[aarow]

The Panasonic RP-HTF600-S headphones I bought sounded dull and bass boomey. Also the detail in stereo background imaging detail is completely lost(the air around reverbs and vocals etc.) Months later after thorough break in period at reasonable volume levels(not screaming loud levels) the Panasonic headphone started to phase in and out on the left side speaker driver, the sound would come and go and the treble was lost after that too. Now it sounds like crap and is hard to listen to.(a high ear fatigue even at mid volume levels.) I don't know if I got a defective headphone but these Panasonic's I am not impressed with at all. They are comfortable enough, but the 50mm speaker drivers are crappy sounding, unbalanced and crappily made as well. Is that even a word ?
 
On the other hand I bought the JVC HARX700 headphones and they sound a 100 times better than the Panasonic's even before break in, especially in the clarity, stereo imaging, and perfect low to high balanced sound. Both 50mm speaker drivers are perfectly matched in sound quality, unlike the Panasonic. I like the JVC's even better than all my Sony Studio Monitor headphones too.. No sound frequencies are missing on the JVC's, very clear and un-boomey sound, unlike the Panasonic and Sony and many other brands of headphones. The JVC"s sound fantastic, and very neutral, and are better made than most headphones even in the $300 and down category and even more comfortable than most headphones. But the JVC's are big headphones, however the sound quality makes up for their huge size.

 

[droido256]

be very carefull! they are quite fragile

I hope they don't break on me!!! Lol tho I had a pair of akg, k404 that the left pod fell right off the headband as I was taking it out of the box. Soooooooooooo seems like akg isn't what it used to be either -_- which ticks me off.
Be nice to find a pair of headphones NOT made in china. Tho I'm eyeing the Sennheiser HD280 also, which is made in Ireland, which is good to me.
Worse comes to worse I have a pair of Sansui SS10 on the way too.
Anyway yammering aside, how fragile are these??? I hear from like 10 people theyre as durable as a 1980's Volvo, next I hear from 10 other people they're as fragile as beats.

 

[droido256]

Just got the Pannys in

At first they seemed typical, then in the middle of Pitbulls go girl. Felt like someone turned a sub on. These sounds good
Me gusta

Watching the scene in Jurassic park where the T. rex breaks out of its paddock. Frickin awesome

 

[rudeboybass]

V

be very carefull! they are quite fragile

I hope they don't break on me!!! Lol tho I had a pair of akg, k404 that the left pod fell right off the headband as I was taking it out of the box. Soooooooooooo seems like akg isn't what it used to be either -_- which ticks me off.
Be nice to find a pair of headphones NOT made in china. Tho I'm eyeing the Sennheiser HD280 also, which is made in Ireland, which is good to me.
Worse comes to worse I have a pair of Sansui SS10 on the way too.
Anyway yammering aside, how fragile are these??? I hear from like 10 people theyre as durable as a 1980's Volvo, next I hear from 10 other people they're as fragile as beats.

vmodas will never break on you but alas they are a little more expensive lol

 

[droido256]

I auditioned a pair of crossfades..... Meh, wasn't impressed for the price.

 

[gr4474]

Quote:

The HA-S500 are excellent on ear headphones with some state of the art tech in drivers being Carbon Nanotubes. I consider them a nice upgrade in sound to these HTF600s. But they are on ear and not full sized cans. But it is easy to make them full sizes by buying extra HM5 pads that fit right over the whole cup with stock pads. Makes them not only full sized cans but enhances the sound on them as well. They do cost more than the HTF600 by double but the sound quality is also much higher end as well. One of the best sounding cans for the cash imo.

 
Hey Dsnuts, Thanks for your recommendation on the Panasonic HTF600. I was trying to read through the whole thread so that I could see if anthing better came up and the Panasonics held the throne to about page 44 when I cheated and skipped to the last 10 or so pages. I already ordered 4 pairs...2 for me and one for my wife and daughter, and was going to get more for gifts until I started reading about them being fragile and others were saying there was better out there.  Things have changed since 2011, and I respect your opinion, so what would you say are your top headphones right now regardless of price? 

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

 
Hey Dsnuts, Thanks for your recommendation on the Panasonic HTF600. I was trying to read through the whole thread so that I could see if anthing better came up and the Panasonics held the throne to about page 44 when I cheated and skipped to the last 10 or so pages. I already ordered 4 pairs...2 for me and one for my wife and daughter, and was going to get more for gifts until I started reading about them being fragile and others were saying there was better out there.  Things have changed since 2011, and I respect your opinion, so what would you say are your top headphones right now regardless of price? 

 
Well a couple of my favorites right now.  For full sized is the ATH-WS99. Excellent pair of cans that punch way above their cost in sonics. http://www.head-fi.org/t/650449/the-new-ws99-ws77-pg-57#post_9146355
 
For portable use the ES700.. These cans have a sweet sound to them that is one of a kind. http://www.head-fi.org/t/645649/the-new-ath-es700#post_9044547
 
And lastly if you want an excellent open can look into the AD900X.  All 3 of these cans represent the new AT sound. And all 3 excel over so many that try to be like them. I still have and occasionally use my HTF600s but once you get to a higher end sound it is hard to go back to cheaper phone. Truth be told however.. I will always have a pair of HTF600s in my collection..
 
