Panasonic Headphones On-Ear Lightweight with XBS RP-HT21 (Black & Silver)

As someone who spends throughout the day in Web meetings, a comfortable and long lasting headphone is a must. I've tried many, including earbuds and have come to appreciate this one. What I like:- Comfort: When you sometimes spends hours in Web meetings, on-ear headphones becomes really painful. Over-the-ear also shuts out outside sounds better than on-ear.- Wired: I don't have to worry about running out of charge like earbuds and wireless headphones. The sound quality is also guaranteed to be consistent over wireless.- Inexpensive: At this price-point, I can easily buy another one if it gets broken (usually from me stepping on them).- Sound quality: The meeting participants couldn't really differentiate the sound quality with likes of Bose. NOTE: The results may be different when using for other than Web meetings where sound quality is critical.- 3.5mm Jack: This is the gold standard for sound. I've had USB-based headphones and had issues with the USB-driver. Fortunately, all 4 laptops I own (3 Lenovo Windows & Macbook Air M2) have 3.5mm port.- Brand: Panasonic is not a fly-by-night and they're known to product quality products.

Stereo headphones have come a long way over several decades, and there have been so many advances, it's often hard to keep up with the latest technologies. In the beginning, there was basically only ONE type, that of being, the completely over the ear, studio-type and others. As things progressed, "earbuds" of many types began to be offered and an expensive type of these have emerged, with the advent of the I-Pod and various other portable CD and MP3 players. I've never really liked these, as no matter how much one spends, they still have to snugly and comfortably fit the individual's ears, which is no small task, as all human ears are not created equal. Fortunately, various forms of the original concept of over-ear, noise-canceling headphones have kept pace with the earbud variety. Some of these are more completely over the ear than others, some are more or less outside noise-canceling types, and then there are the cheapest non-earbud types, which can vary greatly in concept and overall quality.For the best experience in private listening, one needs to spend at least $50 these days, if not upwards of $100 or more. However, these type of stereo headphones are usually very large and are not really suited to portable, on the go listening. Still, they do not suffer from the earache of buds, and usually produce the best overall, robust sound. In between most earbud types and most larger "monitor" types, there are so many varieties nowadays, that the general, plug-in stereo-headphones shopper is usually left quite confused when trying to pick out a suitable, high-quality model, at a reasonable price. For almost all purposes, this is a really good buy, and I give them high marks in just about every headphone category one can think of or desire. And the asking price is a bargain.One little caveat however. The Amazon "product description" and even mentioned in a review or two, state that the cord length is nearly 10 feet. I think this must be referring to some earlier model or just a mistake, because the cord length of these is only about 6 feet total. While this does not interfere with my personal use or intentions of use before I even bought a pair, sound unheard, I think this should be pointed out. The difference between a 10-foot cord length and a 6 foot one is rather substantial. Therefore, these are in no way suitable for "roaming the room" or dancing "to your heart's content," as the Amazon product description states. Amazon should correct this product description. If one desires more than a six-foot cord length however, a cheap extension can always be purchased for a few bucks at Radio Shack and the like. It's a 6 foot cord though, not 10.Outside of this however, these are really great headphones for the price, and offer terrific sound and value. While they are "fold-able" in a way, this only applies somewhat, as they are not completely so, and attempts at making the set truly small for carrying purposes might only break them. While they are "over-the-ear," they are not entirely of the more expensive, truly "noise-canceling" variety, though they do a fair job at this, again, for the price. The earphones are padded and the set is nicely adjustable for nearly all head sizes, unless you have the head size of a mouse or Eraserhead. Extended use is no problem, once you easily adjust them to comfortably fit personally. That is, wearing these for hours will not cause any real head/ear strains or pains, either during use or afterwards, volume levels and adjustments aside.These tend to lean heavily towards the bass frequencies and are enhanced to do so, although the mid-range and upper-ranges come through very good as well. Still, since there is no equalizer function, it helps that whatever source you will be listening to with these, can be adjusted itself. That is, if you are using these to listen to a CD or MP3 player, it helps that you are able to use an equalizer at the source, since again, the bass response here is emphasized. I use these mainly for the computer, and my CD/MP3 player on that is fully adjustable as far as regulating highs, mids, and lows, so the extra bass is no problem. Still, even if one is not able to adjust low and mid and high end frequencies on your player source, the overall sound is excellent on generally all forms of music and sounds, and the stereo separation between left and right is, well, right on.I have always had a generally good experience with Panasonic products, and that includes higher-end, higher priced headphones from them. While these are rather cheaply made and fragile, if you take care of them and don't ask them to do what they are clearly not intended to do, you will be pleasantly surprised. A definite bonus is the small volume control on the cord. This comes in real handy at times, since not all music is recorded and produced at the same volume level, and this control allows one to raise or lower the volume without touching the source player. And again, while these headphones are not really suited for any long life with heavy abuse, and might seem too "cheaply" made for some, taking care during use negates any such negatives and I would guess these will last and perform well just about as long as you want them to.I bought two pair of these, which got me free shipping, and I really can't complain. They are great for plugging into one's computer, or using with any CD/MP3 player with an equalizer, but generally, they perform well for just about any purpose as far as headphones go. They also fit nicely and comfortably as a "necklace" during breaks in listening. One can easily buy much better headphones, but for the price, these offer remarkable sound at an easily affordable price, and I recommend them highly.

