Substituting the Panasonic RP-HJE900s!

[Zephyr!]

Hi everyone,

Thanks to the excellent advice I received here (from DarkSide and some others), I bought the Panasonic RP-HJE900 for less than $100 last year. I love them - however, after constant, extreme use (abuse?) only one of the earphones is working.

I would greatly appreciate your feedback on 2 questions:

1. The earphone itself can be unscrewed, so you presumably don't have to buy the whole thing. I've confirmed the damage is my wire; is there anywhere one can buy the Pana replacement wire and keep the earphones? I would prefer to get the exact same cable because the build is so thick & sturdy - other cables barely last a few weeks with me. Any tips on where?

2. While I love my Panas, my one gripe is that it has no noise isolation/cancellation, so under certain circumstances, I find myself cranking it far louder than is probably good for me. Do you have any recommendations on headphones in a similar price range & sound (up to $150 or so) that also have the noise cancellation feature?

My fear is that the durability/build won't be as sturdy as the Panas (again, constant abuse from me...), which is very important to me.

Thanks so much guys, cheers!

[CrowdAds]

[Confispect]

Congrats on the buy.

Check out Sleek Audio's cable preferably the angled one.

They also are coming out with new ones or so I heard.

[lestatar]

Indeed. The Sleek Audio cable's will fit the Panas. It is also possible, but difficult to get exact Pana cable from Panasonic but only from Japan AFAIK.

As for the noise cancellation, suggest you consider different tips. Everyone here knows I love my Panas [though I aint no pro on these matters, I know what I like], but the included tips suck for me.

I use Sony Hybrids exclusively and they perfectly fit the Panas. SuperFi tips and others also fit perfectly.

I would experiment a bit with some tips to see if that helps your isolation - for sure, too loud ain't so great for the only pair of ears you will ever have in your entire life.

[Zephyr!]

Thanks for the tip on the cable, guys.

I'll keep looking for a similar option with higher isolation, but it seems like it's difficult to touch the Panas, in spite of this flaw.

[Zephyr!]

Quick question, guys - I found two options with Sleek, will it fit both?

1. http://store.sleek-audio.com/accesso...ble-cable.html

2. http://store.sleek-audio.com/accesso...ble-cable.html


My guess is it's the first only? Also, the Panas came with a straight opening like the first one, not sure what the benefit of the other opening of #2 might be?

Thanks!

[esanthosh]

I am not sure, but I think both will fit. But, I don't remember anybody trying the straight SA1 cable. I have the SA6 cable, which connects at a right angle and hence makes HJE900 easier to fit over the ear.

[TackyTiger]

I've got the straight (RC200) SA1 cable. Even though the male connectors are slightly shorter than the original Panasonic, it works fine (I don't put them over my ears). The cable is longer and half the diameter of the original.

My only criticism would be the L/ R markings are tiny and only raised, pretty difficult to see. That and I'd prefer a right-angled 3.5mm plug rather than straight at the other end.

[Confispect]

Get the right angle one that Esan is talking about.

Warning: Neither one of these cables are good quality. They are extremely thin.

[steinburger1109]

The stock cable looks much better than both of these...

Well, besides the right angle plug. But besides that one trait, it makes the others look flimsy...

[Zephyr!]

Thanks, guys. Shame that this cable is so thin compared to the original (and will thus probably not last long at about $30-something buck a pop with shipping). I looked at the Sleek Audio reviews on Amazon and one of the central complaints is repeatedly that the cables are built to fail. At the rate I'll go through them, I may be better off just buying another pair of headphones.

I'll buy the cable, but it does bring me to one more question....what headphones would you recommend as great replacements for the Panas? Similar in sound/price/durability?

Cheers.

[Confispect]

^ You have been warned the cable definitely isn't the best.

As far as the sound question i'll answer it tomorrow.

[Mikerman]

The cable is what it is (although I've read the rumor that a new version is coming), and is the only option readily available--at least nice to have it.

[Confispect]

Price wise what is your budget.

[Zephyr!]

We're talking around $100, though I would go up to $170ish for a really good one.

[nathan]

One of the phones on my pair of panas broke in half (exact same as another member of ABI who posted pictures of it in another thread) so the cable now is pretty useless to me lol. If I have no luck with getting a refund from panasonic customer service I will be willing to sell the original pana cable for about the price of th sleek cables. I'll even throw in a few sets of medium ve-moda tips that fit the panas and every size of sony hybrids tips except medium as I lost that pair. If you're interested just pm me. I will eventually make a classified thread; I just been a bit busy in the last few days.

[Zephyr!]

Thanks, mate - very interested. Just sent you a PM.

[lestatar]

^ wtf!??! How are you guys breaking the housings? Man, must be a glue thing or something. Man, I am sorry to hear that Nathan - I think I remember when you got those things...

This might be of interest to you, at least to check out:
http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/sho...60&postcount=4

[nathan]

For anyone reading this thread interested in buying the pana cable from me, I just sold the cable today. But thank you for your interest.

Thanks lestatar, to me isn't a total lost, it was a great 6 or 7-ish months that they last. Plus, I look forward to trying something new!

[Zephyr!]

Hi folks!

I wanted to revive this thread because my (original) Pana replacement cables are just starting to fail.

Is the best option for a replacement still the flimsy Sleek Audio cable? Any suggestions would be much appreciated...

Hell, if anyone has the Panasonic cable and is willing to part with it, I'm very much willing to buy.

Thanks & Cheers.