Free Standard Shipping in the US on orders over $99

DROP + Sonarworks Panda Release

Mar 30, 20217338 VIEWS

Hey Friends, Today’s the day. SoundID + Custom EQ update is available for Panda. For this first update, you’ll need to use our OTW update tool, download the windows or Mac version here: https://dro.ps/panda_updater_windows

https://dro.ps/panda_updater_mac For best results, power off your panda, turn off BT on all paired devices (computer, ipad, phone, etc), and connect via the included USB-C cable and start the update process. It should take about two minutes, and at the end you should see firmware version 20003 displayed:

Now, activate BT on the device that you’re using for SoundID (iphone, android, etc), connect Panda, and open the SoundID application (make sure you downloaded the update today). At the bottom right of the SoundID app you’ll see a “+” and the word “connect” below it. Press there, and on the next menu you should see DROP Panda, and an option to connect on the next screen. Initial connection and profile upload should take about two minutes (once you complete your SoundID profile). This load time is required for any profile you upload to Panda. The SoundID app will tell you when the upload is complete and from the connection menu you can toggle on and off the SoundID personalization. Congratulations, your Panda is updated, you have access to parametric equalization via the “customize” option on the profile selection screen (main screen of the application, press the SoundID visual on the top half of the screen). It’s been a journey, but we’re here folks, post your favorite curves and respond here with questions!

100% upvoted

283

7.3K

Will

8470

Chief Product Officer

Sort by: Newest

silentrecorder

Sonarworks

Mar 31, 2021

Stickied

Hi all First of all thank you for being so keen on trying out SoundID personalization with your Pandas. We're excited to see such a great activity. Unfortunately this activity was one of the main reasons why the beginning of launch didn't go as smooth as planned. Here's a brief status summary: Profile upload and generation times The major problem immediately after launch was that we had a bottleneck in server performance during biquad calculations for Panda DSP that resulted in super long profile upload and generation times for users. Some of you are asking why there is a server involved in this and the reason is that optimizing for computational efficiency of the filter on the headphone is important, it's a relatively challenging mathematical problem to crack, so therefore it's done on the server side. We noticed first problems at 12PM PDT time, March 30th and were doing emergency repairs. There was some downtime of service during that hour. At 4PM PDT time there was again some 20 minute downtime. During these downtimes we were able to fix immediate problems and after that all seems stable, server is coping with inflow. Other common issues we see

- Some users are reporting that they see a firmware update via SoundID app, even after they have used the desktop updater tool. This shouldn't happen if the last updater version is used. Please download them from the links Will has posted at the very top of this thread

- Some Android users have reported that they can't connect their Pandas to the SoundID app. Please check if you do have the GPS and Location services turned on for the SoundID app. This is due to Android Bluetooth LE requiring location/gps to be enabled. We will also soon release a new app version where this will be put in the troubleshoot section.

- In case you can't find where the EQ is located, please tap on your unique SoundID profile pattern at the home screen. That will show the option to Customize. Here's a short screen recording of that https://take.ms/QuWQY

- We see that some users tried to connect Pandas to our desktop application “SoundID Listen”. Please bear in mind that SoundID Listen doesn't have any EQ or personalization controls and since it is still in Beta, it was never part of the launch. Once you set up your Pandas via mobile app and get the sound you like, the profile gets uploaded to headphones and from that moment headphones are personalized no matter which device you connect them to. You can always return to the app and choose to modify your SoundID or turn it off should you want to.

We are still following closely the activity on our end and in this forum. Reach out if you still have some issues regarding the SoundID experience, we're here to help!

(Edited)

View 32 More Replies

Currawong

318

Review Team on Head-Fi

Apr 23, 2021

silentrecorderIf you're using a DAP, rather than a phone, then GPS connection is probably not possible, so the software wont work. I could be wrong, but it makes sense as to why I couldn't use a Hiby New R6 to connect, but my iPhone works fine.

Vote

Nsk1979

May 3, 2021

CurrawongSame problem with me and my Cayin N6ii DAP. Why need GPS location for HP tuning software?!

