Customer Ratings & Reviews

The sound is extremely underwhelming. I thought it was going to be louder but it's barely making me want to turn it down. Only up. That's not a good thing. I feel like there's so much upside left. It does have an AUX and USB only for inputs. Bluetooth would have been nice but it seems that there is no internal battery for this speaker. It does have separate drivers for Chat and Game meaning you'll have better control on how you hear chat versus your game, as in you can turn down chat without turning down your game. Game is the default setting and oddly enough, it defaults into chat when you first plug it in so you'll have to change that yourself.

Our autistic son is always on his laptop and we fight a constant battle with him over the volume. He hates anything touching his ears and cannot wear earbuds or headphones. This is the perfect speaker system for him. Now he can hear his laptop better at lower volumes and he isn’t driving us crazy! Opening the box you find the speaker with it’s attached USB cable. It also comes with and audio cable to plug into an aux outlet should you need to. Since this is wired, there is no battery to charge. If you are using the supplied audio cable, you need to plug the USB cable into a power cube which is not supplied. Operation is easy. Just plug it in and you are good to go. There are volume and mute buttons as well as a sound mode button to change between what type of sound you are listening to. This is a surround sound speaker and it really works well. It is surprising at how good the sound is coming from such little speakers. The only downside I find is that this isn’t wireless. It just seems like it would be better to be untethered.

First thoughts, I was surprised to find out these were flexible. I thought they were going to be rigid and firmly shaped but you can literally twist these in the middle and they bend. The materials are very nice and soft. They have 4 rubbery feet and one across the back of the neck as well. The one negative so far is that the usb cord doesn't detach and is constantly hanging from your neck. With it having four speakers, two towards the front and two back towards your ears the surround sound is immersive. Excellent sound and with the different sound modes it really lets you pick whats best for you and what you're listening to. The one thing that kills it for me and kept it from getting five stars is that it isn't bluetooth capable. Other than that these are a great purchase. I'd recommend them to someone who isn't worried about wireless capability.

Wearing headphones for hours crushing my headbones. Wanted the Bose model but apparently not made anymore. Got this instead. Got the wired model so as not to bathe my head in Bluetooth EMF. Light, comfortable, easy controls. Great for music vids, FPS games and general Internet sound and video content. Wasn't the best watching a DVD movie, had to change to regular headphones for that.

The surround sound feature is nice and beats a lot of headphones, but it doesn’t get the loudest. I think the biggest issue I have is that the aux cord is somewhat useless, a USB C connector would have worked better in my mind. When I use the Aux cord, I still need to provide power via the USB, so gaming on the couch with my switch with it is going and finding a battery pack or finding a location close to an outlet. When I use a USB C adapter, it works great with the switch, phone, or laptop. After playing with it, I’ve figured out that these are actually really nice for work meetings. I almost feel like I’m in the conversation, the mic works amazingly well, and I always switch to my phone if I need to get up to go do things during the meeting, so a wired headset works for my work computer. These are also nice for gaming and not wearing headphones for long periods of time as that can be detrimental to ears as well as at least my ears sweat after a while with most headphones, or my ears get sore from ear buds. The cord is heavy duty and has a fabric exterior and overall, this has a good build quality. I really like the sound mute and mic mute buttons and the fact that it has both. These are perfect if you’re wanting to give your ears a break from buds or headphones and aren’t looking for the loudest deepest sound system you can get. My immediate thought might be a dorm other high density living. Pros: Excellent mic Surround sound Comfortable Mic and sound mute USB cord quality Cons: Not USB C or a combination of cord Aux cannot work without USB power Not the loudest

