Panasonic Retro RP-HTX80 headphones review
Over-ear Bluetooth headphones
MSRP : $99
Sound Advice Headphones Product Points Review ™ By Don Lindich
Manufacturer website: panasonic.com
- Available in four colors: Sangria (red) Dijon (yellow) Steel (gray) and Matte Black.
- Bluetooth only, no wired connection.
- Built-in microphone for hands-free phone calls.
- Simple, lightweight construction that still has a quality feel.
- Outstanding battery life, a full 2.5-hour charge yields a 24 hour playback time. A 15 minute charge yields 2.5 hours of playback.
- Excellent isolation from outside sounds, though they are not noise-cancelling they are very quiet.
- Supremely comfortable! Though the design is retro, the comfort is definitely leading-edge. The earcups fit perfectly due to their shape, size and the angle of the headband, and pressure from wire adjusters is firm yet gentle. You almost forget you have them on.
- Small buttons are difficult to operate by feel, I preferred using my phone and tablet controls.
- Though they sound good out of the box, after about 2 hours of break-in the sound really starts to shine.
- Stellar sound quality at the top of the $100 and under class, and competitive with much more expensive wireless headphones.
- Great sound with everything from heavy metal to classical. Good headphones for any kind of music.
- Sound can be characterized as extremely detailed, with crisp treble, ample bass that goes deep when it needs to, and outstanding definition of difficult musical passages. Very clear and transparent vocals. They do not sound warm, but neither do they sound bright or sterile and they have a very robust midrange with a slightly forward sound and excellent tonal color.
- Comfortable fit, light weight, long battery life, effective suppression of outside noise and excellent sound quality make the Panasonic Retro over-ear headphones a great choice for the gym. They are so nice, though, you may not want to submit them to the wear and tear of a workout!
Conclusion
Panasonic sells everything from batteries to hair trimmers to rice cookers to cameras to bread machines to turntables to commercial electronics, and they are known for quality in every product category. Despite the Panasonic reputation for quality, I was a little bit surprised to discover what an exceptional set of headphones they have created in the RP-HTX80 Retro over-ear headphones. Perhaps it is because the very best headphones tend to come from companies that specialize in headphones, or at least audio in general, and the headphones are not being sold under Panasonic’s high-end audio Technics banner. With the Panasonic Retro over-ear headphones, Panasonic has created headphones that are absolutely as good as anything else selling for $100 or less, wired or wireless, no matter the manufacturer. When you put them on, you really get into listening and don’t want to take them off, and you find yourself going through your favorite recordings to hear what they will sound like. In my over 15 years of writing my newspaper column and reviewing products, this is always a sure sign that it is something readers are going to really love. The cool retro style, battery life and outstanding comfort are the icing on this very delicious cake. If the word spreads about these, they could well be a future classic!
Overall: 5/5
Performance 4/5
Value 5/5
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Additional unboxing and product images are below.
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