Introduction
I am part of the RHA T20 Tour and received my IEMs on Monday.
 
I have listened to them a WHOLE lot since then and here are my discoveries.
 
The listening took place sat down, on the move, on the run and any way I could think of to put these Scottish Gems through their paces.
 
They were plugged into my DX100 shown above as well as my Note II, Macbook Pro, Colorfly C3 and Cambridge Audio Dacmagic Plus. I have other kit but this felt like a good cross section.
 
I will go into the music I listened to in more depth as I go along, the tracks ranged from Full Orchestra to angry men playing guitars extremely loud.
 

 
The Package
 
RHA has some wonderful eye candy for the Headfier to enjoy and I unwrapped this with anticipation.
 

 
Opening up further the usual touches RHA owners will be familiar with, and the filters shown clearly. A diagram on the inside sleeve explaining new dual voice coil technology innovation in the drivers.
 

 
 
 

 

 

 
The accessories are what we have come to expect from RHA and now even more. A manual with everything you thought you needed to know about the T20 complete with graphs safety info i.e don't turn them up too loud!
 
A cable clip which is really tight on the cable so needs to be fitted in the right place to start with and can't easily be slid up and down cable of this thickness. If you're out walking or running this clip will definitely be needed because there's a significant length to the multicore copper cable and it'll swing everywhere or use up a pocket with the excess being stuffed in there.
 
10 sets of tips in silicone or memory foam should ensure a good fit for most ears. The mouldable ear hooks and smoothness of the driver housings should get most ears sorted after a few tries.
 
The carry case will house the T20, it's ear tips and clip and filters when not in use and is the same as my 750 case which has lasted well and slides in and out of my pockets really well as well as looking black and stylish.
 
For even more customising RHA has introduced a 3 filter option for their flagship model. Bass will boost the lower frequency range , neutral will keep bass and treble under control and the treble filter will boost the upper end of the spectrum. The filters screw into the drivers and are a doddle to fit , so you can interchange according to mood , music or for the sake of change.
 
The build
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
The build as you can see has been looked at with great care . Every stress point on the cable is reinforced in steel or tough plastic. The cable is thicker than most IEMs I have come across on the market. The design is now all in black which is a cosmetic improvement over the previous grey and black. The design of the driver housing , in the same way as the T10 , means that more material is going into the ear than previously on the 750. The T20 is a far better fit in my ears than the 750 which occasionally can slip out slightly but noticeably. The T20s, under normal use, are a solid fit for hours as they power through track after track. Anyone having any doubts about the build of these should be made aware that RHA are offering a 3 year warranty, not every manufacturer is doing that .....
 
 
 
The Comfort
These are heavy! Made of metal injection moulded stainless steel there's nothing flimsy here, and I had a sense of foreboding when I went to put them on for the first time , being aware of the fit issues I have with my Sennheiser IE800s which are half this weight. Thankfully the memory wire hooks with the around the ear design hold most all of the weight away from the ear lobe. I experienced the tiniest of aches in my right ear on the fit and I could certainly tell there was quite some weight in my ear but I was able to wear these for 6 hours at a time and soon forgot they were in.
 
Walking needed careful placement of the cable clip , the cable produced no noise and there was the odd noise caused by the ear hook part of the cable bouncing up and down very slightly.
 
Running needed a tightening of the chin strap to minimise the bouncing vibration caused by more pronounced bouncing of the ear hooks.
 
A comparison between 2 similar priced IEms I own; the Klipsch X10is are a thinner design and have to be inserted deeper into the ear canal, they are far less comfortable to wear , they can't be worn over the ear, they have lots of cable noise and don't isolate well enough to even consider running. When it's windy outside it's no place for the Klipsch.
 
The Sony XBA4ips have just as large a housing as the T20s but have a much shorter fit and are designed to be worn down from the ear. They are difficult to wear even walking , they stick a long way out of the ear lobe and have to be squashed in pretty tight to get a good seal and need constant readjusting when walking. Running is out for these and I can't wear them for as long as I could wear the T20s.
 
The Sound
 
My first listening was through my Note II headphone out. Most people will buy these for their Phone , Iphone or Ipod I reckoned.
 
Neutral Filter, All Around the World Oasis, Played through Note II:
 
9 minutes of Oasis at their overblown best. The bass on these IEMs was in evidence straight away, they gave a low end oomph beneath the track , the chorus of this song has a lot thrown in there and the mids and upper range sounded slightly harsh. There was a full feeling to the sound.
 
The Sony XBA4ips did not have the low end oomph but the instruments were easier to pick out and there was more width to the sound and Oasis sounded more natural , if not quite as exciting.....
 
The Klipsch X10is sounded significantly thinner than the T20s although there was oomph there it was not as much . The mids and treble were less strained than the T20s
 
Spring The Four Seasons Revisited Vivaldi recomposed by Max Richter, Played through Note II

This time I put the T20s through their paces with a Chamber Orchestra and synth with Daniel Hope the principal soloist on violin.
There shouldn't be much low end on this piece and it builds to a flurry of violins complementing each other and spacing themselves between the left and right channels.

The T20s sounded nice and full through this track and found some low end from seemingly nowhere as the piece built; there was just a little strain in the sounds of the violins and there was a hint of congestion in the busy part of the section.

The Klipsch in comparison sounded thin and as good as they are could not really keep with the T20s unitil the busier part of Spring came fto the fore.

The XBA4s sounded natural and were controlled through the busier part of the track.

Hotel California The Eagles HDTracks, Played through Ibasso DX100

Less treble problems with this track , the bass sounds great once again ; if I had to be ultra critical the opening of the song with the guitar sounds like it's slightly too pronounced.

The Sonys in comparison sounded more natural , the bass could be followed more accurately and there was more space between the instruments.

Carnival De Paris Dario G, Played through Macbook Pro connected to Cambridge Audio Dacmagic Plus

Had to put this one in because of the bagpipe solo! Not what I normally listen to but a track many will be familiar with. Dance tracks seem to work extremely well with the T20s. Again , the bagpipe in all it's naked glory was slightly too shrill for my tastes. On balance I think the T20s were the more enjoyable listen for this track compared to the XBA4ips. The Klipsch by this stage has been relegated from the comparison because in my opinion I don't think they sounded as good as the T20s.

The 3 Filters

I tried the neutral filter for the first 5 days of my review period thinking that this would be the obvious choice for my listening tastes. I am not a basshead although I like a full sound and I listen to rock music primarily. I am not keen on sacrificing treble for the sake of more bass or sacrificing anything to boost mids or treble.

However given that I was finding the mids and trebles a bit glarey I tried the bass filter. The results surprised me. The bass was huge of course, but there seemed to be a toning down of the treble , whether that was because of the bass creeping into the mids I'm not sure , but there was a noticeable improvement in the treble.

The treble filter was not my preference, it knocked some of the bass response off and made the treble even more prominent. The presentation became too congested and loud.

Comparisons

Westone UM2 with ACS Custom Sleeves

The addition of the custom sleeves make this a price match. Performance of the UM2 is superior at low listening levels with better isolation - Classical Music would be the obvious example here. For rock and pop; the UM2 has more harshness in the upper range and less warmth in the lower ranges.
For comfort either pair fare well.

Klipsch X10i / X11i

Both IEMs have the same driver the difference is in the cabling and reinforcements of the X11i. The sound quality in the treble of the Klipsch is less harsh, but the thinness of the sound overrall means the T20s beat them convincingly for me.

MA750

Significantly less in price. Part of the RHA stable so therefore worthy of a listen side by side. These IEMs did not disgrace themselves against the T20 and had less noticeable treble boost. The bass was not in the same league. The fit of the 750 was much more problematic compared to the much larger driver housings of the T20.

Sony XBA4ip

The Sonys had a leaner signature with a wider sound stage and a natural sounding frequency response. It did not isolate anywhere near as well and was nothing like as comfortable as the T20.

Conclusion

The T20 is a solid built IEM capable of some good sound whether on the move or at home. The musical presentation overall is an exciting one , with tons of bass ; useful for masking the sounds of commuting on a train or the thud from running or walking.
I have decided to update this review in the light of so many competitors coming onto the market recently at a similar price level which do not have the treble fatigue that these IEMs suffer from. The treble on the RHA T20 is simply too harsh for extended listening and once over the honeymoon period of the deep bass and warmth of that and the lower mids I suspect some will struggle with these. There are other more subtle presentations available for similar money but each has their individual drawbacks and careful consideration is needed before you make the jump.
If your choice sways towards the T20- enjoy!
 
[Mod Edit: Improved the formatting.]

 
Pros: Excellent build quality; great warranty; huge choice of tips; fit.
Cons: Recessed mids; sibilance; overly bassy for a general purpose IEM.
Tonal Balance: Bass heavy with recessed midrange, treble amount varies.
Style: Over-Ear IEM
Listening Set-Up: Clip Zlip (FLAC), Musicbee (FLAC) -> Matrix HPA-3U
Cost at Time of Review: $240
 

Reviewing Process

I’ve had the T20 for at least a month and during this process I’ve used them for light exercise as well as home listening. I have spent enough time with them to feel comfortable sharing my opinion, but my experiences may differ from yours. It’s always best to demo a headphone before purchasing, but if you’re unable to I recommend at least reading other views in conjunction with this review.
 
Thanks to RHA for the review sample.
 

Build & Fit

Build
The RHA are wonderfully crafted in-ear monitors from top to bottom, coloring me impressed from the moment that they left the beautiful packaging. The housings are made of stainless steel with a barely visible line that joins the two halves. The nozzle is removable and unscrews easily by hand and is reattached smoothly in the same fashion. Each cable leaving the housing is clearly designated either blue or red for left or right, respectively, at the base of the memory wire. The cable itself is a tad bulky, but inspires confidence in the durability of it. Stress relief is adequate at the end of the durable looking straight plug, relieved by a metal spring rather than a rubber sheath. All of this is backed by a 3 year warranty, not too shabby.
 
Fit
I find the T20 to be very easy to arrange around the ear as well as with inserting the nozzle into a secure position. The IEM sits at a moderate depth, but manages to block out a good amount of noise passively, more than enough to use in crowded college hallways. Comfort-wise these are a notch above every deep insertion IEM that I’ve used, as well as much less picky about positioning to obtain optimal sound. I have these inserted and positioned in my ears in a few seconds per ear, with comfort and stability that allows me to wear these with no issues for the 2 hours at a time that I tend to wear them. The large variety of tips should ensure a secure and comfortable fit for most users.
 

Sound Quality

Overall
Regardless of which filter was used sibilance is apparent, the midrange is recessed, and the bass is overly prominent. Sibilance varies with filter tips and despite the bass being prominent the low-end leans tight and controlled. The filters only affect the upper-midrange and treble, thus leaving the bass to have a heavy presence without EQ. The driver is relatively free of distortion and the bass carries quite a thump with an overall sound signature being decidedly V-shaped with the exception of the bass filter. Overall soundstage presentation lacks width and depth, but has good left/right panning and positional accuracy.
 
Reference Filters
I was excited to see the word “reference” as I have been looking for a neutral IEM to accompany my HD600. Unfortunately reference filters don’t equate to a reference sound. Outside of the common characteristics of the overall sound, the reference tips offer the largest amount of sibilance and a moderate upper-midrange boost that gives the reference filters a moderate v-shaped sound signature. The sibilance was so much that I found Glory Box from Portishead and I Can’t Feel My Face from The Weeknd to be completely unlistenable.
 
I don’t think that RHA intended reference to mean “reference quality sound,” rather reference in regards to the variety of filters.
 
Treble Filter
I had reservations after listening to the reference filters. I was scared that these would be even more sibilant. Somehow that’s not the case, despite the treble being raised. This filter adds further presence in the upper ranges, further increasing the v-shape to a rather heavy v-shape. Sibilance is still present though and there’s a bit of grain added compared to the reference tips. Nothing else has changed, only the uppermids/treble are affected with the filter change so it’s not a shock.
 
Bass Filter
The bass filter offers the most linear midrange to treble balance of all of the tips while providing a large amount of bass. There is a slight veil due to the prominence of the low-end, but the driver controlls the low-end rather well. Sibilance is reserved, there seems to be some brightness inherent in the drive but I don’t find myself wincing on snare hits as I did with the reference tips. I find this filter to be the most enjoyable of the three, especially with hip-hop, due to the relaxed upper frequencies and powerful bass. Despite me enjoying this filter the most, it’s nowhere near an all purpose tuning. This tuning reminds me a bit of the HyperX Cloud and DT770 Pro 80ohm.

Conclusion

Overall the T20 is a v-shaped IEM that DT770 owners would want to consider for portable use. They offer 3 filters that change the presence of the higher frequencies for those that want a tweak to the sound without using software EQ. Build quality, a massive amount of tips, and comfort are the strong points here, all backed by a 3 year warranty.

Many thanks to RHA for RHA T20 Tour Program!
The T20 unit in this review is demo unit from the RHA T20 Tour Program:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/770875/rha-t20-tour-program-reviewers-wanted

Product webpage:
http://www.rha-audio.com/us/t20.html


 

Usually I need at least a month to properly review an earphone, this time I only had more than a week to review it, so not going to be a detailed review, but I'll do my best. I was the 3rd in the sequence, and the other 2 reviewers before me already burnt-in the T20 for a total of approximately 4 days. I did another 2 days of burn-in, and I don't hear any difference before and after the 2 days burn-in. So just a small note, that I have no experience of how T20 sounds before burn-in.


 
 

Summary
As usual, I prefer to start my review with summary before going into detail.
I would give 5 stars for the design, build quality, and the precision craftsmanship of the RHA T20. The stainless steel shell looks really nice and seems to be very durable. Cable and headphone jack were of good quality too. Comfort and fit were perfect for me, very comfortable for long period of use. Besides that, noise isolation is very good and effective, better than many other IEMs.

Sound quality wise, in my opinion RHA T20 is more of a fun sounding IEM with excellent build quality and comfort for daily easy listening, and not for those who are looking for accurate sounding IEM for critical listening. T20 is quite enjoyable especially for slow to medium pace of music, but doesn't perform very well on fast pace music and complex orchestra. The tonality is mildly V shape with Reference filter and stock silicone eartips, but tune-able and can be improved to a certain degree by the combination of tuning filters and other eartips. I will describe the tonality in detail later. What I feel a little lacking is dynamic, tightness and control, mainly on the bass. Bass has good volume and body but lacking tightness, control, and texture. I also expect a more spacious and holographic type of stereo imaging, but probably it is not the T20 forte. Stereo imaging is more towards intimate presentation, not very spacious and lacking a bit of depth, but overall not congested and still acceptable. Overall sound quality is pretty good, big bass, fun and enjoyable for some music; just don't expect a giant killer IEM. Pop, EDM, and other modern genres with closed miking recording techniques are recommended for T20. But I don't recommend classical, binaural, and other natural, distant miking recordings. I honestly never been highly impressed by T20 and expect better sound quality from a flagship model, especially in this price category. It doesn’t mean that T20 sounds bad, because it is not. It is just that I expect more of it. Well, we all have different personal preferences, the fun and tune-able tonality of T20 could probably be someone else cup of tea, so YMMV. 

 


Pros:

1. Excellent build quality.
2. Excellent comfort and fit.
3. Very good noise isolation.
4. 3 Sound filters for tonality tuning.
5. No driver flex.
6. Very nice pouch and generous accessories.

Cons:

1. Bass tightness, resolution, and stereo imaging spaciousness are not great for the price category.
2. 1.5 meters (measured) cable could be too long for portable use.

Suggestions for improvements:

1. Dynamic, resolution, and stereo imaging.
2. To include SpinFit and Triple flange eartips as part of stock eartips.

Build Quality & Comfort
Build quality of RHA T20 is really impressive. The stainless steel shell, Y splitter, and headphone jack looks really nice, solid with precision craftsmanship. The shell feels so solid that it should be able to withstand daily usage with ease. Not only solid and excellent craftsmanship, T20 fit and comfort are excellent. I could use it for hours comfortably. It flushes nicely in the ear, so that it can be used on sleeping position. It fits really well on my ears that it always stay nicely in position even when doing a lot of physical activities or exercising. Practically T20 can be used for any activities. T20 is really one of the most comfortable IEM I ever tried. 

 

The cable also feels good, with the right thickness, it feels very durable. The cable jacket is the rubbery type, but it is not coiling at all. At approximately 1.5 meter, I feel the cable is a little too long for on the go, but just nice for desktop use. When using T20 for walking or jogging, I do hear mild microphonics (cable mechanical noise that transmitted to earphones when cable in contact / friction with shirt or other object), but pretty mild, below annoying level. Near the earphone housing there is memory wire for over the ear wearing style. The memory wire is quite soft, with just the right amount of stiffness to keep the shape. In general I prefer soft memory wire (or without memory wire), than the stiffer one.

