Panasonic RP-HJE900 Zirconia Review

[lestatar]

Originally Posted by Satellite_6

From the group page:

NO wannabes
wtf, you don't have any of these lestatar, gtfo.

ROFL

I'm still not very impressed with mine. . .

lol....gettin' em tomorrow from j&r store...unlike most all of you poor saps, I get to inspect my panas in person prior to buying...muahahahahaha....

<oh crap...just realized...you guys outside of nyc can get free/reduced shipping and no NYC tax....I gotta pay 8.25%....FUDGE!!!>

lol


really? not delighted with them? you're like the first one...what's wrong with em to your ears? I personally have had pretty high hopes for these from the day dfkt posted about em...

[CrowdAds]

[68chevy]

Just received mine today. Initial observation is they are not as nice sounding as my S4's but I will reserve judjment until after burn in. I remember that the S4's took a while to sound real good. The Pans are definitly built better than the S4's though.
Cheers,
Rick

[Satellite_6]

Originally Posted by lestatar

lol....gettin' em tomorrow from j&r store...unlike most all of you poor saps, I get to inspect my panas in person prior to buying...muahahahahaha....

<oh crap...just realized...you guys outside of nyc can get free/reduced shipping and no NYC tax....I gotta pay 8.25%....FUDGE!!!>

lol


really? not delighted with them? you're like the first one...what's wrong with em to your ears? I personally have had pretty high hopes for these from the day dfkt posted about em...

"The mids sound kind of veiled/distant to me which I do not like. the cymbals are also loud and messy so far. The bass impact doesn't sound that great, nor does the quality of the bass. Their sound sig is nice tho: not as engaging as my NE-7Ms were, but prettier and more laid back." - Me

My opinion of them hasn't changed much from my initial impressions. The main issue is the mids sound funny. The highs are insanely loud. The bass isn't bad now though. TBH I don't see what dfkt sees in them. They definitely don't sound bad but their overall SQ just doesn't seem that amazing at all to me.

I always dislike headphones when I first get them because they need burning in but I have a hard time believing that their sound will improve enough for me to be impressed with them. :S

Maybe my expectations are just too high, I have been listening to nothing but the HD 650s lately. . . after listening to them everything else sounds bad.

EDIT: They are also fatiguing, I cannot listen to them for long periods of time. One more thing, I concur that their soundstage is damn good for IEMs. . . at least that's one good thing about them.

[Syndrome]

I too thought the highs were a bit harsh, which is usually what is fatiguing to me. But out of the box I thought the highs were less harsh than the Hippo VB's out of the box. Maybe a bit more time with them and I can give a better opinion. But like I said earlier, the build quality alone was worth the price I paid for them, even if they sounded worse than they do.

[Satellite_6]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

I too thought the highs were a bit harsh, which is usually what is fatiguing to me. But out of the box I thought the highs were less harsh than the Hippo VB's out of the box. Maybe a bit more time with them and I can give a better opinion. But like I said earlier, the build quality alone was worth the price I paid for them, even if they sounded worse than they do.

Build quality is great and all, but I bought these for sound. I thought the highs on my HD 485s were loud. . . jeez. . . not compared to these. My cheaper 485s don't have very good build quality at all yet they have managed to last for years. . . and I enjoy them more than the HJE900s I think. I still need more time before I make a final judgment tho.

[Syndrome]

Oh Snap! Price is back up to 90$. Looks like you should have listened to me lestatar.

[68chevy]

I agree with Satellite 6 the cymbals are harsh. I had to EQ my S9 to tone it down. I am no audiophile but they just dont quite sound right yet. I am sure they will improve with use.

[nathan]

Does anyone know the balance of these phones compared to the koss ksc75's? I'm thinking about getting these but I'm a bit worry about the reassessed mids as I may not like the phones because of it. I think I like slightly increase base response like 4 or 5 decibels (estimate) because I use the ksc75's with the Fiio e3 (e280 v2 as player) and prefer the balance this combination produces over my sennheiser cx400's unamped with no EQing as i find the senn's too base heavy (but still decent phones to listen to). I also have a pair of Mee M6's I find them ok but the mids are to reassessed for me.

I think the koss ksc75's with the Fiio e3 is my most preferred balance and perhaps just a tad base heavy so will the Panasonic RP-HJE900 sound signature suite me? I appreciate that no one can give me a definite answer as we all have different ears but any estimate answer will be greatly appreciated.

[lestatar]

Thanks all guys for the feedback. Actually I just got my Panas, still haven't opened the box yet. I am intrigued by the comments on the high freq - personally, I def have some [sligh] high freq loss - but I actually like a brighter sound, especially from cymbals and high register guitar work...

Will post my own layman feedback in next 24-48 hours

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by lestatar

Thanks all guys for the feedback. Actually I just got my Panas, still haven't opened the box yet. I am intrigued by the comments on the high freq - personally, I def have some [sligh] high freq loss - but I actually like a brighter sound, especially from cymbals and high register guitar work...

Will post my own layman feedback in next 24-48 hours

Are you going to burn them in with white noise and pink noise and sine sweeps for 300 hours?

