Panasonic RP-HJE900 Zirconia Review

[lestatar]

hmmm, mine look black as well...dfkt's pic may simply be the result of flash/lighting....

Listening to the Panas right now, even with this new info/impressions from dfkt. Still, nothing has changed for me. Frickin' love these things and the only tweak I continue to do is add a touch of low bass. I love the top end and the mids continue to seem fine for me.

I am sure my brain is now accustomed to the sound signature of the Panas - does this make me a Pana fanboy? lol

-les

[CrowdAds]

[Leen]

I got my sony hybrids a few days ago.
I realize how small my tips should be too. I realize the XS fits me the best. O.o

Anyway, I'm a happy camper now. Isolation does improve a little bit with those hybrids. Not too much but enough to make me feel like there's an improvement. Definitely worth the buy.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by Audioph1le

@dftk Hey are your filters Chrome or Black? Now I'm worried after seeing your picture because mine (filters) are black and it shows any dust/particles that it collects.

The meshes are black, they just look metallic in the photo.

[Pennhaven]

Originally Posted by Leen

I got my sony hybrids a few days ago.

Same here and also the VModas. I like them both a lot better than the OE from Panasonic. I concur with les that the Sony's are best, then the VModas.

The Sony's are definitely most comfortable, though it's possible that the VModas stay in place better. Isolation seems about the same.

[freddie]

Not sure I like how much bass these have, and they won't be replacing my home system any time soon, but they seem decent so far.

[Daanish]

Hey dfkt for which model of the super fi's are you using the tips for? When I go to order the silicone tips from the website they ask me to pick a model

http://ultimateears.com/en-us/produc...al-accessories

[JxK]

Originally Posted by Daanish

Hey dfkt for which model of the super fi's are you using the tips for? When I go to order the silicone tips from the website they ask me to pick a model

http://ultimateears.com/en-us/produc...al-accessories

Not sure myself, but when I was using the panas, the tips from the UE super fi series fit. Honestly, I believe that all the tips are for nozzles of the same diameter.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by dfkt

[...]Well, just a heads up on my current situation, and I will update my odyssey with these new HJE, if anyone's still interested.

After some more burn-in time (mental and/or mechanical), and removing the meshes and stuffing the foam in the nozzle again, they're back to how I was used to hearing them. Now they sound fine again to my ears, without EQ.



I updated my IEM spreadsheet with the 'modded' disclaimer for the HJE.

[Cynic]

Cheers Dfkt, good to know.

I'm kinda worried about the treble on these, since I'm very used to and love the warm sound of my atrios (rip)...

[Confispect]

Originally Posted by Cynic

Cheers Dfkt, good to know.

I'm kinda worried about the treble on these, since I'm very used to and love the warm sound of my atrios (rip)...

Don't be not only can the foam mod tame the treble, it settles down after 'burn in'.

[esanthosh]

I got the Sleek Audio SA6 cables (shipment took 52 days to reach me, but that's another story). They are (much) thinner than the Pana cables, slightly longer. They also enter at a right angle, but I feel a bit more comfortable when wearing Panas over the ear now. And no! I did not detect any changes in SQ .

Edit: But the cable tangles up a lot. None of my other IEM cables tangle up this much.

[nathan]

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but I don't think J&R carries the Panasonic RP-HJE900 anymore. A couple of days ago I noticed on their site that they sold out of them. I tried searching for them on their site this morning and no results appeared. Hopefully I'm wrong about this but someone could contact a J&R representative to be sure. Luckily my sister ordered me a pair a week ago for Christmas .

Also, any Monster tips will work with these phones right? If I'm not satisfied with the Sony Hybrids tips my sister also ordered with the phones I might get a set of these: http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Foam-S...ecc_rvi_cart_1

A bit on the pricey side but they look really good and according to numerous opinions of people on a bunch of threads tips are one thing that Monster is actually doing right.

[Confispect]

Originally Posted by nathan

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but I don't think J&R carries the Panasonic RP-HJE900 anymore. A couple of days ago I noticed on their site that they sold out of them. I tried searching for them on their site this morning and no results appeared. Hopefully I'm wrong about this but someone could contact a J&R representative to be sure. Luckily my sister ordered me a pair a week ago for Christmas .

Also, any Monster tips will work with these phones right? If I'm not satisfied with the Sony Hybrids tips my sister also ordered with the phones I might get a set of these: http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Foam-S...ecc_rvi_cart_1

A bit on the pricey side but they look really good and according to numerous opinions of people on a bunch of threads tips are one thing that Monster is actually doing right.

I don't know about the Monster tips, but on the cord thing....I got the ultimate run-around. Called J&R they didn't have it, they told me to go to Panasonic website, went thru that process, they acted as if they had never made the phone in the first place. Funny a Panasonic phone is not on the Panasonic website. Skipping over that they told me to contact the 'main office'. I did that they acted the same way then proceeded to direct me back to J&R.

It was a awesome day which eventually led me to purchase the Sleeks. Wearing them over-the-ear is a joy now, but the thinness is not. On top of that soon as cold weather shows it's face these harden and demand to sit by the heat to
're-retain' there natural form.