RHA T20 build quality and comfort are top notch! I would give 5 stars for build quality and comfort.

 



Tuning Filters
Beside the generous eartips, sound tuning filters are probably the most interesting accessories of the T20. The tuning filters are replaceable nozzles with different density of foam damping inside the nozzle.
Treble Filter: No foam damping.
Reference Filter: Medium density foam damping.
Bass Filter: High density foam damping.

 
 
 

Reference and Bass filters are generally my preferred filters. Treble filter has too much treble and treble sounds glaring to me. Performance of each filter will be elaborated in sound quality section.




Sound Quality
With only around 9 days of evaluation period, I couldn't do extensive listening for every filter and test it with various players and eartips. 7 days (9 days minus 2 days burn-in) is practically too short for me to do proper sound quality analysis, so please read it with a pinch of salt.

 

In my philosophy for sound analysis, I'm quite relaxed with various flavours of tonality, as long as it doesn't deviate too much from what I perceived as natural sound. I don't restrict myself to like only a particular tonality. I experienced that bright, bassy, warm, or neutral sounds signature can be musical and enjoyable in their own way, as long as it doesn't go too extreme, and the perceived frequency response is still perceive-ably a smooth curve or close to linear. What I hate most are annoying peaks and dips in the frequency response. If I detect any annoying peaks or dips in the frequency response, I will rate it below 4 stars. Beside the frequency response, there are other very important parameters such as: Perceived level of details, transparency and clarity, instrument separation, spaciousness (holographic imaging), and dynamic. Those parameters are very important and set apart great performers from the average ones. For those parameters, I have less tolerance and expect the best.

In general T20 sounds better on slightly louder volume, as the dynamic improves slightly. Though I don't recommend listening music with loud volume (over 85 dB). With many combinations of sound filters and eartips, RHA T20 provides a wide gamut of sound signatures. It will take weeks to really get familiar to each combination. I've tested it with all the sound filters, the provided eartips, plus some other eartips of mine: SpinFit, triple flange, & Comply T500. Some combination sounds good, but unfortunately from what I've tried so far, I couldn't find any combination that I found highly impressive. Some combinations are quite enjoyable, but not at the level that in my opinion sounds really great. So from my limited experience with T20, honestly I have to say, T20 is not really my cup of tea. It doesn't mean it sounds bad, because it is actually pretty good and enjoyable, and I did enjoy some of my collections with T20, but I have other IEMs that I enjoy more.

 

Beside the various tonality it offers, the following are the general T20 performance for other parameters:
Perceived level of detail & resolution are decent and not lacking, but I would say it is about average in this price range. T20 is not detail monster, and not for those who are looking to hear micro details. There are other IEMs in this price category that offer higher level of details, for example DUNU DN-2000. Please take note that some users might prefer smoother presentation without too much perceived detail for less fatiguing listening experience. So YMMV.
Instrument separation and holographic imaging are ok, around average performance, and improved slightly when using better eartips such as SpinFit and triple flange. Instrument separation of T20 is not sharply focus and defined like what we hear from a good BA or Hybrid IEMs, but I would say pretty decent. Stereo imaging is a little narrow to my liking, but quite decent for a single dynamic driver IEM.
Transparency and clarity are pretty good. Clarity is actually pretty high, but sometime doesn't sound very natural due to mild treble peak around lower treble area at 3 kHz - 5 kHz, but the upper treble extension that creates the sense of transparency and airiness is rolled off a bit too early, and slightly lacking. Treble filter unfortunately doesn't really help, only increase the lower treble peak that makes it sound less natural.
Bass dynamic and texture is a bit lacking. Especially when using the stock silicone eartips, bass is lacking texture and sometime may sounds lazy, cannot cope fast pace bass. But it improves a little with other eartips such as SpinFit.

The dual voice coils dynamic drivers seem need more improvement and tweaking to shine. At least on T20, I don't really hear the advantage of the dual voice coils over regular single coil dynamic. 



Since the tonality differs by the combination of tuning filters and eartips, The following is the tonality observation based on some combination of tuning filters and eartips.

 


Treble Filter (Cooper color)
Treble filter has no damping material in it, so basically just nozzle with no filter. It is the least favorable among the 3 filters. I couldn't find any favorable sound signature with the treble filter. As mentioned before, treble filter doesn't really help to make the treble sounds more linear, but increasing lower treble peak that to me is a bit annoying.



Reference Filter (Silver color)
With the right eartips, reference filter gives the most balanced tonality. Mildly V shape with some emphasize on bass and lower treble region. Bass level is good, mildly bassy with decent low bass extension. Bass is a little boomy and not very tight, as mentioned earlier. T20 is quite eartips dependent, therefore sound quality varies between eartips. The following is the list of some of the eartips I tried with the Reference filter, from the most favourable to the least, top down.

Triple Flange Eartips (from Brainwavz S5)
Best tonal balance, no annoying peaks and dips, smooth sounding, with pretty good dynamic. Slightly better than the stock foam eartips.
Triple flange does magic again. I noticed triple flange eartips often give great improvement to the sound quality on some IEMs (tested on Brainwavz S5, DUNU Titan 1, and now RHAT20). But there is one problem, not many people find it comfortable to use triple flange. So practically it may not be a good option for some people.

SpinFit
SpinFit is my preferred eartips after triple flange. It mildly improves the treble in a nice way. Overall tonality is quite balance and mildly brighter in comparison to the triple flange eartips. I found SpinFit to be a better alternative over the stock silicone eartips. In comparison with stock silicone eartips, SpinFit moves the treble emphasize higher to probably around 7-9 kHz, improving transparency and reducing treble glares.

Stock Foam Eartips
RHA foam eatips is denser and a harder than Comply T500. Comply T500 doesn't sound as good as the stock foam eartips on T20, bass is leaner and overall tonality sounds thinner. Dynamic using Comply T500 is also not as good as stock foam eartip. The stock foam eartips has slightly better performance than the stock grey silicone eartips. Tonality is less V shape, more linear, slightly brighter, bass is more balance and less boomy, and the spaciousness improves slightly. Stock foam eartips is the better choice among other stock eartips.

Stock Double Flange Silicone Eartips
Pretty close to the stock silicone eartips with grey bore, only some minor differences, overall about the same performance, with a tad less sibilant.

Stock Silicone Eartips (grey bore)
IMHO the stock silicone eartips are not the most optimum eartips for T20. Mild V shape tonality, bass sounds full but a little boomy, not tight and lacking texture. Treble is emphasizes more on lower treble area and then started to rolls off at upper treble extension. Transparency is less than SpinFit, about the same as the stock double flange eartips. Treble may sounds a little glaring on some recording, and mild sibilant occurs on some vocal recordings.

 


Bass filter (Black color)
Bass filter has the thickest damping material and reduce some of the treble energy. It improves the bass extension a little, and reducing the treble and the treble peaks, resulting a dark, smooth, and bassy tonality. Overall tonality with bass filter is smoother, less peaky around the treble area than other filters. For those who are allergic to treble peak would probably prefer the bass filter. I found the reference filter and bass filter are the 2 useful filters that I would recommend to use. The following is the list of some of the eartips I tried with the Bass filter, from the most favourable to the least, top down.

SpinFit
I like this combination of bass filter with SpinFit, creating a smooth, slightly darker and bassier tonality. SpinFit improves the clarity to the otherwise rather veiled and muffled signature when using the stock silicone eartips. And the bass filter improves the sub bass extension a little. A pretty good filter for those who prefer smooth and dark signature.

Stock Foam Eartips
About as good as SpinFit, the stock foam eartips is a good match for bass filter. Tonality is smooth, pleasing, and less bassy as other eartips.

Stock Silicone Eartips (grey bore)
Very smooth tonality, but also lacking some transparency and sounds rather veiled. Pretty good for bright recordings, but generally lacking in clarity.

 



Comparison with my reference IEMs
Currently my reference IEMs are 1964 Ears V3 and DUNU DN-2000. Not really a fair comparison due to different technology and design, but those are my reference for evaluating other IEMs. T20 has more bass than those 2 IEMs, and that might be an important consideration for bass lover. But despite the differences in tonality, both 1964 Ears V3 and DUNU DN-2000 are generally less coloured with smoother, more open sounding, and more natural in tonality. Perceived detail and resolution, instrument separation, transparency, holographic imaging, bass texture and tightness, are better on both V3 and DN-2000. At slightly lower price than DN-2000, T20 is still performing quite well, but the technicalities are not yet at the level of DN-2000. 

 



T20 is best described as fun and comfortable IEM with excellent build quality. I hope the next flagship from RHA would maintain the excellent comfort and build quality of T20, with improved sound quality. It is probably the time for RHA to start exploring other design and technology such as dual dynamic drivers and hybrid design. Single dynamic driver without crossover technically is still one of the best approach, but it has its own limitation. Probably push-pull, one way dual dynamic drivers approach such as ATH-CKR series would be one of the better approach for crossover-less design. Whatever the design approach RHA will take, I'm looking forward to hear improvements on RHA future IEMs.

 
 



Specifications:
Drivers: DualCoil™ Dynamic
Frequency range: 16-40,000Hz
Impedance: 16 Ohm
Sensitivity: 90dB
Rated/max powe: 2/5mW
Weight: 39g
Cable: 1.35m, multicore OFC
Connections: 3.5mm, gold plated


Equipment used in this review:

IEMs:
1964 Ears V3
DUNU DN-2000

DACs, DAPs & Headphone Amplifiers:
Fiio X3 2nd gen
Fiio E12DIY (Op-Amp OPA827 + Buffer LME49600)
iBasso DX90
ifi micro iDSD (firmware 4.06)



Some recordings used in this review:

I was lucky enough to get a pair of the T20 from a friend for a low price (less than half the retail price). Even Though I managed to get it at such a low cost this wasn't taken into fact when writing this review, it comes with a lot of different sized ear tips including comply. The RHA also comes with filters for Bass and Treble for when you prefer some boost on either end. 
 
I would say overall it is by far the best earphones I have got my hands on yet, I haven't used the filters so I am not able to comment on them. The memory ear rest is not the best build, it is very clumsy and doesn't seem to properly fit the ear, needs to be messed with to stop annoying (Keep in note I have OCD). The weight could be an issue but as mentioned above, you tend to get used to it after a day or two. It tends to get twisted after the Y split but can be avoided at times by zipping it. Other than that, I enjoy it day to day. Overall good buy !
 
I would recommend this product to anyone who reallys wants to enjoy good quality audio for a price. 
 
PS: I am not affiliated with any brands, just my honest opinion

Raoul

Disclaimer
 
I would like to thank www.headphonezone.in for review sample. I got to listen to it for just under a week, free of charge. I will try my best to give as unbiased review as possible.
 
Packaging and accessories:
 
Packaging if iem is very high quality. It showcases included accessories very well and makes a great first impression. Literature printed on it is interesting and shows cut out view of iems which is cool. Accessories include everything you might want. A large semi hard carry case is including that holds iems comfortably. Tons of tips are included and chances are you will get a good fit. I found my personal tips to be a little difficult to use as they come out easily. Included tips have good grip on iem nozzles and dont come out as easily. Apart from these, tuning filters, bass, treble and reference which screw on earpiece nozzle are included. I will talk about these in sound section.
 

 

 

 

 
 
Build:
 
This is highlight of this iem. Beautiful steel housing looks as good in real life as in photos. Left and right earpieces has small red and blue plastic inserts, tuning filters have beautiful patterns engraved, cable is rubbery and thick. Strain relief on headphone jack is a long spring which is very effective. 
 
Overall its a luxuriously build IEM and is its one of best aspects.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Sound:
 
These come with 3 filters to tune sound to your liking. With reference filters, sound is a bit warm, lacking a little treble. Bass is not very tight or detailed but impact is adequate. I did not enjoyed it much on reference filter. So I switched to bass filter. Here it keeps everything same, only bass becomes more present, detailed and a bit more extended. Not bass head by any means, but clearly bass improves a lot in quality. With my fiio x5 classic, bass sounded textured but it was a bit slower sounding apparently cause of additional warmth. I preferred this filter with my brighter amp, but still treble was a bit rolled off for my liking. Upon switching to treble filter, it was much better. It keeps rest of sound same as reference filter, just gives a bit energy up top. This filter I found to be best to my liking. To improve it further I changed tips to my personal double flanged rubber that resulted in even better treble extension.
 
So my point is, it offers tons of options to do system matching, which is a good thing as you can use it with virtually any amp and get a good synergy by little mixing and matching.
 
So for listening I settled down of Audinst HUD mini, treble filter, and double flanged rubber tips. So I made it as treble happy as was possible with my equipment, as its quantity was less than what I prefer. With this setup, sound was smooth, easy to listen to. Still did not had too much shine or shimmer. Bass is also a bit rolled off in deepest regions. Mids were a little warm. Vocals and mids were engaging and enjoyable. It tends to blend instruments a little than crisp separation and sounds coherent.
 
Comfort and isolation:
 
These are meant to be used over ear and come with ear guides. I found it a bit hard to use my personal tips as they tend to come out easily. None the less, included tips are plenty and you will probably find a good seal. Once I got used to them, comfort was above average. Isolation was average, not too good but acceptable. 
 
Comparing to Hifiman RE400, I found these to be a little better. But they are under $80. So sound quality to value ratio is not the best out there. I do think sound wise, you can do better with a bit cheaper options. However if you value build quality, attention to detail, accessories and overall package, then its a more level playing field. These are hands down best made iems i have used.

Out-of-box experience.....Accessories and packaging
 
Receiving and unboxing the RHA T20 gives the impression that this product is not just "some" product. Everything signals quality and thought. Right from the beginning it is a pleasure to use the T20.
 

 

 

 

 
All the accessories with the T20 is more than one could wish for. It contains tips for most sizes and preferences. The interchangeable filters are sturdy and easy to handle and change. It does not require a separate tool or anything to change them. The packaging is very nice. When opening the front there is even a little magnet holding it closed. All in all the packaging gives an impression that this is a finished product. RHA surely have thought of everything. The T20 is placed perfectly and it is easy to remove. I only found it a bit difficult to remove the little plate with the filters. It was glued securely to the foam holder. Maybe I am not supposed to remove it but I wanted to bring the filters with me in the hope I could find time to change them during my day at the office.
 

 

 
Build quality, Comfort and the cable
I have tried a few other universal IEMs that did not fit my ears. My ears are small so I cannot wear large IEMs, like the Ultrasone iQ for instance, for longer than 10 minutes. They quickly start to fall out and constantly irritate my outer ear. The T20 does not have that problem at all. In fact they are pretty small. Even smaller than my current reference IEM’s the Tzar 350. The T20 fits perfectly in my ear. They totally disappear and I don’t even feel they are there. The memory wire does not rattle or make noise against my glasses like the memory wire from my Tzar 350 does. Only small movements of my face, ears and jaw will make my glasses touch the Tzar-wire and make microphonic cable noise. The T20 cable is completely silent and even though they touch my glasses I cannot hear anything from that. I love that and regarding the memory wire, I have always preferred not to have it, and just let the cable bend naturally over the ear. But the memory wire of the T20 is made with a perfect balance between being too stiff and to wiggly.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Right from touching the T20 for the first time, to wearing them over most of a work day at the office, I love everything about the T20. The plug is sturdy and the start of the plug is made thin so it can be used with my iPhone even with its cover on. There is a spring around the cable to distribute the pulling force not to wear out the cable by the plug. Very nicely designed and cleverly done. I can imagine some people carrying their phones in the jeans pocket would have loved to have an angled plug instead of the straight one though. I can also understand why. It is not very practical with a straight plug for that and it can destroy the headphone out in the cellphone. The T20 cable and plug is too sturdy and will never suffer any damage with just a little bending.
 

 
Isolation
I am working at an office with 4 people right next to a hardware test center, where we have a lot of people walking around. Phone calls and machines with ventilators making a constant noise floor. When wearing T20 with the silicone single flange tips I can barely hear people talking next to me. When listening to music surrounding noise disappear and people will have to get my visual attention to talk to me. If I use the comply foam tips the isolation gets a little bit better. They do not block out 100% of all sounds like wearing a pair of ear plugs but it gets very close. It definitely is not an issue when listening to music.
 
 
Sound and filter choice
First a little bit about my sound preferences. I have been a former Etymotic ER-4S user for some years, After that my current reference IEM is the Tzar 350, which is also a bright earphone. My preferred signature in full size headphones are the likes of Beyerdynamic T5p and T70. Both are by a lot of head-fiers deemed as bass light and too thin sounding. I do prefer airy sound and high resolution. I never listen at high volume so it is very seldom that I find bright headphones ear piercing. While I do not need the bass to be have a lot of impact it certainly has to be fast and clean before I am satisfied. 
 
After some initial changing of the filters I quickly chose the treble-filter as my preferred one. The bass-filter was just too much to my taste. The reference filter sounded great but the treble filter was right in the sweet spot for me. There is still more bass with the treble filter than I am used to but I am slowly getting adjusted to it and do not notice it that much anymore. 
 