Helped me realize that my new phone's sound system is low quality, weak, if not defective. These headphones sound sweet with my old phone and EQ. I do mean "sweet," smooth as silk to my ears with default settings. I think that most cell phones will not even come close to fulfilling the potential sound quality of these headphones. I tested these with Foxx and TCL/Alcatel Android smart phones. Also, I admit that my previous experiences with 40-50mm driven Pioneer, Sony and JVC (HA-RX700) headphones that costed 2 or even 3 times as much have spoiled me. So, for me, the XBS feature isn't quite adequate. I like a little extra boom and pow with the music. Even with max bass boost, these headphones just don't do it for me. Still, I'm getting better sound with these than with other headphones at this price-point, and the best midrange I've experienced at any price-point. I also hear subtle sounds in my favorite tracks that I didn't hear before at any volume or with any EQ settings I used. So, sweet, smooth and clean sound, impeccably balanced frequency response on all bands, no distortion up to 100% volume, and good passive noise isolation. Also, a cord that's long enough I can enjoy media comfortably at one or two arm lengths, but not so long that I have to worry about stepping on the cable. One loop of the cord around my forearm as I hold my phone like normal is sufficient to take out such excessive slack. It's the best cord length I've had the pleasure of using so far. My initial review was very critical, I was about to throw these headphones in the trash, because it was my new phone, not these headphones, that was defective. I am glad that I gave these a chance on my older phone because it has more features for adjusting the sound. Turned out, these headphones are good even on default settings, nothing fancy, when plugged into a sound system that functions properly. Two thumbs up but 4 stars because XBS inspires an option impression of extra bass right out of the box, but what we actually get is the subtle but present and smooth feature of extended bass response, even to frequency range below the lowest frequency (31-70hz) most devices will reproduce smoothly anyway. For that, I am impressed. If you want bass that will thump and tickle your tympanic membrane, pay more and get some 50mm driven JVC headphones for $40 on the low end. If you want clean, smooth, undistorted sound with frequency response wider than other headphones (including JVC, Sony, Pioneer, even some Bose models), you just can't beat these headphones, especially for the price.

These phones are an excellent quality. I compared them to me Bose wireless and they compared very well when listening to lively organ music, in particular "Emperor's Fanfare" by Soler, played on the church organ in Santanyi Spain by Paul Fey. That combo is my gold standard for audio evaluations. The Bose had better bass response, of course, but these earphones didn't leave you wishing you had upgraded. A very good headphone unless you are an audio professional, which I am decidedly not. I have no reservations about this purchase. Go for it.