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Showing 1 of 1320 conversations about:
J.A.S
43
Aug 4, 2020
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Is it any worth buying an amp for these?
Does anyone have experience plugging it into the 789 and can tell me the differences in sound?
MelvynOng
100
Aug 4, 2020
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J.A.SDon't have a 789 but similar sound profile when connected to the Fiio Q5 with AM3D module. Probably a different amp if prefer to have sound characteristics specific to amping.
TheHammer
5
Aug 5, 2020
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J.A.SYou likely won't notice much, if any, difference between a USB data connection (https://drop.com/buy/drop-wireless-headphones/talk/2573906) and a 789 analog in. I would say that purchasing that amp in conjunction with these headphones is a waste unless you have plans to expand your headphone lineup immediately (or already have a nice collection).
Personally, I am astounded that ANYONE would suggest Bluetooth wireless is comparable in quality in the ~$400 headphone range. Especially given THX's ability to create amazing performance products at a severely lower price point than everyone else. Even if they aren't working on the planars directly every product I've herd of from THX has been amazing. That being said, even with Sony's much better LDAC codec connection available (which Apple will not be purchasing licensing similar to aptX HD, very likely) these headphones are going to have a noticable difference in quality between wired and wireless. Anyone with minor training will be able to detect this. All other LDAC implementations have not proven this wrong.
Pandalover1
119
Aug 5, 2020
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TheHammerBut that's the whole point and goal behind the pandas in the first place is to be able to go give great sound output in a wireless format without sacrificing sound quality , thx have provided the amp inside the pandas to drive the planar drivers and give great sound quality.
(Edited)
TheHammer
5
Aug 5, 2020
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Pandalover1You seem to be incredibly confused.
If the "whole point and goal" behind this product was to not sacrifice sound quality then they should have omitted Bluetooth and used a proprietary wireless audio standard. It is certainly going to be good (likely better than all other Bluetooth headphones), but it by no means is going to be better than using a cable. At this time no Bluetooth audio standards exist that do not reduce the sound quality.
The amp is irrelevant to the quality of signal that is provided to the unit.
Pandalover1
119
Aug 5, 2020
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TheHammerThere's no confusion, the panda has had great reviews from the vast majority , most of them for the majority are are saying very positive things about the sound quality of the pandas in wireless mode, I have seen consistently from comments and reviews that they are better than any other Bluetooth headphones and some have struggled to tell the difference between wired and wireless I'm sound quality from a good sound source i.e. a high quality sound file transmitted to the pandas, I have no doubt that there are better sounding headphones full stop but the whole point is that the pandas deliver great audio wireless and wired , I do understand what the amp is for and it's function, but all the same it IS important for the sound to drive the drivers
Will
8470
Chief Product Officer
Aug 5, 2020
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J.A.SSounds 100% the same between the 789 and the internal AAA amp. I would not bother buying a 789 for these.
However, we designed the 3.5mm jack as a true pass-through, allowing you to use tube amps and other esoteric gadgetry to get the most from our planar ribbon drivers.
We intended this feature as something for the deeper existing enthusiast, and I would not say you need an amp to enjoy Panda (it's got the best solid state amp built in). I would say, if you have a tube amp already, try it out, but you shouldn't use Panda to justify a standalone tube amp purchase, you'll have to find some other excuse.
(Edited)
TheHammer
5
Aug 6, 2020
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WillThat's really good to know. I was curious about that since I hadn't seen anything concrete about it, but it does make sense to not build in additional circuitry to deal with level matching or another ADC. That would also prevent an uncharged headset from not operating.
(Edited)
J.A.S
43
Aug 6, 2020
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WillThank you for the honnest reply.
I am realy looking forward on testing out the differences (if they even bother me) between ldac and wired.
Best bluetooth codac I have listened to is AptX not even the HD version and with that the difference, somewhy depending on the song, seems to be huge when compared to a wired connection.
But that may just be the DAC in my current headphones. I can not tell.
danieleastman
35
Aug 6, 2020
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J.A.SMost replied already but I'm plugging these into a Topping E30/L30 stack, the ONLY difference is the noise floor. I'm guessing the DAC on the qualcomm chip in the pandas has a little bit of a noise floor, or it's the smaller THX amp, I wouldn't be able to tell--but that will be the only thing you notice between the internal electronics and a measured flat desktop amplifier of high caliber, and even then it's very minimal (You'll have to actively be listening for it to hear it). If you don't already have a desk amp, just use USB.
Jisheng
257
Keyboard Club Member
Aug 7, 2020
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BradskiI think you misunderstood the situation. The Panda is acoustically tuned rather than tuned through DSP so it shouldn't require power to sound good but it doesn't mean that you don't need a good DAC/Amp setup if you want to use it wired through 3.5mm. See here: https://drop.com/buy/drop-wireless-headphones/talk/2661835
For what it's worth, these are really easy to drive. I'm running it through my iFi iDSD Micro BL and I have to set the IEMatch to Ultra-sensitivity otherwise I'd blow my ears off.
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