Drop + THX Panda Wireless Headphone

Jun 26, 2020

Hey Friends, The first Panda units are ready to ship! Final QC checks are complete and we’ll have Pandas on a plane in the first half of next week. In addition to shipping these first units in June, we’re pleased to announce all remaining orders are expected to ship on schedule. We also wanted to tell you about a few improvements we made for the production model based on late-stage community feedback : Improved Damping Scheme We improved the damping material and layout to further reduce reflections inside the cup. For most listeners, this manifests as improved detail and a more open soundstage. Extended Headband We added two notches of extension on either side of the headband. This will allow most people to wear Panda over a hat. Additional Headband Padding We doubled the amount of padding and selected a more porous foam. Production Pandas have more cushion than the review samples. EQ App Drop is partnering with a pro-audio DSP company to create an accompanying (but fully optional) smartphone application to use with Panda. This application has two functions right now. First, serve firmware updates to Panda. Second, offer an equalization function. Panda was designed to sound great without software manipulation, and as a result, it is an ideal platform for software manipulation. The driver type and amplifier structure take an EQ really well, so we’re excited to give you a couple ways to customize the sound. We’re still working with our partner to see how far we can push the EQ feature but we’re shooting for full parametric EQ and we’ll learn more about how that’s going in a meeting later tonight. A note on how we’re implementing the equalization: The equalization is managed by Panda’s hardware. You’ll define an EQ profile with the app, then it will upload that profile to your Panda, and it will have that EQ profile applied until you change it with the app again. This is about finding exactly the sound you like, and enjoying it with any digital source. --- Most of the time, the moment you buy a product you really care about, that’s the peak enjoyment. You get it later, some aspect isn’t as good as you hoped, and it’s still great, but it’s not better than you hoped. With these improvements, and the way we develop products in general, we hope the best part is when you get to use it. Thanks for your patience and support, more updates to come.

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iAmBoomerStrong

479

Feb 9, 2021

If you go to the discussions part of the page you will see the much anticipated App is due to launch any day. His last update expected it to be ready to launch by or on the 15th of February. You can download the app now so you are ready for launch date. It’s called SOUNDID (by SonarWorks) and below is a picture of the app icon for IOS. Hope this helps.. Boomer 🎧

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Mr-Beardy17

Mar 8, 2021

WillWhen is the EQ? Waiting forever. lol. Good day everyone.

Jul 27, 2020

Hi Friends, We understand how eager you are to receive your new headphones and want to again thank you for your patience. Closures due to Covid-19 have further disrupted our supply chain (second wave closures in relevant European cities) and delayed our delivery schedule for Panda. Circumstances are evolving daily, and we’re going to provide weekly updates going forward to reflect the most recent status. Please understand that these dates are based on the best information we have today and the situation is evolving: The rest of the June orders will ship in the fourth week of August, with some units shipping sooner. You’ll know which group you are in by when you receive your backerkit survey. July orders will also start shipping the fourth week of August. For August orders we are gathering more information to better understand where we stand at this point. We expect to have more information later this week. We appreciate your patience as we continue to work hard to produce your Pandas during this irregular time. We’ll continue to keep you updated, hopefully with some good news next week. Thanks again and stay healthy,

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Oct 22, 2020

International orders have too many intricacies to give you a helpful response, there are too many reasons why too many things could cause issues. All the orders are making their way out the door.

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TostiTostelli

139

Oct 28, 2020

Have a hug.

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AlexPk

7197

Community

Jan 29, 2020

PANDA FAQ

Why is Drop launching on Indiegogo? We chose Indiegogo as an experiment to reach a significantly larger and different community in addition to our members here at Drop. Our primary goal with the Panda headphone is to make the world’s best-sounding wireless headphone, but we also want to make it accessible to a wider and more diverse audience. When searching for a launch partner, it became clear that Indiegogo users share our values when it comes to product innovation and excellence, so we felt it was a great place to test the waters. I don’t want to use IGG because of their Return/Guarantee policy Regardless of where you buy them; Panda will be manufactured and shipped by Drop. In addition, any purchase will be backed by Drop and we will handle all post buying related issues such as refunds or Community Support. What’s up with the pay more to receive early? With a lot of crowdsourced campaigns there’s a heavy focus on “early bird” sales and additional perks. However, this focus doesn’t apply well to Panda. Most people don’t need to buy a 4 pair pack for the family, there’s no after credits to be listed in, no character design to model after, stories to modify, etc. Using this model we’re giving everyone their own choice of the perk they prefer. Time vs cost. If your biggest concern is getting the best deal regardless of the wait, then snag an early bird. Conversely, if you want it as soon as possible, then you can get a smaller discount and have the delivery expedited. Why is IGG shipping cheaper? This was an oversight and not our intention. We will be refunding the difference for anyone whose shipping charges on Drop.com were higher than the prices on IGG. Why the pre pre order? People clicked the request button, which is a feature that helps us to determine demand in a very objective way and ultimately is a great help to us through all phases of development. We wanted to reward those community members who took the time to do so. Will Panda be available on Drop after IGG? Panda will be available on Indiegogo from January 27th 6am PT through February 11th 11:59pm PT. To ensure you get a pair at the existing prices, make sure and purchase within this time frame. Any other production runs are to be determined in the future. Thanks everyone!