Wearable audio, tbh I’m not sure what the intent of this device was. So we’ll break it down: Feel: nice contoured edges felt comfortable sitting around my neck. Didn’t slip and I really didn’t notice it much, so no distractions. 4/4 Sound: not as clear as my dedicated gaming headsets. But the four speaker array did provide good directional audio. The main drawback: it’s open design, I.e. everyone around you can hear exactly what you do. For a soundbar, this would be perfectly fine (and desired). But for a personal wearable, it makes me question when I would reach for this instead of my headset or even just using my speakers. 3.5/5 Connectivity: this is the primary negative in my book. It’s not wireless. The cord was long enough for my setup, but this seems like a huge missed opportunity to increase the usability of the device. 0/5 Overall impression: it seems like an attempt to answer a question that was never asked. I guess if you don’t have a great soundbar, and don’t like having big headphones on your head for extended time periods, then this would be useful. But for most use cases, I don’t see this being the go-to option

these are comfortable to wear but missing a few things that keep me from loving them. these are easy to wear for a long period of time as they just sit on your shoulders. this allows you to be able to hear things happening around you as well. but also allows others who are in the area to also hear what is going on. the cord that plugs into a USB is pretty long. and comes with a decent length aux cord as well. the speakers are ok. I did not get that surround sound feeling though that I get with my headset, or even a surround sound speaker system. the sound from the speakers like I said are ok. seemed to lack bass which these are marketed for gaming. the reason for me giving it a 2 star. this day and age, I feel it should have been wireless with an option to plug in and use while charging or to use while plugged in if one prefers. Bluetooth would also have been a nice future to have to allow maybe a connection with phones, tablets etc. maybe even a couple ear buds that can be pulled out and placed into your ears for a quieter, or personal experience to not bother others around. software specific for this to customize. a case to place into along with the cords to store. they can do all of that for headsets, so would be nice to have those options with this as well. I have an old similar device that was made for cell phones that does a couple of those things, Bluetooth, rechargeable battery, has earbuds that come out of it when you want privacy. adding these things, at least for me and my opinion, would make this a great option to want to have. but as a gamer, with having those options already available in a headset, and using a headset I feel I can hear better already; I don't recommend buying this. I would say get a headset, or a surround sound system if you want speakers. Now like I said, if they do add those futures in a later model. I feel it would be a decent alternative to a headset and a better option if you wanted a speaker then buying a system.

Its comfortable and convenient. I've so far tried it on xbox and pc. The sounds quality is pretty clear and the party can hear me clearly. I don't like being attached by the cord that needs to be powered by the usb port and aux. Overall i do like the comfort and unique look of it.

