jvolzer's Full Review: Panasonic RPH-C500 Headphones
This is one of four reviews I've written on noise canceling headphones, so if you've read the others, some of this will start to sound familiar. Actually, if you read my review on the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 headphones then a LOT of this review will sound familiar because they are almost identical headphones, both made by the same manufacturer. In fact, to spoil the ending early (or perhaps just to save you from a bunch of the same babble as before), I'll give away the punch line: the differences are that the AT's sound a little better in regards to mid and high range sounds (probably different speakers inside) but are the same in regards to noise canceling, fit, comfort and other areas. Okay, well now I'll move onto the full review.
After getting a set of Sony MDR-NC6 headphones from a rewards program and being disappointed in them, I decided to investigate better quality noise canceling headphones. I've given up on blasting my ears out trying to overcome the cabin noise to hear an in-flight movie or music, so I wanted a decent set of noise canceling headphones. I had also read that the constant noise on a long trip adds to the fatigue you can feel by the end of a flight.
At first, I thought I might shell out the bucks for Bose headphones at $300 even if that is quite a chunk. But after reading a number of reviews I decided otherwise. Many reviewers did seem to agree that Bose offers the deepest and best bass sound when listening to music. But once you get out of the entry-level headphones like the Sony set I had tried, there are several middle-level headsets that reviewers seem quite happy with, many claiming to get as good, or almost at good noise reduction as Bose. I coupled that with MANY reviewers claiming how quickly and easily they've broken the Bose headphones (although the company does seem to be excellent about replacements) and decided to go with the middle-market models. I'll compare the three I tested in this review, but first, some general info. If you've read my reviews on the other models, you might want to skip this section.
General info on noise canceling headphones:
Keep in mind that no set of noise canceling (NC) headphones will cancel all noises or create a "zone of silence" like some of the advertisements would like for you to imagine. But they can work at various levels of success at reducing some of the unwanted sound in a noisy environment. They provide more reduction of steady, low frequency sounds, like the drone of the plane engine. You can forget about any ideas of never hearing a crying baby or noisy outburst. But they sure do create a more relaxing environment and they definitely make it easier to hear your music or the in-flight movie. Voices of other passengers are muffled and less sharp.
The most common use for NC headphones is airline flights where the drone of the engines and cabin noise can leave a passenger feeling tired and worn out after a long flight. They can also be used in other noisy environments though, such as in the workplace or on a subway commute. They can be used as stand-alone devices, simply to reduce noise, or with a sound source like a music player.
Noise canceling headphones have two ways in which they cancel (or more accurately, "reduce") unwanted noise: passive and active. Passive reduction simply refers to the amount of noise blocked due to having the foam, padding, etc. covering your ears, just like putting in ear plugs. Active noise reduction is electronic. The headphones have a microphone on the outside that samples the surrounding sound, then generate an opposite wavelength frequency that is played back inside to your ears. The two opposite sound waves cancel each other out. Basics of the Panasonic RP-HC500:
The Panasonic RP-HC500 noise canceling headphones ran about $116, making them a fair price for this class of headphone and still less than half the price of Bose. Included are the headphones, a hard, zippered carry case, a 2-prong airline adapter, detachable audio cable, and a AAA battery.
These headphones are considered "over the ear" in design, but found that they don't really go all the way around the ear. I don't have particularly large ears but my earlobe doesn't fit "inside" the padding of the ear cup. I find this type to tend to make the ears feel a little hot after awhile.
There is a small door that flips up on the top of one of the ear cups to expose the battery compartment. The unit takes only a single AAA battery, and you can use a standard battery or a rechargeable. Using a standard AAA battery sounds much better to me than a proprietary, rechargeable battery like Bose uses that could leave you without a functioning headset if it dies mid-flight. And I sure don't want another charger to drag around and keep track of!
I tested the headphones at the office and at home first. Using the noise of the computer fan, a heater, and refrigerator as reference points, I could tell that the headphones provided a reduction in the amount of noises from these devices once placed over my ears, just through passive reduction, then, even more once the noise canceling function was switched on. Comparing Panasonic RP-HC500 ($116) to others:
The other headphones I purchased to compare to were: 1) Sony MDR-NC6 at $40 (not really in the same class, but that's what I started with) (reviewed here) 2) JVC HANC250 at $110 (reviewed here) 3) Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 at $150 (reviewed here)
Of course, the Sony's, at 1/3rd the price, didn't compare. Their higher models might though. You can read the review here. Of the other three, they all share a lot in common: single AAA battery, hard zipper case, detachable audio cable and 2-prong airline adapter included, nice leather ear cup padding, padding on headband and more.
First, it's obvious that Audio Technica and Panasonic units are made by the same manufacturer. They look virtually identical. Even the packaging they come it is designed the same. The zippered carry case is identical except for the logo. The outer shell of the ear cups are different only in the logo and style and size of the on/off switch, with the Panasonic providing a larger, easier to flip switch and the AT's requiring a fingernail to flip. Given the similarity, I expected them to perform the same as well, guessing that only the badging was the different. When I first began testing, I thought my guess was confirmed. However, upon further testing, I think the units might use a different speaker driver, because there is a slight difference in the sound quality of music, as I'll describe below.
