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LouMag
What Amp???
Hello audiophilers!! While I am waiting for my first bought item from Drop (can't wait!!) I was planning my next purchase ;-P... An amplifier... I wander which is better among the Drop O2 and drop+thx
Jul 4, 2022
s1mply
Swedish shipping
Has any one whos swedish ordered from here ? Does it come with dhl or post nord ? Thanks in advance
Jul 2, 2022
MrChiSox
An upgrade to my Little Dot MKII
I made the decision to upgrade my modest Little Dot MKII Tube Amplifier this past week and it just got here yesterday. This is a used piece of gear, it's the first generation Woo Audio WA6. I wanted to go with Silver as it would match my Solid State Burson Conductor 3 Performance Headphone Amp/DAC/Pre-Amp, as well as the Schiit Lokius I also picked up recently. I wound up with Black; it was in the best condition of those I saw available, it was priced better and it came from an audio dealership with a brick & mortar store which displayed a working telephone number and an A+ rating with the BBB so I knew that I was probably safe in dealing with the gentleman. The Lokius is brand new. What I've learned is that I am going to have to do some figuring out how to deal with all of this new stuff, including how to get it all onto my 6 foot desk along with my lamp and modem. Apparently the Lokius has to be connected between Amp and DAC, so it would fit in between...
Jun 30, 2022
Recommendations to Drop (THX AAA) In my recent experience, any amplifier based on the THX AAA technology quickly becomes best in class regardless of price (lots of good measurements with Audio Precision equipment on a particular site I can think of bear this out.) The Drop THX AAA™ 789 and Benchmark AHB2 are great examples. I would love to see Drop produce even more products based on this technology including, but not limited to:
Reference Equipment (compared to Drop Panda) I've listened to quite a few headphones and DAC/Amps over the years, and currently own/use the following:
Observations I have never owned any wireless headphones because I always found the sound quality unacceptably inferior and the battery life too short. I have experimented with FiiO MMCX cables compatible with the Shure SE535 and found both the sound quality and battery life to be unacceptable. Right from the start, the Drop Pandas produced sound that was clearly what I would consider Audiophile, and many levels above the sound quality of any other wireless headphone I've heard to date. I listened to the Pandas with:
- Tidal MQA sources from the provided iPads and Macbook pros
- 256k AAC Sources from my iPhone
- Tidal sources amplified through the provided Chord Mojo DAC/AMPs
- Tidal sources amplified through the provided by the provided Grace SDAC+THX AAA™ 789
The best sound was produced by the embedded DAC+THX AAA amp over bluetooth to the Drop Panda. When using outboard amplification, the sound was sometimes more detailed/bare (especially with the SDAC+THX AAA combo). I get the impression, though I did not get a chance to verify with the Drop staff on hand, that the Drop Pandas have some internal EQ to bring up the bass a little and normalize the response curve of the ribbon driver. I also think that the SDAC, though very good, may not be able to keep up with the high performance of the THX AAA 789. Though I have a Chord Mojo myself, I think its performance has been eclipsed by many better+cheaper DAC/Amps, including the excellent Topping DX3 Pro available from Drop. I would have recommended the DX3 Pro over the Mojo as I think it would have produced better results based on better measured performance. Comparison to very good wired headphones with very good amplification The only places I can fault the Drop Pandas in bass quality and extension (probably below 120Hz) and absolute resolution. In bass response, the ribbon driver may not have enough surface area to provide low distortion bass down to the lowest registers. In this area, the bass response is not as good as that of the excellent Massdrop Fostex TH-X00 or the Elear. In absolute resolution, the DAC+AMP+Circular ribbon loses out to headphones like the Elear (and Elex) and the Koss ESP-950 (and Drop Koss ESP/95x) when driven with a quality DAC (like the SU-8, Topping D70, or DX3 Pro) and a great amplifier (like the THX AAA 789). These are really nit-picks, though, because at $399, the Drop Pandas are much, much more affordable than any of the configurations mentioned above.