[lestatar]

lol...ummm no.

i have a 30sec loop of fingernails being raked across a chalkboard. i plan to set it on infinite loop at max volume.... lol

jk

nah, just my usual wide variety of music, at a loud volume... :d burn in prolly a myth...more like settling in as WalkGood mentions

[Syndrome]

I hooked mine up to my AF2, and wow the highs were VERY harsh with that source, but thats only with 20 minutes on the drivers. maybe they will settle down a little. Hooked up to my S9 though with the EQ settings tweeked a little they aren't nearly as harsh.

FYI: I'm more sensitive to highs and sibilance than anyone I know.

[Leen]

I am not sure if anyone asked about this already, but if I purchase from jr.com, what kind of warranty do I get?

[lestatar]

jr offers standard 14 day return/exchange policy. However! They explicitly state that IEMs are not covered if opened [but the 3 in store employees I asked this of said, sure, you can return them - need to get lucky and get those people if i ever need to return these].

Warranty is 90 days from Panasonic, so the included paper says.

But build quality seems sooo good that unless one is a real gorilla [or pre-adolescent child] I think these will last a long time, given reasonable care and normal use.

But then again, mine are only 4 hours old and haven't been outdoors yet, so YMMV...

[JxK]

Originally Posted by lestatar

lol...ummm no.

i have a 30sec loop of fingernails being raked across a chalkboard. i plan to set it on infinite loop at max volume.... lol

jk

nah, just my usual wide variety of music, at a loud volume... :d burn in prolly a myth...more like settling in as WalkGood mentions

Don't bother with physical burn in. Just listen to the pannies and enjoy. Brain burn in, such that it is, will play a much greater role in your adjustment.

So basically, sit back and enjoy the music - and you'll find the music will only sound better with time.

[lestatar]

JxK: Yeah, I really don't subscribe to the burn-in theory myself. Still, perhaps there is some kind of driver settling that may occur in dynamic IEMs, as Walkgood has mentioned. Ultimately, I probably cannot tell the difference.

Interesting, my beloved Maximo i590s come with a tag on the cable that specifically states that 10+ hours of burn-in is recommended. I did it. Can I detect a huge difference? No, but I love the way they sound. IMO, still a darkhorse for best IEM under 50USD.

OK, on to the topic!

So I got my Panasonics. Initial impressions:
- Build quality indeed is excellent; Aesthetically, these are the sexiest IEMs I own. Just very nicely designed and put together;

- Packaging is nice, elegant and understated and thankfully free of requiring any blowtorches to open up the packing;

- The Pana nozzles are quite large! No way will my fave Sony Hybrid tips fit on them [dfkt mentions that even if the Sonys can stretch, some negative impact to sound may occur]...So gonna hunt for Super.fi tips somewhere. EDIT: Scratch the part about the Hybrids not fitting. They do! I had simply eyeballed it, but have now successfully and easily installed the Sony Hybrids. So far, I do not detect any degradation of sound and I like the fit/seal much better

- I mention the above because the "large" tips are more like medium-large. I get a decent seal, but not nearly as suction-like as I do with my VBs/Sony Hybrids;

- Included accessories are underwhelming at the original price of 150USD IMO. For 75USD [yes, Syndrome this is what I paid!] they are adaquate [see pic below];

- The Pana cable is fairly free of microphonics to me. I have a few other pairs which are a bit worse on this score [the Maximos have bad microphonics due to braided cable]. The Pana cable is also noticeably the thickest cable of any IEM I have ever owned, perhaps contributing to lower microphonics noise?

- Also, the cable at 1meter [3.3 feet] is perfectly fine for me, but perhaps may be bad for taller folks or those who put their players or something;

- Did I mention build quality is excellent?

I have not forgotten to mention sound. TBH, I like the brightness of the Panas - the very "issue" that Satellite, 68chevy and Syndrome mention. However, I do prefer this type of sound signature so this is a plus for me. Other than that, I have no useful observations after only a few hours with them [and I was distracted with other things so not really paying attention to the music/sound]. I did notice immediately that the soundstage is quite great on these, especially on some well-recorded live albums I have. Musical stuff seems very spacious to me...

I will say that thus far, I am delighted with my purchase. Yes, I would have preferred a few more tips/accessories/compact hard case, but those are quibbles.

So, at this point, THUMBS UP!

A couple of pics for you. dfkt and others already posted great ones, but here is a box shot with a Zippo and smokes for scale and also a shot of the complete contents of the box.

As always, my 2 cents....go get your own
cheers!
-lestatar




Complete contents of the box, minus the small warranty card:



PS: for those ordering from J&R...Note that their product picture is misleading. Their picture seems to show that the cable connectors to the IEM housings are black. That is wrong. They are indeed the shiny grey metal as shown above for both ends of the cable. The plug end is particularly impressive looking, with serious [and hopefully effective strain relief].

Also, the plugs into the IEMs are well built and designed too. They fit very firmly into the IEM housings.

[Leen]

I ordered mine from j&r at $75 too. I haven't received it yet but I guess I need to hunt for some superfi tips too. I saw the ue website selling them (white/clear tips) at $10 but I'm not sure if that is the right tips to purchase.

[Satellite_6]

Smoking kills.

[lestatar]

Originally Posted by Satellite_6

Smoking kills.

lol...these days, what doesn't? Think about it...

But of course, you are correct. I highly discourage kids from smoking. Sincere thanks for the concern though

[Satellite_6]

I just felt like posting that. . . music is my drug, nothing else! except chocolate and melatonin

I'm liking mine better now I think. . .