[nathan]

My bad, i didn't notice that my post was lacking clarity, I meant to say that J&R no longer carries the Panasonic RP-HJE900 headphones all together but that would include them not carrying the cable to I guess. If panasonic is acting like they never had produce these phones/not having it on their site that would probably mean that they aren't making these anymore. As such, if J&R would not be able to restock on these panas if they sold out of them.

[JxK]

Originally Posted by nathan

My bad, i didn't notice that my post was lacking clarity, I meant to say that J&R no longer carries the Panasonic RP-HJE900 headphones all together but that would include them not carrying the cable to I guess. If panasonic is acting like they never had produce these phones/not having it on their site that would probably mean that they aren't making these anymore. As such, if J&R would not be able to restock on these panas if they sold out of them.

Panasonic is still making them, but they've withdrawn the hje900 from the US market. So pretty soon purchasing will have to involve either ebay, or using a shipping service and forwarding them from panasonic japan. Or buying used, of course.

[lestatar]

Originally Posted by JxK

Panasonic is still making them, but they've withdrawn the hje900 from the US market. So pretty soon purchasing will have to involve either ebay, or using a shipping service and forwarding them from panasonic japan. Or buying used, of course.

Crap! What the..>!!!?!?! Those fools... <sigh> Guess the early birds definitely got the worms in this case...

Sorry interested peeps

[leiweiyen]

Originally Posted by lestatar

Crap! What the..>!!!?!?! Those fools... <sigh> Guess the early birds definitely got the worms in this case...

Sorry interested peeps

I was about to order a pair today too . Well... I do hope this marks the beginning of the Panasonic Zirconia 2's

[Confispect]

Originally Posted by leiweiyen

I was about to order a pair today too . Well... I do hope this marks the beginning of the Panasonic Zirconia 2's

Lol, hopefully/hopefully not I'd be worried that it might not sound like the first much less better. Anyhow just order from Amazon Uk. Or any other planet that has em.

[Pennhaven]

After experiencing / burning-in my HJE900's on my Clip+ with flat equalizer and bass / treble settings for over a month, the sssibilance finally got to me. Listening to The Who Live at Leeds the crowd applause had so much "sizzle" that it actually sounded like bacon frying.

So, when I was cleaning the phones and one of the grills popped out, I decided to try dfkt's foam "mod". I found it cures the sibilance just as he stated. Much more natural sounding now!

After about three weeks with the Sony Hybrid tips, I also am switching back to the V-Modas. The Sony's are very comfortable but they just will not stay inserted with the colder weather now. The seal with V-Modas is better overall, though they are less comfortable, just don't cushion those hard zirconia pebbles as much as the Hybrids do.

Finally, I am also firing up the Rockbox equalizer to add a bit more low end. After attending a live show and also listening a bit to my faithful CX300's I found I do miss a bit of "thud" with the Pana's. So, for starters, I have the added +4.5db at 50 Hz and 2.0 at 200 Hz. Based these settings on the response curve dfkt posted. Still sounds very clean and unexaggerated, though not as bassy as the Sennheisers.

Wondering what, if anything, others are doing with equalizer / tone controls?

[Confispect]

Originally Posted by Pennhaven

After experiencing / burning-in my HJE900's on my Clip+ with flat equalizer and bass / treble settings for over a month, the sssibilance finally got to me. Listening to The Who Live at Leeds the crowd applause had so much "sizzle" that it actually sounded like bacon frying.

So, when I was cleaning the phones and one of the grills popped out, I decided to try dfkt's foam "mod". I found it cures the sibilance just as he stated. Much more natural sounding now!

After about three weeks with the Sony Hybrid tips, I also am switching back to the V-Modas. The Sony's are very comfortable but they just will not stay inserted with the colder weather now. The seal with V-Modas is better overall, though they are less comfortable, just don't cushion those hard zirconia pebbles as much as the Hybrids do.

Finally, I am also firing up the Rockbox equalizer to add a bit more low end. After attending a live show and also listening a bit to my faithful CX300's I found I do miss a bit of "thud" with the Pana's. So, for starters, I have the added +4.5db at 50 Hz and 2.0 at 200 Hz. Based these settings on the response curve dfkt posted. Still sounds very clean and unexaggerated, though not as bassy as the Sennheisers.

Wondering what, if anything, others are doing with equalizer / tone controls?

Hmmm before I start I want to remind you remember THE Pana plays whats their/not. If you song doesn't have bass it won't if it does....it does. I get pissed all the time because my Pana 'lack' bass. Then a gigantic bass comes along and I get to toe tapping. Ever notice how this thing realistically can tackle any type of drum sound? Seriously I heard all types of DIFFERENT drums where as other IEMS most of the time it sounds like one kick.

EQ-wise same thing almost about 1 or two db in the low area -where depends on player or software- Also one thing I noticed dropping out instead of adding works as well or better. For instance on the songs the Pana's WON'T give you bass drop the treble. It lets the bass seap thru. Crap in crap out sucks.