Your browser is not supported or outdated so some features of the site might not be available.
Big Spring Sale Deal: The Anker Soundcore Space A40 Truly Wireless has dropped by 45% on Amazon.com. See all Headphones Big Spring Sale deals.
The audio team will be at Montreal's Audiofest March 28-30! Come visit our booth in the Marketplace where we'll be measuring your headphones on our B&K rig!
The audio team will be at Montreal's Audiofest March 28-30! Come visit our booth in the Marketplace where we'll be measuring your headphones on our B&K rig!
- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless vs Drop + THX Panda Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Drop + THX Panda Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.6
Updated Mar 14, 2024 07:40 PM
SEE PRICE
Walmart.comTested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Jan 16, 2024 02:47 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingYes
MicYes
TypeOver-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessYes
TransducerPlanar Magnetic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- WH-1000XM3 (Black)
- WH-1000XM3 (White)
- + THX Panda (Black)
Our Verdict
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Drop + THX Panda Wireless
The Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless are more versatile headphones than the Drop + THX Panda Wireless. The Sony are more comfortable, better-built, and have an outstanding noise isolation performance thanks to their active noise cancelling system. They also have a companion app with a graphic EQ and presets. However, the Drop have a better battery performance and can pair with up to two devices at a time.
Check Price
Black
WH-1000XM3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlack
+ THX Panda
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWhite
WH-1000XM3
SEE PRICE
Walmart.comBlack
+ THX Panda
SEE PRICE
Walmart.comBlack
+ THX Panda
SEARCH
B&HBlack
+ THX Panda
SEARCH
BestBuy.comNotice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.
Main Differences for
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.4
7.5
Passive Soundstage
3.7
5.2
Frequency Response Consistency
8.3
5.5
Bass Accuracy
7.2
7.7
Mid Accuracy
9.4
9.0
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
Yes
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Planar Magnetic
Comfort
8.0
7.5
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.6 lbs
0.84 lbs
Clamping Force
0.8 lbs
1.4 lbs
Controls
7.6
6.6
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Decent
Decent
Call/Music Control
Yes
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
On/Off
No
Talk-Through
On/Off
No
Additional Controls
Voice Assistant
Voice Assistant
Breathability
6.5
6.5
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
5.8 °C
5.8 °C
Portability
6.0
6.0
Portability Picture
L
5.6" (14.2 cm)
7.8" (19.8 cm)
W
6.0" (15.2 cm)
7.5" (19.0 cm)
H
3.2" (8.1 cm)
1.9" (4.8 cm)
Volume
108.00 in³ (1,769.80 cm³)
110.21 in³ (1,806.00 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
8.0
8.0
Case Picture
Type
Hard case
Hard case
L
7.1" (18.0 cm)
8.8" (22.3 cm)
W
8.1" (20.6 cm)
9.1" (23.1 cm)
H
2.4" (6.1 cm)
2.3" (5.9 cm)
Volume
136.00 in³ (2,228.63 cm³)
185.45 in³ (3,039.00 cm³)
Build Quality
8.0
7.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.0
7.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
3.25 dB
-3.7 dB
Treble Amount
-3.05 dB
-2.07 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
8.3
5.5
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.34 dB
1.18 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
7.2
7.7
Std. Err.
4.28 dB
3.34 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
18.88 Hz
Low-Bass
3.82 dB
-3.24 dB
Mid-Bass
5.09 dB
-4.5 dB
High-Bass
4.87 dB
0.09 dB
Mid Accuracy
9.4
9.0
Std. Err.
0.85 dB
1.28 dB
Low-Mid
0.4 dB
0 dB
Mid-Mid
-0.09 dB
0.9 dB
High-Mid
-0.01 dB
1.65 dB
Treble Accuracy
7.9
7.5
Std. Err.