Vote

d3rrial

Nov 2, 2021

Really cool, unfortunately the windows desktop firmware updater doesn't work for me at all. The GUI doesn't show that there's anything wrong at all, but if I use the batch file directly I at least get an error message which is `Error running upgradebin command: Failed to get Child Device Instance for 5(status = 13)` There's other weirdness now, too. When pairing them via bluetooth or using the USB cable to use them as an audio device, they sometimes work fine, but most of the time it sounds like the amplifier is off completely and I'm just hearing what the DAC shoves into there. (It's *incredibly* quiet, hence the assumption)

Vote

silentrecorder

Sonarworks

May 20, 2021

Hi all Sorry for being quiet on our side but we've been following closely to the feedback regarding the SoundID experience and it's been very, very important to us. Currently we see two major feedback patterns. One is regarding the usability of the Parametric EQ and the other is about having original Panda sound as a "baseline" when going into the EQ, instead of the flat calibration + Preference curve. Let's start with the latter - unfortunately due to how our technology is built we currently can't provide option to have original Panda sound as the baseline when going into EQ. The existing approach that we have is a core technology feature that's consistent across our whole SoundID product range and it would ask for tremendous changes in the core logic of our personalization features. Things look brighter when talking about the usability of the EQ and more specifically - ability to type-in specific values for the parameters instead of using the slider. We are actually working on this. We had a technical delay that didn't allow us to do it from the get-go. Now we are aiming to release it sometime end of June or very beginning of July. I hope this sheds some light and we hope this update will improve your experience using the EQ. On a different note we are working heavily on general app UX improvements also outside the Panda usage that will eventually include improvements across the areas in onboarding, easier access to features (like EQ for example), navigation and core structure. These changes should massively improve the usability of the whole app. Thank you for using Pandas with SoundID and thank you for very detailed feedback throughout the usage. It really helps us to improve the product! Happy listening

View 3 More Replies

NuclearCore

203

May 24, 2021

silentrecorderWell, regarding the first issue, in order to be able to offer equalization for the panda at all, you will have to know the stock frequency response. What's so hard about giving us the stock FR curve as a target that we can then modify just like the flat reference? Just modify the flat curve via its equalization curve back to stock and add it as a modifiable target. Edit: I also still don't understand why you offer headphone equalization on the SoundID mobile app, but still don't have a calibration profile for the Panda in your 'flagship' SoundID Reference software for PC. What's the deal with that? Is that even being worked on?

(Edited)

Patson

149

Jun 27, 2021

silentrecorderthe demo sounds on the app arent loading up and I have to forget and pair the device every time I open the SoundID app, I have been trying this since last night and there is no luck, I cannot check the preset EQ with the demos anymore

Vote

fLoBy_Wad

Apr 24, 2021

I've had my pandas since September 2020. I havent had any issues other than a few really concerning physical defects that were present at delivery.. After updating and pairing with the soundID app they worked fine, until yesterday when the just decided not to bootup at all. Unless being used over usb-c or the headphone jack, these are now paperweights. Luckily i already have a shipping label ready to send them out for replacement. I'm not too sure if this is a direct result of the software update, or some other flaw manifesting. Either way I'm reallly thinking i might hold back on updating my replacement pair when they do eventually show up, maybe for a few months even just to see if anyone else experiences this, and if anything becomes of it. Anyone else having similar issues?

som3dude

May 7, 2021

fLoBy_WadYes. Mine won't even turn on now. Can't return as it's past the 30 days. Beyond upset.

Coolheadphonesman

Apr 23, 2021

Update isn't working for me, I just get a malware warning. Am I supposed to press something or extract something? Everytime my computer says it won't run...what are the 1. 2. 3. steps here? What do I double click on and press what file for Windows? The setup file? I just get security warnings and nothing runs.

