First off, thank you to shotgunshane for giving me the opportunity. This is my first review. I’m not an audiophile – I just enjoy music and have been slowly investing more time and money into getting great audio fidelity. For example, after listening to my IE800’s, none of my cheap travel IEMs can give me much happiness. I’ve become spoiled – just as you all, trying to achieve musical nirvana. I’ll try my best to be specific where I need to be and more general where it is warranted. Please note that I consider myself a bass lover but will try to write this review in terms of neutrality. Hope you enjoy reading.
The following is an example of how my library looks like. I listened to these IEMs with more music (all 44.1/FLAC or 320kbps) but these specific songs were all FLAC and I used to help me make my decisions in writing this. I didn’t choose these tracks for any reason other than I like them. They were played from my LG G3.
Tracklist:
Calvin Harris - Together
Alt-J - Left Hand Free
Paramore - Ignorance
Ed Sheeran - Don't
Madison Avenue – Don’t Call Me Baby (Tommie Sunshine & Disco Fries Remix)
Galantis - Runaway
Audien - Keep This Memory
Empire of the Sun - Walking On a Dream
Cash Cash - Surrender (Tritonal Remix)
Lemaitre - High Tide
Lemaitre - All I Need
Outkast - Roses
Syn Cole - Miami 82 (Avicii Edit)
Drake - The Language
Joe Garston – Adventures in Suburbia
- Aesthetics
- Looks – They housing themselves look simple and elegant. The pleasant looking, stainless steel metallic-themed style is shown off in the ear guides which are also showcased on the Y-split and 3.5mm connector. They certainly do look like $200 IEMs.
- Accessories
- Case – The included case has a very soft feel to it. I’m not sure what material it is. It is a bit big for daily portability and won’t fit at all comfortably in pockets but feels pleasantly soft while maintaining protection. Take note that it is not a hard case and is quite easily bendable.
- Tips – Included in my demo unit were 3 usual sizes, no bi or tri flanges but I believe they do actually come with these as well as foam tips. Don’t quote me.
- Filters – 3x filters which the tips attach to: Treble, Reference and Bass. We’ll get to how they sound later but please note, I consider myself a bass lover and left the treble tips on for the full review period.
- Build Quality
- Shells – They seem indestructible.
- Cable – Very solid and the strain relief on the 3.5mm jack works very well.
- Design
- Ear Guides – They are quite soft and have lots of give. This is a disadvantage in function but an advantage for comfort. They aren’t as aggressive in maintaining shape as my Shure’s or the Audio Technica’s I owned. They are very comfortable to wear and sometimes I forget that I have something going over my ear. My only gripe with these is where the ear guide ends and meets the fat, rubbery grey cable. There is a rather large connector on them which doesn’t bother me in terms of comfort, but adds to bulk and looks a bit, unnatural being there. Has the words, “patent pending” on it, which I have to say, these are the best ear guides I’ve used so far for comfort but could be a bit shorter (just as I wish the cable and the Y-split were).
- Cable – I prefer a thinner cable as this is the thickest one I’ve ever used and not to mention the length gets a bit annoying. The Y-split is located and inch or two above my bellybutton when standing and the 3.5mm jack touches my ankle. I’m 6’0” (182cm). Aside from that, if you wear IEMs inside your shirt, the rubbery feel to this cable can get stuck on clothes when turning your head or moving around and will end up pulling on the IEMs but the ear guides to a good job of not having them torn out of your ears forcefully.
- Controls – Doesn’t work for Android except for the Play/Pause functionality. Being that this is sold by Apple, it will support iOS.
- Microphonics – Totally dependent on where on the wire it is being touched. Anything above the (relatively lengthy) Y-split makes quite a large sound while anything under is unheard. I wouldn’t recommend these at all for fitness, as having these bounce around inside your shirt and hit your chest can get annoying. I didn’t work out with these but did listen to them while doing laundry and chores and microphonics weren’t terrible but still noticeable.
- Comfort – I can see myself wearing these for prolonged periods of time. The tips included are comfortable and as for the cable, I see a bit of pro and con in the design here. The cable is thick and because of the length becomes heavier on your ears but the ear guides do a great job of lessening the pull on your ears (because of the give) making the IEMs seem light to your ears. The shells on these IEMs aren’t large, which would make them fit many ears, even some smaller ears I would imagine.
- Isolation – At precisely medium volume on my LG G3, I can hear the keys being pressed, But then again I have one of those stale 1990 Compaq keyboards (haha). I think the isolation on these is average. Nothing special but nothing poor either. My bigger concern would be microphonics for those who will use these for portability.
- Sound - Please note, I consider myself a bass lover and left the treble tips on for the full review period. As far as sound stage and imaging go, I was impressed. While the soundstage doesn’t have the greatest width (I’m crediting this due to the powerful bass), it has depth and seperates the general frequencies well. You’ll get more clues as to why the soundstage doesn’t sound too wide (bass power, treble extension) when you read further.
- Bass – I start with bass because it’s basically the focal selling point in sound of these IEMs. They’re very powerful in the bass and I find that the bass is prominent in all songs, even when it wasn’t meant to be. There is a bit more midbass than subbass and I found with a bit of EQing that it sounds a bit better if you EQ the midbass down a bit to a level where the subbass and midbass seem equal. Fortunately, I could not detect any major amount of bleeding into the mids even with the bass being as powerful as it is. The bass is so powerful and I find has a bit more quantity than quality, as in some songs the impact is so great that sometimes the sidechain effect is lost within a kick/bassline, making me think that these drivers are not that nimble (longer decay) when producing such powerful bass. There is great extension within the subbass region and where it is needed, it will extend effortlessly. These IEMs are not for those who like a balanced sound.
- Mids – I find that the mids are clear and detailed sufficiently, but are a bit recessed (not sure if this is the right word. Maybe relaxed?). Vocals tend to seem lush and soft and on short occasions they sound muffled only when playing a demandingly bassy song which will dominate the music. The imaging of the instruments in the midrange is quite good, and again, I was most impressed by trying to find bass bleed but couldn’t find any problems (dependent on the song).
- Treble – This is the weakest point in SQ with these, although still not poor. The treble doesn’t sound thin but lacks a bit of extension, or, liveliness as I would call it. In the song “High Tide” by Lemaitre, I can usually hear every hit of the hi-hats clearly but with these it sounds like they could use a bit further extension. I say this because while the treble doesn’t feel held back or thin, they still lack something. Again, just like the rest of the sound stage, the depth is there, but maybe extension would do the trick.
Conclusion:
Being that these are to be sold in Apple stores, are built well, have a great amount of sex appeal with the stainless steel look and are bass-oriented, I would say that these are a winner for the average consumer. Someone who is looking to enjoy their music will enjoy these without a doubt. But for those of you who have heard some of the highest fidelity in music reproduction, and want a rich,
balanced sound, these are not for you. As I said before, the bass is the focal point but is also the problem with them in that it can overpower the music. I love my bass, and the impact these provide is addicting, but they don’t go with every genre. That said, for $200, they are a
decent buy for someone looking for something good-looking, durable and pleasantly sounding. I can see that RHA did a good job making them enjoyable in looks, build and sound - especially for a newcomer who will fall in love with the WOW factor the bass provides. While I cannot recommend these for the more experienced listeners, I would enjoy having these around (not the best SQ for $200) for merely getting satisfaction through the bass impact it provides when listening to my EDM.
Rating: 4/5