Customer Reviews

Panasonic RP-HC50 Noise Cancelling Insidephones

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a neat idea, and if you've ever tried the Bose models that do the same thing, you've used something that works pretty good. The idea behind these is to take the noise from around you, invert the waveform and feed it back into your ears thus cancelling out some of the noise. They are intended for use on airplanes or in other slightly noisy environments. They are not designed to eliminate all of the noise around you, only noises at fairly low frequencies (< 1200 Hz). These are slightly larger than your average earbuds to allow for the microphones required to get an input signal to invert.

OK, so how well do they work? Well, they don't work great. With the headphones on, they cut back on some of the noise around you on an airplane. I would be surprised if they were actually cancelling 10 dB of the noise that the instructions claim. They also have a fair amount of reduction in the power output from my MP3 player, so I have to turn the volume way up to hear the music. Given the chance to do it all over again, I would probably bring my Peltor H10A hearing protectors (also available at Amazon) with a pair of cheap earbuds on the plane instead. They don't have the same gee-whiz factor, but they work better and cost about the same.

Update: The Sony MDR-EX51LP will probably work better than this on an airplane as well. I've tried those in noisy environments and they do cut out a good bit of the background noise as well.

I don't own other noise-canceling headphones, especially the high-end Bose, however, I did find these very useful for recent air flights. I experimented with the different levels of canceling (none mid and max) and found notable differences at each. Max was my preferred setting. With the headphones I was able to hear the movie and stereo quite well, without the distraction of the motor drone. I was also able to hear cabin conversation better with the buds in my ear!
I agree that the buds are large and uncomfortable. However, the price and usefulness make it a 4 star ranking to me.

At first glance this seems a great product but you get what you pay for (or less in this case). There is NO noise cancelling evident at all with these compared to my normal passive Sony in ear buds. The like for like sound level is about half compared to the Sony for the same volume setting on CD player, despite the 'active' box and battery. Although the sound quality is acceptable they are worse at keeping noise down than a good fitting pair of passive ear buds. The buds are big and uncomfortable and unless you are huge, will not fit comfortably. I tried them in a car (passenger), on flights, local bus and generaly walking around and there was NO noise cancelling I could tell and no bass. Save for the Bose or Shure etc. These are useless.

Don't waste your money on these. They not only fail in the noise-cancellation aspect - they also fail in comfort (the earbuds are about the size of a nickel), and they fail in volume control. I couldn't believe the poor quality put out by such a traditionally good quality company. This has jaded my view of Panasonic completely, and I'm unlikely to purchase anything with their label now. This was a complete waste of my money. Buy these, and you'll STILL need to find some noise-cancelling headphones. I purchased the low-cost Audiobahn 103NC headphones and they work excellently (although they're not earbuds)...Panasonic should take a lesson from them.

I've been looking for relatively inexpensive buds since my year-old really expensive sony NC 10 stopped working properly in just over 2 years (a year after being 'repaired' for the same poor connection problem!!). I bought these in January and have been using them every weekday on the transit bus. They have reasonably good sound and do noticeably cut down most external noise but they can be quite uncomfortable. You need to find the optimum position and then try to keep them in place!! They would be great (and got 4-5 stars rating from me) if the bud design was better(like the Sony with soft rubber inserts)so as to provide a better seal - I can't understand why they were not better designed.

I wanted something to protect my hearing while I was mowing and weed eating. The louder the noise, the better the noise cancelling. This product works very well. The mower is not quiet but it is quieted enough so that I can hear the music easily over the noise. This was absolutely not perfect. The mower is still loud but it is quieted enough to hear music easily. I'm happy.

These do not perform - a waste of money! Panasonic will not provide a refund after these are bought. The noise cancellation is negligble in actual use and the worst of all the several type of headphones that I have bought. I bought them and now use them only as standard earbuds with the inconvenience of the additional noiose cancelling electronics. Panasonic has produced and sold very good products - these earbuds are totally pathetic regarding noise cancellation.

As the other reviewers have noted: It offers very little noise cancellation, and it is all the worse because it won't fit properly in most ears. The ear buds are too large and are hard and uncomfortable. For me, they fall out of place almost immediately. Any noise-cancelling unit that uses ear buds will have to have an exceptional fit. Another thing about noise cancellation in general, and this includes high-end ones I've tried, is that they do a poor job of cancelling higher frequencies, such as paper shuffling and most of the human vocal range. I encourage you never to buy a noise cancellation product that you haven't tried for yourself in an environment with a full range of sound frequencies.