RHA S500 Earphone Review

RHA has a nice little thing going with its stainless steel capsules and fabric cables; it’s a good look. And as with fashion design, the models tend to get smaller all the time. However, the lightweight RHA S500 will never develop a cocaine habit, or punch a paparazzo.

Pros:

• Decent build
• Decent accessories
• Bass has a nice velvety quality
• Tiny capsules

Cons:

• Midrange may be too present for dance fans

Design and Appearance

You might expect a low-cost model to skimp on certain features and items, and compared to other RHA offerings this is certainly the case. However, RHA is always generous with its accessories no matter what you’re spending; included is a nice little drawstring pouch, a cable clip and seven pairs of eartips. Not bad.

The driver capsules are certainly a departure from designs such as the MA350, with teeny microdrivers keeping the capsule size to that of a balanced armature earphone. These earphones can be worn with the cable down, or with the cable over the ear; the small capsule size may offer an improvement for those who have found it difficult to get a good fit with larger designs.

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Durability and Build Quality

Build quality is much what we’ve come to expect from RHA; stainless steel is used for the driver capsules and jack housing, and the ‘joiner’ on the cable is made from durable plastic.

Strain reliefs are present on the cable where it meets jack and capsules, and the cable is braided between the jack and the joiner. Above the joiner, it’s rubber coated.

Comfort

There’s a good chance that you’ll forget these are in – the tiny capsules allow for a bit manoeuvring so the perfect fit can be achieved.

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Sound Isolation

With the supplied silicone tips, the RHA S500 can cut down those pesky outside sounds very well, but aftermarket foam tips such as the Blackbird S20 will improve this.

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Sound Characteristics

The RHA S500 has a relatively smooth sound. If you want treble crunchiness, then the S500 is not for you. The action lies in the bass and the midrange with this model.

• Bass (e.g. punch, low extension):

With a good fit, the bass is big, wide, deep and low. It’s fairly tight and works well with the midrange; there is no sense of missing anything there. The bass quality has a mellow edge to it which this reviewer really likes; it’s similar to the bass on the Sennheiser IE800 so roll up if you want a taste of that high-end bass!

• Mids (e.g. vocals, acoustic instruments):

Midrange is emphasised relative to RHA’s similarly-priced offerings; rather than the bass and treble receiving a lift, the S500 has a full and present midrange. It can appear a little hard-edged at first but after a couple of minutes’ getting used to it, it sits very nicely with the rest of the presentation.

• Treble (e.g. high hats):

Treble is there of course, but serves only to extend the midrange if that makes sense. It sits low enough in the mix to give support and fill in those little details, but will never give a particularly bright and shimmery quality to proceedings.

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Soundstage and Separation

Soundstage is very nice; the sensation of width feels as if it’s down to the bass and midrange frequencies, making it feel as if things are jumping out of line and back again and keeping the ears on their er.. toes. Separation does less well as it relies more on high frequency information, but the S500 does a good job of keeping things from getting confused.

Music genres good for and why

The midrange presence makes the S500 most suitable for acoustic or live performances, or vocals. Dance music and R&B, etc. tends to have a bit of a hard edge which may not suit some, although the bass quality of the earphones makes up for this.

Summary

A very able earphone for the asking price; the RHA S500 is not typical of models in this price range with its present midrange so will be a good option for those who prefer acoustic or vocal recordings.

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Earlier in the year, esteemed maker RHA gave us a rather well built and very attractive in-ear, the T10, which is reminiscent of T2. The film, that is. Luckily the RHA T20 earphones aren’t on assassination missions; however they are starring in their own sequel which has just as many thrills and spills – even if the bodycount is non-existent.

Pros:

• Well built

• Tuneable with filters

• Good selection of eartips

Cons:

• Non-removeable cable

• Some may find them heavy; they’re fine when worn

Design and appearance

Like its forerunner, the T20 has a very attractive pebble-like look and feel. The part of the cable which sits behind the ear (with wire to retain its shape) is coloured black as opposed to the silver of the T10. The driver capsules, yoke and jack housing are all of a stainless steel with a knurled effect on the jack housing and yoke.

Durability and Build Quality

It all gives a very good impression of build quality and durability. RHA’s 3 year warranty period on its products pays testament to this, and the T20 should stand up to a decent amount of abuse. The cable is coated in a soft rubber material which is a little bit grabby but by no means inconvenient to use. Strain reliefs on each end of the cable a excellent, although the yoke in the middle could do with a little bit more  by way of strain relief.

Comfort

All I can think of which may be a problem is the effect of those driver capsules when the earphones are donned on a cold day, although they’ll warm up before long. Other than that, the T20 is very comfortable. This design cannot be worn with the cable hanging straight down from the ear so may not be to everyone’s taste.

Sound isolation

Isolation is as good as any earphone of this design. With music playing, most exterior sound is banished leaving the listener alone with their chosen sounds. Be sure to experiment with the multitude of tips which are included, for the purposes of getting the best isolation and also the best seal with the ear, which vital for a decent sound from earphones.

Sound characteristics:

The RHA T20 includes 3 different filters which can be swapped for emphasised bass, emphasised treble or a reference tuning. For this review the reference filters were used. To check for any differences, a T20 was attached to a Chord Hugo along with a T10 at the same time and one placed in each ear. The same filter type was of course fitted to both models. The T10 has a much greater bass presence, but the new T20 trades that for much better control and definition. Midrange has more presence on the T20.

• Bass

The T20 still puts out a decent amount of bass for a good ‘heavy foot’ under kick drums and synths. It goes down low, with a decent amount of width. There’s a buttery smoothness to it which makes for a comfortable and musical experience but it’s tight, leaving a little more room for midrange.

• Mids

Midrange is slightly more prominent on the T20 (compared to the T10) although bass and treble still has a slight emphasis. Like the bass, it has a gentle musical quality and makes for a good feel of space. Reverbs are clear and relaxed, with features like vocal and harmonics very enjoyable indeed.

• Treble

Treble is smooth which makes for a relatively warm sound overall; however the T20 is still there to pick up the details. Some may prefer a more top-heavy presentation, so the treble filter may well be worth a try.

Soundstage and Separation

There’s a good amount of width and depth here. The improved midrange makes for an excellent sense of space, which is further enhanced by superb separation and imaging. I’ve managed to pick out new instruments which are hard panned and relatively low in the mix in tracks I know well – not bad at all.

Music genres good for and why

The T20 was tried with a varied range of genres and does well with them all. They are as good with dance as they are with rock music with a good balance between bass presence and midrange action. Soundstage and separation prowess also lets genres such as jazz and classical shine, although perhaps use of the treble filter may be more appropriate for fans of these genres.

Summary

If you fancy a glint in your ear as well as your eye, the T20 from Glasgow-based RHA has a lot to offer. Both the build quality and the sound are solid, with superb separation abilities. The T20 is a worthy successor to the T10, with several sonic improvements.

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