[REVIEW] Panasonic RP-HJE70: Blast from the Past
Sep 16, 2010 at 9:45 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 6

ClieOS

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Recently there is a rise of popularity on the Panasonic current in ear flagship, the RP-HJE900 with Zirconia housing, after the price has been dropped to a considerable low point (from the initial MSRP US$190 to the current US$90). Unfortunately for most places outside of U.S., the price remains pretty high. I must confess that I used to be a big Panasonic fans back when they still one of three brands under Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and dedicated to high end audio gears (that is where the ‘sonic’ part of the brand comes from). But after the 90’s, the companies ,which had lost a lot of ground against Sony, decided to depart from high end audio gears and instead focus on mass market products. With Panasonics slowly becomes a brand for household electronic, it also loses whatever meaning the brand used to carry. In recent years however, the company begins to show a new interest in headphones market as portable audio becomes a dominant consumer market. The RP-HJE70 under current review is Panasonic previous flagship before the HJE900. No Zirconia housing it may be, at least HJE70 is more widely available oversea compared to HJE900 and at a sturdier US$55 price tag over eBay. Let finds out more.
 
HJE70-01.jpg

 
HJE70-02.jpg


SPEC
Trasducer: 8.5mm Closed Dynamic
Impedance:  16Ω
Sensitivity: 102dB/mW
 Maximum Input: 100mW
Frequency Response: 10~23,000Hz
Cord Length: J-cord, 0.5m + 0.75m
 
HJE70-03.jpg


Packaging, Build Quality and Accessories
Paper box packaging is similar to the previously reviewed Sherwood SE777 (or more properly: the SE77 is similar to HJE70). A small transparent windows show off the beautiful aluminum earpieces as well as the equal beautiful aluminum hard case. Beside the hard case, the only other accessories are the three pair of different sized single flange eartips (S, M, L).

HJE70 comes with a J-cord, two cable design.  While the plug on the earpieces side of the cable has an aluminum shell, somehow Panasonic decides to deduct that from the extension cable. The cable itself is the typical black rubberized type but just a little thin, which begs the question of whether it will be durable in the long run. However, the thin cable does feel fairly light (even with the 3.5mm plug and jack) and generally doesn’t get into the way, which is good news since it doesn’t weight down the earpieces (that already have some weight to themselves). Also note, the total length (135cm) is a bit on the long side.
 
HJE70-04.jpg

 
HJE70-05.jpg


The earpieces in comparison look and feel fairly impressive due to the aluminum construction. The ‘stems’ under the transducer housing have rubber protrusion and groove that fits into each other and hold them both together when placed into the hard case. The joins between the stems and the transducer housing are moveable to around 15 degree which allows for better fit. The included hard case looks very well and functions decently - though putting the two pieces cable in is not really a very easy job. The real downside about the hard case is that it can get scratch fairly easy.

Isolation is average, while microphonics is decent. However, due to the earpieces’ design, wearing it over-the-ear is almost impossible.
 
HJE70-06.jpg

 
HJE70-07.jpg


Sound Quality
As usual, a minimum of 50 hours burn in was administrated before the review.  To be honest, I wasn’t really having much faith in HJE70 before trying. I was in a store looking for HJE900 when I spotted both HJE70 and HJE700 in display. I demoed both and ended up getting the HJE70 in the end.

If you have heard and like Hippo VB sound (on 2 dots / mid bass plate), then you will love HJE70. Both IEM share a lively, energetic and warm sound that is balanced with a very slight V-shaped frequency response.  Treble extends very far, still bright but not quite as harsh as VB. Mid is a little more recessed in comparison, but not to a point where the sense of sweetness is totally lost. Bass goes big and very deep, full of texture and rumble yet remains controlled. It is a very good mix of quality and quantity that any basshead will love, and almost make VB’s bass sounds dull in comparison. Soundstage is decent, okay in depth but limited in width. Basically it is nothing spectacular to speak of.
 
HJE70-08.jpg


Verdict
While no doubt that HJE70 is over 4 years old now, it still remains a very likeable IEM and certainly doesn’t disappoint as an ex-flagship. I do wish that I could have picked it up earlier and it makes me really look forward to listen to HJE900 someday. Hopefully we will continue to see ever better IEM model from Panasonic in the future as well. Please refer to the list for a complete list of numeric rating.
 
Sep 16, 2010 at 2:35 PM Post #2 of 6
Great Review ClieOS. I'd never heard of or seen these, and they seem intriguing at their price point. From your impressions and what I had heard from people who have compared the HJE900 and the VB, the HJE70 seems to share quite a close sound signature to the HJE900. Of course I can't deduce the difference in their comparative qualities, but in terms of frequency response and overall sound sig, they seem quite similar. Actually based on what you said, I wonder if these use essentially the same driver, with the main differences being in some electrical tuning(difference impedance/sensitivity) and of course the housing of the 900. Their driver sizes seem to be the same, at least. Actually I'm not sure, since J&R lists them as having 8.5mm drivers in the specs, but 12.5 mm drivers in the description >_>.
 
Sep 16, 2010 at 6:09 PM Post #4 of 6
Seriously.. those things look very tacky. Did they really need all that room for the Panasonic logo? These things looks very boxy and old
and perhaps someone nice could lend you a HJE900 for a review hm.. 
 
Sep 16, 2010 at 10:25 PM Post #5 of 6
Quote:
 Actually I'm not sure, since J&R lists them as having 8.5mm drivers in the specs, but 12.5 mm drivers in the description >_>.

I doubt HJE900 can fit in a 12.5mm driver, since that is almost the typical size for earbuds driver (13mm).
 
Quote:
Looking at the pictures just one question raised; are these any comfortable to wear?

Quite comfortable. I wore it for hours at a time.
 
Quote:
Seriously.. those things look very tacky. Did they really need all that room for the Panasonic logo? These things looks very boxy and old
and perhaps someone nice could lend you a HJE900 for a review hm.. 

Oh, I can find HJE900 locally, just not very cheap and not worth the money since it is so cheap from J&R, except for the fact that they doesn't do international shipping
frown.gif

 
 
Jan 16, 2014 at 7:42 PM Post #6 of 6
This beauty is currently priced at $36.99 at Amazon, with free shipping. I think it's a sweet deal for decent sounding all metal IEM. BTW, I agree with the reviewer about the sound quality.
 

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