Some Early Impressions (no burn in, over bluetooth):
These are good and hold their own against my many open-backs pretty well. Mid-range clarity and detail is good. Though I found the bass to sound a bit boomy. I took some measurements comparing it with the HD6XX which are below. Later I will try EQāing out those peaks to see if it gets a more balanced sound. Tonally, I didnāt think they were bad. But I donāt think anyone will saying the tuning is particular good.
In terms of comfort, Iād say theyāre decent enough for me to get some work done with them up to an hour. Iām not a fan of the small ear cups with non-breathable pads. If fabric pads become available, Iāll give them a try even itās a expense of noise isolation.
Finally received my headphones, and I must say the first impression was good. See more people have a noise/static issue with the left hearcup. Canāt seem to hear this when using them wired, is this the case for everyone? Also the joint on the left earcup is quite loose and makes a clicking sound when movedā¦ Anybody have this issue?
I have been plagued by how damn uncomfortable the DROP Pandas are on my human ears. They hurt. I want to rip them off my head after an hour. This defined my experience with the Pandas.
Now, after all this time, I have pretty comfortable DROP Pandas! I simply canāt believe it.
A nice guy on the DROP forums and I pooled knowledge and now we got a reliable method for removing the stock pads without damaging anything.
Use a flat-edged tool to gently pry up around the outer edge of the pad between the pad and cup housing. Make sure the tool is pretty flat because itās a tight fit. You will encounter resistance because the pads are glued to clipping hooks. The glue was not excessive in my experience, but it could be different for others. Overall, I think this method is pretty safe for the headphones, just take your time.
The YAXI pad are a massive comfort improvement and just look ā¦ beautiful.
Anyway, thought Iād share here. I searched this thread for āpadsā and didnāt see much on topic, so maybe this is my own weird problem/solution.
YAXIās seem like a straight comfort upgrade without compromising much - from what I can tell. I think that observation makes sense because the YAXI pads subtly flair out to create more ear space (not a gigantic size departure here), both sets of pads are constructed from similar materials (leather/memory foam), and the YAXIs approximate the thickness of the stock pads fairly well. I will say, that I just completed this mod and I was not immediately struck by a dramatic change, if thatās fair.
Ok, did some A/B-ing while writing/thinking about this. If there is much change, I think itās a modest relaxation of the overall sound. Not quite as inside my skull as before, but, at the same time, Iām not having to adjust volume levels between pad swaps. Anyway, thatās my best pass at an honest initial impression here.
Edit: I did want to point out, that for whatever reason, the headband is not bothering the top of my head as much too.
Just did a few swaps with no music playing and a stream playing in the background. Very similar isolation. I donāt think that I could distinguish a difference. I think the Pandaās clamping force and YAXIās similar thickness are helping here.
I will mention, that when I did early experiments with thicker pads, the clamping force got pretty unbearable. There is some goldilocks here for taming the clamp.
Between all the pads, what do you think is the best? Guess mine just need to break in. It doesnt hurts as much as few first days. But, still might try pad swapping tho.
For anyone else in the US who ordered through Indiegogo, are you also getting a BackerKit survey email from Drop asking you to pay taxes? Just wanting to make sure itās legit.
Finally!!! They are in my hands and now on my head. Itās nice. My last pair of planars were the t50rp and that was like 6 or 8 years ago. Been listening to my beyers exclusively at home so going from my dt770, dt880, and dt990 600ohms to the pandas is a nice change and some needed rest for my ears.
I like treble but my ears need a rest and thatās where these drop pandas come in. Only had them on for an hour and so far they sound worth it. Neutral leaning more towards warm with all the detail I want and very nice separation. Instantly found my self getting into the music and found my head just bobbing up and down on its own.
When I first put them on, it didnāt take long to acclimate to the sound after coming from my dt880. I instantly noticed how my ears felt more relaxed after all those highs coming from the dt880. At first I thought it sounded muffled but I think thatās just me transitioning from one sound sig to another.
I donāt find them that uncomfortable. I have a pair of dt1350 and those get uncomfortable after an hour. I have a big head so these are fully extended and I could imagine the head band becoming an issue but not a big deal right now as it rest on the top of my head.
Might be jumping the shark right now but they are sounding like end game closed backs for me.
Good compliment to my dt880 which are my semi open end game. The sound signature is just how I like it for a pair of closed backs. Best part is they are portable! No more hauling my xduoo xd-05 plus around when I want this level of detail and accuracy while on the go. Im out and about a lot and these block out the noise real well and they donāt leak much.
I feel immersed in the music while still being hit by details that seem new or just feel new because of the presentation of the sound. Itās laid back but exciting at the same time if that makes any sense. Neutral sounding but the bass hits nice without getting completely slammed. A satisfying amount of rumble. The highs are there with a slight sparkle but not intense or harsh at all. The mids are very nicely presented and donāt feel over taken by the highs or lows imo. Sounds smooth and very enjoyable. Really having a good time going through the music collection. Hearing how the tracks sound with these on.
They donāt sound too far off from the sound demo zeos recorded. When listening to it with my dt880, the 880s bring out the highs more and give it an airy presentation. If you take the air out and imagine some more warm and harder hitting bass and thatās what the pandas sound like and thatās what I was expecting and now they are here. Closed back end games obtained. For now. The dt770 600 ohm were my previous closed back end game but those donāt leave the house anymore after finding out they are discontinued.
I just hope these last as long as my decade + old beyerdynamics.
Edit* biggest complaint is build quality. They feel so nice at first but now Iām noticing some of the plastic on the right side of the headband above the cup swivel gets clicky if I press it. Hope it doesnāt start separating.
Edit** Yeah i still love my dt770 600 ohms as my end game closed backs. The pad swaps just make it more fun and iāve had them for 10 years and my ears have grown accustomed to the highs. The rolled off highs on the Panda is nice at times for how easy they are to listen to but now it just feels like somethings missing for me. The Panda still probably end game for portability for me.
BW Angled Sheepskin compliment these well. They push the ears away from the driver. Perfect for my big ass ears. It enlargens the soundstage of the bass, which helps to alleviate the problems Iāve had with how narrow these Cans sound. I had the same problem with the PM3s. Makes me feel like the mids are being choked. The one problem with the angled pads is that it trades one discomfort for another. Your ears wonāt touch the driver but since the clamp is pretty heavy as it is, youāll end up feeling it more around the ear.
Just got mine a few days ago. Well worth the wait. These shit all over my Audeze Mobius when it comes to both comfort and sound quality. Obviously if youāre a gamer and want the head tracking, or want 3D for watching movies, then the Mobius fits the bill, but for pure music listening, these are the catās meow.
I took them out on a long walk today, and even without ANC like my other BT headphones (Taotronics Soundsurge 46), the passive NC due to isolation does a really good job. Also, with temps in the low 40s they make infinitely better earmuffs than any TWS earbuds.
Iām looking forward to what the mobile app provides, and I hope that they make replacement pads available for purchase, for those of us who may want to use these in the hot summer months.
