DROP X THX PANDA : The Worlds Highest Fidelity Wireless Headphones

Soldato
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Try adding the word WIRELESS to the title and you might be on to something - they are a re-tuned Oppo PM3 planar headphone with a THX amp and wireless tech built in.
 
Soldato
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Just came here to post about these. Very, VERY interesting looking. It's a lot of money for me to drop (no pun intended) on a crowd funded project, but I am tempted. They tick a lot of boxes. My only worry is reviews seem to say the headband doesn't extend very far, which could be a problem for big heads like myself.
 
Soldato
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I'm going to buy them but I'd rather buy them once they're retailing rather than the 'indiegogo contribution and non-guaranteed perk' thing.

At least that way you're covered properly in regards to warranty and its not classed as a contribution.


My main worries are:
1. Can it connect to multiple devices like the Bose QC/Apple airpods or do i need to unpair and repair each time? (huge QOL perk)
2. How narrow is the soundstage? Most reviews apart from Zeos and Linus have remarked the soundstage is quite small. Ideally I need it to be near my airpod pros; granted they are an open-ish headphone.

Is anyone here buying on indiegogo or are you going to wait and see?

I'm not sure how I feel apart them in wired/passive mode not using the dac/amp in the headphone. I feel like the whole point of these headphones for me is that I can get rid of my DAC/AMP.

This is mainly a concern for me as I'll be using them commonly with my Nintendo Switch, PSP and Playstation vita, all of which require the wire.
 
Associate
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A big nah from me. The idea is nice, but watching both videos and reading comments, these seem average rather than the "great" they're made out to be. Obviously only demoing them would be the best indicator.

£287 plus vat(!) if customs doesn't get you it isn't massive amounts of money to be fair.

The way i see it is, wireless for outside use is pointless. Cable under your shirt, and into your zipped pocket or lanyard device if wanting security. These are bigger cups than other portable headphones too, so wearing round neck would be annoying as you can't turn your head. Also a single pivot point for the cups on an outdoor headphone, really? No dedicated case, which many portable headphones come with. 3.5mm port not allowing bypass of internal dac is strange (from my understanding), but i guess not an issue for the intended audience. But could never see myself using these for gaming, how's that soundstage with the included dac? Having IEMs is also of huge benefit for outside use, less chance of damage, less obvious too which leads me onto another point. THIEVERY. Not only is stealing someone's phone easy, stealing a headphone with no firmware security is easy money.

The idea is swell, but i think at that price point you'll never get them doing anything well. I'd be interested in hearing their performance vs Senn Momemtums for example, which suck for gaming.

In regards to the headband design, an internal steel band can be bent. I have done that myself to a pair of dt1350's which were unfomfy for me, it helped a lot.



[edit]
Headfi video here sells the headphone a lot better, but it's still a hmmmm from me
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
19 May 2012
Posts
3,633
A big nah from me. The idea is nice, but watching both videos and reading comments, these seem average rather than the "great" they're made out to be. Obviously only demoing them would be the best indicator.

£287 plus vat(!) if customs doesn't get you it isn't massive amounts of money to be fair.

The way i see it is, wireless for outside use is pointless. Cable under your shirt, and into your zipped pocket or lanyard device if wanting security. These are bigger cups than other portable headphones too, so wearing round neck would be annoying as you can't turn your head. Also a single pivot point for the cups on an outdoor headphone, really? No dedicated case, which many portable headphones come with. 3.5mm port not allowing bypass of internal dac is strange (from my understanding), but i guess not an issue for the intended audience. But could never see myself using these for gaming, how's that soundstage with the included dac? Having IEMs is also of huge benefit for outside use, less chance of damage, less obvious too which leads me onto another point. THIEVERY. Not only is stealing someone's phone easy, stealing a headphone with no firmware security is easy money.

The idea is swell, but i think at that price point you'll never get them doing anything well. I'd be interested in hearing their performance vs Senn Momemtums for example, which suck for gaming.

In regards to the headband design, an internal steel band can be bent. I have done that myself to a pair of dt1350's which were unfomfy for me, it helped a lot.



[edit]
Headfi video here sells the headphone a lot better, but it's still a hmmmm from me


I’m pretty confident they are going to destroy the XM3s, Senny momentumns, and Bose QCs.

I think the advantage of these headphones is the fact you can just run it wirelessly, get audiophile-level music fidelity and be without a wire. Without a wire is huge for me. As much as I enjoy my AKGs for example, the wire is freaking annoying and even more annoying is having to have a DAC/amp.

However i don’t quite understand if there’s an option to actively power them whilst they’re attached by the headphone jack., its nice it going to passive for ppl who have DAC/amp but i see this as an alternative to having a DAC/amp...


But yeah.. as much as i wanna buy these my two issues are
1. Will it have QOL convienances like being able to connect to multiple devices or will they be like the xm3s
2. Will it be able to actively power whilst wired (say if i wanna use it with a PSP or Nintendo switch)


Although i do agree that IEMs have their place for size and convienance, some people do like having the high end musical fidelity in an over the ear headphone. That’s why the xm3, qc35, Bose 700 etc. All sell quite well. They do have the ANC tho.. which these lack for fidelity reasons.

The price is high as well. Ur totally right.



_____

I’m tempted to grab some but at present given its not a finalised product, i cant help but feel I’d rather pay the extra 20 or 30 quid and not take risks... the pre order price doesn’t seem THAT good for a product which is far from finalised.
 
Associate
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Some interesting points. You'd like to think they can be powered via 3.5mm, given the application of them.

At a similar price point to the HPs you mention, they are definitely a contender.
 
Soldato
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Some interesting points. You'd like to think they can be powered via 3.5mm, given the application of them.

At a similar price point to the HPs you mention, they are definitely a contender.


They can be powered by a 3.5mm but I don't know how good the sound quality will be passively without the internal amp.


Honestly from a sound quality POV, I struggle to think of any headphone which can compete with these. They are ridiculous from that perspective. I just think a few strange things which appeal to audiophiles but go against convienance (like switching to passive) is a bit meh for some people and limits the portability aspect [ but then again, every device these days should have bluetooth and i guess i could just buy a bluetooth dongle ]
 
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