Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic RPHC100 Noise Cancelling Monitor headphones with folding design and carry pouch

I recently purchased this model after comparing to the Koss unit. What clinched the purchase for me was actually going to Panasonic's site and checking out the specifications. This is the headphone they sell with their portable DVD units. I bought this set of headphones to go with my new laptop, which also has a DVD player, and I thought they would be useful for that task.

The effect of the noise cancellation is very nice and something that isnt very easy to describe. The best term I can come up for it is "active silence." You can "hear" something in that the "something" you hear is different than the ambient noise, but its just dead quiet. Very useful when youre working around computers.

The sound quality and the construction of the unit are my two beefs.

First, the headphones do hiss a bit. There is an audible background hiss just having them plugged in. This does go away pretty well when the noise cancelling is turned on however.

I have had to create an equalizer setting for them because their range seems a little odd. The low range on them is about right, but the mids are weak and the highs are too strong. So its necessary to turn the highs down, turn the mids up, and the medium-low range down. This is easy enough if youre using a computer with an equalizer that supports presets. It might not be so easy with, say, a discman or something similar.

Second, somebody reviewed this unit and said that they "pinch" a little and that the ear muffle is shaped incorrectly for human ears. This is mostly correct. Because the unit folds in half, there is a constant tension against your ears, which the pads on the phones do not really protect you from. I noticed that taking my glasses off eased this pain in my ear. However, not having my glasses on makes using the computer futile. They get real uncomfortable after about two hours of use.

Would I buy them again? Well, maybe, if the price was dropped $20, and I had a chance to try out the Koss unit. Otherwise, I think the only real reason to purchase them is so you can wow your friends and tell them they have noise cancelling. Hardly worth $110 for that.

I compared these to the Sony noise cancelling headphones (MDR-NC5).
I found they didn't reduce background aircraft noise as much
as the Sony did, and they were much less comfortable. When
you are wearing headphones for an entire plane trip comfort
matters quite a bit (to me at least...).

I'ld pass on this product.

If you're a frequent flyer, a pair of noise-cancelling headphones is a good investment. I tried both the Panasonic noise-cancelling headphones and the Koss noise-cancelling headphones. The Koss headphones are WAY more comfortable, and fold into a more sturdy package. The sound is better as well. The Panasonic's sound is mediocre, the headphones pinch, the earpads are exactly the wrong shape for human ears. The noise-cancelling switch is on the ear pad, so you can't see if it's ON or OFF. The noise-cancelling feature works about the same on both models.

Keep in mind that Panasonic does not market these headphones as noise-cancellation headphones, as Amazon.com's description states and its model number of "HC" implies. Perhaps Panasonic did once, but certainly not anymore. The "RP-HC100" is provided a product description of "Monitor headphones with folding design and carry pouch" by Panasonic. Panasonic states specifically on this product's information page that this pair of headphones "reduces background noise". It "primarily reduces low-frequency noise", as another Amazon.com reviewer, "An electronics fan", pointed out on 2000/12/17.....

It is the "RP-HC70" that Panasonic (perhaps still) markets as "Noise Canceling Headphones", having "Two levels of noise canceling effect".

These headphones cancel a proportion of ambient background noise. The claim is only a proportion so in an aircraft you still hear the engines, but with a worthwhile attenuation. The effect is more obvious with low frequency noise.

Benefits:

fold up neatly

store in handy bag

cheaper than Sony cancelling 'phones

sound reproduction is a big improvement on airline 'phones

better sound exclusion

more comfortable too

Gripe: Since they are so suited to air travel, why dont they come with an adaptor for Boeing aircraft?