We are starting a new series of reviews where we will see for ourselves if Amazon’s best sellers are worth your hard-earned cash.
The first product under review are the wildly popular Panasonic RP-HJE120 earbuds that sell between $8-11 on Amazon. There are over 40,000 users who took the time to write reviews for the earbuds which earned a 4.3/5 star rating. Four out of the top five best sellers listed in Earbud and in-Ear headphones are made up of the same Panasonic earbuds, just in different colors. Sony, Bose, Beats and every other popular audio brands are left out of the top 10 best sellers. Can the Panasonic earbuds that sell for so little be that good?
Panasonic’s earbuds are as basic as it gets. That’s no surprise considering they made their debut on Amazon back in 2011 when smartphones were just starting to explode in popularity. The earbuds are made of plastic with silicone ear tips, and use a standard 3.5mm jack to connect to audio sources. Bluetooth isn’t included. Even an inline microphone and controls aren’t an option. That’s not such a bad thing as it keeps the earbuds extremely small and they’re barely noticeable in my ears. The size and weight of the cord makes me question the wireless headphones I’ve been using for the past couple of years. Those headphones/earbuds are packed with features, but I’ve sacrificed quite a bit of comfort. The Panasonic earbuds weigh in at .2 ounces which is 1.5 times lighter than the small wireless Jaybird X3 sport earbuds. That extra .3 ounces actually makes quite a difference in my ears.
The only extras included with the Panasonic earbuds are small and large-sized ear tips. These are important since they will make a tight seal in your ear which blocks out ambient and background noise that can distort the sound quality. Once the proper tips are selected the sound comes to life.
I’ve probably tested and used over 100 different audio devices ranging from $5 all the way up to $20000 and I can tell you I’m impressed with the sound output of the $8 Panasonic earbuds. No they’re not going to drag every last detail out of HiFi music, but they will make your music come to life. The lows are punchy and deep, mids are clear and balanced, and the highs are detailed. The overall sound signature is enjoyable no matter what genre of music you play. They’re not overly detailed, not that you could that from $8 earbuds anyways. They’re not overloaded with bass thankfully. They’re balanced, warm and extremely comfortable to wear. Best of all the Panasonic earbuds are a heck of a deal at $8 with free two-day shipping too.
The Panasonic earbuds live up to the high praise from the real world 40,000+ reviewers on Amazon.com. If you want big sound in a little package for less than $10, you can’t go wrong with the Panasonic RP-HJE120 earbuds.