Panasonic RP-HTX90 review: spectacular noise canceling retro headphones

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How old are these headphones? Chur not google! Ok, you know that gg writes mainly about new products, therefore

guessed it. This is a completely modern model for the filling, although the appearance is the most old-school. Well let's already watch and listen.

What is it?

Panasonic RP-HTX90 - This is a closed wirelessheadphones with built-in microphone, active noise reduction and bass boost. Positioned as “wireless headphones for the street”, but it is not forbidden to use them at home, as well as in the office, transport and other places.

What are interesting?

Cool retro design. And the fact that with external old-schoolness the headphones are quite modern, functional and sound good. Although we still check it.

What is in the box?

Two cables are included with the headphones(microUSB and audio), as well as printed instructions. It is a pity that such beauty was not packaged in a company case, bag or other protective and transportation accessory.

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MicroUSB cable short (50 cm), audio cableminijack to minijack - more authentic, 120 cm, in addition it is gray, in tone with our version of the headphones. One of the connectors of the audio cable is rotated at an angle of 90 degrees, in some cases it can be convenient when connected to a smartphone or other equipment.

How do they look and manage?

The Panasonic RP-HTX90 looks great. Of course, some like the futuristic design, others like the military style, and others give fur ear pads and cat ears from above. Aesthetics is individual. But the comic epithet “warm tube” has already stuck to a good sound, therefore sound equipment, the appearance of which refers to the past decades, is perceived in a special way.

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A similar impression on me in due timeproduced the Skullcandy Aviator headphones (we have their review). If the overall effect is decomposed into components, then the recipe will certainly contain metal, matte plastic and leather (calm, artificial) with a neat line.

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This model comes in three colors: black blue and white, which is actually gray. We came across just such a white-gray instance, and it looks very interesting.

The design consists of a headband with metalrunners along which the headphone cups are connected, connected to the headband by wires in a fabric braid. They ride, of course, to adjust, and not just like that, and they ride smoothly and silently. Are fixed well.

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There are quite a few control buttons and they are allcollected on the right "ear". There is a slider switch for active noise reduction (ACP), a block of power buttons and volume controls, and a separate button to enable low-frequency gain mode. It is highlighted by a small ledge, distinguishable by touch. There is also a power button, a microUSB connector and a microphone hole. On the left earphone there is only a hole for connecting an audio cable.

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The ACP switch is easy to recognize tactilely,in addition, it, as is often the case with headphones, is equipped with an LED. The green LED indicates the ACP mode is on, the LED itself is small and does not look too defiant. There is also a second indicator lit - this one indicates the status of the device. Blinks blue when bluetooth is running, blue-red in detection mode, and lights red during charging.

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All buttons are plastic, pressed with noticeableclick, a small stroke. The impression is slightly spoiled by the play and the slightly uneven button layout caused by it. Buttons could be given the same attention as other little things.

How do they work?

Connected - and work. We hold down the power button, wait for the red-blue indication of the status LED, and then select the device in the list of available on the smartphone or computer. An alternative is an audio cable, here it’s still easier. Of course, when connected via an audio cable, the headphones work even with a discharged battery. But there is no charge - there is no active noise reduction, you can’t do physics. When you turn on, turn off and connect to the sound source, a female voice in English reports what is happening. And when you turn off the headphones report on the state of charge of the battery (for example, "Battery high").

The abundance of control buttons does not allow confusionin them because of the successful layout. Although some skill is required. In the block of three buttons, the central one is responsible for answering an incoming call and play pause. The buttons on the sides of it control the volume, and holding them for two seconds allows you to skip to the previous or next track, respectively.