 
 
While listening to T20, most of the time I am using either the headphone out of my iPhone 6+ or PC --> ODAC RevB --> Meier Quickstep to drive the T20. The T20 sounds very good directly from the iPhone but it does scale well when used with an amplifier. The dual-coil driver definitely has potential to open up a bit when given some more force. 
 
All my impressions are when using the treble filter only. 
 
I find that the bass is puncy and tight. It does not have any unnatural impact when listening to jazz or classical. Acoustic bass sounds full and comes out nicely in every way. Snares, cymbals and percussion sounds lifelike. I find that with classical recordings containing the full orchestra, the T20 does a great job to play the bass instruments like they are supposed to. It feels like the bass has its own room to play freely in and the T20 still sounds coherent. Nothing is too forward sounding and nothing is too drawn backwards. There are great dynamics in the bass area for an IEM in this price range. I also think the room acoustics comes through very well on the good recordings. T20 sounds very good and truly offers listening pleasure for me with jazz and classical.
 
The treble has great resolution. As does the mids. I never think they are ear piercing even with the treble filter. 
 
One thing that stands out for me with the T20 is how natural acoustic guitars sound. They sound kind of dry but in a very balanced way. The T20 does not play with a plethora of micro details like some balanced armature in-ears but it comes very close in a super natural and pleasing way. The resolution is very good and probably the best I have ever heard from a dynamic driver in-ear. T20 never sounds boring or flat nor does it over exaggerate anything. Classical and jazz feels lifelike, vocals are portrayed naturally. Specially male vocals are spot on but female vocals tend to be drawn just a little backwards on some recordings. The following two recordings have been given new life for me with the T20. Both are acoustic guitar and male vocals. This is where T20 reigns for me:
 

 

 
Listening to metal is the only genre where the T20 kind of lack something. I cannot really pinpoint what it is they do wrong here. Maybe I have not found the best metal recordings? But where for instance the Beyerdynamic T51p sounds brutal and really in-your-face the T20 can sometimes be a bit too polite. With Beyerdynamic T51p there is a solid wall of sound but still it is possible to see through the music. With the T20 the sound lacks a little transparency. This is only with metal and this is the only weak spot I have been able to find with the T20. 
 
Conclusion
All in all it is hard to find areas in the sound I do not like. I am enjoying listening to music with these earphones. They do a wide variety of genres really well. I was looking at Beyerdynamic DX 160 as my new everyday portable in-ear. I am definitely going for the T20 instead and the extra price is totally worth it. They are easy to use, have great wearing comfort and since they are rougher than the average in-ear they can take a few hits along the way. This is just a good product in every way and I recommend everyone to consider the T20 if you are looking for a great overall in-ear.

Firstly, a big thank you to RHA & Iain for organising this tour of the T20, and for having the confidence and patience to allow me to take part in this, and for giving me the time to write this review at a slower pace than what others are taking, as this is the very first review that I’ll be writing (it won’t be the last though).
 
As the T20 is still with me, I will still be using it, and updating this review with any new thoughts that I may have, if any.
 
About Me
I stumbled into the head-fi world when my itchy fingers picked up a Shure SE846 back in January’14. Coming from a Klipsch S4i, it was certainly a huge leap upwards in price! I did my research, did multiple auditions before splashing the cash on the 846s, finally entering the world of head-fi. It has been a long journey, and I’m only just starting. There are still so many things in the world of head fi I’ve yet to explore!
 
As I slowly explore various IEMs and portable set-ups, my knowledge of the entire audio world is slowly expanding. This allows me to learn to appreciate good sounding gears at various price points.
 
I decided to start writing reviews to contribute in my tiny way back to this community. It’s definitely an awesome community, although it has led to my wallet often disagreeing with me! Being new to writing reviews (this is my first), please take it easy if I'm not as descriptive or accurate as other members. I’m still looking to slowly develop a more consistent writing style as well. I’ll appreciate any feedback anyone has on any areas I could improve on!
 
As with all reviews, this review is purely subjective, based on my own experience, gear and preference! So YMMV.
 
For a list of my gears, past and present, I’ve linked my head-fi profile here.
 
Disclaimer
The RHA T20 here is a review unit on its Asia Tour. I am not affiliated to RHA in any way. This review was done as part of a demo tour done with the Head-Fi community. For the purpose of this review, I will only compare the T20 with my M750i, which I have in my possession.

 
 
 
About the RHA T20
The T20 is RHA’s latest flagship IEM offering, featuring what RHA calls a DualCoil™ dynamic driver technology, a tuning filter system similar to the T10 to adjust the sound signature, a patent pending mouldable over-ear hook and their signature injection moulded stainless steel housing.
 
    
 
 
 
Accessories
The amount of accessories provided is simply mind-blowing! This seems to be the norm for RHA, based on the accessories provided with my M750i.
 
Included in the box in addition to the T20 (Reference filters) were 6 pairs of dual density ear tips (2 pairs each of S, M, L), 2 pairs of double flange ear tips (S, L), 2 pairs of memory foam ear tips (universal fit), 1 Stainless steel ear tip holder, 2 Additional Tuning Filters (Bass, Treble) with Holder, 1 Premium carry case and 1 Clothing clip!


 
 
Build
The T20 is built like a tank, with the main housing built from injection moulded stainless steel. But really, it’s nothing new from RHA as all their products that I seen (mainly the M750/750i, T10 and T20 now), are extremely well built.
 
Holding it, it’s definitely heavy! However, when wearing it, it is comfortable enough that I did not feel the weight of the T20. The built in ear hooks, while being long, are very comfortable as well, never interfering with my glasses. The cable feels well-made and strong, and microphonics is a non-issue as well. The strain relief of the T20 is excellent to, with its spring based design that gives much more confidence in its durability. In short, everything about the T20 is well made and feels that they were built to last, which is par the course for the MA750 that I have as well, so nothing surprising to me here.
 
My only gripe with the build of the T20 would be a cable that is too long (for me) and the Y-split’s location, which is located too far down the cable to be of any practical use.
 
Sound
 
The rig used for this review are; PC (Foobar-ASIO) / Samsung Note 3 > Chord Hugo > T20 (Reference Filter)
 
Bass
The bass on the T20 is obviously boosted. While not to the point of being bloated, it does feel inaccurate due to the boost, and tracks on which I did not notice much bass previously felt bassy with the T20. However, it is still rather well controlled; with little bleed into the mids, but I still feel that it could have been tighter.
 
Sub bass is present with good extension, but feels too smooth and lacks details. Mid bass is where most of the bass emphasis is, and it doesn’t disappoint, being fast and punchy. It has a slightly slow decay, and with the boosted bass, this results in a slightly bloomy effect while listening to complicated or bass heavy tracks, which left me feeling slightly overwhelmed at times.
 
Generally, I’d say that the bass on the T20 is fun and enjoyable with excellent punch without messing up the midrange, with the slight lack of details being its downside.
 
Mids
Mids on the RHA T20 while lush and clear are slightly recessed, giving it its U shaped signature. Vocals feel laid back and relaxed, but its lushness allows it to remain engaging.
 
It’s still pretty clean despite its slightly thick presentation, as the bass doesn’t bleed much into the midrange. Clarity is good but instrument separation on complex tracks isn’t as good as expected. The mids is not my favourite part of its sound signature, but it’s due to me being more used to more linear or forward mids on my IEMs, so YMMV.
 
Treble
Treble on the T20 is the best in the RHA series so far, with good extension and detail. As with the bass, the treble decay tends to be slightly on the slower side. It rarely feels harsh to me, although it is certainly splashy and peaky at times.
 
This is especially so with the silicon tips, which may cause the treble to border on being sibilant. Foam tips do takes the edge of the treble, and might be preferred by some. However I still prefer the silicon tips or my spinfit tips, as luckily it was just slightly below my threshold for sibilance. J
 
Soundstage
Soundstage of the T20 is decently wide and airy. Soundstage depth is just average, and while imaging and separation are good, but not outstanding, sounding slightly congested on complicated tracks.
 
Bass Filter
The Bass filter gave a more intimate soundstage, and rolled off the treble the most of the 3 filters. Mids ended up more recessed and veiled, while the overall sound became much warmer. It does live up to its name though, significantly boosting the bass quantity, This comes with a trade off, with the bass quality decreasing slightly.
 
Treble Filter
Bass becomes a bit less prominent, while upper mids and treble becomes more prominent. Overall sound became brighter, and might be too bright for some (me included).
 
Brief Comparison VS MA750i
Bass is more enhanced and prominent on the T20, with the bass on the T20 extending deeper as well. Mids are slightly more forward, richer and clearer, although still very similar in tonality. Treble is brighter and has better extension on the T20 in comparison, with much more details and clarity compared to the MA750i.
 
The RHA T20 is very similar to the RHA MA750i, with a very similar signature, albeit with a warmer take, yet improving on the MA750i. Generally, the T20 is a much improved and refined older brother to the MA750i in all aspects, so anyone looking to upgrade from the MA750i yet still retaining the MA750i sonic characteristic should give the T20 a shot.
 

 
 
Conclusion
 
The T20 has the typical RHA house sound and further improves on it, being a step up from the MA750, combining a U-shaped sound signature (boosted bass, slightly recessed mids, and well-extended treble) that is more forgiving, if one is not sensitive to treble.
 
With its boosted bass and bright treble, the T20 is not for those who are looking for neutral sound or those who are sensitive to treble. However, I have to add that the treble is improved with burn-in and further tuned down when foam tips are used. The T20 also does benefit from some tip rolling! Sound quality does improve when using better sources, showing that it does scale pretty well. Despite this, I’d have to add that the T20 is somewhat thick sounding, perhaps due to the way its bass and midrange is presented.
 
So, if you’re looking for a detailed yet fun U-shaped sound signature with pretty good clarity and imaging, this deserves more than a look at. The build quality and accessories provided are an added bonus as well! The T20 is definitely worthy of being RHA’s new flagship, and is RHA’s most neutral sounding IEM yet!
 
 
Ending Notes
As a matter of personal preference, while my initial impression of the T20 was ok, I didn’t really like it that much. It took me quite some time before I got used to its signature. I have to say again that despite that, it’s still the best RHA I’ve had the luxury of trying, and I do prefer T20 over the MA750i. Still, I’d prefer if the bass could be tighter and the treble could be more refined to eliminate or at least tone down the splashy treble.
 
As the competition in this price bracket is heats up with good entries from other companies as well, I hope that RHA will look to further improve on its tuning as it has done so with the T20 (in comparison to RHA’s previous offerings) while maintaining its awesome build quality and plethora of accessories.

RHA T20i Review: Old Guard

Very few companies can tout that they make their drivers “in-house”.

RHA is one of them.

They originally piqued my interest back in 2013 with their MA750i earphones, which had a very comprehensive packaging and a rather fun tuning for something not priced at the upper echelon of the market. Surprisingly, those are still being sold by RHA, and while there are better IEMs at that price nowadays — they don’t completely fall apart against the competition unlike some of their contemporaries *cough* Shure SE215 *cough*.

RHA T20i was released back in 2015, and are still being sold as RHA’s mid-range offering. Their predecessor, T10i, has been phased out, while their initial successor, the CL1, has been buried six-feet-deep (now that’s what you call a spectacular failure). The asking price has gone down considerably from their original $250 MSRP, but given the abundance of chi-fi IEMs at this range, many don’t even consider the T20i as a viable option.

So, how do they stack up against the current competition, 5 years later? Read on.

Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. Definitely the expectations from a $15 IEM won’t be the same as a $150 one, and that’s the approach taken while assigning scores. I bought the IEMs with my own funds. Disclaimer)

Sources used: Questyle QP1R, LG G7, Cayin N6 II, Yulong Canary

Price, while reviewed: ~$140. Can be bought from RHA’s official website, or look for deals and discounts on Amazon.



Build: I’ll just cut to the chase: the RHA T20i is exceptionally well-built. The whole outer shell is made out of stainless steel via a rather complicated process called Metal Injection Moulding. This leads to a sense of density and solidity that very few IEMs in this range can match.
The overall design is rather utilitarian and industrial, with smooth curves, minimal lines and a compact, pebble-like shape. The exterior finish is immaculate, as even the joints can’t be felt as you brush your fingernails across them.
There is a rather sizable driver-vent on the back (beside the RHA logo), while the inner-side has the channel-markings. The nozzle itself is removable. You can choose between three filters — Reference, Bass, and Treble (more on these later). The pattern of the grille on the nozzle is also quite unique.
The cable itself is non-removable, and that’s a shame. Not that the cable is poorly built — it’s more solid than most third-party cables and can withstand severe amounts of abuse. It’s just that the memory-wire is a royal pain to deal with, and at 1.35m the cable itself is quite long for carrying while commuting (mine got stuck in precarious places more than once, smh). The earhooks used to be frail and broke apart over time on the earlier models, but RHA has fixed that now by replacing the material. Apart from these niggles, there really is nothing else to complain about. There are more than enough strain-reliefs with the 3.5mm jack having a spring-assisted one (cool!). The chin-slider works, and the remote with mic and play/pause control is quite convenient.
5/5



Accessories: RHA usually has a rather comprehensive packaging, and the T20i is no exception to that. You get their signature tip-holder, and 10 pair of eartips of various types — Comply foams and regular Silicone tips (both single and dual-flange). You also get a sizable carry case and a shirt clip. The biggest attraction of the packaging though is the metal tuning-filter holder. You just unscrew the existing filter on the IEMs (Reference filter by default) and replace with one of the supplied filters.
Now, I personally had to use Final E-type tips to get a good fit, as the supplied tips didn’t work for me, but there are plenty of people who find them just fine so I won’t hold it against RHA.
4.5/5


Comfort: Being on the heavier side of things, the T20i doesn’t just disappear into your ears like some other IEMs. The memory wires also need a bit of getting used to, but after a week or so it doesn’t bother you much. With the right tips, they will be fairly comfortable for long listening sessions.
The smooth sides fit snugly in the ears and you can actually lie down with them in ears (though I wouldn’t recommend falling asleep with any earphones). I can’t see them being suitable for workouts though, the cable is too long and the IEMs too heavy for such activities.
4/5

Now, onto the sound.

This is a fairly novel driver setup that’s proprietary to RHA as far as I’m concerned. They used two voice coils of differing diameters instead of two separate drivers, and places them in front of the same magnet. The inner voice coil is tasked with the frequencies from the midrange (2.2KHz) to the sub-bass (16Hz), while the outer voice coil takes care of the remaining upper frequencies. There is a crossover circuit that divides the frequencies accordingly, but since this is a single driver assembly in the traditional sense you don’t have to deal with phase or coherency issues. You can read about it more here.

