Crin's Panda review. Yeah, the measurements look thick and gooey. Probably not my taste, but I think I share some similar taste to Crin. There's probably folks out there like this type of sig however.
Crin's Panda review. Yeah, the measurements look thick and gooey. Probably not my taste, but I think I share some similar taste to Crin. There's probably folks out there like this type of sig however.
I wonder what headphones he does like, since he’s so harsh on the Pandas.
I notice he says they’re not in the same league as the Momentum 3s. I’m actually a long-time Monentum 2 wired lover, still have a pair. Hence I was keen when the 3 model came out but my impressions (twice in store) don’t line up with his at all. The big problem for me was that I wanted them mainly for wired use, but the wired input starts distorting at even moderate listening levels. I saw someone else mention the same in the 3 thread, so didn’t seem to be just the unit I tried. I couldn’t get them loud enough wired to enjoy the music, so that made them pretty unusable.
No such problems with the Panda though. Wired and wireless really do sound similar. My only complaint so far is that although they seemed pretty smooth in treble out of the box now I’m getting some digitus-style sound in the highs; cymbals and hi-hats in particular have an artificial timbre or emphasis. I haven’t seen anyone else mention it though so might be just me/my unit.
I wonder what headphones he does like, since he’s so harsh on the Pandas.
I notice he says they’re not in the same league as the Momentum 3s. I’m actually a long-time Monentum 2 wired lover, still have a pair. Hence I was keen when the 3 model came out but my impressions (twice in store) don’t line up with his at all. The big problem for me was that I wanted them mainly for wired use, but the wired input starts distorting at even moderate listening levels. I saw someone else mention the same in the 3 thread, so didn’t seem to be just the unit I tried. I couldn’t get them loud enough wired to enjoy the music, so that made them pretty unusable.
No such problems with the Panda though. Wired and wireless really do sound similar. My only complaint so far is that although they seemed pretty smooth in treble out of the box now I’m getting some digitus-style sound in the highs; cymbals and hi-hats in particular have an artificial timbre or emphasis. I haven’t seen anyone else mention it though so might be just me/my unit.
I guess it can be taken two ways. Harsh or blunt. Only way I will know if having heard it, but generally I can tell tonal characteristics from measurements.
Usually BT wireless I find has timbre like you discribe. Does wire and wireless express this timbre?
Is wired mode bypassing the interior analog circuitry directly driving the drivers? Or is it like Sony ANC headphones which seems to go through the analog section which messes up passive wired mode sound?
Do you guys find it to sound thick, warm, sounding gooey? Less clarity due to this? The measurements comes off that way for me.
I assume he prefers something that's not too warm with good clarity and good amount of bass.
Is wired mode bypassing the interior analog circuitry directly driving the drivers? Or is it like Sony ANC headphones which seems to go through the analog section which messes up passive wired mode sound? Yes, it's bypassing all internal circuitries to drive the driver directly.
I got my Pandas today. No problems yet. I’m on the fence about the sound signature. It definitely has a smooth high quality sound. but I’m a little disappointed. I had the Audeze Mobius headphones and they had more details and bass extension. At least in my small opinion. Do these “burn in” and change any bit? Still waiting on word about the EQ app. That alone is making me consider sending them back. I feel that reflects poorly on Drop as a company.
I got my Pandas today. No problems yet. I’m on the fence about the sound signature. It definitely has a smooth high quality sound. but I’m a little disappointed. I had the Audeze Mobius headphones and they had more details and bass extension. At least in my small opinion. Do these “burn in” and change any bit? Still waiting on word about the EQ app. That alone is making me consider sending them back. I feel that reflects poorly on Drop as a company.
Are you using them with the built-in amp?
IMO the phones are pretty good, that THX amp is underpowered.
I hooked them up to a Jotunheim and a Micro iDSD BL and they sounded a lot better.
Of course, using it wireless is most likely why people bought these.
For wireless my Penrose do a better job.
“Hey Folks, full app update coming (press release with partner, final dates, etc) soon but here are some details: We're working with Sonarworks to expand the features of their Sound ID application with additional support for Panda. The key additional features for Panda include over the air firmware updates and a parametric EQ customization tool. The EQ, once loaded via the SoundID application, is managed by Panda's hardware so the EQ is source agnostic. Development is at a stage where we could release a version that's 90% working to 80% of Panda customers. This is behind our scheduled target of EOY 2020, but we're focused on reaching 100% working for 100% of Panda customers before we roll it out. The roll out process will require one firmware update done via cable (windows and mac wizards, standard stuff) to get all Pandas up to the firmware with DSP cores enabled, and all future updates will be OTA via the SoundID application. We're close and anticipate release before end of the month, but we're not going to release until it's ready for everyone. Thanks for your patience and feel free to download the SoundID application while you wait for the Panda update.“
“We're working with a well known software company called CD Projekt Red; they finally finished some other project which has been the source of most our delays.”
I’m still trying to decide between Panda and Airpods Max. I have them both. Still debating if I’m willing to give up the additional features since I’m in the Apple ecosystem.
