RP-HS75 - mini earmuffs
Written: Dec 31 '01 (Updated Dec 31 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Behind the ear design, great sound quality
Cons: Tangled cords, and troublesome at times to put on.
The Bottom Line: These produce great sound quality and provide you that cool street headphone look, without the annoying band in the back.
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| LifeStar's Full Review: Panasonic RP HS75 Clip-on Headphones |
After the demise of my previous Sony earphones (wrote an epinion on those), it was time for me to purchase another pair of earphones so I can bop to my music during the day. I needed to find earphones that had similar specs to the KTX-PRO made by Koss, but that weren't made by Koss. I wanted something that was a behind the ear type of design so I could wear a hat, but didn't cause my ears to be hot or itchy like the Sony ones.
The discovery
When I was getting ready to buy my Sony earphones a while back, I saw the Panasonic RP-HS75 in my search. For some weird reason, it never dawned on my mind to look deeper into this. I guess I wanted Sony's really bad, which I now regret. They broke too easily and the overall design was just poor in my opinion. Sony placed too much emphasis on making the bass EQ too high, and not on the other frequency levels. It was annoying and I am very glad that the flimsy cord snapped on them one day at work. Gave me an excused to finely try out these headphones by Panasonic.
Specs
So what are the basic specs of these headphones? Well, they have:
Dual-hinge design
Water-resistant body
Volume control
Large-diameter driver units 28mm (1 1/8")
Frequency response 14Hz-24kHz
What's dual-hinge?
I was wondering that myself when I ordered these months ago. I thought they were going to be similar to the Sony ones, but they're not. First of all, they're not connected to each other. So you have two earmuffs like devices that go on separately for each ear. One puts them on from behind the ear. This gives it a nice hook up point, and it allows your ears to "breathe", something that I was annoyed by old Sony earphones. The advantage of such a design is it allows the user (like me) to talk to a person and listen by simply pulling one earmuff off, while still listening to your music on the other ear.
The problem with it this design is that it isn't really tight. In other words, the earphones can be pulled off your ear VERY easily. It has happened more than once where I've pulled off one of these earmuffs by mistake, and I can tell you that it didn't feel good when it happened too!
Sound quality
Now the most important aspect of these earphones is its sound quality. Overall, they are very similar to the KTX-PRO in sound quality. The KTX had a frequency range of 15-25000 Hz, while the Panasonic ones have a 14-24000 Hz range. What this means is, you get excellent bass sounds with great reproduction of the high sounds such as electrics and cymbals!
The first time I put these on after my Sony bought the dust, I was so amazed to hear the music! It sounded just as good as my KTX-Pro's, and they were of a street design! That rocks! Even after I turned on the Bass Boost on my CD player, the bass sounds didn't overpower the rest of the music. This was a major complaint of mine with the Sony headphones as they didn't maintain a good balance between the highs and lows. Sony seems to emphasis the bass range a little too much for my ears to take. The Panasonic ones here did an superb job with both! Kudos!
Who cares?
Well, I care, and if you're not convinced, then here's a good test for you to try out. Take a pair of headphones and play a song with a female singer who has a high range. May I suggest an Avalon song with Nikki or Cherie as lead? Play it, but on your stereo, turn down the tremble and increase the bass. Now tell me, can you hear her voice that clearly, or are your ears throbbing from the bass? See my point? If a pair of headphones cannot do a good balance between the two extremes on the audio range, you'll incur ear damage, and you really don't hear all that you can hear.
Other complaints
Overall I like these headphones. They are the closest to the KTX-PRO that I've got, but there are still some things I wished Panasonic fixed.
-The cords for the left and right earmuffs are different lengths. The right earmuff has a longer cord than the left. This has caused problems for me whenever I did a quick neck snap. The next thing I know, my left earmuff would fly right off because it ran out of "cord"!
-Creaky at times. In other words, there have been times when the construction gives off a creak sound. It's not a major problem, but it does give the impression that the earphones aren't constructed that well.
-Clinginess has lots of room for improvement. The dual hinge design is good, but it really doesn't help the earphones to cling to your ears when you're playing music. In combination with the different cord lengths, that is a recipe for droppings like big time.
Conclusion
Overall, I'm glad that I bought these headphones as they've suited my purposes just well. I do not believe Panasonic makes this particular headphone anymore with the volume control. However, that should not prevent you from buying their non-volume control versions as they have the same designs and specs.
In the end, if you are tired of those Sony wantabes earphones and want something that will give you great sound and versatility, then these are the earphones for you.
Recommended:
Yes
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LifeStar
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Location: Boston, MA
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11.06.06 - I'm sorta back, brand new review!!!
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