Do note that all sound impressions are made with the default Reference filters. I’ve tried both the bass and treble filters, but they tend to shove the mid-range six-feet-under and boost the bass and treble respectively. The Reference filter offers the best tonal balance and showcases the T20i at its best IMO, so that’s what I’m going to base the impressions upon. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

Lows: Perhaps the stand-out feature of these IEMs would be their overall bass presentation and extension. The sub-bass digs deep and you can feel the rumble even around 18Hz, and they take the center stage with around 4dB of boost over the rest of the bass frequencies.
Mid-bass has rich texture but it’s not as prominent as the sub-bass, and overall bass speed is on the faster side (for a dynamic driver that is). There’s some bass-bleed into the lower-mids, but that adds warmth to the overall signature rather than congestion. This bass response suits particularly well to Pop/Rock genres, e.g. John Mayer’s Clarity has a rhythmic bass-line that’s wonderfully reproduced on the T20i.
With the bass filter on — this can become a true basshead IEM. My only gripe with the bass response is its tendency to distort at unsafely high listening levels. I myself would never listen to such volume but if you are one of those loud listeners — take note.
4.5/5

Mids: Being a V-shaped sounding IEM, the T20i has recessed mid-range. However, V-shaped tuning doesn’t mean that the mid-range is poor, rather a tastefully done V-shape signature can be quite enjoyable on modern Pop/Rock songs — just as it is on the T20i.
The upper-bass to lower-mid transition is smooth without any jarring peaks, but it is dipped a couple dB below the rest of the mid-range which results in distant-sounding male vocals, as evident in Colin Hay’s I Just Don’t Think I’ll Get Over You. Fortunately the lower mids aren’t thin sounding by any means, so this rendition isn’t offensive in my book.
From the lower-mids, it gradually rises for about 2/3dBs into the upper-mids, and in the archetypal v-shape fashion female vocals have more emphasis than male vocals.
Mid-range timbre is on the warm side, and has a euphonic signature overall (for the lack of a better word) that gives string instruments a colored yet appealing tonality. This particular mid-range rendition can get addictive and definitely adds to the overall fun-factor of the IEMs. Mid-range resolution is very good overall and only bested by certain multi-BA/hybrid assemblies or DD IEMs solely focusing on detail retrieval (e.g. Shuor Tape). I personally didn’t encounter any shoutiness or sibilance in the vocals, and apart from the lower-mid recession (a couple dB of boost would’ve been fantastic) I have no complaints.
4/5

Treble: Upon first listen, there’s a good chance that you’ll find T20i’s treble rather… odd. Firstly, there’s that metallic “shine” to the whole treble region (it’s characteristic of RHA’s house sound in a sense) that adds some grit to metal tracks but sounds odd on more mellow songs. Secondly, the peak around 5KHz gives an unusual crispness to acoustic guitars and other string instruments, while violins and such high-pitched instruments are not so up front as the region from 6–8KHz is dialed down by at least 5/6dB. Usually this would mean very blunt cymbal hits and crashes, but thanks to the peak around 10KHz and then another upper-treble peak between 13–14KHz allows the cymbals to have their natural decay without sounding overly blunt. They are still behind the mix in most tracks (e.g. in Filter’s Take that Knife out of My Back, Tool’s Chocolate Chip Trip) so if you need hard-hitting cymbals — these won’t deliver on that.
As for detail retrieval, there’s fairly good amount of resolved treble detailed, though the recessed 7–9KHz region will probably not satisfy those who are pursuing the utmost treble detail.
4/5


Soundstage: The soundstage on the T20i is very well-rounded with similar height, width and depth. It’s not as exaggerated as some multi-BA IEMs, rather it’s more of a natural expansion where the instruments are slightly out of your head without being too distant. This was really enjoyable especially while watching movies so there’s that.
4/5

Imaging: Imaging is precise and even manages to get the “cardinal” (i.e. top-left/top-right etc.) positioning of instruments right. My test track for imaging in this case was Yosi Horikawa’s Crossing and it sounded nearly as good as on Philips SHP9500 (though the SHP obviously had an upper hand in the end). Precise instrumentation and spatial cues are definitely a strong point of these IEMs and something RHA has executed admirably.
4.5/5

Bang-for-buck: There are numerous other IEMs under $200 nowadays and many of them are really good. However, few does the v-shape tuning as well as RHA managed to do here. Those who do it well usually don’t come with the 3-year official warranty that RHA provides, and it’s something RHA honors all the time. Their customer service and RMA process has been fantastic for me personally, and this is something one should definitely take into account while purchasing.
4/5

Source and Amping: While the sensitivity figures of this IEM (90dB/mW) will lead you to believe that they’ll need some serious juice, reality is quite different as they sound loud enough out of almost everything. That being said, I’d suggest pairing it with a low output impedance and noise-floor source as it’s quite sensitive to hiss and power-supply hum.



Select Comparisons

vs Shuoer Tape (~$130): The Shuoer Tape has been one of the most hyped IEMs in this price range, and shall make for a good comparison against the “old” T20i. While the Tapes are marketed as “electrostatic” IEMs, they are in fact “magnetostatic” and dynamic driver hybrid made which is supplied by a specific OEM.
First up — the build quality and accessories aka the entree. I’m personally not a big fan of the Tape’s design, and considering the frankly awful Quality Control of that IEM — this round goes squarely to the T20i.
Next up, sound quality aka the mains. Both IEMs have very elevated bass response, but the Tape focuses on mid-bass a bit more than the T20i. Mid-range is where the T20i pulls ahead as the mid-range tuning is more coherent and less shouty on the RHAs. Shuoer Tape applies a wide-band upper-mid boost that makes certain female vocals very shouty and tiring. Overall mid-range resolution is also better on the RHA with more nuanced placement of micro-details instead of them trying to shove everything down your ear-canal via FR fudgery. The one area where the Tapes clearly have an upper hand is the treble response where it simply has more extension in the upper treble and a more prominent lower treble tuning than the T20i. It can get fatiguing during long listening sessions, however, in case you are treble sensitive, so there’s that.
As for the other aspects: Tape is more comfortable. The soundstage is wider on the Tape while both having similar soundstage depth. Imaging is also similar on both — as in great.
If you have to pick between one of them and don’t care much for absolute upper-treble reach — take the T20i. If you need that upper-treble (and a frankly different presentation of tracks, which may or may not be a good thing) — go ahead with the Tapes, though be wary of their questionable QC.

vs Campfire Comet (~$200): Campfire’s “budget” IEM hasn’t had much hype lately, but they are one of the best built and uniquely designed IEMs in this price bracket. Build quality is exemplary on both, though some may find more peace of mind with the Comet’s replaceable cable (I am skeptical of mmcx, however). Accessories are also fleshed out and Campfire also has good customer service.
About the sound, the Comet sounds like a polite purr compared to the visceral growl of the T20i. Really, they have such a starkly different presentation that it can feel jarring while A/B-ing them. While the Comet is one of the bassier single-BA IEMs around, they pale in comparison to the T20i’s gut-punching bass lines. Then comes the mids where the lower-treble sounds almost blunt, resulting in a bland presentation of string instruments. The upper-mid peak does put the female vocals forward enough to enjoy them, and is perhaps the only similarity they share with the T20i. Treble is where the T20i simply has more energy and details, though some may prefer the smooth and fatigue-free treble presentation of the Comet.
Soundstage depth and imaging both are inferior on the Comets, while soundstage width is a tad better on them than the RHAs.
In short, I’d suggest the T20i over the Comet if you prefer a more energetic signature and overall superior detail retrieval and technicalities. The Comet is more laid back and soothing, making it fit for relaxing listening sessions.

vs Mee Pinnacle P1 (~$150): The Mee Pinnacle P1 has been Mee Audio’s flagship IEM for over three years or so. They have a more neutral presentation overall compared to the RHAs. Bass response is not as pronounced and extended on the P1s compared to the RHA T20i. The mid-range tonality, however, is more neutral on the P1, along with the overall timbre. Detail retrieval is about on par for both, though the P1 doesn’t focus on the micro-details as much as the T20i. Those details are there, they are just not pushed forward. Then comes the treble response where cymbals are more forward on the P1 and upper-mid to lower-treble transition is far more even handed compared to the abrupt “peak around 5KHz then just fall off the cliff” tuning of the T20i. Soundstage is definitely better on the P1, while imaging is about on par for both.
The biggest issue of the P1 is their build quality as their mmcx connector tend to loosen up over time. There’s also the matter of impedance matching as they are 50Ohm IEMs and you’ll probably need a decent source to make the most out of them.
It’s difficult for me to choose one in this comparison, the best would be to try them both and pick one (though that applies to almost any IEM comparison).




Conclusion

While RHA has been struggling for a while with their flagship IEMs (the CL1 was a massacre, while the CL2 has had mixed receptions), they still have a very capable mid-range offering in the T20i.

The biggest issue with the T20i would be the first week or so. You’ll have to fight with the memory wire, perhaps try a few different eartips and finally learn how to deal with the extra-long cable. Once you get past that and the “north-of-neutral” sound signature — there’s a very fun sounding IEM here.

The T20i is V-shape done beyond well. Well-extended and enhanced Bass? Check. Not too recessed mids that focus more on instruments than vocals? Check. Detailed top-end that’s not fatiguing? Check. Great soundstage and imaging? Check, check.

If it’s V-shaped signature that you want, the T20i will deliver. It might be “old” and not as hyped anymore, but it is plenty capable of standing on its own, and that’s that.

#Recommended

Test tracks (as Tidal playlist): https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/04350ebe-1582-4785-9984-ff050d80d2b7

Test tracks (as YouTube playlist, often updated):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLetb5RqtcrlXdSG4tSCjCJpvoszUb4OjG

First things first:
 
I would like to thank Lin and RHA for the opportunity to test these IEMs and provide my honest opinion of them in return.  It really is great that this community allows this kind of interaction with manufacturers.
 
Secondly:
 
We all hear things differently, one of the curses and beauties of this hobby.  There is so much variation in gear, hearing, preference that it truly is a dynamic hobby.  I refer to this again throughout this review but please make sure if you are looking to buy these, that you read as many reviews as you can.
 
I am 31 years old and I am a noob when it comes to audiophilism.  I love music, I know what sound I like and I spend hours and hours every day listening.  I am not a reviewer, I am not an “Audiophile”, I have just loved music since I was 5 years old, sitting in front of my fathers Stereo listening to Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Johnny Rivers on vinyl for hours on end.
 
Now for the poorly written slab of dribble that is my attempted review.
 
Build Quality:
 
These things are built like a brick … House.  They are rock solid.  They feel as though they are punched from a solid piece of billet and slapped on a pair of chains.  I was expecting good things in the build department and I was not disappointed.
They are heavy, bold and cold to touch.  All of which I love! 
While the weight seems a little odd initially, once you get used to the ‘lil billets nestling into the old cauliflowers they soon enough fade away, only occasionally to be reminded by the occasional tug on the cable.
The cable is thick and heavy in its own right, which I personally do not usually like in a portable unit.  That being said, the ergonomics are quite good, and given it is not detachable, it is comfortingly sturdy.  I had no real issues with microphonics or other such interference to my musical enjoyment.
 
Accessories:
 
Why I am glad you asked, because we have a treat for you!! Oh, you didn’t ask, well let me tell you anyway.
We have the pair of iems in all of their glory.  Spread out like some majestic phoenix for all to see.
We have the 6 filters (2 installed, 4 in their aluminium containment device).
We have regular silicon tips in all number of sizes, we have bi-Flange, Tri-Flange and foams.  All neatly laid out within their aluminium card designed to seemingly both display proudly and functionally detail more tips than anyone will ever carry.  Handy none the less.
 
In addition to above we also have a nifty faux? Leather carry case.  This is a good size and allows you to store the iems without having to crush them in order to fit them.  This is a nice change in comparison to the hard case that comes with the Aurisonics AS2.5 for example, which one might think from a glance is the better option give its hardshell nature, however it is actually too small and causes many a headache in aligning the IEMs so as not to damage them when closing the vessel.
 
Another nice feature of this case is there are elastic straps within which allow you to nest the Tip card within the case.  While this is nice, to be honest, once I find a pair of tips that work with a pair of IEM’s I tend to only use the one and MAYBE keep a spare pair on hand.  I would have much preferred to see the ability to store the filters in the case, as I am more likely to roll these pending my mood.
 
Sound:
 
Regarding the sound I will give a brief overview of my thoughts, then break it down into various sections to try elaborate.
 
First things first, I wasn’t a huge fan of these IEM’s from a sound perspective.  Which was quite a disappointment given how excited I was upon opening them and seeing them in all their bling glory.  I found that the overall signature lacked a little finesse or refinement.  Just seemed a little rough around the edges.  I found that the details seemed a little glossed over, and while the overall sound was smooth, somehow it gave me the feeling of harshness.  This was something I couldn’t work out, but something I was definitely hearing.  Now I may have been being overly critical of this IEM, as I was comparing it to my Ref1too and ASG2.5, so it may not be a fair comparison, however I my overall comments here are relative to an IEM in its pricepoint.  I have owned many IEMs and headphones from varying price points and my rating and comments will hopefully reflect that of a $300 IEM. 
 
One last thing before I dive into the sound breakdown, I am an unashamed basshead.   OK, so now that I have come clean, lets move on.
 
I tried all 3 filters and obviously my go to was the Bass filter first. 
I felt that this filter’s perceived effect on bass come at the cost of too much detail and refinement loss from the rest of the signature.  I truly thought I would pop this filter in and be done, but sadly no.
 
The Treble filter while adding more perceived detail up top I found to be a little too bright for my tastes.  However this is the point of this filter so I will not say whether this is a good thing or bad.
 
The reference filter I found to be the best match for me.  While I still maintain my above comments regarding the overall signature, this was my favourite tuning.  When needing more bass I used the bass boost feature on the Cayin C5D, however in most cases I just left it off.
 
Ok so onto that sound breakdown I promised.
 
BASS:
 
This little IEM is packing heat.  Is it a basshead iem, I am not sure.  When compared to my Ref1 and ASG2.5, it almost sounds bass light with regard to impact.  However I think this is due to it having less bass emphasis while being tuned and having a driver capable of big bass impact on demand, because on tracks like “Georgio” on Daft Punks RAM album, WOW there is some bass.  In fact I found the bass on these IEM’s to react quite well to Electronic bass, giving big impact and moving quite a lot of air, however on kick drums on say Monuments – Horcrux, the impact just wasn’t there.  Bass extension is overall pretty good too, with soundtracks like Man of Steel maintaining that super low bassline.  Nothing tectonic, but certainly better than many IEM’s I have tried.
The good news is, on the T20, the bass is certainly far more controlled than its younger sibling.  So if that was an issue for you, these are certainly headed in the right direction.
 
MIDS: 
 
I think this is where my main issue with this IEM resides.  To me the mids, while sitting pretty much in line with the rest of the spectrum, seem to be glossed/smoothed over.  This to me made things like guitar (both electric and acoustic), vocals and even to an extent some upper basslines to sound congested and to be honest a mess.  While I liked overall where the mids sat in the mix as in they were neither too far forward or back, I think this is where I got the impression of harshness.  Yes the sound is smooth, but it sounds as though the guitars, vocals and all other instruments residing in the midrange were all fighting for their spot and things just get messy.
Others have reported fantastic midrange separation, so this could have been an issue with the C5d/T20 combination, which I used exclusively, or that I simply prefer a different tuning.  People have reported taking issue with the Midrange of the Tralucent ref1, which I loved personally, so as always, make sure you read all reviews before making your decision if you are looking to buy these J
 
TREBLE:
 
The highs are smooth.  Much like the mids, but I think they are a little better executed.  I don’t get the sense of congestion or harshness from the highs.  There is enough data presented for the sound to be enjoyable and inoffensive, but these are not a detail monster.  If not for the midrange I think I could listen to these for days on end with zero fatigue.  While I prefer a little more detail in the upper registers, I do like the way they were presented.  I would say they are slightly shelved down from the rest of the presentation, but only slightly.
 
SOUNDSTAGE/SEPARATION:
:
The soundstage while not huge, does portray decent width and depth for an IEM.  I think the dynamic drive assists in this to an extent.  However the above average soundstage at this price point is let down by the congested signature.  On very basic passages where the drivers were able to keep up, I was rewarded with a very realistic soundscape and able to pinpoint instruments throughout, however even on a song like Damien Rice – Cannonball, I did not get beyond the intro before things started to get messy.
 
OVERALL IMPRESSION:
 
I think that there are a lot of positives with the t20’s.  Especially coming from the t10 to the t20.  The bass is much better controlled and refined.  I think the overall sound is quite pleasant with a slightly emphasized bass, balanced midrange and slightly less emphasized top end.  I just wish they were a bit more coherent through the midrange to avoid that congestion, or in technical terms “SHMOOSHING” of sound.
 
Would I buy them.  No.  I think they are just a little bit overpriced for the sound quality.  If I were paying for build quality and included accessories then yes, they have it in spades, but ultimately, I am not buying them as a fashion item.  I think if they were around the $200 aud mark I would definitely snap them up.
 
While this is probably an overall negative review, one point I would like to make is these are a definite step in the right direction for RHA and if I were me, I would be keeping a keen eye on the t30 IEM, because if they come forward as far as they have from the T10 to the T20, then the T30 will be a keeper!!!!
 
I am currently on the train tethered to my phone trying to jump in pending reception.  I will upload pics, apply formatting and generally tidy this up when I am home.

Preamble:

Hi guys, I'm a budding audio-appreciator since starting on this journey about a year and a half ago. I just have average ears that like to listen to slightly above average music and so don't consider myself an 'audiophile' by any stretch. Please forgive any wrong use of terminology and lack of vocabulary yea. (I seriously cannot tell how 'extension' and 'warmth' are supposed to sound like..) 

 
Disclaimer: The T20 I received is the demo unit for the Asia arm of the T20 tour. I did not receive any benefits, monetary or otherwise from RHA, and I am in no way affiliated to to them. I wasn't aware of this tour initially but many thanks to RHA for conducting this demo tour and @Tobias89 for the invitation and heads up!
 
Prior to this tour, I've not had any experience with iems from RHA (or Reid Heath Acoustics for long) so I'm unfortunately unable to compare the T20s to their previous offerings. I can however, try to give a fresh perspective from what experience I have so far.
 

Tech Specs:

First up, the T20 boasts steel shells made by a metal injection molding process and incorporates RHA's proprietary DualCoil™ technology whereby the inner and outer edges of the driver are separately driven, generating an effect that sounds something like having 1.5 drivers while avoid the phasing issues.
 
Drivers: DualCoil™
Frequency Range: 16Hz - 40kHz
Impedance: 16 Ohm
Sensitivity: 90dB
Cable: 1.35m Multicore OFC
Jack: Gold plated 3.5mm
 

Package:

T20 in-ear headphone
Tuning filters with steel storage plate
Hybrid (different core material) ear tips - S, M, L x2 pairs each
Double flange silicon ear tips - S, L x1 pair each
Memory foam ear tips - x2 pairs each
Stainless steel ear tip storage plate
Zipper carry case
Clothing clip
 

 
 

Build Quality: 4.5/5

Right off the bat I was blown away by the sheer quality of build.

