The Headphones

Panasonic RP-HC56 Noise Canceling Earbud Style Travel Earphones reduce outside noise by 92%. Relax and enjoy long operation time (up to 40 hours) with 1xAAA alkaline battery. Compact pen-type design conveniently clips to clothing and features noise canceling switch and slide volume control. S/M/L ear pads, air plug, and carrying pouch included. While their predecessor was easily voted “Best noise canceling headphones under $100″ these may take the prize for “Best Noise Cancellation Under $60!

The Functions

After having used  the Panasonic RP-HC56’s for a while here in the office I have found some things I like about these headphones and somethings I didn’t. To start with the noise cancellation is indeed pretty solid. The moment you hit the “on” button, a wave of silence comes over you. With the exception of loud noises in the room, it totally cancelled out most of the ambient sound. One of the issues with this function is that the headphones don’t work unless the noise cancelling is turned on. Which means that when your battery is dead so are the headphones. undoubtedly a drawback but not the end of the world. Another issue I found was the physical location of the hardware for the noise cancellation.  It’s not too large or heavy at all, but sits in an awkward place on the wire if your computer is sorta far away, and you want to place the unit on the desk. That being said these headphones would be perfect for travel, more so then the office.

The Sound

When it comes to sound,  the Panasonic RP-HC56 headphones are pretty impressive for a pair of earbuds. Nothing sounded too muddy or distorted, and the bass was nice and clean and pretty heavy considering these are earbuds. Nothing crazy like Beats By Dre, but definitely way more then Bose. If you are a “bass-lover” and want a quality active noise cancelling headphone, the Panasonic RP-HC56’s are for you!

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