Vote

SonnySN

May 4, 2021

Coolheadphonesmanyour antivirus is prolly flagging and quarantining something in the update files, disable your antivirus and redownload it again. extract the folder, run setup.exe and follow the rest of the instructions

(Edited)

Vote

dylanger

Apr 20, 2021

So I've been digging into this firmware update for a bit. So the updater basically just downloads the firmware binary from https://dro.ps/panda_firmware After doing that it runs this script ``` @echo on HidDfuCmd.exe upgradebin 0A12 4007 0 0FF00 DROP_Panda.bin echo pause pause exit ``` HidDfuCmd can also be used to ``` Commands: backup - Performs a backup. upgrade - Performs an upgrade. upgradebin - Performs an upgrade with a binary file. Command Arguments: vid - USB Vendor ID. pid - USB Product ID. usage - USB Usage value. Can be set to zero to ignore. usagePage - USB Usage Page value. Can be set to zero to ignore. fileName - DFU file name. ``` After running binwalk on the firmware, there's a gzipped config file called config_definition.xml, this XML file appears to be configuration for the QCC512 SoC that runs the Panda Headphones You can download the config here https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/QmYS6eJaNpK1QP23pYczD4UpyKgq3Bk7efRnXwA19ydJLi I wanted to dump the current untouched firmware before updating, so I can safely downgrade back to stock firmware.

View 2 More Replies

som3dude

May 7, 2021

This. Mine are bricked from the update.

Vote

warfieldgb

May 15, 2021

dylangerHi, have you had any success downgrading your firmware, and if so, could you possibly describe what someone might do to replicate your process.

Vote

Dark_Zuckerberg

Apr 15, 2021

i cant get the drop updater app to work. at first it wasn't registering that my headphones were connected, but once I got it to connect, the updater app stopped responding (I couldn't click anything), but the task manager has yet to say that it properly stopped responding. i am uneducated on a lot of this stuff so I might be messing things up with my ignorance.

Vote

DCaoCao

Apr 29, 2021

Dark_ZuckerbergI'm having the same problem. If someone could offer a solution that'd be appreciated.

Vote

Chris30

Apr 15, 2021

Interesting that you must use the USB-C cable that came with the device. It is USB-C on both ends so if your PC is more than 5 years old (like mine) and does not have a USB-C port you cannot download the software. Another strike against the poor!!

•

Nsk1979

Apr 17, 2021

Chris30You can use ordinary usb c to usb A cable. I have used Cayin N6ii DAP’s cable for update- no issues.

Rararawr

Apr 14, 2021

Tried to update firmware, connected headphones via a C to A cable, the update software didn't appear to be doing anything, so I unplugged my usb c hub and my mouse and keyboard to try again with the included cable, nothing happened still. Now my headphones will not turn on. Plugged them into my charging cable and the light was red for a few minutes and then white, so they aren't low on power

Vote

Rararawr

Apr 14, 2021

RararawrAfter leaving them plugged into my computer for a bit, I unplugged them and plugged them back in and suddenly the updater decided to work. They now turn on again but in trying to get soundID to work I am forced to run the tests first and they crash every time I try to open them

Vote

maximumsid

Apr 14, 2021

Okay, so I updated these and one REALLY odd issue I find with the SoundID app is that the settings that work very well with my phone's in-built EQ and with my RME ADI-2 DAC FS in wired mode, don't sound the same when I put them in the Sound ID app. It does upload the settings to the Pandas, and it is great to have a feature like this, but the EQ just sounds wrong with it. For now I'd just stick to my phone's in-built EQ (I have ROG Phone 3), and I understand that one is a fixed band EQ, while other is a parametric EQ, but even so, I am pretty sure about the settings that I am using, especially after cross checking with ADI-2 DAC, and they don't sound correct with the SoundID app + hardware upload method. I hope this can be improved with time, I've tested this enough times to be certain about this, maybe the DSP works a little differently when the settings are uploaded to Panda's hardware. Following are the EQ settings that I find to work well with other EQ methods: -3.0 dB @ 2.5K with a Q of 1.0 (peaking filter) +3.0 dB @ 12K with a Q of 0.7 With fixed band EQ in my phone, I made similar adjustments in the nearest band available.

Vote

Showing 58 of 156

Newest

156 OF 156 POSTS

Oldest

PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE