AirPods Max vs. Drop + THX Panda Wireless Headphones

[Ken88]

Still not sure the AirPods Max are worth it given the price difference.

I own AirPods Max and they’re awesome but NOT $550 awesome. More like $399 to $450 awesome. Since I received as a gift I can say it’s one of best birthday gift i‘ve ever received. Would I buy AirPods Max for $550 with my OWN money? The answer is easy: no.

p.s, thank to my cousin being so generous and kind surprised me with birthday gift. You’re awesome, cousin👌

 

[Will.O.Bie]

I can't imagine it if these headphones are even more uncomfortable than the AirPods Max. I had to return the AirPods Max because the clamping force was too strong, and the headphones were too heavy.

I had the same experience and returned mine as well. It felt like a 1000psi force squeezing my eyeballs out cartoon style, and I have a normal sized head. Too bad because I liked the sound quality and ANC feature.

 

[Abstract]

Wirecutter also has very detailed reviews for noise-cancelling headphones (and regular wired and wireless headphones and speakers in general), often including quantifying their observations and providing charts, rather than leaving purely subjective statements.

 

[dba415]

The comments here show a lack of knowledge of the audiophile community. The Drop Panda is a planar headphone based on the very popular Oppo PM3 which was a favorite among audiophiles before they were discontinued. Drop formerly “mass drop” has been catering to audiophiles for years and is extremely well respected. The Panda is an excellent comparison for the APM and in fact there are dozens of discussions on this topic already. The Drop name carries plenty of weight among audiophiles.

I happen to own both headphones and think the comparison is very relevant. The Drop Panda sounds better to me overall but it is very close. The APM have more bass but the mids on the Panda are much better. The Panda sounds slightly warmer and balanced.

The Panda is 400 which already considered pricey for BT headphones and the point of this comparison is that for 400 you can get high end BT headphones that sound as good or better than the APM. If you don’t need ANC or the Apple centric features, the Panda is an excellent alternative and will save you some money. And the Drop Panda blows away the Bose and Sony ANC offerings when sound quality is concerned. The Drop Panda should be on anyone’s short list if they are considering the APM.

That's what you get when you have mostly casual people commenting on high end headphones...

 

[clerkpalmer]

That's what you get when you have mostly casual people commenting on high end headphones...

Right and they shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss things. Classic rush to judgment. The Panda is a great headphone and better than the APM in many ways. Just because it doesn’t say Sony or Bose doesn’t make it crap. I was glad to see them run a comparison here although a little more detail in the sound quality department would have been nice. I personally think the Panda is a far better comparison to the APM than anything made by Sony or Bose at least if something like actual sound quality matters.

 

[Moyapilot]

Right and they shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss things. Classic rush to judgment. The Panda is a great headphone and better than the APM in many ways. Just because it doesn’t say Sony or Bose doesn’t make it crap. I was glad to see them run a comparison here although a little more detail in the sound quality department would have been nice. I personally think the Panda is a far better comparison to the APM than anything made by Sony or Bose at least if something like actual sound quality matters.

How do they compare for comfort for you personally?

 

[clerkpalmer]

How do they compare for comfort for you personally?

The Panda is not super comfortable. You can get hotpsots. It’s not a deal breaker but it could be better. I don’t typically listen long enough for it to be a problem for me but for long sessions you might want some dekoni nuggets or something like a headband cushion. The APM is pretty comfortable. I’ve owned Audeze before so the weight doesn’t bother me. I like the design and headband.

 

[twistacatz]

The comments here show a lack of knowledge of the audiophile community. The Drop Panda is a planar headphone based on the very popular Oppo PM3 which was a favorite among audiophiles before they were discontinued. Drop formerly “mass drop” has been catering to audiophiles for years and is extremely well respected. The Panda is an excellent comparison for the APM and in fact there are dozens of discussions on this topic already. The Drop name carries plenty of weight among audiophiles.

I happen to own both headphones and think the comparison is very relevant. The Drop Panda sounds better to me overall but it is very close. The APM have more bass but the mids on the Panda are much better. The Panda sounds slightly warmer and balanced.

The Panda is 400 which already considered pricey for BT headphones and the point of this comparison is that for 400 you can get high end BT headphones that sound as good or better than the APM. If you don’t need ANC or the Apple centric features, the Panda is an excellent alternative and will save you some money. And the Drop Panda blows away the Bose and Sony ANC offerings when sound quality is concerned. The Drop Panda should be on anyone’s short list if they are considering the APM.

Thank you for this well thought out post, all these ignorant comments by these clowns was making me sick. Even the written review was a joke.

 

[kevcube]

The comments here show a lack of knowledge of the audiophile community. The Drop Panda is a planar headphone based on the very popular Oppo PM3 which was a favorite among audiophiles before they were discontinued. Drop formerly “mass drop” has been catering to audiophiles for years and is extremely well respected. The Panda is an excellent comparison for the APM and in fact there are dozens of discussions on this topic already. The Drop name carries plenty of weight among audiophiles.