3.25 dB
3.76 dB
Low-Treble
-1.83 dB
-1.04 dB
Mid-Treble
0.21 dB
-2.55 dB
High-Treble
-12.11 dB
-7.35 dB
Peaks/Dips
7.5
7.5
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.84 dB
1.48 dB
Dips
0.8 dB
1.43 dB
Imaging
7.8
7.3
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.23
0.66
Weighted Phase Mismatch
8.24
22.88
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
1.86
0.42
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.77
1.86
Passive Soundstage
3.7
5.2
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
2.68 dB
2.25 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
9.23 dB
6.68 dB
PRTF Distance
5.13 dB
10.05 dB
Openness
0.2
4.3
Acoustic Space Excitation
2.9
2.2
Virtual Soundstage
6.4
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
On/Off
No
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
No
Room Ambience
Presets
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
360 Reality Audio
No App
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.3
7.4
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.380
0.369
WHD @ 100
0.198
0.164
Test Settings
Firmware
Unknown
20003
Power
On
On
Connection
Unknown
Bluetooth 5.0
Codec
aptX, 16-bit, 48kHz
aptX HD, 24-bit, 48kHz
EQ
Off
No EQ
ANC
On
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Integrated
Integrated
Isolation
Noise Isolation
9.8
5.6
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-29.9 dB
-17.72 dB
Noise Cancelling
Yes
No
Bass
-23.03 dB
-0.05 dB
Mid
-27.24 dB
-14.42 dB
Treble
-39.7 dB
-39.92 dB
Leakage
7.4
8.1
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
37.09 dB
33.16 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
Yes
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
6.3
7.2
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
226.27 Hz
253.98 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.65 dB
2.83 dB
HFE
3,044.37 Hz
6,933.79 Hz
Weighted THD
27.163
2.743
Gain
29.6 dB
20.97 dB
Noise Handling
6.5
5.5
SpNR
19.65 dB
11.48 dB
Noise Gate
No
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
6.5
5.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
6.5
5.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
7.6
9.2
Battery Type
Rechargable
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
27 hrs
26.8 hrs
Additional Charges
0.0
0.0
Total Battery Life
27 hrs
26.8 hrs
Charge Time
2.2 hrs
1.3 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
No
Auto-Off Timer
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
Yes
Yes
Charging Port
USB-C
USB-C
App Support
8.5
0.0
App Picture
App Name
Sony| Headphones Connect
No App
iOS
Yes
No
Android
Yes
No
macOS
No
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
Graphic + Presets
No
ANC Control
On/Off
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
Yes
No
Playback Control
Yes
No
Button Mapping
Yes
No
Surround Support
Yes
No
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.8
9.4
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
USB-C
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
5.00 ft (1.52 m)
4.63 ft (1.41 m)
Connector
1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS
Latency - Analog
0.4 ms
Latency - USB
N/A
21 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
7.1
8.0
Bluetooth Version
4.2
5.0
Multi-Device Pairing
No
2 Devices
NFC Pairing
No
Quick Pair (Android)
Yes
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
Line Of Sight Range
185.00 ft (56.39 m)
216.54 ft (66.00 m)
Latency - SBC
225 ms
235 ms
Latency - aptX
201 ms
219 ms
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
Latency - LDAC
232 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Codec
SBC
AAC Support
Yes
PC Latency (aptX HD)
279 ms
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
141 ms
Android Latency
86 ms
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
0.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Latency - Dongle
N/A
N/A
Recorded Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
Audio Only
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
0.0
0.0
Type
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Black
WH-1000XM3
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comBlack
+ THX Panda
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comWhite
WH-1000XM3
SEE PRICE
Walmart.comBlack
+ THX Panda
SEE PRICE
Walmart.comBlack
+ THX Panda
SEARCH
B&HBlack
+ THX Panda
SEARCH
BestBuy.com
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless
Drop + THX Panda Wireless
Comments
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless vs Drop + THX Panda Wireless: Main Discussion
What do you think of these products? Let us know below.
Looking for a personalized buying advice from the RTINGS.com experts? Insiders have direct access to buying advice on our insider forum.