DROP + THX Panda Announcement
May 19, 2020 at 5:25 PM Post #406 of 767
I think the Deva has a decent chance of outperforming the Panda on SQ alone. The reviews on the Deva are pretty good. It's possible that the Deva will not be cross-shopped with the Panda due to open v. closed but I could see some buyers compare the two and go for the Deva particularly given the lower price. In any event, I agree that I've waited this long so I might as well ride it out. The Razor is probably more consumer oriented but does offer a THX certified amp.
As far as I know, Panda is the only phone that combines THX, planars and closed-back. Based on the reviews of Panda I have heard so far, I expect Panda to be the best on-the-go hifi solution and the one I would pick.
 
May 19, 2020 at 5:41 PM Post #407 of 767
I have a set of Pandas on order for the earliest batch - June. While watching this thread and the somewhat lukewarm reviews, and seeing some interesting competitors come out of the fray (Hifiman Deva for $299 and Razer Opus for $200) by way of example, is there any current consensus on whether the Panda is still looking like a winner? I realize these other items are different (open backed or ANC) but I think they get close enough to the Panda to warrant a discussion. Are the Panda beginning to look overpriced? This is the problem with technology and crowd-funding. By the time the item has delivered, others have caught up. While the Panda still looks intriguing to me, given the concerns over the SQ, I'm beginning to second guess my investment. Anyone else feeling this way? For those locked into the cheaper tiers, the value proposition may be different. So, should I hang in there? Mass drop has indicated they will accept cancellations up to a point.
Can you provide links to the lukewarm reviews? I’ve not been following recently and last I checked I thought folks were pretty positive. Either way, I will hopefully be receiving mine in the not too distant future and will be able to judge for myself.
 
May 19, 2020 at 5:43 PM Post #408 of 767
Can you provide links to the lukewarm reviews? I’ve not been following recently and last I checked I thought folks were pretty positive. Either way, I will hopefully be receiving mine in the not too distant future and will be able to judge for myself.
Crinacle and Josh Valour are fairly "meh" on them.
 
May 19, 2020 at 5:53 PM Post #410 of 767
May 19, 2020 at 8:26 PM Post #411 of 767
Its funny how Josh went from not having a clue about headphones to be one of the most super critical reviewers. He is good because he does not hype things, in his book nothing is perfect. i agues thats life But Zeos, liked them :gs1000smile: On a serious note, what intrigued me about this headphones was the fact they are Oppo PM-3 drivers (with tweaked sound) and a common thread from reviewers is that the bluetooth and wired are the same, for me that's a big compliment. This would be perfect on the go as well as in the house.
 
Jun 4, 2020 at 12:19 PM Post #413 of 767
seeing some interesting competitors come out of the fray (Hifiman Deva for $299 and Razer Opus for $200) by way of example, is there any current consensus on whether the Panda is still looking like a winner?
Waiting on the Panda as well.

To your question though, don't think the Opus punch above their price point at all. I just compared them to the higher end headphones (link here) and Razer's new model doesn't measure up. Really interested to see what Drop does with all of their connections & resources at their disposal (THX tech, inexpensive batch manufacturing, etc...). I'm afraid that once they do become available they may get sold out quickly and we'll have another drought again, just like anything new with Drop + THX :-[
 
Jun 30, 2020 at 12:31 AM Post #415 of 767
I have a set of Pandas on order for the earliest batch - June. While watching this thread and the somewhat lukewarm reviews, and seeing some interesting competitors come out of the fray (Hifiman Deva for $299 and Razer Opus for $200) by way of example, is there any current consensus on whether the Panda is still looking like a winner? I realize these other items are different (open backed or ANC) but I think they get close enough to the Panda to warrant a discussion. Are the Panda beginning to look overpriced? This is the problem with technology and crowd-funding. By the time the item has delivered, others have caught up. While the Panda still looks intriguing to me, given the concerns over the SQ, I'm beginning to second guess my investment. Anyone else feeling this way? For those locked into the cheaper tiers, the value proposition may be different. So, should I hang in there? Mass drop has indicated they will accept cancellations up to a point.
I would think the Drop THX Panda would be the nicest choice for the purpose.

The problem for me is that I have no interest in paying more than what I need / could had bought them for. I always hate the unfair nature of early bird offers but in this case I found out about these very early from Zeos or whomevers video so I could definitely had gotten the best price but I also live in Sweden and IndieGogo charges straight away which mean that even though you can cancel until the campaign is over I would had lost the currency spread + exchange fee if I did and personally I don't really think it make financial sense to buy a lot of hundreds of dollars headphones though buying one (maybe two?! ;D) may be ok and I had some questions which I felt should be answered before committing.
 
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Jun 30, 2020 at 7:07 PM Post #417 of 767
I hope so.
Cash is ready to be dropped. :)
 
Jul 1, 2020 at 11:26 AM Post #418 of 767
Just received the Panda! It looks like mine was delivered domestically instead of going to Drop’s warehouse and back to Taiwan. After all, these are made in Taiwan :)

Initial impressions: the Panda is a very clean-sounding, balanced headphone. I do like how the vocals/mids are presented with these, they do sound fuller than my Mobius (default). The pads are soft and comfortable and they make the Panda isolate sound better than my Mobius as well. Wow, very well done, Drop!

FF3B5153-11E8-4D0F-A7FF-502146A40AF6.jpeg
 
Jul 2, 2020 at 10:47 PM Post #420 of 767
I will need to spend some quality time with these, but my initial impressions are positive. In the absence of a serious number of hours doing A/B testing, these seem to be on par with my other closed backs (AFC, CX, Eikon, and Ora).

Also should note that these are very comfortable. Drop mentioned that they made the earpads and headband thicker and certainly I think they feel great. I also have larger ears (thanks, Dad!) and the openings are big enough for me.

So far I am very happy with my purchase. It will be interesting to see how much better this gets with the pending app that Drop has mentioned is coming.
 
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