Drop has been developing products for enthusiasts for some time now. Its latest product is the Drop + THX Panda set of headphones, which were developed in an effort to cater to audiophiles who want excellent sound quality and the convenience of wireless connectivity.
The way it works is pretty interesting. The company starts by crowdfunding ideas for products and asking for community input, after which it builds a product with the goal of meeting as many of those ideas as possible. The result of one of those crowdfunded products are the new headphones.
But the Drop + THX Panda headphones aren’t cheap. At an expected price of $400, they have to be seriously good to warrant buying. Are the Drop + THX Panda headphones worth buying? We’ve been testing the new headphones to find out.
Design
The first thing to notice about these headphones is their design, and they’re pretty good-looking headphones. Sure, they’re not necessarily all that unique, but they have a number of nice touches to them — which helps make them easier to use on the day-to-day.
Of course, just because they’re not over-the-top unique, that doesn’t mean they don’t look great. They’re design is simple and sleek, and it’s free of things like logos, which is a nice touch.
On the left ear cup, you’ll get an aux port for wired use — while on the right ear cup is where you’ll find a joystick for controlling playback and volume, a USB-C port for charging, a status light, and microphones. The joystick is a nice touch here — it makes it super easy to control the headphones when they’re on your head, without having to feel your way around different buttons.
In the box, apart from the headphones themselves, you’ll get a USB-C charging cable, an aux cable, and a nice hard carry case. It may not sound like a lot, but it’s pretty much everything you’ll need — save for, perhaps a USB adapter for USB-A ports and a flight adapter for older planes.
Comfort
The Drop + THX Panda headphones offer plenty of padding in the ear cups, making it easy to wear the headphones for hours on end, at least when it comes to comfort around the ears.
The headband is made from a rubber-like material — and the result is that after long periods of listening, it can get a little uncomfortable on the top of your head. It’s not a huge issue, and you’ll get used to it — but we wish Drop went for padding here instead of simply a rubber material.
Generally speaking, the Drop + THX Panda headphones are comfortable — but not the most comfortable headphones we’ve ever tested.
Sound
Of course, considering the partnership with THX the best thing about these headphones should be how they sound. Do they perform? Well, yes. They do. One of the best things about these headphones is that they sound very similar in wired mode and in wireless mode — so audiophiles who want a pair of wireless headphones should be excited to try these out.
The bass response on these headphones is very good, offering plenty of punch without getting muddy or straying into mega-bass territory. Kick drums have plenty of room to breathe, while bass guitars sound smooth and thick.
The mid range is good too. Low mids are warm, and while there seems to be a slight boost in the high mids, it wasn’t overdone, and didn’t have a negative impact on our listening experience.
The highs are perhaps one of the better things about these headphones. They’re crisp and detailed, without being too harsh — making for an exciting, impressive sound quality overall.
The result of all of this? These are perhaps the best-sounding wireless headphones we’ve tested. It’s no surprise — the headphones use Drop’s planar magnetic drivers. They get super loud too, thanks to the THX-AAA amplifier built into the.
The Drop + THX Panda headphones don’t have noise cancellation, but the isolation on them isn’t bad. They’re probably not the best choice for flying because of their lack of noise cancellation, but should be more than adequate in almost all situations.
Performance
The Drop + THX Panda headphones are excellent performers too. The headphones will get 30+ hours of battery life, which is excellent — and means that the headphones should last weeks under normal use before needing to be charged.
The headphones connect to your listening device through Bluetooth 5.0, and they retained a good connection throughout our testing.
Conclusions
The Drop + THX Panda wireless headphones may be pricey, but if you have the cash and want the best-sounding wireless headphones out there, then these may well be the way to go. Sure, they’re a little lacking in features like noise cancellation, but if you can overlook that, you’ll love them from first listen.
Ultimately, if you want a great pair of wireless headphones but don’t care about noise cancellation and other features, then these are the way to go. If you do want those features, it’s worth checking out headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones.
Because of their excellent sound quality, minimalistic design, and relatively comfortable fit, we’re awarding these headphones the Headphone Review Gold Medal. They should be available to purchase from the Drop website in the near future.