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Showing 1 of 31 conversations about:
First Impressions: Changing the Headphone Game
By
Drop+Audiophile
djfluffkins
157
Jan 18, 2020
Was really excited to try these out at the listening party. As someone who works in an open office plan, I’m rarely able to scratch my audiophile itch at work because most of my cans are open back. So when there’s a good closed back on the market, AND it’s wireless, I had to give it a shot.
I tried these with 3 sources my iPhone XS Max (which I believe is SBC), a Fiio X7 mk II and the Chord Mojo they had available. As many first impressions have already stated the environment wasn’t necessarily ideal for detailed listening, but I do feel like I got a good impression of what they were capable of. I brought an Audeze Mobius with me as a frame of reference since I don’t have that many sets of wireless cans (ANC doesn’t sit well with me so I don’t have Sony’s or Bose’s to compare with).
First off, the sound, I personally have a preference towards V-shaped signatures, but I found these to be neutral BUT enjoyable. My test tracks go through a variety of tracks that vary from bass heavy to acoustic vocals. I found that the bass had good clarity to it and was forward but not aggressive (BTW the Mojo’s attack/speed is on full display with these headphones). The vocals were present but not forward and felt like they were sitting on top of the soundstage, I usually reference the AKG K7XX as sitting in the back rows of a concert and DT880s as the front row, these were hard to describe and seem to reflect overall good separation. The placement of the vocals makes me feel like there’s a bigger soundstage without feeling recessed. My one complaint was with the highs. They did get a little tinny. In fact, on the AptX wireless with the Fiio, there were some tracks where things had higher pitched percussive elements it was almost unbearable to listen to, they calmed down a lot when I wasn’t using AptX. One of the Drop employees did mention that because it’s pre-production there might be some issues with chips / wireless codecs.
I was incredibly impressed with the control interface. The table in the story post on Drop made me worried it was going to be a series of “remember how long you press” things. The one button joystick was amazing. The Audeze has about 8 different things you need to hit/remember to hit (a lot of them are mic related) and it’s a pain, these were great, up down for volume, left right for tracks and a pretty simple to remember setup for pairing. The device shuts off the electronics when you plug in a regular cable, this felt weird to me, but only because I kept swapping, I can imagine most users won’t be swapping all the time.
Lastly, feel/build/sizing. I responded to someone else’s post about how this would do on a big head. Generally speaking, I’ll max out any pair of headphones in terms of the headband (annoying with the Mr. Speakers because it means my head hits the metal, but they sound so good, so eh?). These didn’t open as much as I needed them to, so the pads didn’t sit well around my ears. That being said, the pads are super soft, and the clamping pressure is medium for me (the Audeze clamping pressure is something I can’t manage for more than an hour or so). I felt like the weight was pretty reasonable, they seemed to float on my head, but maybe that was because of the increased clamping pressure driving the weight off the headband. Will did respond in my thread about the headband and suggested that these pre-production bands might have been a little difficult to fully extend, I’ll be interested in seeing if my experience was with a bad band.
Generally speaking, I was incredibly impressed with these headphones. I wish I could have tested in the real world in terms of isolation and sealing but they probably do well in most environments, I could see airplanes and loud BART trains might be a little too much, but personally I go with custom IEMs for that level of external noise. I think the THX AAA tech is on full display in the wireless mode and it’s quite enjoyable, like really enjoyable. I could easily see this being a go to portable set, especially with how good they sound straight from an iPhone, not having to carry extra gear is a pretty big win.
Mkoll
14
Jan 23, 2020
djfluffkinsCare to post some more detailed comparison of the Panda vs the Mobius? I have the Mobius and the Panda is piqueing my interest. I'm guessing it's a sidegrade at best given how good the Mobius is, but I'd like to hear what you think...
djfluffkins
157
Jan 23, 2020
MkollSure, I think the biggest thing I like about the Pandas over the Mobius is the control scheme. I personally HATE the fact that the Mobius has about 8 different input controls and you have to memorize how to use them.
As far as an audio comparison, I think the Panda's win, hands down. The clarity in lows and the vibrancy in the highs all while retaining a relatively neutral signature is a clear win here. To be honest, there's a chance that I haven't committed enough burn in on the Mobius to get the lows to an enjoyable state.
I'm not sure how much you have, or have not, enjoyed the 3D processing on the Mobius. I actually find it rather enjoyable for everyday listening, with an obvious preference to 3D Off for more detailed listening.
I think if you find yourself listening to the Mobius with 3D off and never using the mic features, then you probably would have preferred this from the get go. The unfortunately reality is that it's probably not worth a pure $400 sidegrade. The type of headphones (many of which can be found here) that you can enjoy, or justify a $400 down payment towards is pretty high. If you're using your Mobius every day, you might have a different conclusion than me. I will note that the Pandas feel like a much sturdier device, if you're mobile a lot and potentially banging things around, the Pandas seem like a worthwhile investment.
Mkoll
14
Jan 24, 2020
djfluffkinsThank you for your reply. Definitely tempting, especially at the $320 pre-order price, but yeah they probably aren't worth it as a sidegrade.
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