[controlmajortom]

So I got these in today. 
 
My first impressions aren't that good. Recessed mids, boomy bass, and decent but nonextending highs. The soundstage isn't very spacious either, well it wasn't what I was expecting from reading this thread. The imaging is only slightly better than my SRH-440. The bass is really dissapointing though, especially after reading this thread. I like tight, impactful bass, and the bass here is just...boomy. Surprisingly, it doesn't really bleed into the mids though, so that's a plus. Perhaps it will improve with burn in, but I'm not a real believer of burn in. They actually sound a lot better plugged into my E7/E9 though, so I'll have to work with these headphones awhile to see if they really can improve.
 
It's very light and comfortable though, and I like the quick fit headband feature. All headphones should have one of these.
 
Someone in the thread mentioned the headphone's clicking and losing connection. Well, mine can too. I don't know if you guys should really try this, but, if you push the two cups together really hard sometimes you'll hear a click and the headphone shorts out on one side. Do it again and it goes back to normal. It's probably not a big deal if you don't put too much pressure on the cups, but  it doesn't inspire much confidence about the long term durability of these headphones. But then again, it's just 30 bucks right?
 
I don't mean to sound too negative....these aren't a bad pair of phones, I think I got what I paid for. But would I pay more than 30 bucks for these? As of right now, probably not. I'll update my impressions later because admittedly I haven't had too much time with these phones.

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

So I got these in today. 
 
My first impressions aren't that good. Recessed mids, boomy bass, and decent but nonextending highs. The soundstage isn't very spacious either, well it wasn't what I was expecting from reading this thread. The imaging is only slightly better than my SRH-440. The bass is really dissapointing though, especially after reading this thread. I like tight, impactful bass, and the bass here is just...boomy. Surprisingly, it doesn't really bleed into the mids though, so that's a plus. Perhaps it will improve with burn in, but I'm not a real believer of burn in. They actually sound a lot better plugged into my E7/E9 though, so I'll have to work with these headphones awhile to see if they really can improve.
 
It's very light and comfortable though, and I like the quick fit headband feature. All headphones should have one of these.
 
Someone in the thread mentioned the headphone's clicking and losing connection. Well, mine can too. I don't know if you guys should really try this, but, if you push the two cups together really hard sometimes you'll hear a click and the headphone shorts out on one side. Do it again and it goes back to normal. It's probably not a big deal if you don't put too much pressure on the cups, but  it doesn't inspire much confidence about the long term durability of these headphones. But then again, it's just 30 bucks right?
 
I don't mean to sound too negative....these aren't a bad pair of phones, I think I got what I paid for. But would I pay more than 30 bucks for these? As of right now, probably not. I'll update my impressions later because admittedly I haven't had too much time with these phones.

Give it some time. You will understand soon enough.. Again I tell everyone burn those in for 24 hours before you take a listen... They sound like that out of the box.. I know many of you guys don't believe in burn in but the Panasonic drivers are stiff from the get go and the bass dynamics are not there yet.. Now that they are yours. Give it a fair shake. They do indeed need some burn in. Throw on your bassiest tunes and let it roll for a good 3 to 4 hours loud and then take a listen. The drivers loosen up and then you will hear why this thread exists...
 
When I wrote my initial impressions it was after a day of burn and that was when it started to loosen up. Listen to them tomorrow after overnight burn and you will have a different phone.

 

[controlmajortom]

Quote:

Give it some time. You will understand soon enough.. Again I tell everyone burn those in for 24 hours before you take a listen... They sound like that out of the box.. I know many of you guys don't believe in burn in but the Panasonic drivers are stiff from the get go and the bass dynamics are not there yet.. Now that they are yours. Give it a fair shake. They do indeed need some burn in. Throw on your bassiest tunes and let it roll for a good 3 to 4 hours loud and then take a listen. The drivers loosen up and then you will hear why this thread exists...
 
When I wrote my initial impressions it was after a day of burn and that was when it started to loosen up. Listen to them tomorrow after overnight burn and you will have a different phone.

I can't let them burn overnight. With how much they leak, my girlfriend will kill me. 

 

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

I can't let them burn overnight. With how much they leak, my girlfriend will kill me. 

