RP-HT21M

As someone who spends throughout the day in Web meetings, a comfortable and long lasting headphone is a must. I've tried many, including earbuds and have come to appreciate this one. What I like:- Comfort: When you sometimes spends hours in Web meetings, on-ear headphones becomes really painful. Over-the-ear also shuts out outside sounds better than on-ear.- Wired: I don't have to worry about running out of charge like earbuds and wireless headphones. The sound quality is also guaranteed to be consistent over wireless.- Inexpensive: At this price-point, I can easily buy another one if it gets broken (usually from me stepping on them).- Sound quality: The meeting participants couldn't really differentiate the sound quality with likes of Bose. NOTE: The results may be different when using for other than Web meetings where sound quality is critical.- 3.5mm Jack: This is the gold standard for sound. I've had USB-based headphones and had issues with the USB-driver. Fortunately, all 4 laptops I own (3 Lenovo Windows & Macbook Air M2) have 3.5mm port.- Brand: Panasonic is not a fly-by-night and they're known to product quality products.

Forget for a minute that these are under 7 bucks.I purchased these headphones primarily because I needed some cheap cans that would allow me to play video games and still hear what is going on around me in the real world. Xbox One now supports Windows Sonic, a surround-soundifier for headphones, and I wanted to take advantage of that. Figured these would be less isolating than my earbuds or over-ear Skullcandys, and the price was right. I didn't have much expectation beyond that.TLDR version: These sound way better than I expected.It has been a few years since I had a heaphone of this design, a lower-end "came with your '90s Walkman or CD portable" on-ear type. Both the very best and very worst I've owned were made by Sony, and if my aural memory serves, these are much closer to the good ones. Bass is not super-powerful but there's certainly enough low-end thump to make video games sound satisfying. From guns and explosions in Wolfenstein II, to thunder and horse-hoof beats in Oblivion, these are more than adequately bassy for a sense of realism. I can listen thru these quite happily without wishing for my larger and bassier Skullcandys. Upper-bass and lower mids are smooth and warm, never honky. Upper-mids and treble are airy, if a teensy bit over-emphasized. I don't mind that, as it makes dialogue and quiet passages in music easier to hear at low volume.I've been mostly listening to electronic chill and ambient thru these, with a few classical tunes here-and-there. No complaints. Bass is, again, not mind-blowing, but just enough for low strings, low brass, drums, and various electronic bloops and bleeps. Stereo imaging is great, seeming to extend well beyond the boundaries of my head. I think this helps the illusion of 5.1 surround when listening to Windows Sonic. Rain in the game Oblivion sounds like it's really falling all around me, and the voices of various characters walking around the game all come from distinct points in space. Shows like Stargate Universe on DVD and Battlestar Galactica on Amazon Prime sound similarly spectacular. I would say the sense of surrounding space is more realistic with these than with my earbuds, and the fact that I can still hear my loved ones around me while listening is a great bonus.I can't find too much fault with these. Hard rock and hip-hop might sound a bit thin and screechy through these headphones, especially when cranked to eleven. The plug might be too fat to fit through some phone cases, so use an extender or remove your case for portable listening. Build quality is not phenomenal, but as long as you're not stuffing them in a backpack or gym bag, and treating them like a grown adult should, they will last quite a while.These would be great to wear while walking around a park, while shopping, or anywhere else where you want your tunes with you but still want to hear what's going on in the real world.Ok, now we can talk about the price. Holy crap, 7 bucks??? They're worth at least 20. Score one for Panasonic! Get 'em!

Are these earphones great? Not really.Are these earphones comfortable? Not really.Do these earphones have great bass response? Bwahahahahahahahaha...! Ha haaaa..... ha.... egh...Do they make audio happen, are reliable, durable, have a pretty long cable and are cheap as chips? Emphatically - YES!They do what they need to do and nothing more that that. No frills, no filler, 4 stars!!!(I wore these things at work for 6 hours and they hurt my ear lobes. If they charged $18.99 US and put that into adding some extra padding to the ear cups, they'd be perfect).