The Panasonic RPHC200K are plasicky and cheap-looking noise-cancelling headphones. They're comfortable, won't leak too much and sound decent. However, they severely lack in bass and their poor noise isolation may also cause ambient noise from loud environments to ruin your listening experience.
Our Verdict
RPHC200K are cheap-looking and flimsy everyday headphones, that sound moderately good and won't leak too much sound. However, they don't isolate well enough for all environments.
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Lightweight, comfortable design.
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Leaks little sound.
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Poor noise isolation.
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Weak build quality.
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Severely lacking bass.
Average critical listening experience. They have a skewed bass-lacking audio reproduction and a poor soundstage.
Not suitable for commuting. The noise canceling is weak and struggles in loud environments.
Below-average for sports. They're lightweight and decently stable but lack good audio controls and the stereo audio cable is a bit cumbersome.
Mediocre for office use. They don't leak too much but poorly isolate listeners from the ambient noise of a busy office.
Average for home theater use. They're comfortable, and they're wired so they have no latency. However, their audio cable is short so they won't the ideal headphones for a home theater set up.
- 6.1 Mixed Usage
- 6.7 Critical Listening
- 5.6 Commute/Travel
- 5.9 Sports/Fitness
- 6.0 Office
- 6.7 Home Theater
- Updated Mar 18, 2016: Review published.
- Updated Mar 16, 2016: Our testers have started testing this product.
Test Results
The RP-HC200 look a little cheap with their all-plastic build but have an understated studio design that could work for some. They are matte black, with a glossy finish on the ear cups. The two types of padding material used are also black. The only other color comes from the branding logo and the noise cancelling button, which are blue.
The Panasonic RP-HC200K are surprisingly comfortable. The lightweight build does not put too much tension on the head and the padding is relatively soft and molds well around the ears. However the flimsy build isn't very stable and the inner ear cup protrudes close to the listener's ear, which may cause discomfort for some.
There is only one noise cancelling switch on these headphones. Disappointingly, the non-detachable cable provides no inline controls of any sort, which means there will be no call/music or volume buttons to control your audio.
The lightweight ear cups of the RP-HC200 do not sway easily. This makes these headphones above-average at maintaining their position during high-intensity activities like running or jumping. They're not designed for sports and won't be ideal for the gym, but they will rarely slip off your ears during casual listening sessions unless the non-detachable cable gets hooked on to something.
The RP-HC200 are mid-sized over-ear headphones. Their relatively small ear cups fold flat to take up less space, which makes them somewhat portable. Unfortunately, they do not fold up into a more compact format and won't be easy to carry on your person and will require a bag.
Comes with a soft fabric pouch that will protect the headphones from scratches but not from hard falls or physical stress. The soft fabric also won't shield the headphones from water damage.
The RP-HC200 feel flimsy and cheap. The all-plastic design does not feel sturdy or durable. The joints are fragile and are potential weak points. The headband is hollow, thin and would easily crack under moderate stress.
- Panasonic RP-HC200 Headphones
- 1/8" to 1/4" Adapter
- AAA battery (x2)
- Airline Adapter
- Manual
- Carrying pouch
Poor isolation, especially for active noise-cancelling headphones. These headphones perform poorly in bass, mid, and treble.
Good leakage performance. The overall leakage is not too loud, and only leaks a relatively narrow band of frequencies (1KHz-2KHz).
The RP-HC200 have an exceedingly long battery life of 100+ hours, which should be more than sufficient for a weekend's worth of continuous play time. You can also use these headphones passively by switching the noise canceling off when the battery runs out. They're great headphones to take on a camping or road trip where you don't have access to stores, to purchase other AAA cells. Unfortunately, they don't have any battery saving features.