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RRM1

152

Feb 10, 2020

Indiegogo does not accept pay pal. Why? Because you have 160 day to file disputes. Most of the scams perpetrated there will still fall into this time frame.

(Edited)

loveshot

Feb 20, 2020

Something something 177x will probably never drop below $450 after pre-order...

May 23, 2020

Hey Friends, Unfortunate news— we’ve run into a production delay that will likely impact many June orders. These circumstances are still evolving, but at this point, it looks like we’ll be able to ship ~1000 in June, with the remaining June orders shipping in July. While the overall production schedule is moving smoothly, we’re missing one critical driver material. This material is produced in Europe and, and while our supplier expected to be done with local lockdowns on Monday, they’re experiencing some bureaucratic delays and won’t be open for another few days. This means the critical driver material will not arrive in time to meet our June fulfillment schedule. We expect it to arrive shortly, so we hope to see minimal impact beyond this delay. We’re able to produce ~1000 units of Panda with material our supplier provided before lockdown (they had to shut down in the middle of our order). We’ll use these units to fulfill orders on a first-in/first-out basis. Everything else (all the headband parts, the AAA amp modules, batteries, chipsets, etc) is ready for full production (all units ordered and more). So once this final driver material arrives, it’s full steam ahead on all remaining orders. We expect to fulfill the July and August orders as planned. For everyone who paid an extra $30 on IGG to get your Panda in June, if your order ships in July (or any time after June) as a result of this delay, you’ll receive a $30 refund/credit (we’re working with IGG on logistics, their platform doesn’t have an easy way to do partial refunds, so it might have to be Drop credit). We don’t know exactly who will be impacted today, those who are impacted will be notified directly once quantities and allocations are confirmed. Thanks for your patience as we manage the evolving global circumstances. We’ll post another update in a couple of weeks.

(Edited)

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Krispies

Jun 7, 2020

WillHi, I'd rather get replacement ear-pads than $30 credit on drop.com since I don't know whether I can order on this site or not from Belgium. A few years from now, I will probably look for replacement ear pads so this would be reassuring to have those as soon as possible. This looks like a good deal to me =)

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Flemur

Jun 8, 2020

WillHave you reached out to those that are impacted by this delay yet? I am assuming that I am one of the later contributors to have paid the extra 30 to receive my Pandas in June, and therefore guess I will be impacted by this delay, but the fact that I haven't yet been contacted is almost making me hopeful.

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Sep 30, 2020

Hi Everyone, Due to additional material QC and upcoming closures due to holidays we have some delays to the schedule. The latest is as follows:

For all orders with an original ship date in July, some units have started to ship. However the remaining units are delayed a couple of weeks. We expect to fulfill all original ship July orders by the end of October.

For all orders with an original ship date in August, this timing is also delayed. Fulfillment will start in November and should be completed by the end of November.

For those who ordered a boom mic as a separate perk on IGG, we are still looking to ship these out mid October.

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Joe405

353

Oct 9, 2020

Alright thanks I'll copy paste your reply since customer support insists otherwise and has in fact ghosted me for 2 days

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Vic_Komori

Oct 9, 2020

Thanks for the update on the 16+ band EQ. Looking forward to it. Please manage our expectations with honest deadlines. For those who are still waiting to get their Panda's: It does worth the wait!

(Edited)

Jul 9, 2020

Hey Friends, It’s been an exciting week with the first Pandas arriving for US customers. We’re proud that Panda is living up to expectations. Driver production is running smoothly after a small delay last week. This delay was the result of an additional round of QC for a new batch of driver materials. Good news is that production is moving forward now, but we lost a few days and the knock-on effects are going to push some July orders into August (by a couple days). Remaining June orders will ship in the third or fourth week of July. 7/27 according to the schedule. We will be in touch via email in the next couple of weeks to grant your $30 Drop credit. July orders will ship between the last days of July and the second week of August.

August orders will ship in the fourth week of August. So from our last update to now, everything shifts by a couple weeks, but we’d rather push by a couple weeks and do the extra round of QC than rush at this stage. Backerkit surveys will be sent a couple weeks prior to each shipment in order to confirm shipping addresses and collect any additional taxes. Thanks for your patience everyone, we’re shipping these as fast as we responsibly can.