To date, there is only the Fiio BTA30 that transmit LDAC from a pc. There is a Hiby but it a $150 POS. I bought the Panda to use with the BTA30 and reach a TOTL LDAC wireless experience. I've got 15Tb of music on my home NAS.
All plastic build (aside from yokes), but feels surprisingly solid. They've got little rubber stoppers in a few key spots that mean when the parts move there's no plastic clacking around, which I think does a lot for making them feel nice.
I dig the simple aesthetic. Kinda like an Aiaiai on steroids.
Fit is a bit clampy, but doesn't bother me. Ear pads are on the small side, but ends up being enough room for my ears.
My only real complaint with comfort is the headband. Drop mentioned that they doubled the padding in it, but I don't think the amount of padding is the issue -- it's more than only a narrow patch of the headband makes contact with the top of my head (vs. something like an HD 600 headband that hugs my skull). I think it's not as uncomfortable as Bose 700s, which have a similar issue for me, but can limit length of comfortable wear.
Sound notes:
Like others have said, Panda is a very warm-tuned headphone. Some mid-bass emphasis, thick lower mids, and relaxed upper mids = a very full, and kinda "boring" sound. I'd call it "warm neutral."
"The Sennheiser Veil" is frankly a description I never knew what to make of -- when I hear the HD 6X0 headphones, I don't think "veiled." But when I hear Panda... "veiled" I think is a very good description.
That said, I actually quite enjoy listening to Panda. The strengths are (1) solid, linear sub-bass extension, and (2) surprisingly high-quality treble. The treble isn't elevated, basically in line with "neutral," but it's well-defined and gives strings a satisfying attack without any risk of stridency.
Panda is not a flattering headphone -- it works well with well-mastered music, but the "boring" tune isn't going to do favors to poor recordings or YouTube rips.
Sound stage is fairly narrow, but about what I expect for a closed-back headphone. Imaging is pretty decent, though, thanks to the aforementioned sub-bass and treble quality.
The Drop PEQ app is not yet available, but I tried the Panda on a Qudelix 5K and EQ'd to Harman based on Oratory's presets. Unsurprisingly, with Harman tuning the Panda sounds much thinner, that thick midrange "veil" is cleared up, but I don't know that I like it better. Going between stock and Harman tuning is a bit of a trip and a good demonstration of a phenomenon I've considered for a while, that most tuning variation within the realm of "neutral" can start to sound totally normal after an hour of listening, and anything different will sound not neutral. Going from stock to Harman tune is, on first impression, way too thin, too forward. But given a bit of time with the Harman tune, going back to stock Panda tune is soupy and thick in a way that, on first impression, I'm surprised I ever liked. I'll say that it seems Panda takes well to EQ and you'll likely be able to get out of it what you want. My ideal tune is probably somewhere between stock and Harman, I think if I spent more time with PEQ I'd focus on living the upper mids a tad and dropping the mid bass a tad, without otherwise trying to change the warm character of the Panda.
Other notes:
Bluetooth range is surprisingly solid.
Supports multi-point pairing. It's a nice option, I had them connected to my Xperia 10 + MacBook Air, but Bluetooth multi-point pairing is generally still kinda clunky. Seems a limit of Bluetooth rather than Panda.
Battery life is strong. In the past month, I think I've charged them just twice.
They make cute 8-bit sounds when you turn them on and off. No annoying beeps when changing volume or tracks
So I received BTA30 and here are two observations. When the device is put into Bluetooth TX mode the only audio mode supported is 16/48 and pretty much all music will have to get resampled to that. When I turn on the headphone it does negotiate LDAC indicated by a white light but after some stuttering it immediately falls back to a green light which indicates aptX. So this setup does not support hires music playback above 48 Khz which I understand is a requirement for the Hires Wireless logo.
Am I missing something?
Edited: I am curious how anyone got this to work. I updated the firmware to the latest version and found this on the fiio web site which explains the behavior I am seeing. So in summary the BTA30 is not suitable for hires LDAC playback with the THX Panda
【BT TX Mode】
Input: USB, coaxial, and optical in;
Output: Bluetooth transmission.
Notices:
--Under the mode of USB in and Bluetooth out, the volume knob cannot work, and the LDAC codec is not supported. Because under this mode, the audio signal is not transmitted through the CT5302 chip which controls the volume. While the Bluetooth chip itself does not have the function of volume adjustment, so the volume knob on the device will be invalid at this time.
--IF it is connected to a Bluetooth receiving device, double click the PAIR button to switch Bluetooth codecs of the BTA30.
So I received BTA30 and here are two observations. When the device is put into Bluetooth TX mode the only audio mode supported is 16/48 and pretty much all music will have to get resampled to that. When I turn on the headphone it does negotiate LDAC indicated by a white light but after some stuttering it immediately falls back to a green light which indicates aptX. So this setup does not support hires music playback above 48 Khz which I understand is a requirement for the Hires Wireless logo.
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