Panasonic RP-DJ1205 Review

Introduction

Comfort Design & Features

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Ideal for a DJ with thick skin

All these features and moving parts do not still that well on our heads. The {{product.name}}s have a notably high clamping force if you have a larger noggin. While most people find relief in adjusting the band, those of you with bigger brain cages might find the level of force the {{product.model}}s apply on your pinna to be uncomfortable. If you have a smaller head, this might still be true, but most comfort issues will disappear with an appropriate adjustment.

We don’t recommend removing the cloth protecting the speaker, but it’s an effective guard against sweat and grime from making its way into the inner workings of your headphones. The back of the Panasonic RP-DJ1205s prominently display dark grey plastic with divoted edges, most likely meant to elicit an association with the other famous Technics products: turntables. Additionally, the band of the Panasonic RP-DJ1205s can stow each ear cup individually if you unlock the pivot point.

As these cans were designed with the DJ in mind, the cable itself is interesting in that it’s versatile: while it measures in at 9.8 feet, the cord is wound tightly so that when there isn’t much tugging force, it coils up and stays at 3 feet long. It also hangs from the right ear cup, which is a little unusual, but not radically different or anything. At the end of that cable is a 1/8th inch plug, threaded to allow the 1/4th inch adapter to screw onto the termination.

Despite carrying a high price point, the Panasonic RP-DJ1205s are not that durable. While they do offer fairly decent protection from casual wear and tear, there are lots of moving parts made of plastic that aren't as robust as one would hope. Don’t worry about putting them in a bag, but definitely take care to limit their drops.

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Audio Quality

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Deceptively good, though there are minor blemishes

Overall, it does what a DJ would typically look for: it bumps bass up so music can be heard over their monitors, and it prevents the higher notes from overpowering the rest of the music. However, this may not be for you. For example, the upper third of a piano and guitar will sound quieter to you, dampening that sick guitar solo near the end of your favorite song.

If you do hear any errors, then we suggest that you look at your setup rather than your {{product.name}} There was very little distortion. Also, the right and left channels of these headphones were pretty much in lockstep, meaning there was very little tracking issues.

Being DJ headphones, the {{product.model}} actually block out quite a bit of sound, though they let in low frequencies almost unimpeded. Car and truck engines will be especially annoying to you, but there isn’t much that can be done about that. Due to the fact that it’s difficult to get a good seal on your ears, the Panasonic RP-DJ1205s can be expected to leak quite a bit of sound if you listen at a high volume. Be wary of annoying people around you with your music, especially if you don’t want anyone to know that you’re listening to anything that would embarrass you.

Conclusion

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Solid cans, Panasonic

They’re not perfect, but what is? Still, it’s a bit dismaying to see cheaper plastic in the construction of these headphones, as that raises some significant durability concerns. It’s made worse by the fact that there are a lot more moving parts than normal, meaning that there are a lot more potential points of failure. Be careful with these cans.

Still, the {{product.model}}s offer decent performance when paired with high-current audio equipment. For all their minor faults, the {{product.name}}s are actually very well-engineered headphones for the DJ crowd and listeners on the go. With a huge load capacity and decent audio performance, these are a worthy successor to the headphones they replace in Panasonic's lineup.

If you’re looking for headphones to take to a gig or studio, the Panasonic RP-DJ1205s definitely warrant a look. Not only is the cable very forgiving of tugging, but the headphones themselves are tailor-made to compliment the other Technics products by Panasonic. The RP-DJ1205s’ suggested retail price is $229.95.

Science Introduction

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The {{product.name}} had a solid performance, but presented us with sore ears due to a tight grip.

Frequency Response

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A fairly even response curve

That strange dip in the mid notes is about 10dB away from the mean response, so the upper third of a piano, and almost half of electric guitar notes will sound about half as loud as the rest of your music. For bass frequencies, highs, and harmonics the response will be fine, but the aforementioned underemphasis will be a bit jarring.

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Distortion

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An excellent distortion showing

The {{product.name}} proved itself a high fidelity contender. If you do hear errors in your audio files, we'd suggest you check with your sound system first before blaming the {{product.model}}s. it's not until you crank music up to 119.19dB (higher than most MP3 players can output) before these headphones output a 3% level of distortion, we caution all of our readers to keep their volume levels quite a bit lower, as you can seriously damage your hearing unintentionally.

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Other Tests

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