Panasonic RP-HT227 Monitor Headphones with XBS® Extra Bass System

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...Read more

Can a company suffer from a split personality disorder? Buy a Panasonic, & discover for yourself!

For the price, the sound, the technology, and the added frills are stunning. But the shoddiness of the materials used & construction, is even more stunning.

As other reviewers have noted, the cord is very thin, & given to shorting out with very little use. About two months after I purchased mine, I knocked them off my desk and the plastic frame broke. Bear in mind we're talking about a 2-1/2 ft. fall onto a plastic mat over a plush carpet. Break out the duct tape!

Another month later, I dropped them as I was removing them from my head. This time they fell onto the seat of my office chair. They broke in two other places.

I recently went through a similar experience with a Panasonic vacuum cleaner. This too gave outstanding performance, but it too suffered from flimsy construction in areas where stress (from the motor) was likely to occur...Read more

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...Read more