DECEMBER 2021 MACWORLD 111There are dual
microphones for voice
quality during phone
calls. And while there’s
no active noise
cancellation, the
materials and tight fit of
the Drop + THX Panda go
a long way toward
lowering the ambient
noise level. These cans
use Bluetooth 5.0 and
support aptX, aptX HD,
and LDAC for higher-
fidelity listening. They
paired quickly and reliably with several
phones, TVs, and PCs.
Drop includes a carrying case, a USB-C
cable for charging the headphones and a
4.5-foot, 3.5mm auxiliary cable for wired
analog listening. The company also sells a
$49 boom mic that plugs into the 3.5mm
jack, which might be of interest to gamers
or folks working from home. One was
thoughtfully provided with my review unit
and I found that it works quite well.
I’ll give another shout-out for the
indicator lamp: I’ve been startled during
movies by flashing indicator lights that are
simply too large and bright. Someone at
Drop must have had the same experience
and made this one suitably tiny and dim.
The headphones are warrantied for
two years, and Drop says a Sonarworks
SoundID app (fave.co/3mNV0jT) is coming
out in March.PERFORMANCE
If you want sub-bass (60Hz/C2 or lower),
the Drop + THX Panda delivers it big
time—better than any other headphones
I’ve ever heard. Indeed, it was startlingly
effective when I fired them up with Young
Jeezy’s “Put On” and heard that super low
end kick in without distorting the rest of
the bass register. I immediately thought
back to when the movie Earthquake
introduced subwoofers to movie theaters. I
realize that’s a dated reference. I certainly
appreciated the bass when viewing other
movies as well.
Other aspects of the Drop + THX
Panda’s sound include a nicely balancedThis cutaway illustration of the Drop + THX Panda reveals the
planar ribbon driver that no doubt has something to do with this
headphone’s excellent sub-bass reproduction.