Passive noise reduction:
The lower-level Sony headphones provide almost no passive reduction and thus don't compare to any of the other three. The on-the-ear JVC HANC250 come in next, providing a fair amount of passive reduction. But the Audio Technica ATH-ANC7's and the Panasonic RPHC500's tie for the top spot, providing the most noise reduction of all headphones I tested. Even without switching them on, they reduce, or at least muffle a good bit of surrounding noises.
Active noise reduction:
Once switched on, the HC500 really does a nice job at cutting out the lower frequencies. I switched between them and the Audio-Technica headphones many times during the flight to compare the two. I compared them when listening to music from an iPod Nano and from my phone's music player as well as when listening to the audio for an in-flight movie. I also tried them just for noise reduction when not listening to any audio source at all. In all cases, I found it very difficult to determine any difference between the two. So here again, the AT and Panasonic units tie for the top spot.
The JVC headphones come in pretty close to the AT and Panasonic units in terms of active noise reduction. But since they start off with slightly less passive reduction (probably due to being lighter, on-the-ear design) you can tell the difference, although all three units made listening to the music or movie audio very clear...a world of difference from non-NC headphones.
As expected the entry-level Sony set didn't compare at all.
I don't think on any of the units I'd say it sounds like an 80% reduction in noise though. I might agree that they reduce 80% of certain frequencies, giving over-all reduction of 60% to 70% at most, which is still significant and well worth it. Even a fair amount of low frequency noise, where they do the best job, can still be heard
The reduction is significant enough to allow for a more relaxing flight. You actually don't realize quite how loud a plane cabin is until you wear these for a few minutes, and then remove them! Once you add a little soft music through the headphones, then things finally do become truly peaceful. Other music or movie sounds will come through nicely, without any need to crank up the volume and kill your eardrums.
Music and sound:
It's quite a toss-up between the two almost-identical units (Panasonic and AT) and the JVC's, but I grant the top spot to JVC by a thin margin, as they have slightly better bass response that the others. This difference in bass response is not as noticeable once used in a noisy plane cabin environment though.
I give 2nd place to Audio-Technica being only slightly better than the Panasonic RP-HC500 with the difference being that with the ANC7's the upper mid-ranges and higher sounds, like cymbals, are a bit brighter and sharper, although perhaps too much so for some people, being almost "biting" at times...might depend on what type of music you listen too and the settings of your audio player. So this is just about the only difference between the AT's and Panasonic's that I could find. And even this difference is fairly minor, so when shopping, you'll need to decide if it's worth the extra $30 to $40 for the AT's, provided you don't choose the JVC's due to size/weight/comfort (see below).
None of the headphones tested sound all that good when the NC is switched off, but at least they still work. I've heard some NC headphones don't. These all sound much clearer and brighter once NC is switched on, probably due to some extra amplification and frequency boosting or something along those lines.
Comfort:
JVC takes the top spot in this area, which definitely involves a lot of personal preference. I love how much how much lighter the JVC's feel vs. the larger over-the-ear AT's and Panasonics. Being smaller, the JVC's are also easier to pack, as the case is also significantly smaller than the others. Between the AT's and Panasonics though, I could not detect any difference at all. Having the same cup construction, including the leather material, as well as the leather pad on the headband, I give them a tie. Other observations and comments:
As with other NC headphones, there is a distinctive "hiss" that can be heard when the NC circuit is turned on. But this is only noticed when testing in a quiet environment and without playing music or sound, which is probably not where you'll be using this type of headphone anyhow!
I've found that all four headsets I tested produced a rather loud buzz when hooked to a laptop that was on AC power and the headphones were switched on. In all cases, the buzz went away when the laptop was unplugged, or the NC circuit turned off. The buzz was also present when the headphones were plugged into the headphone jack on the external speakers of my desktop computer. I assume this is some sort of grounding issue. Since it happens with all of them, I assume this is not a defect.
Overall:
These are great headphones, just like the Audio-Technica model! As for over-the-ear models, these are top notch. It would be difficult to choose between these and their almost-twin AT cousins. The ANC7's are only slightly better with mid-range and higher frequency sounds with music and seem to have a better reputation for quality than the Panasonic units (according to a bunch of reviewer comments on Amazon), which quite a few reviewers had problems with. But they are also about $30 to $40 more expensive. But the Panasonic unit I received didn't have any problems, so I can feel good about recommending it.
In comparing with the JVC HANC250, the choice is even more difficult because of the different design. JVC is smaller and lighter, making them more comfortable and easier to pack. The also don't tend to make your ears get as hot as the AT & Panasonic model. But they also don't provide as high a level of noise reduction, which is a key reason for this whole technology, yet they are fairly close. You might just need to try them both to see which design is more comfortable for you. All three are far better choices than the sub-$100 entry level models on the market.
92% noise reduction - 22dB at 200Hz Plug adaptor for aircraft Battery life: approx. 40H with AAA alkaline battery When noise-canceling effect is off,...More at Amazon Marketplace
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