RP-HTX90 sit well on the head, do not tire, do notfall off, their mass is relatively small. The fit of the cups to the head is optimal in strength so as to ensure good sound insulation and not transmit. The ear cushion filler is soft but without memory effect. If you press the headphones to your ears, and then release them, there is no “vacuum” sensation. Let's get back to work. First of all, we are interested in the mechanism of active noise reduction. As usual, it slightly changes the character of sound, suppressing primarily the low-frequency component of external noise. Listening to music on the subway and other noisy places becomes much more comfortable, especially if the music is calm and plays at a low volume level. Human speech is muffled in a manner typical of ACP and is muffled completely as the volume increases. In general, the implementation of ACP in the Panasonic RP-HTX90 can be attributed to the category of "sensitive", trying not to suppress the surrounding reality in a radical way. Moreover, the enclosed structure in itself does half the work of eliminating noise.

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Headphones support multipoint technology, theircan be connected simultaneously to two devices. For example, now I am writing this text while listening to music from a laptop in the headphones, but the headphones are simultaneously connected to the smartphone. When I receive an incoming call, I can answer it without removing the headphones. The music on the laptop will pause until the conversation is over. Although the quality of communication during a conversation in this mode may deteriorate. By the way, yes, we always say “headphones”, but the RP-HTX90 is also a full-fledged headset, it also copes well with this task. Given the presence of an ACP, this model can be recommended to hipster call center operators sitting in vintage lofts. If there are such.

What about autonomy?

It seems like a 24-hourAutonomy has become a standard for wireless headphones. For obvious reasons, the exact change of this parameter in real life is difficult, but it seems that the specifications do not lie and the RP-HTX90 can really work for a day in playback mode. At least, they are easily enough for a week of work, subject to 2-3 hours of daily use. The manual claims that it takes four hours to fully charge, but it seems that this actually happens even faster.

How do they sound?

The sound of the Panasonic RP-HTX90 at first glance is not enoughwhat is different from the sound of most analogues in this price range. Here the simple and elegant approach to the ambiguous situation with a lack or excess of low frequencies was introduced - by introducing a separate hardware button to turn on or off the additional bass. But it works only in bluetooth mode.

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Low frequencies such a mode is reallyadds, although I wouldn’t complain about their lack. With a wired connection, a fairly calm sound picture becomes noticeably brighter, more detailed and more emotional. There is even more bass, but the details of the mid and especially high frequencies are not affected. In general, a nice picture, but someone may want to play with the equalizer to adjust the sound to your taste.

In the dry residue

Panasonic RP-HTX90 - nice headphones withretro aftertaste. It combines a simple and reliable design, unobtrusive active noise reduction, good autonomy and bright sound. However, at a price of about 4,000 hryvnias, they have many competitors offering modern chips of varying degrees of utility, from a toy NFC to a more practical APT-X. At the same time, different manufacturers from time to time play in the old days and produce headphones of a more or less nostalgic design. From the point of view of appearance, I immediately remembered the already mentioned Skullcandy Aviator and the more severe Koss PRO / 4AA, in addition, you can find something interesting in the lines of the brands Marshal, AKG and several others. But do not forget that the RP-HTX90 is not just headphones, but a wireless headset with an ACP, there is nothing to choose from in this niche with a retro style.

3 reasons to buy a Panasonic RP-HTX90:

spectacular appearance in retro style;
bright sound with the ability to amplify low frequencies;
high-quality noise isolation and active noise reduction.

2 reasons not to buy the Panasonic RP-HTX90:

delivery without cover or case included;
lack of APT-X codec, USB-C and NFC interfaces.

Specifications of the Panasonic RP-HTX90 Headphone

Type of
Closed, wireless, with ACP

Radius of action
Up to 10 meters

Range
20 Hz - 20 kHz

Resistance
35 ohm

Driver diameter
40 mm

Sensitivity
91 dB / mW

Bluetooth
4.2

Profile Support
A2DP, AVRCP, HSP, HFP

Play / Talk Time
up to 24 hours

Interfaces
Micro USB (5 V DC), audio-in 3.5 mm

Weight
208 g

Panasonic RP-HTX90

Classic retro design

Headphones in retro style. They work both via bluetooth 4.2 and via cable. They sound interesting, equipped with active noise reduction and bass boost function. The only thing missing is the support of some modern chips and a case in the kit.