 

Throw em in a closet wrapped in some blankets. I am sure you can figure out how to do that without bothering your girl much. This is from another headfier but it is kinda in line with your experience.. The sounds need filling out a bit before they sound proper. The good news is the drivers loosens up quickly unlike some phones I have.. Break in works on some and not others.. These sound unimpressive when you first listen to them. Nothing special here. That is until they warm up. 
 

1. 

1. hitorii
2. 
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4. online

1. 8 Posts. Joined 9/2011

So I've had my htf-600's for a few days now.
 
WARNING! - First review
 
Originally, I purchased the Beats by Dre Pro headphones (steep discount from employee). Needless to say, the Beats Pro have really thumping bass. However, the mids in the Pros felt lacking, and when turned up (un amped) I feel like the Pros have some distortion to them.
 
In comparison, my 600's felt a little dull at first. Nice sound stage, and great quality. After a few hours of usage, the bass came out to talk for a bit (so to speak). I then threw my Fiio E6 amp on them....Holy Hell.
 
It's like listening to 2 different headphones. The bass hits hard (shakes the cans) and it's very satisfying (fun sound). Sound quality (imo) is better than the Pro's. Thanks for getting me to notice these! Great deal for quality headphones.
 
 
My one gripe, is sound leakage! The Pro's could be cranked up 100% and no one within a foot of me would hear them, however these 600's seem to be heard across a room at ~60-75% volume. Would anyone suggest changing these pads to the M50 pads? Would that help any with the seal? Is it more comfortable?

 

[lossfizzle]

 
Quote:

So I got these in today. 
 
My first impressions

 
...are very, very similar to mine. I have had mine burning in for about 20 hours now and I have not yet heard a lot of difference, although the mids have opened up some. The lack of snap, the subtle-but-noticeable high rolloff, and the overall flat imaging are what are still really getting me. I don't expect any of that to improve with a full weekend's burn-in, although I'm still trying it for giggles.
 
I don't think they sound bad, especially for $30. The problem is that because of this thread, they are no longer $30-- as far as I can tell, all the vendors willing to sell for $30-35 are sold out, and $45 shipped is roughly the bottom line as of this writing. Amazon has even jacked their price to $42... with a 2-month wait. At that price or for a few bucks more, there are definitely a few more magical options.
 
Quote:

I don't know if you guys should really try this, but, if you push the two cups together really hard sometimes you'll hear a click and the headphone shorts out on one side. Do it again and it goes back to normal. It's probably not a big deal if you don't put too much pressure on the cups, but  it doesn't inspire much confidence about the long term durability of these headphones. But then again, it's just 30 bucks right?

 
After the shorting complaint I tried some stupid stuff with mine too and had no similar problems. I'm not concerned about the durability of these headphones. "Pressing the cups together really hard" is patently abusive behavior and there aren't many real-world situations that are going to mimic it, even lying on your side with the phones on (not that I think you could actually do that comfortably in 600s). If there's one thing I can say about my experiences with Matsu****a [edit: LOL PANASONIC] products, it's that they are usually very reliable and durable.
 
And I guess if these beat your SRH440s in imaging, I won't bother to check out the SRH440s.

 

[controlmajortom]

Quote:

 
 
I don't think they sound bad, especially for $30. The problem is that because of this thread, they are no longer $30-- as far as I can tell, all the vendors willing to sell for $30-35 are sold out, and $45 shipped is roughly the bottom line as of this writing. Amazon has even jacked their price to $42... with a 2-month wait. At that price or for a few bucks more, there are definitely a few more magical options.
 
 
After the shorting complaint I tried some stupid stuff with mine too and had no similar problems. I'm not concerned about the durability of these headphones. "Pressing the cups together really hard" is patently abusive behavior and there aren't many real-world situations that are going to mimic it, even lying on your side with the phones on (not that I think you could actually do that comfortably in 600s). If there's one thing I can say about my experiences with Matsu****a [edit: LOL PANASONIC] products, it's that they are usually very reliable and durable.
 
And I guess if these beat your SRH440s in imaging, I won't bother to check out the SRH440s.

Ah, the wonders of Head-Fi, one thread and the thing starts jacking up in price.
 
I've been letting the phones run for a while, and they haven't really gotten much better. I don't want to listen to these over my HD600s though. The HD600s win in every category, including bass. But then again, I shouldn't really be comparing the two should I?
 
