Drop Thx pandas?

kucharczykt · January 28, 2021

For the price are the (mass)drop thx panda wireless headphones good and do they compare to other wired audiophile headphones in that price range?

rice guru · January 28, 2021

For the tech your getting it's worth it but they are having QC issues currently. In terms of comparing to wired options there are a bunch of open backs I would rate higher at half the price. And I would rate it similarly to the $200 Audeze Penrose or Mobius

kucharczykt · January 28, 2021

11 minutes ago, rice guru said:

For the tech your getting it's worth it but they are having QC issues currently. In terms of comparing to wired options there are a bunch of open backs I would rate higher at half the price. And I would rate it similarly to the $200 Audeze Penrose or Mobius

Ok if this is the case then I think I'll get a amp and either used sennys or the 58x jubilies(I'm not a massdrop fanboy I swear) and some cheaper wired headphones. Are there any wireless headphones you would reccomend around 100 dollars or so?

Psittac · January 28, 2021

Are you planning to do more down the road in terms of audio equipment? Or is this a one and done? If you're going to make this a hobby I suggest the 6xx. I don't know much about the 58x but I know that the 6xx will directly reflect what ever you put behind them so it gives a good path for experimentation.

As for an amp or a dac and amp there are a lot of solutions that will put you at the same budget as the panda was to begin with.

As for the panda it's self I've heard that they're some of the better wireless headphones, if wireless is important enough to you it would be a good option.

kucharczykt · January 28, 2021

15 minutes ago, Psittac said:

Are you planning to do more down the road in terms of audio equipment? Or is this a one and done? If you're going to make this a hobby I suggest the 6xx. I don't know much about the 58x but I know that the 6xx will directly reflect what ever you put behind them so it gives a good path for experimentation.

As for an amp or a dac and amp there are a lot of solutions that will put you at the same budget as the panda was to begin with.

As for the panda it's self I've heard that they're some of the better wireless headphones, if wireless is important enough to you it would be a good option.

I'm definitely going to make this a hobby I've pretty well decided on the schiit magni 3 for an amp but I haven't decided on a pair of headphones. Since making this post I've done a little more research and thinking and decided if/when I get a pair of wireless headphones they probally won't be audiophile centered.

Psittac · January 28, 2021

Just now, kucharczykt said:

I'm definitely going to make this a hobby I've pretty well decided on the schiit magni 3 for an amp but I haven't decided on a pair of headphones. Since making this post I've done a little more research and thinking and decided if/when I get a pair of wireless headphones they probally won't be audiophile centered.

ok cool, then in my experience the best way to start the hobby is with something that everyone has. And that's the 600/650/6xx, that way you can understand what people are saying when they compare it to something else, ex: the 6xx has a close and intimate and warm feeling with strong vocal's and weak bass. Before I started those words meant nothing to me. My first "reference" pair of headphones were the hifiman 400i's and little known to me they were referenced by no one, went a couple years on those then my wallet could really focus on headfi. What I've learned through experience and been told is you should start with a good solid state amp, then you can move to tubes. That way you know what the tubes are doing. I have gone from solid state to tubes back to solid state then back to tubes again. But tubes are more of an experience to be had than normal listening. The rabbit hole is very deep in head-fi. Depending on your financial devotion to the hobby I would say go schiit magni/modi (maybe heresy no experience with that type) then go for something like the little dot mkII or little bear p7 and find a good (not expensive) pair of tubes. At that point you've got a wide selection of experiences and can call it there, maybe throw in another pair of can's down the road. But I would highly recommend the 6xx over 58x as my loose understanding is that the only benefit to 58x is ease of powering, which you are already talking going amplified. Only added thought I have is that you don't need a dac immediately if that makes budgeting easier. Then you can get some time with and without a dac to understand what a dac is doing for you.