Panasonic RB-F10 Review

Design

• Comfy design
• IPX4 protection
• Touch controls

What’s key for a pair of open-earphones is comfort, and the Panasonic RB-F10 offers good levels. With an over-ear hook design, they slip in behind the ear without issue and they stay fixed even when I’ve taken them for runs or gone to the gym. If you’re going to wear them all day, you can be confident that they’ll stay in place without issue.

After a while they’re not too noticeable – they’re lightweight and handle sweat without slipping. It’s up to you whether you wear these headphones with glasses or if you have long hair. I think they’re fine but certainly with over-ear hook designs, things can get tangled.

Touch controls are responsive enough for playback, with a double tap volume down, triple tap for louder audio and a hold to access your phones’ smart assistant – all they need is a press and it doesn’t have to be hard either. I’m not usually a fan of touch controls with open headphones but the RB-F10’s controls work better than most.

With IPX4 protection they repel any water or sweat. The charging case looks like a lighter case – it’s a bit on the large side but can it be pocketed.

You’ve got two options in terms of colour: Black and Beige.

Features

• Bluetooth multipoint
• AAC streaming
• No app

This is the third pair of RB-F10 I’ve received after the first two stopped working. On both occasions the right earbud lost sync with the left, powered off, and couldn’t be rebooted. Rather spookily, the fault happened in exactly the same place.

It’s not an issue I’ve seen reported elsewhere and Panasonic seems none the wiser as to what the issue was. Perhaps my brainwaves caused some issues between the earbuds, but it’s worth mentioning all the same.

The RB-F10 sports a rather basic Bluetooth wireless spec: Bluetooth 5.4 with SBC and AAC streaming, as well as multipoint connectivity to connect simultaneously to two devices. Aside from the issue mentioned above, there haven’t been any other problems with the Panasonic.

The RB-F10 is notably light on features. There’s no app, so no updates; no EQ, no adjustment of any settings. What you hear is what you get.

Calls are managed by two onboard mics that use beamforming technology and ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation) to minimise background noise and pick up your voice. There’s no built-in voice assistance, but it’s compatible with Siri And Google Assistant through a smartphone.

Panasonic claims seven hours per charge, but over the course of two hours streaming audio at 50% volume, the RB-F10 fell to 80%, which would suggest you could benefit from 10 hours per charge. With 18 hours in the case it’s around 25 hours in total, plus a 15 minute charge adds another hour of playback.

Sound Quality

• Wide soundstage
• Punchy bass
• Crisp tone

With its large size 17x12mm drivers, the RB-F10 goes for a big soundstage and a crisp tone. The Panasonic’s problem, however, is that it doesn’t sound the most natural.

The crisp tone makes for a lean performance, and at times this edges into sounding harsh. Push the volume, which you likely will do with an open-ear headphone to battle the noise of the environment, and the RB-F10 risks sounding sharp and tinny with the mids and treble.

At normal volume levels it’s lacking the detail and definition of its true wireless in-ear counterparts but that’s no surprise for a pair open-ear headphones. The sound is never as detailed but some of that detail is also lost to the noise around you as well.

Bass is decently punchy. It’s not the biggest nor does it carry much depth, but there’s a presence to low frequencies that’s not always there with open-ear headphones. However, with tracks that require plenty depth and power – like Sam Smith’s Unholy – the RB-F10 is lacking the necessary weight.

But vocals are delivered with clarity. They shine in The Last Dinner Party’s Nothing Matters even if again it’s not the most natural tone. Treble sounds clear and decently defined but it’s not the brightest. At normal volume levels, it’s a safe and sure treble performance that’s easy to listen to. Raise the volume higher and they sound thin.

These headphones could do with more smoothness as the crisp tuning does bring problems where volume is concerned, but the punchy bass, wide soundstage, clear enough vocals and decent treble performance makes this a solid option for those on a budget.

Should you buy it?