 
The driver shells are beautiful (how the heck do you even injection mold stainless steel anyway) and cable is beefy, smooth and untangly.
 

 
There’s also an insane spring strain relief on the plug.
The Y- split is a heavy duty metal cylinder about the same diameter but slightly shorter than the headphone jack. Strain reliefs aren't very long but in combination with the beefy cable, they look like they'll last a long time.
It’s my first time using an iem with memory cable, the cable is quite pleasant, pliable but still holds its shape.
There’s some minor microphonics from the slightly stiff cable, but managed to mitigate it by using the chin slider to touch the cable to my neck.
 

Accessories: 5/5

 

 
3x the filters, 3x the sound, 3x the review, ⅓ the buyer’s remorse though.
The filters are solidly engineered, the knurled bit makes it easy to grip and twist, while the o ring ensures that it won't dislodge so easily.
It was fairly difficult to get the eartips off and on to swap filters so I believe that they'll be quite secure.
Also included is quite an impressive assortment of tips.
I feel that the included pouch, while nice, has a small design flaw : as the iems and eartip holder are made of stainless steel, carrying them together in the pouch will cause them to scratch each other in the long run
 

Comfort: 3.5/5

Iem sits very comfortably in my ears, even though it's steel, I can't feel it there
They  to worked their way out of my ears initially, but didn’t any more after some use.
The issue disappeared entirely with spinfits, so I will be doing more of the latter part of the review using the spinfits to get a better feel of the sound.
After using the T20 for a while, the memory cable has a tendency to make my ear a little sore at the place where it hangs over.
 

Isolation: 4/5

Isolation is above average, in spite of the rather large vent facing the outside.
 
I did the listening via the Fiio X3 direct using high gain.
Songs are mainly FLAC and MP3, with the occasional YouTube rip (lol).
 
The T20s are fairly easy to drive, a volume level of 25/120 was enough, on the loud side even. In contrast, my Havi B3 requires 38/120 to reach decent volume.
 

Test Songs:

DragonForce - Through the Fire and the Flames (Bass speed)
Chiaki Ishikawa - Ruisen (Soundstage)
Nana Mizuki - Gimmick Game (Vocals)
Wagakki Band - Nijiiro Chouchou (Imaging and attack)
Wagakki Band - Akatsuki no Ito (Soundstage and imaging)
 

 

Filter system

This is probably the main selling point of the T20.
 

Neutral filter

 

Soundstage

A little narrower than I’m used to, coming from the Havi B3, so about average width but above average depth.
 

Imaging

Imaging is pretty good, Wagakki Band has a lot of acoustic instruments and the instrument placement is fairly defined, though a little close together due to the relative narrowness of the soundstage.
 

Treble

Attack of plucked strings is fast, crisp, and had nice texture. Generally however, the treble is quite smooth and a little veiled sounding. However because of this it's not fatiguing. Female vocals can go up pretty high without becoming piercing.
Not sure if it’s to do with the treble response or the DAP, but i feel that the sound is just a little lacking in transparency, as if there was a curtain behind the band playing, or in between the band and me..
 

Mids

Female vocals are sweet and articulate, fairly intimate.
T20 is wonderful for acoustic tracks and live performances.
Soundstage is of more than average depth and width, more than height
Separation is above average, though slightly closer in for the left and right side as a result.
T20 handles strings exceedingly well
With spinfits on, it seems to even out the treble and bass, taming resulting in a very pleasant and balanced sound.
 

Bass

Bass is fast and punchy, can feel the thump in my ears, and I can differentiate between the taiko and bass guitar too. Quantity-wise, it strikes me as being more than natural, but not excessive. Decay is still fairly natural however, never felt like I was getting the short end of the ‘boom’
Man the T20 is FAST! Even on Through the Fire and the Flames, the T20 easily kept up with the rapid guitar shredding and double pedal drum kicks. Seems like RHA’s DualCoil technology really does have substance. Is this really a dynamic driver??! (Comparing it amped and unamped though, the bass, while fast, does lose abit of punch at that speed, so it does take a bit more power to maintain the punch after all.)
The bass does go down pretty low though, quite a lot of sub bass.
Quantity of bass is rather more than I'm used to, even for the neutral filter but it doesn't bleed into the mids
 
I did discover some subtle drums that I hadn’t noticed in tracks before though.
Using Spiral dots, bass extension seems to increase, and I get that head-vibrating sub bass again, and the mids seem to recess abit. Wide-bore tips seem to open up the treble and soundstage width more as well. Of note is that the nozzle sits halfway up the bore of the Spiral Dots due to the thickness of the retaining ring.
 
 

Treble filter

 
All of a sudden the sound becomes airy and more transparent
The soundstage widens
The sound becomes considerably brighter and a little thinner
Female vocals become more intimate as do stringed instruments, male vocals become slightly veiled.
There's still plenty of punchy sub bass; just that it doesn't thump as hard.
Never thought I'd say this, treble sensitive as I am, but I rather like this filter. Don't think I could listen to it for too long a stretch though, it's more fatiguing.
With spinfits, the combination is quite nice, taming the treble slightly and boosting the bass a little by virtue of the better seal
After putting some hours on it, I feel that for all its clarity and crispness, it lacks a bit of body (to me) as compared to the reference filters. Ear fatigue also begins to set in, but I must say that I'm a little treble sensitive. (I find the Noble 4 too hot up top so go figure )
 

Bass filter

 
When I first heard about the bass filter, the first thing that crossed my head was that it wasn’t going to be my thing. I do get bass induced headaches from boomy phones. After putting them on with the spinfits however.. They’re not all that bad actually. It’s like a subtle filling in of the lowest end of the spectrum, giving that extra ‘oomph’. The overall tonality of the sound becomes darker and warmer. The added boominess doesn’t affect the layering and there is impressively NO bleed into the mids whatsoever. The speed and punch is definitely still there, just with more power.
Listening to Through the Fire and the Flames actually made me want to headbang in office.
Treble is accordingly reduced, though I can still hear the occasional distant cymbals and triangles.
Male vocals stand out a bit more.
Transparency is reduced however, and to me it sounds a little closed in.
Strangely enough, the sound of the bass filters with spinfits reminds me of the reference filters with the stock tips
 

Some notes after extended burn in:

I was 2nd in line to demo the T20 and at that time, it was probably not fully burnt in yet, hence leading to to feeling that while this is a nice iem, the sound was abit rough around the edges and didn’t sound particularly impressive. IMO, not exactly worth it’s price tag.
 
After going full circle though, it arrived back in Singapore and I gave it a listen again (using balanced filters and stock tips) to see if there had been any changes to the sound. Interestingly enough it felt like the soundstage had opened up considerably, going from average to slightly above. The rough wooly wall defining the edges of the soundstage had become a silk curtain. The bass also seemed to have tightened up abit and didn’t pound my brain into a dull ache anymore (or maybe I had just gotten used to bassier iems than the Havi). The most marked improvement IMO however would be the transparency, that veil in between band and listener being lifted. So is it worth it’s price now? Hm.. I’ll say that the worth has increased significantly. It’s now a solid mid range performer in my book.

INTRODUCTION

I was first introduced to RHA (or Reid Heath Acoustics) during a review tour for the RHA T10i arranged by David (lin0003 on Head-Fi), and t would be fair to say that although the build and fit were impressive, the sonic signatures (even with filters) left me feeling disappointed - too bassy / warm. This time RHA have retuned the default signature to give some more top end and modified the bass so that it doesn't quite overshadow the mid-range. David again organised a tour with the new T20, and my thanks to him (and RHA) for giving me the opportunity to partake in it.

Reid Heath Acoustics (RHA) is a Scottish based headphone company. Their core values (from their website) are described as follows:
“We stand for true-to-life audio reproduction and lasting quality. With these values at our core, we work to deliver the most accurate, comfortable and unobtrusive listening experience possible. Every RHA product combines high quality materials, precision engineering and our fundamental commitment to design.”

Their current product catalogues ranges from the budget oriented MA350 (~ USD 40) to the current flagship T20 (~ USD 240) which I have the pleasure of reviewing today.

In the last couple of weeks I have spent as much time as possible listening to the RHA T20. Sadly I don't have a chance to directly compare to the original T10, but toward the end of the review I have compared the T20 to some other IEMs in similar price brackets.

In the time I've spent with the T20, I’d estimate that I’ve logged around 20-25 hours actual listening time.

DISCLAIMER

I was provided the RHA T20 (as part of a tour) from RHA and lin0003. I am in no way affiliated with RHA - and this review is my subjective opinion of the T20. The tour unit was returned at completion of the review.

PREAMBLE - 'ABOUT ME'. (or a base-line for interpreting my thoughts and bias)

I'm a 48 year old music lover. I don't say audiophile – I just love my music. Over the last couple of years, I have slowly changed from cheaper listening set-ups to my current set-up. I vary my listening from portables (Fiio X5ii, X3ii, LP5 and iPhone 5S) to my desk-top's set-up (PC > USB > iFi iDSD). I also use a portable set-up at work – either X5ii/X3ii > HP, or PC > E17K > HP. My main full sized headphones at the time of writing are the Beyer T1, Sennheiser HD600, and AKG K553. Most of my portable listening is done with IEMs - and at the moment it has mainly been with the Dunu DN-2000J, Trinity Delta, and Dunu Titan. A full list of the gear I have owned (past and present is listed in my Head-Fi profile).

I have very eclectic music tastes listening to a variety from classical/opera and jazz, to grunge and general rock. I listen to a lot of blues, jazz, folk music, classic rock, indie and alternative rock. I am particularly fond of female vocals. I generally tend toward cans that are relatively neutral/balanced, but I do have a fondness for clarity, and suspect I might have slight ‘treble-head’ preferences. I am not treble sensitive (at all), and in the past have really enjoyed headphones like the K701, SR325i, and of course the T1 and DT880.

I have extensively tested myself (abx) and I find aac256 or higher to be completely transparent. I do use exclusively redbook 16/44.1 if space is not an issue. All of my music is legally purchased (mostly CD – the rest FLAC purchased on-line).

I tend to be sceptical about audiophile ‘claims’, don’t generally believe in burn-in, have never heard a difference with different cables, and would rather test myself blind on perceived differences. I am not a ‘golden eared listener’. I suffer from mild tinnitus, and at 48, my hearing is less than perfect.

For the purposes of this review - I used the RHA T20 mostly straight from the headphone-out socket of my iPhone 5S, and also from my Fiio X5ii. Whilst I have tested the T20 with portable amplifiers (E11K & E17K), IMO they do not benefit sonically from additional amplification. In the time I have spent with the T20, I have noticed no change to the overall sonic presentation (burn-in), but am aware that I am becoming more used to the signature of the T20 as I use them more often (brain burn-in).

This is a purely subjective review - my gear, my ears, and my experience. Please take it all with a grain of salt - especially if it does not match your own experience.

THE REVIEW

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

The RHA T20 arrived in a reasonably large, but attractive black retail box (in a very similar style to the original T10i). The front flap is hinged to reveal the inner compartment - which really does look very spectacular, with a full window view of the IEMs, accessories and tuning filters.


The inside flap of the box displays the make-up of the new driver, a little about the dual coil technology, some specification details, and a frequency graph. The rear of the box lists some more information on creating the custom injection moulding for the housing. It’s great to see so much information readily available – good job RHA.

Opening the T20 retail box gave me a feeling that this is indeed a premium product - it really does leave you with a little "wow" factor. Inside the retail case is an open inner box with foam inset which holds the T20 (cable nicely wrapped around the foam), filters and tips.



Lifting the foam inset out further reveals a lower plastic compartment housing the carry case, manual, yet more tips, and a shirt clip.

The user guide is a mini multi-lingual booklet and is superbly designed, and informative, including a response graph, and full information on everything you may need to know about the T10i – from cleaning to getting the proper fit. A lot of thought obviously went into this. Kudos RHA.

The carry case is a large soft zippered case measuring approximately 127mm x 77mm x 25mm (at its deepest point) – so while it’s not pants pocket friendly, it does pocket very well inside a light jacket.. It is well padded, with generous inner pockets and a very soft outer covering which feels like soft Lamb Nappa leather – not sure if it is synthetic or not. The case is large enough to hold the tips in their steel display tray.

The tip selection is generous, and the tray includes 2 pairs of dual flange silicone, 5 pairs of single flange silicone, and 2 pairs of foam tips. The mounting tray is stainless steel, and once again gives a feel of something upmarket. The 3 bags inside the box contained a further 9 pairs of tips!



Lastly there is another stainless steel plate which houses the metal filters. Like everything else, it is both functional and stylish – and clearly states (treble, reference, bass) which filter is which.
Impression so far, like the T10i, 10/10.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

(From RHA)


FREQUENCY GRAPH

The graph below is generated by a new measuring system I’m trialling – using the Vibro Veritas and ARTA software. I don’t have the calibration 100% correct yet – but the graphs I am getting are relatively close to Innerfidelity’s raw data (on other earphones), and I think are “close enough” to get a reasonable idea of the frequency response for the RHA T20. Over the coming months I’ll be adjusting a pre-set compensation curve so that I can get the graphs more consistent with Tyll’s curves.




What I’m hearing though (reference filter):

1. Bass that hits reasonably low and is a little above neutral in quantity
2. Very cohesive and quick mid-range with good transition between upper and lower mid-range. Clean and clear vocals with a little more emphasis on upper mid-range.
3. Reasonably extended upper end which falls short of sibilance, but has enough extension to nicely cover cymbals.

BUILD QUALITY / DESIGN

The RHA T20 has a two piece injection moulded stainless steel body which is one of the smoothest, and well designed IEM shells I’ve ever had the pleasure of wearing. The shell is a little under 20mm in length, 19mm in height, and 11 mm in depth (18mm if counting the nozzle length). The nozzle features a threaded cavity to house the screw in filters for personal tuning. On the exterior of the IEM body, next to the “RHA” engraving is a small mesh covered port – I’m assuming this is to vent the dynamic driver.



The ear guides attach to the housing with excellent strain relief (blue for left, red for right). The ear guides themselves have been patented by RHA, and are very formable, with a soft and malleable protective outer sheath. I’m not sure what materials are involved, but they are one of the best example of formable ear guides I’ve encountered – and for me, are very comfortable. The T20 are designed to be worn over the ear only (my preferred method). The formable guides end with a strange 20mm plastic/rubber section which joins to the cable proper. I’m assuming this is simply to accommodate the join between the formable guides and the cable – but it does look a little strange and ungainly.

The cable is relatively thick and sturdy, well sheathed, and best of all does not display any memory or kinking. It is virtually microphonic free below the Y-split, but there are some microphonics above. Of course use of the shirt clip, and keeping the cable underneath clothing relieves most of this. At times I wish that the cable wasn't quite as bulky as it is - a little thinner would make it a lot better.



The Y split has excellent cable relief, and an integrated cinch. The cinch works really well, and definitely helps remove any remaining microphonics. Like the T10i though, the apex of the Y-split sits just above my belly button (I’m 6 foot tall) which is really still far too low. The Y split is stainless steel, engraved with “designed by” and the signature of Lewis Heath (RHA’s Product Director) – a nice touch.

The cable terminates in a straight 3.5mm gold plated jack – with once again excellent strain relief. There is also the slight rubberised ring between the plug body and tip of the plug – which protects your device (and the plug) from metal on metal scratching, and also accommodates plugging into your average smartphone (with case attached). It works very well with my iPhone 5S.

So apart from the Y split length, the build quality and attention to detail is excellent.

FILTER SYSTEM

For tuning, RHA includes a 3 filter system on the T20 – bass (black), reference (white/silver) and treble (amber/gold). The filters are very easy to swap in and out – utilising a simple screw in thread. They have a rubber washer to ensure a secure fit.



In a departure from the original T10i I previously reviewed, this time the filters change the frequencies primarily between 2.5 – 10.0 kHz. So instead of changing the bass (which actually remains pretty constant throughout), they raise or lower the mid-range and lower treble (see graph).

This actually works pretty well – far better than the original T10i – but the one thing I’ve found with the T20 is that they have stuck to RHA’s “signature” with a more robust bottom end. As a result, their reference filter is once again a little too warm for strictly reference sound (IMO) but I do find it a lot more palatable than the T10i. My preference would be the treble filter (as the most neutral of the three).



Looking inside each filter, both the reference and bass filters appear to have acoustic foam or dampening material. The treble filter has none.

FIT / COMFORT / ISOLATION

I have one ear canal slightly different to the other one (my right is very slightly smaller) - so I tend to find that usually single silicon flanges don't fit overly well. I initially tried the included large silicone tips, and whilst they fit OK, I was unable to maintain a constant seal.

