These were purchased for SGD 150 (on sale). I believe the retail price is around USD 200. I have no incentive to say anything good about these besides soothing my conscience for spending the money that I did.
Background
The background to the purchase was that I have been going around on a quest to find a good closed back headphone that would satisfy the following requirements: non-fatiguing while sounding good, be easy to drive (from my Mac/phone), be portable, not cost an exorbitant amount of money. The trouble with the closed back headphones that I had tried was that they always seemed to fail on one of those counts:
- ATH-M50X (some claim the RH-300 was cloned from this) - treble was unbearable, and the sound would often be a little bit unnatural/tinny
- Sundara closed back - although it had a nice and tall soundstage, sound was strangely muddy and bass overwhelmed the other parts of the mix
- DT 770 Pro - unpleasant treble, heavy
- Shure SRH840A - thin notes
- Meze 99 Classics - struggled with electric instruments, particularly electric guitar (sounded very unnatural)
- Mackie-350 - tinny, metallic timble to vocals
The closest that I came to something that fit the criteria was the ATH MSR7B, but there was something about the sound that still felt a little thin and unsatisfying to me.
While I was trying out these headphones, the RH-300 finally arrived in the mail. I had pulled the trigger after reading online that these had a "neutral" sound, and that the highs were non-fatiguing, which was really important to me. However, I had not expected it to be my "end game" headphones. However, after a few weeks of use, I think I'm fairly happy with these and won't feel the need to go out to search for an upgrade.
Pros and Cons
Some thoughts on the sound:
- There is a very natural timbre to it. I've never felt a sense of confusion or discomfort at the way songs have been rendered. In particular, the vocals can sound really lovely when they are the star of the show. I don't feel the need to mention a playlist of songs because other than the two weaknesses that I've mentioned below, songs of most genres sound lovely and musical through these cans.
- Everything is in its place. I never find myself starting to focus on a particular band despite (before listening) having the impression that the vocals would be pushed a bit too far forward.
- Fairly versatile - it can handle acoustic, rock, choir, electronic with no issues.
- Treble is never harsh (can be a con for some, but it is very pleasing for long listening sessions)
- I also want to give a shout out to the drums and electric guitar on these cans, which just sound so sweet and exactly how they should. In particular, I just put on When Finally Set Free by Copeland and the drums are rendered so cleanly and clearly.
- The only two weaknesses: hip hop and classical.
-- For hip hop, the RH-300 starts to struggle with the bass - while quality is good, quantity can be limited where the song is meant to ride on the bass (How to Love by Lil Wayne, Is It You by Cassie). I wouldn't recommend this to people who listen to lots of bass-heavy songs. Otherwise, it will be a perfectly capable headphone. In particular, I had often found on other IEMs/headphones that the bass on Is It You would be too strong and start to overpower the rest of the synths, while the RH-300 balances it quite well. Depends on what you're looking for.
-- For classical music, the RH-300 doesn't perform badly or sound poor, but there is a noticeable lack of separation that is present on higher-end open backs. You will not be able to place each instrument in the orchestra, but the sound will be coherent and more of a "wall of sound" when the instruments come together.
Conclusion
Despite their age, the Roland RH-300 hold up really well, and I do think that what they offer is more than worth the price, particular with how durable they seem. Recommended with little reservation.