Labs

The closed housing of Panasonic's RP-HC500 headphones blocks out a lot of outside noise, and the noise-cancellation circuitry does even more to eliminate low-level noise from sources such as computers, engines and air conditioners. The characteristic hiss produced by the circuitry was particularly audible when not connected to an audio source. It could even be heard over some of our audio test tracks, most noticeably soft folk and classical music, but it's fairly easy to ignore.

The headphones weren't uncomfortably heavy, but they became warm after a short period. Music sounded a little dull and distant when we switched off noise cancellation, but audio quality with it enabled was clear and well balanced at flat EQ settings. High notes and mid-range tones were clear and well defined, while the headphones produced a wide range of bass notes, which sounded powerful without overwhelming the rest of the sound.

These headphones have good audio quality, but the hiss of their circuitry, warm earpieces and very high price all count against them.