(Edited)

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HamishtheDog

Jul 27, 2020

I don’t disagree, nor do I discount anyone’s frustration. I’ve felt it myself. Like everyone else here, I want to know what is going on and am anxiously awaiting news of when my (originally august shipment) headphones will actually arrive. My main point is that there have been a lot of issues that have happened this year, and the delays are out of the control of Drop. It sucks, and no one is happy about it, but it happens. I know from experience with international supply chains that sometimes it can take a while to get accurate updated info and it isn’t always available to immediately provide.

(Edited)

aaaafireball

Jul 27, 2020

HamishtheDogCovid has taken a hit on every supply chain. Unfortunately it had to happen when I was buying headphones lol!!!!!!! It's no fault of theirs that this happened and that they are experiencing delays. I just would like a simple "hey covid sucks and things might be pushed back" type of update. Nothing intensive or full of detail

Oct 21, 2020

Hi Everyone, No new updates. Here is the latest delivery information:

For all orders with an original ship date in July, about half of the units have shipped. We are still on track to fulfill all original ship July orders by the end of October.

For all orders with an original ship date in August, fulfillment will start in November and should be completed by the end of November.

For all orders with an original ship date in September, fulfillment will be completed by the end of November.

For all orders with an original ship date in November, fulfillment will be completed by the end of November.

Best,

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GrischuG

Oct 29, 2020

It depends on the backer level (or whatever it's called). If you ordered on IGG, the expexcted date of shippment should tell you more, in which group you are. If you ordered the August one, your order will be shipped after EVERY July shippment, no matter IGG or DROP.

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nalston

Oct 30, 2020

The email I've been waiting for since 7/31 has arrived. The "Your package has shipped!" email. Hooray!

Mar 30, 2021

Hey Friends, Today’s the day. SoundID + Custom EQ update is available for Panda. Find your update instructions here: https://drop.com/talk/77511/drop-sonarworks-panda-release Beyond the SoundID integration, our team was able to include a fix for times where Panda would enter sleep mode despite microphone activity. Panda will not enter sleep mode if there is any activity on the mic, regardless of primary/secondary device pairing.

(Edited)

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iAmBoomerStrong

479

May 17, 2021

Hi … I will try to help. Let me start by saying this … if your pandas sound great to you and they work great… there is no need to connect and it download the app. Secondly if you are having problems or want to change your sound EQ, you MUST go they the process of downloading the new SOUNDiD Hardware and firmware changes to your pandas. That is ONLY done so wired via android or iOS desktop/laptop. If you have completed that process this is the process you will need to then connect your Pandas to the SOUNDiD app.

completely remove the drop panda headphones from ALL Bluetooth devices (phones/tablets/laptops etc).-
Completely delete and reinstall the SOUNDiD App.
bring the pandas back onto bluetooth of ONLY one device for now. Your main device in which you’ll be using the pandas the most with.
aign back into the SOUNDiD app and choose your headphones.

This should work now and the Pandas should connect to the SOUNDiD App. Remember that once you complete your sound test and have chosen either to use the sound they have created for you or have chosen to make your own Custom EQ sound (if that’s your want) and the pandas have said after buffering “UPLOAD SUCCESSFUL” touch on the connect word at the bottom left of the app page and make sure you have turn on the SOUNDiD PERSONALIZATION toggle. This means the new sound you have either created or chosen is now permanently locked into the pandas and there is no more any need ti go back into the SOUNDiD App unless you’ve received an email there is an update or you wish to change the EQ Again. Every time you decide to change the custom EQ at which point you will ALWAYS have to ensure the SOUNDiD Personalization toggle is on. Hope this helps.

koblongata2

Jun 23, 2021

This SoundID thing has to be one of the most disastrous piece of software I have encountered in my 30 years of IT life.

Aug 5, 2020

Hi Friends, We're checking in with our weekly Panda update. COVID-19-related closures continue to impact our driver material provider. Reopening measures have been slowed in order to disinfect properly and keep everyone safe. While this has additional impacts on our delivery schedule, we stay committed to the safety of everyone working on the production of Panda. Here is the latest delivery schedule: The rest of the orders with June ship dates will ship in the fourth week of August, with some units shipping sooner. You’ll know which group you are in by when you receive your BackerKit survey. This shipping time has remained the same from our last update. Orders with July ship dates will be delayed to Mid-September. We are still receiving a clear picture of the delivery schedule for August ship dates. The circumstances are changing daily. We will be back next week with another update and appreciate your patience as we work through these issues.

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zbells

234

Aug 12, 2020

Thanks Will, very helpful info!

ElectronicVices

2937

Aug 14, 2020

Thanks for your updates Will. For those of us who were waiting for a replacement Panda, my label was printed today. Will say FedEx smartpost does worry me. Given the current state of USPS I hope FedEx ground does the final delivery this time.

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