The HA-S500 are very excellent for being around $60.. Great for gifts. Treat yourself to one of these new AT cans for yourself. Fully balanced and deep full bass= WS99 . Open airy detailed wide presentation that is  well balanced.= AD900X... Simply the best portables I own with sweetness to the mids with smooth dynamics= ES700.

 

[gr4474]

Wow I have a lot of catching up to do!  So are those WS99 your Panasonic go-to replacements? In other words if you only had 1 pair...would  those be it?
 
...Oh and thanks! 

 

[Dsnuts]

The WS99 are my favorite cans I own. Others do many things well but my WS99 has all that I consider for it to be a top can in my book..They sound great for all music genres too so they are versatile, solid build, comfy, light..Best of all the sound is amazing. Highly recommended.

 

[gr4474]

I already want them!  I'm reading the thread and maybe I'm impatient but would love to know what did you decide are the best pads for the WS99?

 

[gr4474]

Quote:

 
Well a couple of my favorites right now.  For full sized is the ATH-WS99. Excellent pair of cans that punch way above their cost in sonics. http://www.head-fi.org/t/650449/the-new-ws99-ws77-pg-57#post_9146355
 
For portable use the ES700.. These cans have a sweet sound to them that is one of a kind. http://www.head-fi.org/t/645649/the-new-ath-es700#post_9044547
 
And lastly if you want an excellent open can look into the AD900X.  All 3 of these cans represent the new AT sound. And all 3 excel over so many that try to be like them. I still have and occasionally use my HTF600s but once you get to a higher end sound it is hard to go back to cheaper phone. Truth be told however.. I will always have a pair of HTF600s in my collection..
 
The HA-S500 are very excellent for being around $60.. Great for gifts. Treat yourself to one of these new AT cans for yourself. Fully balanced and deep full bass= WS99 . Open airy detailed wide presentation that is  well balanced.= AD900X... Simply the best portables I own with sweetness to the mids with smooth dynamics= ES700.
 

 
I need to go to bed...I ordered the WS99 from www.provantage.com and ALSO the AD900X from amazon.com US shipping from Japan.  Thanks again Dsnuts!  
 
Edit:  I'm confident in the WS99's...but I need MUCH more research on the best open air HP, so I canceled my order for now.  I'll also reject the shipment of the Panasonics since I have 4 pairs plus 4 sets of pads coming.  I'll probably get 1 set instead.

 

[Noone025]

Years after the hype started, had a set of these for 24 hours.
 
Without burn in, they sounded ok, was missing the bass. Good detail, nice airyness for a bassy can with a fairly good sound sig (minus the missing bass).
 
After a little more listening and overnight burn-in, these are good cans. Doing good things for most genre's, getting the bass parts pretty right. I'm liking the detail and the bass has come good (still want another db or 2, but I'm a basshead at heart).
 
Another great recommendation from head-fi. cheers.

 

[Spacemodul8or]

Quote:

The Panasonic RP-HTF600-S headphones I bought sounded dull and bass boomey. Also the detail in stereo background imaging detail is completely lost(the air around reverbs and vocals etc.)

 
My exact same experience with these.
I bought them a year ago with the Beyer pads, and I can't tell you how disappointed I am with them.
Cloudy and confused when the mid range gets busy. These cans hate Van Halen. When David screams, Eddie's wails, and Alex swats his Paiste 2002's, these phones completely poop the bed.
I listen to my KSC75's over the 600s most of the time.
I think the JVC Flats are even more engaging.
What other phone should I buy to fit these swanky pads?  These audiologically dumb head biters don't deserve them. I'm aware that audiologically isn't a word, but it should be.
Peace and health upon ye.

 

[rudeboybass]

The Panasonic RP-HTF600-S headphones I bought sounded dull and bass boomey. Also the detail in stereo background imaging detail is completely lost(the air around reverbs and vocals etc.)

My exact same experience with these.
I bought them a year ago with the Beyer pads, and I can't tell you how disappointed I am with them.
Cloudy and confused when the mid range gets busy. These cans hate Van Halen. When David screams, Eddie's wails, and Alex swats his Paiste 2002's, these phones completely poop the bed.
I listen to my KSC75's over the 600s most of the time.
I think the JVC Flats are even more engaging.
What other phone should I buy to fit these swanky pads?  These audiologically dumb head biters don't deserve them. I'm aware that audiologically isn't a word, but it should be.
Peace and health upon ye.

+1 and they broke when i was trying to put them back in the box to return them....

 

[gelocks]

Harsh comments on these lately...
I actually still use the Pannies at home on the PC most of the time even though I have better gear.
Are they analytical? NO.
Are they uber detailed? NO.
Do they provide enough information to the listener without making your ears bleed and providing respectable bass-slam and soundstage? Yup.
The mids/highs are not their forte... in fact, on this price range you either get warm, muddy sound, mid-centric (and nothing else) sound or tiny-ear-bleeding highs (and nothing else). I was actually surprised that these produce good quantity bass, Ok mids and rolled-off highs (which is why it could sound "muddy" and/or congested on some metal/rock tracks). If people are looking for an "end-game" headphone, of course this one is not it! If someone is looking for a respectable sound for popular music, gaming and even movie watching, these still do alright for $30 or less...