I did try the T20 with a variety of aftermarket tips including the Ostry tuning tips, Spinfits, Spiraldots and Comply S series sports foams. All fit brilliantly – but for the review I stuck to my tried and true (Sony Isolation tips). They fit perfectly with a brilliant seal, and great comfort. The angle of the nozzle and design of the housing create the perfect angle for my ears, and I could (and have) used these for hours at a time. Despite their weight, they remain one of the most ergonomically well designed housings I’ve used. I’ve included a photo of my daughter wearing the T10i from last review – the shells have the same dimensions – and she thought they were “pretty comfortable”.



Isolation with the T20 is better than average for me (not quite near Shure’s or Alclair’s almost perfect isolation – but very effective), and they would be good enough for public transport (despite the vent). Because of their flat profile (when worn they do not extend past my ear), I would have no issues at all relaxing or sleeping with the T20.

There is no driver flex present.

SOUND QUALITY

The following is what I hear from the RHA T20. YMMV – and probably will – as my tastes are likely different to yours (read the preamble I gave earlier for a baseline). Most of the testing at this point (unless otherwise stated) was done with my Fiio X5ii.




Tracks used were across a variety of genres – and most can be viewed in this list http://www.head-fi.org/a/brookos-test-tracks.

Thoughts on Default Signature
When I first reviewed the T10i, I found them bassy and fatiguing, and at the time asked RHA for a more reference sounding IEM. They’ve definitely listened – and the T20 (whilst still having RHA’s signature warmth and thump) this time has a clear and detailed top end.

It’s still probably a little bassy for my tastes, and is quite V shaped in signature, but it’s a sonic combination which lends itself well to a variety of genres, and for those who struggled with the T10i, you may find the T20 to be a very pleasant change.

For the review – I’ve stuck with the reference filter.

Overall Detail / Clarity
For this I always use both Steely Dan’s “Gaucho” and Dire Strait’s “Sultans of Swing” as there is a lot of micro detail in both tracks, and the recording quality for both is excellent.

The T20’s detail retrieval is very good on both tracks. The sax intro on Gaucho has enough tone to be both natural sounding and pretty smooth. The bass guitar might be slightly more emphasised than I’d personally like, but it’s not overpowering everything, and there is plenty of detail coming through with cymbal and hi-hat.

Sultans of Swing is more of the same, dynamic and fast. The bass guitar is there but not overblown, and more importantly there is some excellent detail coming through with cymbals and the click of drum sticks. Knopfler’s guitar has good edge, and his vocals have good contrasting tonality.

Sound-stage & Imaging
Next up is Amber Rubarth’s binaural recording “Tundra”. It’s usually difficult to get a reasonable stage size from an inner ear monitor. The stage is often quite small / close – with an average impression of space. The T20 has an intimate stage with this track – maybe just at the perimeter of my head. Imaging is very good and very consistent though. I have a very clear idea of where everything sits.

Switching to “Dante’s Prayer” and the T20 again was very good. It captured Loreena’s vocals really well – and the whole performance was intimate but enjoyable. In this track, the applause at the end is so well presented that with some headphones (HD600) I can actually close my eyes and imagine myself in the crowd. With the T20, I was getting some immersion – so a nice display of width and depth.

Last was Amanda Marshall’s “Let It Rain” – and this track is a good one because it has a naturally holographic feel about it, and can convey an amazing sense of space with the right headphones. That holographic quality shone through with the T20 (it really is good with female vocals)!

Bass Quantity and Quality
Muddy Waters is a track I use to evaluate bass quality. This blues rock track is quite dark and brooding anyway, and usually exposes any muddiness or bass bleed. The T20 was really good with this track – visceral impact in the lower bass, and also conveys the timbre and gravel of Mark’s voice with aplomb. I was expecting a little bass bleed with the slightly enhanced base quality – but I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the bass is with this track.

Next to see how low the bass would go – so I switched to Lorde’s “Royals” – and once again the T20 delivered right from the opening notes. When the bass guitar kicked in, the low bass was copious, and this time there was a little excessive bloom into the mid-range. Ella’s vocals remained crystal clear though – and I can see this signature being quite popular with anyone liking a little more oomph. For me though – it’s a bit too much.

As this is an IEM that does have a bass emphasis, I wanted to try it with a little trance – so I switched to some AVB, and this time it hit the spot. Plenty of impact, and once again, a really nice vocal presence. I think any fan of this genre (or EDM) is going to quite like the T20.

Female Vocals
A lot of my music revolves around female vocals – jazz, pop, rock, electronic, or even opera. I’m an unabashed fan. For me personally, the sign of a good IEM (for my personal tastes) is how successfully it conveys emotion and timbre with my female vocalists. My early litmus test is usually queuing Agnes Obel – as some of her recordings can become quite strident or shouty if the mids aren’t quite right. The T20 is not perfect with this track, displaying just a little hollowness in the beginning, but it got better as the track progressed,a nd the presentation of the cello was excellent.

So I ran through my usual medley of other tracks from artists including London Grammar, Angus & Julia Stone, Christina Perri, Gabriella Cilmi, Feist, Florence and the Machine, Lianne La Havas and Norah Jones. For the most part, the T20 was excellent, and my biggest complaint (for my tastes) was when the bass very occasionally had a little too much thump – but I know I could fix that simply by a little EQ.

Anything with true thump (Feist / FaTM) was definitely very dynamic – and actually pretty enjoyable in small sessions. All in all, the T20 handles female vocals pretty well.

Male Vocals
Switching to Male vocalists meant delving into my rock and grunge genres. I kicked off with 3 Doors Down, and then moved onto some Alter Bridge, Eagles and even a bit of Seether (accoustic). The T20 does seem to nail rock really well. The first noticeable thing is the combo of guitar and drum – the T20 brings great dynamics to play with rock tracks. The second noticeable thing is the improved clarity, and what it brings to guitar crunch and cymbals in particular. Male vocals have good texture and tone – and whilst not as full as something like the DN2000 – very enjoyable.

The T20 has everything really good rock needs – very good speed, clarity and timbre, good bass impact (again sometimes just a little on the heavy side), and the ability to contrast really well. Acoustic rock is also a standout (Lofgrens’ “Keith Don’t Go” and Eagle’s “Hotel California” were both phenomenal).

Time again for my usual litmus test – Pearl Jam. Vedder’s voice is good with the T20 – nice timbre and tonality. Not noticeably thin. Cymbals in particular are rendered very well, as is the snare. It’s not the best I’ve heard – but it is up there. I could happily listen to the T20 for ages with PJ.

Other Genre Specific Notes
Rather than go into details on genre, I’ll simply cover each with a few sentences.

I’ve already covered Rock and derivatives. Alt-Rock (Floyd and Porcupine Tree) was very good on detail. Sometimes the bass guitar tended to dominate – but a touch of EQ would easily tame this.

Jazz, Blues and Bluegrass were all very good with the T20. The added detail really helps, especially with both cymbals and also brass. Stringed instruments also benefit from the added clarity. The bass is very good with double bass – good timbre and tone.

Rap, EDM and Pop are very dynamic and I have little doubt that bass lovers will enjoy the T20. It’s not over the top – but is very present. For my own tastes, I once again find the mid and low bass sometimes just a little too present – but once again easy to EQ.

Classical and Opera were also surprisingly good, and I guess this once again where the extra top-end really helps. Because a lot of this music is not bass dominant, the overall presentation is really enjoyable – particularly string quartets, solo violin. Cello is also very well presented, and Zoe Keating’s recordings are sublime with the T20.

I also own a lot of Indie music and the T20 was really good with this. Bass was a little too much for me with Wildlight, but Band of Horses was just brilliant. Add the presentation of female vocalists as well, and the T20 was really hitting the right spots.

AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

The T20 is easily powered straight out of the portable devices I have, and I haven’t experienced any issues with the iPhone 5S, or from any of the Fiio’s. With typical pop/rock songs on the iP5S I’m usually at a volume level of around 30-40% (depending on the dynamics of the track). I did try amplifying the T20 with the E11K and E17K (and even the iDSD), but noticed no major improvements outside added volume. So far I’ve had no issues with hiss.

EQUALISATION

I only used this sparingly, and it was mainly because the filters change the upper end rather than the lower end. For me it just involved a cut in bass from around 125 Hz down. This just had the bass behaving a little more for my own tastes, and really did “complete” the T20. They respond to EQ well.

COMPARISONS

I’ll make these very quick. I compared the T20 side by side with some of the other IEMs I have in similar price brackets. With the comparisons, I first volume matched with a 1 kHz test tone and SPL meter. I had a fast switch set-up in place with a splitter and volume attenuator for the volume matching. This section is very subjective, as it is sighted, the change between IEMs took about 5-10 seconds, and I knew exactly which one I was listening to. But it is my honest thoughts on where the T20 sits for my own personal tastes.


RHA T20 vs Altone 200
Build quality goes to the T20, although both are built exceptionally well. Fit and comfort are pretty even – different styles, but I find both very comfortable. I prefer the Altone’s thinner cable. Sonically the Altone is a little thinner and a little brighter through the mid-range. They both sound similar though with a definite V shape. T20 has more bass impact. My preference = T20

RHA T20 vs DUNU DN2K
Again although both are built exceptionally well, the T20 gets the nod on overall build. This time the T20 is definitely the more comfortable fit, and once again I prefer DUNUs cable to RHA’s. Sonically these are very different with the DUNU being more balanced overall, a lot warmer, and a lot thicker in note tone. The RHA is a little more pronounced in vocals (particularly female). To me the T20 has more overall bass dynamic impact, but the DUNU has more comparative quantity. My preference = T20



RHA T20 vs Trinity Delta
Interesting match up. Build quality is fairly even – but the T20 would be more robust. The Delta has the far better cable (it’s not close), and the filters on the Delta I think are better tuned in the changes they bring (over whole frequency range). Both are extremely comfortable to wear long term – but the Delta is slightly easier to fit, and the T20 slightly more comfortable. Sonically the two are similar but the Delta is a little smoother and more balanced while the T20 is a little more V shaped. The T20 has a little more edge in upper mid-range. Both have plenty of thump down low. If anything I quite like the T20’s low bass emphasis over the Delta’s more mid-bass slant. If I switch to the bass filter on the Delta it actually comes pretty close the to the T20 signature. My preference = Delta

RHA T20 vs DUNU DN2KJ
Both are built exceptionally well, but once again the T20 gets the nod on overall build. The T20 is also the more comfortable fit, but once again I prefer DUNUs cable to RHA’s. Sonically these are quite different with the DUNU being a lot more balanced, a touch weightier through the vocal range, and also a little brighter. The T20 has a lot more bass, but the DUNU has more quality of bass presentation. My preference = DN2KJ

RHA T20 - SUMMARY

I was rather a vocal critic of the original T10i, and one of the things I (and others) asked of RHA was a more balanced IEM with similar build but more emphasis on clarity, and a little less on bass. RHA have responded with a pretty well tuned IEM, and I think a lot of people will like these.

Like its predecessor, the T20 has phenomenal build, a nicely ergonomic shell (great comfort for me personally), and comes with an exceptional accessory pack. The filter system on the T20 this time nets some changes in the upper mid-range, and lower treble – but sadly don’t change the bass very much, which is a pity as that is the one area I would love to shave a few dB from.

Like the T10i, the T20 does carry quite a bit of bass – but this is less warm, more controlled, and does not dominate like its sibling.

The T20 will appeal to lovers of a V shaped signature, and particularly those who like a nice thump with their music. Personally it’s still not tuned to my overall preferences, but I am very impressed with how far they have come.

At around $240 on Amazon, the T20 represents good value – especially when you combine sonics, build and accessories. I would recommend them as long as potential owners are aware of their bass output.

Once again thanks to RHA and David for including me as part of the tour.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO RHA

Firstly, thanks for allowing us the chance to sample your products. I really appreciate it. I think the cable needs some work. Just a little more flexibility (and a little less bulk) would really help. And I’d really like to see a filter system that allows tuning of the bass. Bravo on the improvements so far though.

 

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I used these for a couple of weeks as I do on an everyday basis - I didn't do anything special other than a bit of subjective A/Bing with other earphones in its range that I own (VSonic GR07, Aurisonic Rockets) through my Cowon J3 with no amping. I listened to 16/44 flac and wav files from a variety of genres, and mostly from recordings that are considered to be well-mastered. I used them on my commute, at a local coffee shop, at work, and at home - pretty unscientific, but this is what I came away with.....

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I think they tick most of the boxes here for me. The quality of the cable, plug, strain reliefs, and Y-split are all excellent. They are also consistent in terms of style, which is clearly important to the folks at RHA - they are on a branding mission with their earphones and I think they're succeeding in this regard. I really like the strain relief used where the cable meets the straight 3.5mm plug:
 

It's just a beauty, isn't it? The only problem I had with the cable was its length - much too long for me when my DAP is in either my chest pocket or pants pocket. It was a bit annoying, but they do include a cable clip to help manage this. The cable doesn't tangle easily, so that is another in the win column. The quality and attention to detail is apparent, and the finish is very, very nice. The Y-split gets the same level of treatment:
 
 
The earpieces are pretty well-known by now, so there's nothing really new for me to add - they are excellent, even worthy of a much more expensive flagship with the exception of the cables being non-replaceable. They are a bit heavy (and I wonder if the thickness of the shells can be reduced), but comfort is as good as anything I've ever tried, largely due to the absence of corners and edges - everything is smooth and nicely rounded. They're pretty small, too, so they should fit everybody. Isolation is average. The memory wire which loops over the ears is a nice touch - it's a bit different than what I'm used to as you can certainly bend them to your liking, but they retain a bit of spring, too. They are reasonably thin (certainly thinner than the ear guides that come with my VSonics), so it was never a bother even when wearing eyeglasses. Top notch!
 

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I can't talk about the sound without mentioning the swappable, color-coded tuning filters. They do work and they come with a very cool storage system - you simply screw them on the aluminum holder when not in use:
 
 
These also use what RHA calls "DualCoil" Dynamic drivers. I am not able to provide an explanation of what that means to the average consumer, but I suppose it looks cool on product literature. I will leave it to those with a stronger background in this field of technology to comment on the implications of these particular drivers - all I can offer are impressions from the perspective of a fairly middle-of-the-road head-fi nincompoop.
 
When I received them, they had the bass filters in, and I didn't really care for the sound. I'm not a bass head - I like tight, controlled, but accurate bass. This sounded too boomy to me, especially with sub-bass, but I did give it a few days to see if brain burn-in changed my opinion. Nope. I then went to the reference filters and still felt that there was too much bass emphasis for me - it was a better sound, but still not my cup of tea. On to the treble filters. This had the right amount of bass for me (though quality was not the best I've heard), but then the treble was too fatiguing for me to enjoy them for extended periods of time. Herein lies the potential problem: the changes made by the filters may not give you "just right". You may have to, as I did, choose the one that least displeases your ears rather than what sounds perfect. I went back to the reference filters after trying all three and stuck with these for the remainder of the time I had them.
 
Bass: Overtime I came to appreciate the bass a bit more than I expected - it sounds a bit thick which a touch of boominess, but it does give the overall sound more body and richness than what I normally prefer, and I was really enjoying it by the time I had to send them on to the next participant in the tour. I felt like I could live with this compromise, though it's still not as well-rendered as the GR07 in this department. However, I wouldn't characterize it as being uncontrolled. They may have nudged my tastes towards the world of bass a little bit, to be honest. As I read about the Noble K10 and other IEMs that offer a complete bass experience, I find myself thinking that I need a bit more of it in my life after the T20.
 
Mids: I thought these were good and I couldn't hear anything seriously wrong with them. They aren't as clear and airy as they are on my Rockets, but they are a bit richer-sounding which has its own appeal. Yes, some may find them a bit congested in comparison to other earphones, but I would be surprised if anybody felt like they were not at least decent-sounding. Voices sound natural with good clarity, but using either the bass or treble filter may give them the impression of being veiled or recessed. Pretty good in this department with the reference filters imo.
 
Treble: Very good level of detail and toes the line by not being sibilant with the reference filters. Not flagship-level treble, but pretty good for its price point. Those who are less prone to sibilance may find the treble filters to be pretty engrossing, but that wasn't the case for me - they sound great at first, but fatigue set in pretty quickly and I knew these weren't the filters for me. Reference filters were more than acceptable for me, though. They sound better than the VSonic GR07s, which are notoriously sibilant. Perhaps the level of detail isn't quite on par with the VSonics, but these are seemingly without any significant spikes in the highs and are better for long-term enjoyment.
 