Aside from imaging and bass, the Shure's are better by the way, and I would rather listen to the Shure's than to these.

 

[200poundsofamp]

Quote:

I've been letting the phones run for a while, and they haven't really gotten much better. I don't want to listen to these over my HD600s though. The HD600s win in every category, including bass. But then again, I shouldn't really be comparing the two should I?

 
NOPE

Just chill out and let them burn in.
 
BTW the m50 pads do fit perfectly on these things.

 

[idvsego]

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At that price or for a few bucks more, there are definitely a few more magical options.

 
and out of curiosity, what might those be?

 

[jm78]

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[size=x-small]Well I've got about 12 hours burn in on the RP-HTF890E-S now so I thought I'd share a few early thoughts. The only problem here is that my reference points are quite low, Shure E4, Koss Porta Pro, Xears. However, I do have Monitor Audio Radius 270's on my home theater system (be gentle) and I had an audiology test last year, so I know my hearing is good [/size]
 
[size=x-small]Sources so far have been a PS3 / WDTVLiveHub feeding my Onkyo 806 AV receiver for Black OPS and Bluray and my portable Samsung R1 playing a mixture of FLAC, CD and 320k MP3.[/size]
[size=x-small]　[/size]
[size=x-small]Build quality[/size]
[size=x-small]Seems good for now but only time will tell. The cord is braided and feels heavy duty. Cups are plastic but seem sturdy.[/size]
[size=x-small]　[/size]
[size=x-small]Sound[/size]
[size=x-small]Early thoughts are that the mids are forward which is fine as I really wanted these for FPS gaming and watching movies. I am also pleasantly surprised by the bass which was something I was concerned about with them being an open design. I did crank up the volume on the amp for some trance, dance, D&B and dub step tunes and these headphones delivered some good bass. They also had no trouble keeping up with anything I threw at them. I'll try and carry out some low level tests over the weekend to see how low these go without issue.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]I consider the R1 to be a warmish portable source and it appears to be a really good match to these Panasonics. I've listened to a wide range of music from Rebecca Pidgeon to Therapy with lots of dance, trance and everything I've put through them has sounded great. There has been lots of detail without sounding overly clinical and the R1 has driven the 50ohm headphones well.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Gaming - Black OPS - whilst the positional element can not compete with a full home theater setup I was able to pinpoint the direction of gunfire and other sounds correctly. In fact I managed to score what I think was my second highest ever score in one round, so they must be doing something right. If I'm honest, mortar explosions weren't as heavy sounding as I was expecting (not a problem when playing multiplayer online) but I will investigate whether a little tweaking will improve them. More time is needed to really test the accuracy inc footsteps etc but initial impressions are good.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Movies - Watched the first 30 minutes of Terminator Salvation which is not a film that I'm familiar with. The reasoning was that I wanted to see whether I could just watch a movie without over analyzing the sound. I can safely say that I was more than happy sitting back with the headphones on. The dialogue was very clear and all other sounds seemed well presented. Wearing the headphones really didn't detract from my viewing and listening pleasure at all. Do consider that I only ever normally watch through my surround setup. I'll try them again over the weekend with some films that I know but for now I am more than happy.[/size]
[size=x-small]　[/size]
[size=x-small]Comfort[/size]
[size=x-small]These are some seriously comfy headphones. I had them on for 3 hours last night and would have forgotten I was wearing them if I wasn't actually trying to test them out. My ears never felt hot of uncomfortable during this time and I guess the open design along with the cloth pads is the reason why. The design is such that they don't clamp your head hard at all. Rather they just rest gently on top of your head and envelop your ears at the sides.[/size]
[size=x-small]　[/size]
[size=x-small]Overall[/size]
[size=x-small]So far I am very impressed with both the sound and comfort of these headphones. I was considering getting the 600s delivered as well but I'm not sure now as the HTF890 really are giving me everything I need.[/size]
 
[size=x-small]Dom[/size]

Nice, thanks for review.  Still wondering if I should get these or the superlux hd668b.

 

[jm78]

Quote:

 
and out of curiosity, what might those be?

In his review, I think he mentions koss ksc and portapros as better bang for the buck.  I been using the ksc75's for a while now and IMO, this panny 600 sounds much better.