I was really excited to give this a try, until I took it out of the box. This is an excellent concept in theory, but Panasonic missed the mark and a huge opportunity. I’m a PC, and console (Xbox) gamer mostly. This may be acceptable for PC, barely, but console absolutely not. Too many wires are needed to be able to operate it. In order for me to use this with my Xbox Series X I had to unplug my watch cord, because it only comes with a USB, then plug that in to power it. You then would have to plug the 3.5 mm jack it comes with into the controller finally to get the sound. So while gaming on console you have two cords to try to manage and be tied down to. It is very comfortable, and the design itself is nice, and a huge opportunity to provide some relief to those who get tired of having over the ear headsets on. But the sound quality is also lacking terribly. I couldn’t even hear footsteps on FPS mode, or any other mode for that matter. If Panasonic made these wireless that would make these much better, but for right now as is it’s not something I would be using.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS The Panasonic SoundSlayer is an interesting product. A wearable speaker that takes the place of your headphones. While it is an interesting product in theory, I find the actual execution wanting. SET-UP The SoundSlayer doesn’t require any particularly difficult set-up. After plugging the speaker into a USB port, the computer recognizes it and downloads any drivers required for operation, automatically. One thing that really needs to be addressed is power for the unit. The SoundSlayer requires a USB 3.0 or better, USB port that can supply at least 900ma of power. While you can operate the speaker on a standard USB 2.0 port, it will play at reduced volume and performance. USB 2.0 ports can only supply a maximum of 500ma of power, not quite enough for best performance. Should you wish to use the SoundSlayer with the included 3.5mm headphone jack, you will need to plug it in with an additional USB wall charger, again capable of providing at least 900ma of power. Luckily for me, I had a spare 3.0 port, so I only required the one cable for use. USE The SoundSlayer contains 4 full-range drivers for sound. After connecting the speaker to my PC, I went into the Windows 11 settings and made sure the computer recognized the device, had the proper settings applied, and verified the microphone was set correctly for use. This isn’t difficult but needs to be done for the best experience. Anyone that has hooked up headphones and/or speakers to a Windows PC will know how to adjust the common settings and default audio devices. Weighing in at just over a pound, the SoundSlayer is not heavy, but like my headphones after a long gaming session, it too gets uncomfortable around the neck. I think the biggest obstacle that contributes to the discomfort is the relatively short USB cable and the location of my PC. The USB connection is on the left-hand side of the speaker and my computer is on the right side of my desk. The USB cable included with the speaker, or even a USB extension cable seemed to just get in my way. Whether I routed it in front or behind, it just seemed like that tether was a buzz kill. SOUND QUALITY At the end of the day, the determining factor for any speaker is sound quality. How was the sound quality? It was OK. It honestly was nothing special or awe inspiring. Out of the box, the sound was fair, but forgettable. Luckily, I purchased both the DTS:X and Dolby Atmos apps during Black Friday and those apps were able to improve playback and sound quality. DTS:X was especially beneficial, while the Dolby Atmos app helped, but was far more subtle than the DTS app. As improved as the sound was, it still was not as enveloping as my headphones. I have headphones from many different manufacturers, including: JBL, Razer, Jabra, Logitech, and Sony. Applying the DTS or Dolby adjustments to any of these manufacturers’ products sounded better, more convincing, and more enveloping than the SoundSlayer. I also found the bass response to be much less engaging with the SoundSlayer vs a good set of headphones with 50mm drivers. FINAL THOUGHTS It’s not that the SoundSlayer is an inherently bad product. It is unique and quite novel. It just does not perform as well as a good set of quality headphones. Not only was my gaming experience not as immersive, but without something covering my ears, all ambient sound interrupted the fun. Part of the enjoyment of gaming is the escape from reality. Not to mention, that this is not a practical product for traveling, as there is no way to keep the sound from annoying those people around you. Will the SoundSlayers be replacing any of my gaming headsets? No. I can’t think of a single one of my headsets that don’t sound or perform better than the SoundSlayer. Not to mention the real possibility of needing 2 cords to operate just one device, is a deal breaker, at least for me. Not recommended.

I like this device a lot because I was really never a big fan of headphones. Setup is very easy and straightforward. I have also used this for conference calls while working from home. The only con is that if there are others in the room they can hear your conversations whether you're gaming or on a conference call.

Oh yes, these are super comfortable. No heating up of my ears like headphones and not any discomfort from earbuds because they go right on your shoulders. The unit is light and actually provides added sense in that you can feel the vibration as well as hear the sound. If you are looking to create an environment where you isolate the sound to just yourself, of course, this is not the correct unit. But if you have the freedom to use these phones where you can relax and let the sound surround you, then this is a very unique and wonderful way to listen to music or gaming. The real boom comes from gaming though. When gaming you really feel the zaps and booms and crashes. Very realistic step up for gaming I thought. There are two mic’s, noise cancellation and echo cancellation. The 4 channel sound is aimed at your head for lack of a better description – tip of the cap to the design engineers for that as it is fantastic. You can mute the sound and the mic naturally. You can hear outside sounds but I didn’t find a nearby TV a distraction because you are focused on the game or your own music. There are six sound modes (a button will cycle through them). Including 3 game modes for role playing, shooter and voice enhancement. But don’t sell short the music modes of normal and cinema. Very nice sound programming, another tip of the cap to the engineers. This unit is amazing. The unit itself is rugged, solid and stylish but the most important aspects are the functional ones I mentioned. I do highly recommend this product.

I had high hopes for this speaker. While the "surround sound" was decent while playing, It has just okay sound, nothing spectacular, making the experience not very enjoyable. I do not notice any difference in the sound modes except when you select stereo and lose half of the volume it puts out. There is no option to customize the sound. It is comfortable around neck, but that's about all it has going for it.