 
Perhaps the best thing I can say about the sound of the T20 is that once my brain burned in, I found myself paying more attention to the music than the IEMs themselves. People talk about earphones that are fun and enjoyable, and these most definitely are. Critical listening does reveal shortcomings, such as the bass presentation. With the reference filters, it wasn't distracting and I've since come to appreciate a fuller bass presentation then I did before I tried these. Combined with the level of comfort and build-quality, I have to say these are going to please a lot of people, but I fear that serious audiophiles may pass on them. Ultimately, I think they are going after people who are new to the hobby and are more accustomed to a typical consumer-friendly sound. These seem to be trying to rope in both segments, but I'm afraid serious enthusiasts looking for a true reference IEM may be left wanting. Their branding campaign, while very eye-catching and well-implemented, is evidence to me that they are more concerned with attracting the mass market than the much smaller niche of audiophile obsessives on head-fi; from a dollars and cents perspective, it is the obvious move and it seems to be working - their products have made it into the Apple Store. My hope is that they develop another product in the future that is clearly aimed at the headphoneus supremus rather than everybody.
 
If I were to offer any recommendations to RHA, I would suggest that they:
 

1. shorten the cable and consider a user-replaceable model (balanced?)
2. target the serious audiophile niche market with no compromises (a big ask, I know)

 
There aren't many things on my list, so I think this is going to be a fairly successful product on the whole. Thanks again to RHA for setting up the tour and their willingness to interact with head-fi members.

 
At the 2015 Spring Tokyo Fujiya Avic Headphone Festival I had the pleasure of meeting Lindsey from Reid Heath Acoustics and talking to her about their new T20i IEMs. Lindsey was insistent that I try the new models and I almost forgot with the overwhelming number of products I was busy trying and photographing. On a Sunday afternoon at the end of the show is the hardest time to impress me after all that has been seen and heard, but the T20is didn’t disappoint, with some very punchy bass that I felt needed further investigation, so I agree with Lindsey to review a pair.
 
The T20 use a very interesting and unique driver. Where a normal dynamic driver has one voice coil, the driver in the T20i has two, the inner coil producing the bass and lower mid-range and the outer coil producing the upper-mid-range and treble encased inside injection-moulded steel. The small casing is contrasted by the chunky rubber cable.
 
RHA has also taken pains to ensure that the cable does not transfer noise to the earphones themselves. While thicker than regular IEM cables, it feels more robust and I didn’t find it uncomfortable, even with glasses on. The last 4 or so inches of cable is pre-shaped for comfort, and a choker is attached to the cable allowing it to be held comfortably in place under the chin. Topping it off is a shirt clip and a neat carrying case with space for spare tips and straps for the cable. The plug has a metal spring strain relief, making it stick out quite far when used with portable gear, something some people may not like. 
 
The well-designed package includes not only a good selection of tips, including foam and two sizes of double-flange tips, in an aluminium plate no less!. Additional “Treble” and “Bass” filters are included, which allow a degree of custom sound tuning, each respectively boosting their ends of the spectrum slightly. A quick examination of these reveals that the "treble" filters is a pass-through, and the "reference" and "bass" filters have different foam in them. 
 
Initially sounding a bit harsh out of the box, after a few dozen hours of use, vocals and instruments by themselves are wonderfully presented through the mid-range and the treble. Initially when I put mid-sized tips on them, I didn't get a proper seal, nor any significant bass response. The small steel casing for the T20s ensures that they should fit easily in most ears, though the "pill and nozzle" design doesn't work for everyone if deep insertion is required, and that is possibly what was happening with me. Putting large, or double-flange tips on them solved the issue, with the bass kicking in a serious way, sometimes too much.
 
The default “Reference” tips give a presentation still with a considerable amount of bass and the highs slightly, but not excessively rolled off. The treble filter brings out the frequencies noticeably in the 5-10 kHz range, very often the upper notes of acoustic instruments. That sometimes leaves the mid range a little bit behind, along the lines of full-sized headphones such as the Foxtex TH600s and TH900s. Once I'd settled in on using the "reference" nozzles, I had a go using my favourite SpinFit tips, however the mid-range was pushed back a bit. Having a go with some Comply foam tips that I had handy, the treble ended up reduced too much for my liking. Handily, JVC's Spiraldot tips fit perfectly, their unique design improving things all around, which I felt gave the best results. 
 
Detail retrieval doesn't appear to be the T20's strong point, and they still have something of what I call an "IEM sound" with treble that isn't as good as more expensive offerings. Given the accessories and the price, they give a solid and enjoyable performance. The bass punch of the dual-coil dynamic driver is simply a lot of fun. 
 

For under US$300 (£179.95) is a quality product from this company from Scotland which is sure to gain a lot of fans with the quality presentation and excellent, if somewhat warm-of-neutral sound.
 
The T20 was provided by RHA for this review. 

Preamble:

Before I start with my review, I want to thank RHA for providing me with a sample of their T20 in exchange for my honest opinion. Please note that I am not affiliated with RHA in any way.

RHA is a manufacturer of In-Ears with dynamic transducers and based in the UK. Their latest In-Ear flagship, the T20 that retails for about $240 in the US, has got (like its predecessor) three different interchangeable tuning filters for individual sound customisation.

An interesting novelty is its DualCoil™ driver, a new coaxial-like construction with two independent voice coils that are attached to the single diaphragm that reproduces lows in its centre and high frequencies on the outside. One can see an explanation of the DualCoil transducer’s working principle along with a nice exploded drawing on the packaging.
In my review, I will also include comparisons to the Sennheiser IE 80, as I see it as a direct competitor in this price range.

Just as the other RHA products, the T20 is covered by a three year warranty.


Technical Specifications:

Drivers: DualCoil™ Dynamic
Frequency range: 16-40,000Hz
Impedance: 16 Ohm
Sensitivity: 90dB
Rated/max power: 2/5mW
Weight: 39g
Cable: 1.35m, multicore OFC
Connections: 3.5mm, gold plated
 

Delivery Content:

The T20 comes in a beautifully designed packaging which has got a magnetic flap that covers a see-through plastic window on the front side, allowing you to take a look at the In-Ears, filters and eartips. On the flap’s inside is a nicely labelled exploded diagram that also explains the DualCoil driver’s operation principle.
Opening the packing, one will find ten pairs of eartips (one is already preinstalled), the tuning filters, a pleather carrying case (that looks and feels just like the one that came with the former Bose earbuds, but has got an additional pocket on the inside), a shirt clip and last but not least an illustrated multilingual instruction manual.
 

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Aesthetics, Build Quality:

The premium In-Ears’ bodies are made of stainless steel, seem very sturdy and well-made and feature engraved company and model names on the front and the back. Conveniently, both non-removable cables have got colour-coded strain reliefs close to the IEMs’ bodies to simplify identification of the correct side.
The y-split is also made of stainless steel, has got a nice overall design and features “Designed by Lewis Heath” lettering on it, whereby “Lewis Heath” is illustrated calligraphically.
The 3.5 mm headphone jack is also made of stainless steel, with the same design as the Y-split, but has got a silver-coloured spring as strain relief – that’s an inconvenient, but very effective way to prevent lead fracture and makes the In-Ears differ from other companies’ models.

Just as the In-Ears, the holders for the eartips and tuning filters are made of stainless steel, too. The latter has even got threads, but they could have been better cut, as some of the filters don’t screw in smoothly. The filters’ and IEMs’ threads however are very well cut and screw in smoothly.
By the way, the interchangeable tuning filter tubes have got spongy damping material inside, just as the Shure SE846’s tuning filters.

The cable is pretty long and appears to be very sturdy.
 

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Comfort, Isolation:

Just as most In-Ears in the premium segment (except for few models), the RHA is designed to be worn with the cables over the ears, which improves fit, comfort and reduces microphonics.
Although the T20’s weight is comparatively high, it sits very comfy in my ears and I don’t even notice that it is heavier than most In-Ears, which is also achieved by the excellent and ergonomic shape of the IEMs’ bodies, which is (with a slightly different angle of the sound tubes) also used by Westone and Shure.
The mouldable ear hooks that are used by RHA are patent pending and very flexible (although they stay in place nicely) and not stiff like most other IEMs’ ear hooks that are generally made of steel wires.
Nevertheless, there are few, but not bothering microphonics that can be eliminated completely by using the included shirt clip.

Noise isolation is just marginally better than average, but noticeably higher than the Sennheiser IE 80’s.


Sound:

T20’s sound quality was mainly evaluated with my iBasso DX90 playing CD rips and Hi-Res files; listening tests were made with the large single-flange silicone tips. The In-Ears were burnt in for at least 50 hours before I started critical listening.

The T20 offers three different pairs of sound tuning filters for individual sound customisation to one’s personal likes. This idea isn’t new and was used in some other In-Ears in the past; nevertheless it is a nice way of altering certain frequency bands to one’s personal preference without having to buy several IEMs (a few companies offer various versions of the same IEM that only differ in tonality).

Tonality:

The difference between the various tuning filters isn’t huge, but noticeable.

“Reference” filter:

With these filters that come installed as standard, T20’s overall tonality could be described as bassy-dark and consumer-oriented.
Bass is quite prominent and starts quite early with about 10 dB in upper bass, but luckily only slightly more level in midbass. Subbass rolls off a bit, but is still audibly emphasised.
Lower ground-tone area is also emphasised, but clearly less than the bass, wherefore sound isn’t warm, which is also because the ground-tone and lows in general don’t bleed into the mids which are present, but neither recessed nor emphasised.
In my ears, voices are moderately on the brighter side, but sound still natural.
Except for a rather broad-banded peak at 4.75 kHz (I used a sine generator to locate its exact position) highs are gently recessed, while upper highs are more in the background than the rest.

“Treble” filter:

With the copper-coloured treble tuning filters which are completely empty and undamped, bass loses some of its presence, just as the ground-tone area that starts to sound leaner.
Mids and voices are still rather on the brighter side.
Middle treble gains some level and the peak minimally shifts to 5 kHz; upper treble is less recessed, but still audibly in the background.

“Bass” filter:

Perceived, bass maintains the same level as with the “Reference” filter, but ground-tone area gains some and therefore sounds warmer.
Interestingly, the “Bass” filters are the only ones out of the three that in my ears alter mids’ tonality. The black filter tubes that have got the most foam/sponge material inside make voices appear tonally correct and lose their slightly bright character.
As expected, highs are pushed back further and the peak in the middle highs loses edginess.

---

T20’s tonality compared to the Sennheiser IE 80:

The RHA has got definitely less ground-tone that also starts extending lower than the Sennheiser, which sounds much warmer and has got dark voices due to its utterly emphasised ground-tone area. RHA’s voices are clearly superior.
The Sennheiser has got a bit more midbass.
While the Sennheiser’s lower and middle treble are recessed with a following peak in the lower ranges of the upper treble, the RHA (with the “Reference” and “Treble” filters) slightly emphasises the middle treble and has got an audibly recessed upper treble. It’s up to one’s personal matter of taste which of the two styles of treble emphasis is the better one.

Resolution:

For an In-Ear with dynamic transducers, T20’s resolution is on a very good level and all in all comparable to the IE 80’s level of details and even excels it in some areas.
What the T20 does really well are voices: they are well-contoured, very clean, differentiated and precise – something where the Sennheiser somehow fails in comparison in my opinion.
Although T20’s treble is quite high resolving, the Sennheiser briefly wins in this category, as highs have got a slightly too hard attack on the RHA’s side and also seem marginally uneven in the middle treble.
Something that really surprised me in a positive way was the RHA’s bass which is very dry, hard hitting, controlled and punchy for a dynamic transducer and clearly excels the IE 80’s rather muddy lows, although it could have a bit less upper bass for my tastes.
Regarding bass quality, the difference between the three tuning filters isn’t huge, although the “Treble” filter offers the fastest bass out of the three, whereas the “Bass” filter has a somewhat slower decay, but without losing crispness or sounding slow. The “Reference” filter is somewhere in between, but closer to the “Treble” filter.

Soundstage:

Typically for vented dynamic In-Ears, T20’s soundstage has got a good expansion to the sides, but without sounding unnatural or exaggerated. Spatial depth is also present, but of lesser amount, though clearly present.
Instruments are very cleanly and precisely separated from each other and layering is also pretty decent.

Although the Sennheiser IE 80 has got the bigger soundstage (both in terms of width and depth) and therefore is able to achieve the better instrument placement, the RHA T20 has definitely got the sharper instrument separation and offers the better and more precise layering.


Conclusion:

With its current flagship, the T20, RHA has developed a very interesting In-Ear that is on a high technical level and features a new coaxial-like dynamic driver unit, called DualCoil™.
Build quality with mostly stainless steel elements is flawless and the ergonomic In-Ears sit very comfy and securely in my ears, additionally their bassy sound is highly resolving with very well differentiated mids and voices, dry and fast lows, adjustable treble through the included tuning filters and a good soundstage reproduction that provides a very precise instrument separation.

RHA is a fairly new audio company that has made quite a splash recently with their MA750 and T10 IEMs. RHA has recently announced their new T20 IEM which is due to be released sometime during the summer of 2015. Before its release, RHA has opened a few spots for people to demo and review the new IEM as part of a tour. I was one of the few lucky people that got the opportunity to give the T20 a listen before release.
 
I am no affiliated with RHA but I would like to give them a shout out and big thank you for making this tour happen!
 
To me, the T20 has a very commercial design with their packaging – and that’s a good thing. It reminds me a lot of the popular consumer headphone packaging (ex. Monster, Beats etc.), where you’re presented with a nice box that opens and you get to see a teaser of what’s inside the box. Overall, the design and presentation of the product is fashionable and beautiful.
 
The T20 comes with some very nice and quality accessories. There is a large variety of eartips to choose from of all sizes. There are also sets of dual flange and comply tips provided, which was a nice touch. I honestly think that the eartips RHA provided are of very good quality. They are very soft and comfortable while being very durable and retain their shapes well. Kudos to RHA for both the number of tips they provide and the quality of the eartips.
 
With the packaging also includes the filters that change the signature of the T20 as well as a square pleather carrying case and a shirt clip. The overall presentation of the T20 is very attractive and the accessories provided also feel very nice.
 
 
The RHA T20, like the T10, is a beautifully built and sturdy IEM. The housing is made completely out of metal, making it slightly heavy compared to your average IEM. Despite that, the T20 felt lighter than I expected when I put them in my ears and they basically disappeared after a while. The housing is very comfortable and I wore it for over 3 hours straight without and comfort issues. The housing also has red/blue and R/L colors and engravings on the housing to help those that need help distinguishing left and right for whatever reason. The T20’s housing also has vents that most likely help give the bass more body. I’m also quite interested in the design of the new dual coil driver. I know they mentioned that the T20 has two independent voice coils that collaborate and act on the same diaphragm to produce sound. I wish there was some sort of diagram showing that.
 
Because the T20 does have vents, it doesn't have the best sound isolation. In addition, I also found that the T20 generally doesn't sit too deep in the ear. Because of those reasons, I find the T20's isolation to be average at best. It's still more than enough to isolate noise while you're out and about though.
 
Perhaps what’s most interesting about the design of the housing is the nozzle that also act as filters. Three filters (treble, reference, and bass) are provided and each can alter the sound to give the user some flexibility in choosing what their favorite sound is.
 
Moving onto the cable also marks the departure of my enthusiasm for the T20. Well, maybe that’s a bit extreme, but I’m not the biggest fan of the cable. The 3.5mm jack as well as the Y-split are both made of metal and very solid feeling. The 3.5mm jack has a spring attached to it to lower the strain that may be put on the cable there, increasing the sturdiness of the longevity of the cable at the cost of some aesthetics in my opinion. Overall I think it’s a smart design and I would gladly take it knowing its one less place that my earphone has a chance of failing at. On the other hand, while the Y-split is solidly built and nice looking, it’s placed in a bizarre spot. Standing up, the Y-split reaches almost down to my belly button. I guess it doesn’t really affect the comfort but it does look a little wonky.
 
On the cable is also the ear guide. I’m personally not the biggest fan of ear guides in general, but there have been some that I feel are fine or even good. Unfortunately, I find the ear guide of the T20 to be a bit long. To add to that, the extra bulk at the end of it makes it pretty clunky overall. It’s not my favorite thing but doesn’t really take away from the comfort of the earphone all that much either so I don’t mind too much.
 
The cable is made of a rubbery material that is fairly tangle-free, but is on the thicker end of the spectrum. Because of its thickness (and its metal Y-split), the cable is on the heavier side. It doesn’t make the cable uncomfortable, but it also doesn’t disappear like other cables can. In addition, like most rubbery cables I’ve had experienced with in the past, the rubbery cable also tends to carry more cable noise. It’s not a big issue for me, but I feel that amount of noise transferred by the cable has room for improvement.
 
Overall, the T20 is a very sturdy IEM that is made with very solid materials, but I do feel that the cable could be improved upon.
 
Listening was done using my iBasso D14 “Bushmaster” with my laptop running Foobar as my source. Music of all genres and of varying quality (with the exception of DSD) was used for my listening impressions. In addition, for consistency, the majority of the listening impressions were done with the reference filter. The other two filters are included in their own sections.
 