 

[lossfizzle]

Quote:

In his review, I think he mentions koss ksc and portapros as better bang for the buck.  I been using the ksc75's for a while now and IMO, this panny 600 sounds much better.

Sorry- no, they don't. The KSCs have far more detail, sparkle, and do imaging / space way better. If you're into lower-midbass humps, I can see liking the 600s better. Otherwise it's very clear to me that the Kosses better the HTFs in every area that matters for music. Aaaand we'll just leave it there.
 
Frankly, at this point I don't even like the 600s' bass that much as a "fun phone". I ran 'em through a regimen of ridiculous crunk tracks last night and they were *there*, but they weren't impressive or tooth-rattling. The bass is in the wrong place for that. 
 
Also, jm, if the 668bs are close to my new Samson SR850s, and if you like the Panasonic better than the Kosses, don't get the Superlux. I am finding the SR850s way closer to what I'm looking for, but it's harsh with some recordings, hits far less in the bass, and is harder to push.
 

 

[jm78]

Lossfizzle, you really think the ksc75 does imaging better?  Hmm, isn't imaging the ability to separate instruments and sounds?  It seems the panny 600 is way better at dolby headphone than my koss ksc-75.  I have been hearing more details in songs as well without the dolby headphone DSP mode.  Interesting that you think the koss has more detail, perhaps I will do some more A/B checking later. 
 
However, even though I like the sound so far on the panny 600, i still love my koss ksc-75 as its the most comfortable headphone I have ever had.  I always forget I'm wearing them.  Also, I think I want a more open headphone for my gaming needs.  The 668b looks like a good fit, although changing the pads looks like its gonna cost extra.  Plus, I would enjoy listening to different sound signatures.

 

[lossfizzle]

Quote:

Lossfizzle, you really think the ksc75 does imaging better?  Hmm, isn't imaging the ability to separate instruments and sounds?  It seems the panny 600 is way better at dolby headphone than my koss ksc-75.

 

My only experience with Dolby is in checking RPG's fb2k profile. Based on that ten-minute experience I think the Dolby is more likely to obscure actually-present detail. For me, imaging and soundstage are correlated-- soundstage is the width of the stereo field, imaging involves the realism and "visual specificity" of spatial placement within that field. Separation of instruments / sounds is a pure-detail category and is important even when listening to mono recordings. But I think the Kosses do both categories better. Same with the SR850s.
 
Put it this way, from a home-musician's perspective - it's commonly-known bad mojo to mix on headphones, and I basically always use nearfields. But occasionally I've been in a pinch with no available monitoring setup. In those situations I have felt very comfortable mixing less-than-mission-critical stuff on the KSCs, and have had good translation to a variety of speakers thereafter. I do not think I would feel comfortable at all doing that on the Panasonics. As inherently warm phones, they aren't nearly as revealing of detail-- or flaws in the mix. To be fair, I also wouldn't want to try that trick with Portapros, but for different reasons. 

 

[lossfizzle]

Just pulled a few other, cheaper budget cans off the wall to put against the HTFs for giggles: Coby CV185, JVC RX300 and RX500.
 
The RX300 isn't worth mentioning. It's marketed as a cheap basshead can. It doesn't really do that well, and it doesn't do anything else particularly well either.
 
The RX500 is improved in some ways in terms of clarity / spectral balance vs. the HTFs. It definitely doesn't have as much bass as the HTFs but it's not lacking either, and it seems to be more balanced in the lower midrange. Soundstage is about the same, no more / less "magical" in the treble than the HTFs, although I don't feel like they're quite as rolled off. Has a semi-nasty high-midrange rise that sounds pretty bad with certain hip-hop snares at higher volumes. But a good basic phone overall.
 
The CV185 is interesting for a $10 phone. Low bass is just as much there as on the HTFs; lower-mid punch and impact is far improved, so both electronic and acoustic kick drums / low-end sources are way more "impressive" and hit much harder at all volume ranges. The bass isn't an unsorted mess either, although the exaggeration is hard to miss. High-frequency rolloff is quite early and severe on the 185s; they sound dull compared to the HTFs (and the JVCs), there's pretty much no magic or detail to speak of. But yet the soundstage is slightly / noticeably wider than the HTFs. This phone is also crazy efficient. Might be a good almost-free candidate for those willing to EQ out their midrange / treble shortcomings.
 
edit: I think the HTF is a better sounding phone than any of these overall. But the CV185 is a better bet if bass is all that matters.
 