I happen to own both headphones and think the comparison is very relevant. The Drop Panda sounds better to me overall but it is very close. The APM have more bass but the mids on the Panda are much better. The Panda sounds slightly warmer and balanced.

The Panda is 400 which already considered pricey for BT headphones and the point of this comparison is that for 400 you can get high end BT headphones that sound as good or better than the APM. If you don’t need ANC or the Apple centric features, the Panda is an excellent alternative and will save you some money. And the Drop Panda blows away the Bose and Sony ANC offerings when sound quality is concerned. The Drop Panda should be on anyone’s short list if they are considering the APM.

I 100% expect that the panda sound much better when driven through a quality DAC, but have you compared the sound wireless on both? I’m interested to know.

almost bought the panda last year but didn’t because of price, now I’m 4 weeks into my 15-week wait to receive my APMs 🤣

 

[Aston441]

Don't forget, there is one thing that not all but most Apple and Beats headphones have that no other headphone headphones company has and that is a deal breaker for me, and if more people would try it I would say for them as well. I am talking about iOS Headphone Accommodations.

As someone who has lost a big portion of high frequency hearing due to playing guitar I feel like having brand new ears when I listen to music with this feature on! Its like trying glasses on for the first time, everything is so clear now. I hear music the way I used to hear it when I was young! LOL!

I know I know I posted this a couple of times but if you own any EarPods or some of the newer Beats headphones and you are 30+ do yourself a favor and try something like the Mimi hearing test app. Once you complete the test you get an audiogram which is basically the set of frequencies that you can't hear clearly anymore and that you can use in the Headphone Accommodations settings to adjust sound to your personal hearing.

This is the single best feature of IOS 14. I just wish it would be included in MacOS and tvOS.

back in the day such was known as graphic EQ. The 90s, when audio quality BLEW AWAY most junk on the current market. For cheap!

 

[kevcube]

back in the day such was known as graphic EQ. The 90s, when audio quality BLEW AWAY most junk on the current market. For cheap!

Err, this really isn’t true, that it was cheap OR that it blew away today’s standards.

I will agree that there was a huge regression in audio quality when Bluetooth became the norm for places like cars, home systems, and more. But I think the general public are starting to appreciate rich sound again.

 

[clerkpalmer]

I 100% expect that the panda sound much better when driven through a quality DAC, but have you compared the sound wireless on both? I’m interested to know.

almost bought the panda last year but didn’t because of price, now I’m 4 weeks into my 15-week wait to receive my APMs 🤣

The Panda sounds better to me wireless and wired. Panda runs LDAC but that probably doesn’t change much. The problem with the APM is the mids are sucked out making vocals seem veiled. The Panda has much more forward mids. The Panda is a warm headphone and the APM is less warm. I actually prefer the tonality of the APM to the Panda overall. The Panda is about to get a parametric eq which may address the overly warm signature. Overall for pure sq it probably comes down to personal preference but the Panda is 150 cheaper which will buy you a JDM Atom to use it wired with hi res files which is something the APM will never be able to do properly. My biggest gripe with the APM is the price not the sound. They simply don’t sound as good as they should for 550. I’ve heard all the arguments for the build quality and integration with Apple and that’s fine. For some the price isn’t a big deal. I fully expect them to be on sale by summer because they won’t sell at 550 once the Apple fans (and I am one of them) all get theirs.

 

[newyorksole]

Wow it seems like so many people have heaviness issues with the APM. They don’t feel heavy to me whatsoever and are actually very comfortable to me.

I definitely would’ve returned them as well if they were too heavy / ill-fitting.

 

[amartinez1660]

Don't forget, there is one thing that not all but most Apple and Beats headphones have that no other headphone headphones company has and that is a deal breaker for me, and if more people would try it I would say for them as well. I am talking about iOS Headphone Accommodations.

As someone who has lost a big portion of high frequency hearing due to playing guitar I feel like having brand new ears when I listen to music with this feature on! Its like trying glasses on for the first time, everything is so clear now. I hear music the way I used to hear it when I was young! LOL!

I know I know I posted this a couple of times but if you own any EarPods or some of the newer Beats headphones and you are 30+ do yourself a favor and try something like the Mimi hearing test app. Once you complete the test you get an audiogram which is basically the set of frequencies that you can't hear clearly anymore and that you can use in the Headphone Accommodations settings to adjust sound to your personal hearing.

This is the single best feature of IOS 14. I just wish it would be included in MacOS and tvOS.

I’m glad that you didn’t hesitate and mentioned it again. Have already set a reminder to do that test first thing tomorrow morning when I wake up.

Thanks for the share and suggestion.

 

[amartinez1660]

Wow it seems like so many people have heaviness issues with the APM. They don’t feel heavy to me whatsoever and are actually very comfortable to me.

I definitely would’ve returned them as well if they were too heavy / ill-fitting.

