop can manage aptxHD.