I have some RX700s headed my way shortly and since those were (at one point) HF budget darlings, it should be interesting to see how they fare.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
So... here's something interesting. I mentioned it before, and so did someone else. So I got out the HD650's to actually just A-B them. Now, I'll just warn a few of you now, hold onto your pants, remain calm, this is merely my opinion and not anything more. If you can handle comparing the HD650 to a $50 headphone setup (HTF600 + Velour Pads), in a clam manner, then by all means continue below. Otherwise, I suggest clicking away immediately at risk of elevating blood pressure or the uncontrollable need to quote war. Hah, I kid, I kid...
 

Panasonic RP-HTF600 vs. Sennheiser HD650
 
So I compared these two, just like in my review, simply because it's a sound signature that I thought was similar. But after re-comparing them with the pad update, that changed quite a bit. Even before, they were only kind of similar, but still not that similar. And I figured out what made them so not similar, it was the treble. The HTF600 simply has brighter treble. It's a more sparkly headphone compared to the HD650, but hey, what headphone isn't? Right? The HD650 is just dark. That term really does describe it because even when I crank the volume up on the HD650 on my Lyr, it's still a very subdued sleeping giant which is always confusing to me (and one of the reasons it's not a headphone that I prefer really, I like energy, the HD650 lacks it for me). The HD650 is more refined, for sure. But guess what, they're both comfortable, pretty much equally. The Panasonic actually clamped less hard than the HD650 (odd, but true). The bass was pretty similar. The HD650 isn't actually that bassy, it's just bassy for a Sennheiser. But even then, it's still not all that bassy because it doesn't have a massive reverb. It just hits the note, is accurate, and then it rolls off and it's done. It doesn't punch you that hard, and it doesn't reverb. So depending on what kind of bass you're after, even though they're similar, the Panasonic just reverbs more and slaps you around a bit more. It will give you the impression of more quantity. That doesn't mean it's higher quality though, the HD650 likely has better quality, more controlled, but when I listened back and forth, regardless of what I know should be true, I ended up enjoying the RP-HTF600 for bass and for it's more sparkly (by comparison) and musical presentation. The HD650 is actually an incredibly boring headphone (for me) to listen to. It's not bright at all, it sounds like it's all being played through a tissue paper to soften it in all regards. So it becomes a very smooth listen, but I feel the energy is lost and it's just not as fun (again, for me). So funny enough, I'd rather listen to the HTF600 with velour pads than the HD650. I just ran them through my slew of musics that I generally test. And it just held true on each track. Makes no sense. Now, to put a balance on this massively charged statement, I prefer my HE-500 over both these headphones, as it absolutely smashes the Panasonics in sound, and eats the HD650's lunch. So it's not that I'm just being a fanboy for the Panasonic. But I am saying, I enjoy the energy and sound of the Panasonic over the HD650 which sounds sleepy to me and really doesn't have the same bassy reverb that I crave from a "bassy" headphone. Plus, again, I like to have some musical mids & highs, brigtness, and energy. Simply my preference. But hey, free information for you, right? Right.
 
Oh, and I just tested versus some Vmoda Crossfade LP's that I got for cheap. I'm not even going to get into it, but man, the Crossfades are a joke of a headphone for the cost when referring to sound quality. It's one of the only times I've ever held a headphone and listened to it, and said, "All the price went into the packaging and construction of the headphone, they left a few pennies for the sound and... it definitely sounds like pennies." In other words, the Panasonic eats the lunch of the Crossfade's sound quality and abilities with sound. The construction of the Crossfade is absoulutely great and solid (love the metal, the cords that are detachable, volume controls, sheathed cables, nice padding, chrome metal backing, etc, they're nice heavy solid metal headphones with a nice carry case and stuff). But the construction is the only thing it has going for it. They sound unimpressive to say the least, especially when I compare the cost and look at value from that ratio. They are low value in my book due to that.
 
Now, let's see if I get cabbages thrown at me...
 
Very best,