Panasonic RP-HT227 Monitor Headphones with XBS® Extra Bass System - Official New Excellent Gadgets, Tools & Accesories

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…

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 Comments (6)

They are known to short-out over time, well over a long long time; talking at least 6 months to a year. (You can tell if yours is shorting out if you turn the volume control knob up and down.) I think if people hear a lot of noise, they tend to believe it’s already a piece of junk. All you have to do is adjust it, so you can hear full sound on both sides. That’s why they’re only about 10-12 bucks anyway. If you want longer lasting headphones, just try to take good care of them or simply look into another brand.

For the new Panasonic RP-HT227s, the sound these babies put out is astonishing.. that’s if you have a good enough MP3 player or CD player. If these headphones sound bad then obviously it may have something to do with your MP3 sound quality or what kind of player you got. The bass is superb for casual listening, great audio clarity and design too!

Update 1: I typed up this review March of 2006, and now it’s near the end of July. As of today, they are STILL working great!

Update 2: It is now 12/18/07 (yes, you read that right.. 2007!) and I’ve been missing these headphones for a long time now (they ended up breaking). I couldn’t find the RP-HT227 models ANY WHERE in the stores for some reason, so a few weeks ago, I decided to purchase them again on Amazon. The UPS truck knocked on my door, and to my surprise they arrived in today. I can now *hear* why I missed these headphones so much. :’-)

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J. K. Cook “jkcook” (Ansbach, Bavaria, Germany) –

  

Very comfortable, block noise well, good sound. We’re buying more right now. Only drawback is the cord is so long it sometimes gets in the way, but it’s nice if you need to move around.

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