Panasonic RP-HC200 Headband Headphones - Black

From my experience with headphones – you pretty much get what you pay for.  In the case of the Panasonic-HC200 headphones they were originally designed to retail at $ 79.95 and for whatever reason Panasonic dropped the price down to under $40 in most markets.  For “noise cancelling” headphones that is a bargain and being a headphone enthusiast I picked up a pair out of curiosity.

Value – Out of the box I was reasonably impressed – build quality is acceptable with hi impact plastic and generous use of thick foam around the ears and headband.  These are an asymmetric design meaning there is a dedicated left and right headphone and both earpieces are fully adjustable.  The headphones come with a synthetic fabric carrying case and also an adapter. The standard plug is a 3.5mm that works with pretty much every Ipod/iPad/iPhone laptop and MP3 player – there is also an included double pin adapter for older aircraft A/V systems.  The headphones use good sized 35 mm drivers that have a frequency response of 10 Hz - 21 kHz although more expensive headphones typically have a wider response range this is more than adequate for most recorded material you will encounter.

Performance-Sound quality is always very subjective however I find the sound of the HC 200 to be above average.  Bass response is relatively good if not slightly over emphasized with reasonably clear mid-range that can articulate most vocal sources competently.  High frequency was lacking which is not uncommon on lower end headphones as was imaging ability but overall they are still musical and deal with most source material well.  One area I was quite impressed with is the noise-cancelling technology on the HC200. While it’s not on the same level as top of the line Bose it is certainly quite impressive and makes a very noticeable difference with most types of ambient noise particularly that which is encountered in air travel. Panasonic boasts the ability to reduce ambient noise by 81% - that’s not as impressive as Bose, however the Bose also retail at $ 299.  Overall the Panasonic performance for $ 40 (or less) is pretty hard to beat. I didn’t expect much from the noise cancelling technology at this price level but I was pleasantly surprised to find out its very competent.

Likes/Dislikes – Starting with things I liked (aside from the overall performance) the total cable length is 1.5m (roughly 5’) I find this is about perfect for long flights…not too short and not too long.  One feature I really appreciated is that these are a fold flat design – meaning the earpieces can rotate 90 degrees thus allowing for a more travel friendly compact profile.  Another feature I appreciated was  the fact that these headphones will function with or without the active noise technology turned on – thus if your battery dies or you simply prefer not to use the technology the headphones are still functional – this is not possible on some noise cancelling headphones from other manufacturers.  Dislikes? A few. Obviously there is no independent volume control or remote microphone and likewise you cannot adjust the split in the left wire and right wire as can be done with some headphones.  Also the power on/off switch is on the left side-and there is no power on/off light so leaving the power on by accident is easily done and can drain the batteries.

Overall – It’s not in the same league as a $ 300 set of Bose noise cancelling headphones however even at the original $80 price point they would still be competitive and fairly priced. With current prices reduced to under $40 for a decent pair of noise cancelling headphones it impossible to see how you could go wrong with the Panasonic HC-200

Recommend this product? Yes