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Wireless Earbuds

Apple AirPods Pro vs Panasonic RZ-S500W

Apple AirPods Pro

Apple AirPods Pro

163 reviews

View Product Details

Panasonic RZ-S500W

Panasonic RZ-S500W

89 reviews

View Product Details

Consumer Reports · Best Back-to-School Sales on Laptops, Headphones, and More

#2 most mentioned

Reddit · r/earbuds

RTINGS · The 7 Best Headphones

#77 most mentioned brand

Reddit · r/BuyItForLife

Great sound quality with warm, rich sound

Active noise cancellation

Impressive battery life of up to 4.5 hours on a single charge

Easy to use and connect to devices

Lightweight and comfortable fit

Great noise cancellation

Good bass power

Stylish design

Easy to use

Instantaneous reaction time when pausing

Not suitable for everyone due to fit

Issues with connectivity reported by some users

Price may be too high for some budgets

Not suitable for those who need a deep seal due to the individual's ear canal shape

Case may look cheap when looked at closely

May not be as durable as other earbuds

Verdict

The Apple AirPods Pro are a great choice for those looking for a truly wireless earbud with active noise cancellation. They offer a warm, rich sound that is suitable for any genre of music and never harsh. The battery life is also impressive, lasting up to 4.5 hours on a single charge. However, some users have reported issues with connectivity and the fit may not be comfortable for everyone.

Verdict

The Panasonic RZ-S500W true wireless earphones offer surprisingly strong noise cancellation and good bass power in a stylish package. They are easy to use, with an instantaneous reaction time when pausing. However, they may not be suitable for those who need a deep seal due to the individual's ear canal shape.

Reviews by Topic

Our analysis shows how reviewers feel about different topics. Please note these are not full reviews.

Battery Life

I really wanted to love these...

You can still hear some loud noises, but those are muted significantly. As for Transparency mode, it amplifies outside noise so you can be aware of your surroundings while listening to music. This was quite helpful while I was walking on the street and did not want to be completely isolated from the outside world. Overall I'd say these two features are a solid 10/10 Battery life: On paper Airpods pro have less battery life than Airpods 2 (4

Good for those needing a deep seal. Look elsewhere for everyone else.

-touch controls work, but it takes a little practice. Cons: -the charging case will continually charge the buds even if the buds are fully charged. This means your charging case will drain itself in a few days even if you never use the buds. This also means you're going to wear out the lifespan of both the batteries in the case and buds since discharging to zero (for the case) and continually charging a full battery (for the buds) stresses the batteries

Sound Quality

My in-store AirPods Pro Max Impressions

>The Apple AirPods Pro have a fairly neutral sound profile, suitable for a variety of audio content. While they struggle a bit more to produce thump and rumble, they lack less bass than the [Apple AirPods 2 Truly Wireless which have an open-back design

Positive

reddit.com/r/apple

Panasonic RZ-S500W Review

Active noise cancellation (ANC) is rare to find in wire-free earphones, and very good ANC is even less common. Panasonic's true wireless RZ-S500W earphones ($179.99) feature a simple, stylish design and noise cancellation for far less than Apple's $250 AirPods Pro. They’re surprisingly capable at blocking out surrounding sounds, and they offer very strong bass response with good treble finesse

Positive

Noise Cancellation

Good pair of bluetooth noise canceling earbuds?

If you’re using them with Apple products, it’s basically a no-brainer buy for the AirPods Pro. The ecosystem integration is absolutely awesome. The noise cancelling is fantastic, and transparency mode is super useful if you need to quickly hear voices or wear them while outside for awareness.

Positive

reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice

Superior ANC Yet Worst call quality Ever

Product feel like a concept prototype. Active noise cancellation is far the best, better than AirPods Pro. Believe me I know, given I own a pair. That is the only thing where these excel

Fit

Good sound, poor fit.

The sound quality is good, The in ear fit is not good, I tried all 3 sizes of the supplied silicone ear tips and none fit properly. I tried the proper fit app on my iPhone and could not get an "Okay" on the app. I don't feel they fit securely enough, so I will only use them when I am seated. The Air Pods are not comfortable for any lengthy listening session

Good for those needing a deep seal. Look elsewhere for everyone else.

The Sony ANC earbuds may have better electronic ANC but their shape prevented me from inserting the buds deep enough to create a good seal. Due to my ear canal shape, I have to place buds deeper in my ear to get a good seal, which these provide. Neutral -sound quality is ok. It's not very dynamic

Bluetooth Connectivity

Should I get the Sony WF-1000XM4?

Particularly if you're going to use it with an Apple device, consider the AirPods Pro. You'll find a bunch of comparisons online like this

Positive

reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice

Disconnect randomly from my phone, at first I thought it was my phone, but tried my other earbuds, non of them disconnect. Only this $180 ANC earbuds unacceptable.

Comfort

Great airpod investment

So I decided to purchase the pros since they won’t slip as easily as the original AirPods (Let me start by saying they came pretty fast, and they were packaged safely!) I’d say this is a great investment, it’s very comfortable and from what I’ve gathered so far on these is you can answer your calls, skip and rewind back with your music as well, it’s very sound proof so if you’re one of those people who do best getting tasks done during work, school, or even at home without noise around you, these are the way to go. I hope this helped someone! :)

Good Batt Life, Meh build quality.

They provide 5 sizes of silicone ear cups, and once you dial in your size, they are comfortable for hours. The app is easy to use. Sound quality is nice, but I am no audiophile. Sound Cancelling is pretty good at removing constant noise

Durability

Pi7 great sound everything else meeeh

I’ve used airpods pro for 6 months heavily, i’ve a/b tested noise cancelling on airpod pro with these...These are better beside a busy road or air con unit

Positive

reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice

Charging problems, major sound issues after barely 3 months of use.

I was looking for a good pair of earbuds to use while walking, running or working out. I travel by foot pretty much everywhere these have seen a good amount of use. The noise cancelling and ambient sound controls worked great, the battery lasted more than long enough for my uses while charging them in between uses. However, after about 2 months the right earbud has stopped charging consistently

Price Point

Apple-level quality at Apple-level price

I’m sorry. I can’t recommend this product. If Sony US team is reading this review and if Sony Japan is designing all the products, please tell the Japan team that you don’t need to make too many half-baked products. You just need to offer 3 tiers of products (aka “good”, “better” and “best”) and focus on making sure they are the best products at their price points

$70 Panasonic vs. $250 Apple Airpod Pros

If you care only about sound, noise reduction and the size of your wallet, Panasonic wins, hand down. Airpod Pros are a premium product, but I truly preferred the Panasonics. Airpod Pro buttons were difficult and I never quite got a perfect fit with them. I wanted to like the Airpods, but after using the Panasonics, I used common sense

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