Similar over here... the box packaging, getting them out, holding them, etc all felt quite heavy. But put in place, activate ANC and they are gone. Have used them for 4+ hours straight very often.

I think the most critical is to find a proper fit with the extenders. My first experience: I was chewing stuff and using them in the shortest extension (just because the earmuffs are so big that it fit) and just 15mins in it triggered serious fatigue and “side face pain”... got worried for a bit there until finding a somewhat reasonable head fit.

 

[junior]

I have the Panda, Bose QC35 and Sony XMwhatever.
Panda's are way better than the other two. No comparison.

But they're also heavier, way less comfortable and still don't have the promised app.
Any headphone listening at home I do on the Pandas, video and audio editing I do with Pandas (wired) as well, as they really do deliver amazing quality.
Apart from the first couple of weeks of ownership, I now never go out with the Pandas however. Headphones have to be comfortable and light for them to make sense when walking around. That honor goes to the Sonys or AirPods Pro.

 

[winexprt]

Thanks for the review. Pretty much what I was expecting.

 

[black_knight]

Don't forget, there is one thing that not all but most Apple and Beats headphones have that no other headphone headphones company has and that is a deal breaker for me, and if more people would try it I would say for them as well. I am talking about iOS Headphone Accommodations.

As someone who has lost a big portion of high frequency hearing due to playing guitar I feel like having brand new ears when I listen to music with this feature on! Its like trying glasses on for the first time, everything is so clear now. I hear music the way I used to hear it when I was young! LOL!

I know I know I posted this a couple of times but if you own any EarPods or some of the newer Beats headphones and you are 30+ do yourself a favor and try something like the Mimi hearing test app. Once you complete the test you get an audiogram which is basically the set of frequencies that you can't hear clearly anymore and that you can use in the Headphone Accommodations settings to adjust sound to your personal hearing.

This is the single best feature of IOS 14. I just wish it would be included in MacOS and tvOS.

Learn something everyday!! Thank you!!

 

[mannyvel]

Don't forget, there is one thing that not all but most Apple and Beats headphones have that no other headphone headphones company has and that is a deal breaker for me, and if more people would try it I would say for them as well. I am talking about iOS Headphone Accommodations.

I had no idea this was available, and it sounds amazing. I made a hearing profile in health a while back and while interesting, there wasn't really anything I could do with it.

This sounds super-cool. I can't hear over 11 (or 13)k anymore, so I wonder what things sound like.

 

[UBS28]

Not having ANC doesn’t matter at all, it is all about how much noise is being blocked out in the end.

Professional in-ear monitors that bands use in live-performances also do not have ANC, but because their passive noise isolation is so good, they do not need it.

 

[ONTEO]

I get dizziness from active noise cancellation. Knowing I can turn it off but it makes the choice easier for me.

 

[ONTEO]

I went out on a limb and Bought a pair of V-Moda Crossfade 100 a fee tears ago (wired, but have a BT equivalent). Amazing sound. 50mm drivers, massive base and memory foam cups.
Would recommend, much cheaper than Apples efforts and renown with big club DJs.

I got those, pity they are uncomfortable and cannot wear them for long sessions. The Philips Fidelio X1, x2 and grado sr325e (other pairs I own and can compare with) are way more comfy while the two philips are bigger and heavier.

If v-moda would fix that for me, I would be all over them cos they are bulletproof built and sound is pretty good for closed cans.

 

[ONTEO]

Don't forget, there is one thing that not all but most Apple and Beats headphones have that no other headphone headphones company has and that is a deal breaker for me, and if more people would try it I would say for them as well. I am talking about iOS Headphone Accommodations.

As someone who has lost a big portion of high frequency hearing due to playing guitar I feel like having brand new ears when I listen to music with this feature on! Its like trying glasses on for the first time, everything is so clear now. I hear music the way I used to hear it when I was young! LOL!

I know I know I posted this a couple of times but if you own any EarPods or some of the newer Beats headphones and you are 30+ do yourself a favor and try something like the Mimi hearing test app. Once you complete the test you get an audiogram which is basically the set of frequencies that you can't hear clearly anymore and that you can use in the Headphone Accommodations settings to adjust sound to your personal hearing.

This is the single best feature of IOS 14. I just wish it would be included in MacOS and tvOS.

Thank you, never heard of the feature. Looking to get a new pair of cans as my two eldest children took two pairs of mine...possibly for good.

 

[bryn0076]

I love my APM. I’ve already forgotten the extra dollars I spent on them , but when I put them on, I love them. Every. Single. Time.

I may not miss ANC if I had the Pandas, but I’d surely miss the ease of switching to Transparency mode.
That said, I did get a bit of USB-C envy looking at them !

 

[Mac Prodigy]

I rolled into the gym today with one of my pairs of AirPods Max, to get my swell on, and everyone was so jelly. It was so righteous. A few people came up to talk to me and I was all like “bruh, I can’t hear you through my $550 cans bruh. Ever hear of ANC bruh?”. It was totally lit. 🤣 These Pandas can’t compete with that.