 
With the reference filter, the T20 presents a warm and V-shaped signature that I personally wouldn’t categorize as being reference. The sound is tuned to be quite musical and fun, but not to a point where the sound is overly colored either.
 
Bass
Even with a “reference” filter, the bass of the T20 is a whole lot of fun. The bass is pleasantly boosted with good punch and with very good extension – reaching 30 Hz and beyond without too much trouble.
 
While the bass isn’t bloated in any way, I do have some issues with it. First off, I find the bass boosted to a point where it’s not bloated, but distracting and somewhat inaccurate. Instruments that resonate in the lower register tend to be brought out more, and not necessarily when they should. Listening to Jason Mraz often sounds a little odd as the bass (guitar) seems to overpower the acoustic guitar while the kick drum lets out kicks that, while juicy, just seem out of place. Listening to Regina Spektor’s “The Calculation” also gives a similar feeling, with the bass (guitar) rumble dominating the track. I feel that the T20 works much better with music that does make sense with a more filled out bottom end. Rock music, for instance, feel much more at home on the T20.
 
I also feel that the bass can be cleaner. While possessing good thump, the bass isn’t particularly tight or well-focused. It also tends to have more of a bloom to it and can be on the slower side. Sub bass texture is still generally much better than what’s offered by balanced armature IEMs at the same price range, but I feel that the bass of overall a bit smoothed out and lacks a bit of detail.
 
While I don’t feel that the bass performance of the T20 is its strong suite, I can’t help but admit that I quite enjoy it. It’s been a while since I’ve listening to anything that brings some really nice big thumping bass that while keeping the midrange and treble fairly clean. The bass isn’t boosted to a basshead level, but I do feel that those who enjoy bass, or are borderline bassheads will enjoy these.
 
Midrange
While the T20’s bass can pack some serious punch, the midrange remains clean and generally free of any sort of bleed from the bass, which I found to be quite impressive. The midrange balance seems a bit wonky and inconsistent to me. I generally feel that the midrange is just a tad recessed, given the bigger bass and sparkly treble, but remain fairly well-balanced, but there are tracks where it may seem even a little forward. However, vocals tend to be more relaxed and laid back but remain engaging, than being forward. Instruments generally remain clean but I do find that separation can take a hit on more complex tracks. I also find that there are moments when I feel that the some instruments sound a little metallic, but not to a point where I find it particularly unnatural or harsh in any way. The midrange generally feels clean, smooth, and just a tad recessed.
 
Treble
Treble has good detail, good extension, as well as good sparkle without ever sounding harsh to me. Treble decay is a little longer, which on some tracks can sound quite beautiful and natural, but translate to being a bit splashy on more demanding tracks. However, the treble of the T20 is perhaps the most articulate part of the T20, having good energy, bite, and texture in comparison to the rest of its frequency range. I found that it had a good balance between being sparkly and energetic while remaining fairly smooth.
 
Soundstage and Imaging
The soundstage of the T20 is fantastic, and one of the largest I’ve heard in an IEM at this price point, while beating out a lot of balanced armature IEMs that’s much pricier than it. The T20 can expand fairly well in both its width and height, while being just a bit flatter in terms of depth. The imaging and separation of the T20 is also pretty good, but I don’t think it rivals the precision that balanced armature IEMs around the same price can offer, despite generally having a significantly smaller soundstage.
 
Comparison
 
T20 with Bass Filter
I think the filter system of the T20 is actually really well done. The T20 with bass filter is nowhere near as bassy as I thought it would be, and the rest of the frequency wasn’t affected by the slight boost in bass all too much. Sub bass is lifted just a tad bit as well as just a little more punch in the bass. It’s still not basshead level, but will be good to have those that enjoy just a bit more punch or thickness in their sound.
 
T20 with Treble Filter
I personally feel that this is actually the most “reference” sound of the three filter the T20 offers, and is what I prefer the most personally. Treble is generally faster, more detailed, and more textured, but does have the tendency to be sharper, venturing into the realm where people will consider a bit harsh. I tend to favor a brighter treble so it wasn’t an issue for me personally. The treble filter also has more air that, to me, gives the soundstage a more expansive and natural feel.
 
Like the bass filter, the treble filter doesn’t affect the rest of the frequency too much. You still get a nice thumping bass in the music.
 
CustomArt Ei.3 and RHA T20
In my opinion, both IEMs are very good and have their own strengths in different areas. To me, comparing the two is a classic scenario comparing dynamic and balanced armature drivers.
Typical of a dynamic driver, the T20’s bass extends a good deal deeper than the Ei.3’s bass, and also has much more authority and rumble. Overall bass of the T20 is a bit more accentuated with a little more midbass bloom in comparison, but really not by much. The T20 is by no means a bass monster. While lacking the authority that the T20’s bass has, the Ei.3 bass has tighter impact that causes the bass of the T20 to feel like it lacks a bit of focus in its impact. Despite that, I do feel that the bass department of the T20 is superior to that of the Ei.3 as its more textured and realistic.
In the midrange is where the balanced armature drivers of the Ei.3 really flex their muscles though. Vocals are presented beautifully on the Ei.3 with crystal clarity and good detail. Instruments are also well textured and clean. Compared to the clarity and naturalness of the Ei.3 midrange, the T20 has a slightly veiled tonality. While the midrange of the T20 is good, it doesn’t quite have the detail, texture, and articulation that the Ei.3 can output.
Treble between the two I find to be fairly close. The T20 has slightly more treble energy and overall extension while having slightly less treble texture and a longer decay. The Ei.3 bring more realism to the instrument and can pick up more micro-details and nuances than the T20.
Soundstage on the T20 is noticeably larger, especially in terms of width. However, the imaging of the Ei.3 is much cleaner and accurate. Instrument separation is also better thanks to its fantastic clarity.
Priced at 240 dollars, I think the T20 is a very good sounding IEM. Being around 100 dollars more than the T20 (300 + 50 for ear molds), it would only make sense that the Ei.3 is an upgrade to the T20 – and it is. Bringing better clarity and realism to the music, I do find the Ei.3 to be an upgrade in sound over the T20. However both IEMs deserve praise for what they’ve accomplished at their respective price points.
 
 
The T20 is a fun sounding IEM that has an attractive sound despite not being the strongest in terms of its sonic capabilities. For some reason I was under the impression that the T20 were priced at 280 dollars, but the RHA website has them listed at around 240 dollars. At 240 dollars, I think the T20 is a good IEM to pick up that will give you a fun and relatively detailed sound when you’re out and about. I think at 280 dollars its perhaps pushing the price a bit.
 
I feel that the T20 does a lot well, sounding fun while giving a respectable amount of detail, but has the tendency to sound just a bit out of place and confused. On acoustic or soft rock, the snare drum decay can sound wonderfully natural, but the bass is strangely rumbly. On the other hand, listening to some hard rock gives some fantastically satisfying bass that dig deep, but the T20 can struggle a little to keep up and remain crystal clear and clean.
 
As a whole, I think the T20 is a fun experience that is certainly worth the attention of those looking for a quality set of IEMs with good build quality, comfort, and a fun sound. While retaining a fun sound signature, the T20 does have the most "reference" sound and quality in RHA's line and certainly deserves its status of RHA's flagship. Despite its sound signature deviating from what I generally enjoy, I would be lying to say I didn’t enjoy the sound of the T20.

I dont want to go on forever in this review, but these RHA T20's are some of the best IEMS i have ever used. But! there are always flaws that can be fixed.

BUILD QUALITY AND DESIGN:

- stunning metal finish. The housing is made by a metal injection moulding process, which is done hand made at RHA. There is no competitor in build quality for the buds themselves.
- very good fit in most ears. There is plenty of included eartips to fit almost any ear. In terms of a universal fit, i would give the T20's full marks.
- colour coded eartips. i know its a minor detail, but it makes putting on the premium IEMS more seamless.
- the over ear/hook design provides very good isolation. but they are not as isolated as some balanced armature IEMS that I have used.

Cons:
- Cable is very likely to get "wear and tear". The first day i recieved this, the spring near the jack broke off. This meant that there was freying on the cables end.
- There is no detatchable cable!!!. This is a huge frown on RHA, for selling premium and durable IEMS, but the cable is the bottleneck to its lifespan. Would like this on future revisions please.
- Would prefer a lower profile jack. Preferably the T jacks that run along the side of phones. This the elongated end of cable , makes it bulky and orkward to fit in my pocket.

SOUND QUALITY

Very good sound quality, especially for modern dynamic drivers. The mids and treble are very crisp, while also having good punch to the bass. The mids and treble can be refined with the interchangable filters. The bass filters didnt do as much as expected, as i was impressed by the instant change in detail with the other two filters.
I cannot speak much of the sound quality now, as the T20's are in for repair.

Overall, the T20's have some solid features. They arent the best professional earphones you can buy for the price, but it has many unique features most IEMS dont. I currently have just recieved the Audio Technica ATH-IM02, and am starting to miss RHA's unique sound signature, good looks and charm. The RHA T20's are amazing in ear, with great sound quality, and can suite any audiophiles tastes, with adjustments in bass, treble and mids.

EDIT: Extra star, the customer support is really good. If the cable breaks or anything happens to the device, they will gladly replace the earphones for you, this is thanks to their flexible 3 year warranty.

About Myself:
I am just an average consumer who tries to listen to music just the way they are meant to be heard. I currently have a Sennheiser HD598SE, Fiio Q1 as an amp, and lz a4, rha t20i, rha ma390u and some other cheap in ears. My current favorite is the lz a4 and I will be writing a review for it shortly. Now onto the review.

Preamble:

I have the RHA T20i for about 4 months and I have burned it with my mixed tracks of pink and white noise for about 100hrs. In short they are quite good for their price and their filter system is just an icing on top of their cake.

Box Contents:

Now, this I must say at first. The unboxing experience of these were just one of a kind for me. I never thought someone could showcase their iems like this! This makes for a very good first impression. These iems contain everything that a man needs to fit them in their ears (but the sad thing is, even with that, it was kind of itchy inside my ears). The box contains 6 pairs of single flange eartips (s,m,l), 2 pairs of double-flange eartips (s,l) and 2 pairs of Comply foam eartips. They also include a carrying case, a shirt clip, a manual and of course the three tuning filters for the bass, mids and treble.
Build Quality:

These pair of iems have an outstanding build quality. They are built like a tank and are built to last. I think that there are hardly any iem manufacturer who uses injection moulded steel for their iems as it is a long and tedious process and also not much cost-effective. But these iems do not come with detachable cables which is quite a letdown considering the price of the iem. Should anything happen to the cable, you have to send it to RHA for RMA! But still, all jokes aside, this really is a major omission from such an expensive pair of iems. The cable is made of OFC and the outer covering is made of silicon.Also the cable feels rubbery and sticky to the touch which I don’t like much. But the cable is quite sturdy and should survive quite a while if handled properly. Also, I have never seen such a highly protected y-split and headphone jack. RHA has really taken it to the next level in the headphone jack department; the strain relief on the jack is the best i have seen and it feels really durable and premium.

Comfort:
Now this is one of those areas where YMMV. For me even after trying out all the tips including the foam tips, i could not find something that is both comfortable and isolating. The only one that at least was the least irritating to my ears were the small double-flange tips. They maintained a good seal but it still was uncomfortable for me. Also the shell of the iem often made contact with my inner ear and it was painful. But eventually, I adjusted with it and now, they don't bug me no more.

Filters:
Now, I am making a separate section for the filters as it is one of the main features of the iem. Now, I have read in some forums that people are telling that the filters are a gimmick so let me clear this once and for all - they are not a gimmick, they really do change the sound signature a bit which can be felt by any listener. Now, about the filters, there are 3 types of them included. The black one is for bass, the white one is for reference and the gold one is for treble. Now all of them changes the sound signature subtly without changing the actual sound signature of the iems.

Sound:

I am going to be using the bass filter for this sound review as I mostly listen to edm, rap, and also some acoustic songs. The sound signature on these iems is slightly v-shaped which means that there is more emphasis on the bass and the treble than the mids. The audio is going to be flac and they will be output from my pc via fiio q1.

(i) Bass:
Now obviously with the bass filter, the bass really pops out in most of the songs. At moderate volumes, the bass is quite punchy and enjoyable and most people will enjoy it. The bass is really tight and dynamic and it never bleeds into the lower mids. The sub-bass digs really deep and the the mid-bass is quite present in them. There is a bit of a peak near the 100Hz which gives it that "thump". All the edm and pop songs sound really nice with the bass filter on. But at times, it becomes a little harsh at higher volumes, But that's about the only con I could find at the bass department.

(ii) Mids:
The mids are clear and forward on these iem. Both male vocalists and female vocalists sound good on these earphones. Idina Menzel's 'Let It Go' sounds really good on them. Also vocals sound natural and intimate (That means that it seems as if they are singing just to you due to a narrow sound stage). You should give it a try!

(iii) Treble:
The treble is quite strong on this iem and you can literally feel the strings if the guitar in Stairway to Heaven. There is a slight peak at the 1 kHz range which provides a nice bite to guitars and other string instruments. Also the treble is not harsh at high volumes which is nice.

(iv) Sound stage:
Now, the sound stage is not that wide on this iem. It has depth but not width. Also, the instrument separation and detail is extremely good. The amount of detail this iem can replicate is simply amazing. You can listen to some of the tracks you hear almost on a daily basis and you can find something that you have never heard of in your songs!

Now, on to the pros and cons:

Pros:
(i) Well built
(ii) Great Sound
(iii) Good Instrument Separation

Cons:
(i) No removable cable
(ii) Bass can be a bit harsh at high volumes
(iii) May take some time getting the fit right
(iv) Average soundstage

Conclusion: These are a great pair of iem but they do come at a cost of $200 which is not inexpensive for an iem, but still if anyone who has a budget of $200 for an iem, I would highly recommend them to at least give these iem a try, they won't disappoint you.

At the time of the review, the RHA T20 has not yet been released in the United States. This review was done as part of a demo tour done with the Head-Fi community. The MSRP at launch is expected to be $239 UDS. Here is a link to the RHA site
 
http://www.rha-audio.com/us/
 
Introduction
RHA has developed a following on Head-Fi with successful releases like the MA-750 and T10. They are known for their solid build quality and dynamic tuning. If there have been any knocks against them in the past it is usually by audiophiles who prefer a more linear tuning stating that the RHA models have too much bass for their own good. RHA is addressing this issue for those critics and introducing a new technology in the T20, using their unique “dual coil technology” which they claim will increase resolution. While I haven’t heard the other previous offerings from RHA, to this point many impressions are that the T20 has improved in terms of balancing the sound and offering a higher resolution earphone with better controlled bass response.
 
Disclaimer
I was given an opportunity to sample their product as part of a tour in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I am in no way affiliated with RHA.
 
My Background
I AM NOT a numbers and graphs audiophile or sound engineer. Personal audio enthusiast? Absolutely! Headphone junkie? Possibly…
 
There’s something about quality DAPs, DACs, Amplifiers and Earphones that intrigues me, especially if they can be had for low prices. I will buy the $5 to $500 earphone that looks promising, in hopes that I will discover that one new gem that can compete with the big names in this industry. If you look at my Head-Fi profile you will see that I have purchased MANY different headphones and earphones, ranging from from dirt cheap to higher end products. For me, this hobby is more about getting great price to performance ratio from a product, and have a variety of different gears with varying builds and sound to mix and match. With personal audio gear, we tend to pay a lot of money for minor upgrades. One thing I’ve learned over the last few years is that just because a headphone has a higher price tag, it doesn’t mean that it has superior build and sound quality.
 
I’m always looking for great audio at a great price. I’m after headphones and IEMs that give me the “WOW” factor. I can appreciate different builds and sound signatures as long as they are ergonomic, and the sound is pleasing to the ear. It is my pleasure to share my experiences with audio products and make recommendations based gear I have owned and used.
 
REVIEW
The T20 comes in a black box with a nice size picture of the T20 on the front and some side notes and drawings displaying the key features of their product. The back of the box displays a diagram with explanations of its features in several different languages.
 


 
 
There is a flap on the front of the box that opens to more information about their new DualCoil driver technology and schematics of their design. There is a nice frequency graph showing the difference in sound between each filter. The right of the display when opening the flaps shows a beautiful display of the product, filters, and eartips. The packaging and display is really well done.
 

 
 

Specifications

 

Included

1. T20 in-ear headphone
2. Tuning Filters with Holder
3. 6 pairs, dual density ear tips - S x2 / M x2 / L x2
4. 2 pairs, double flange ear tips - S x1 / L x1
5. 2 pairs, memory foam ear tips - universal fit
6. Stainless steel ear tip holder
7. Premium carry case
8. Clothing clip

 
There are plenty of tips for just about everyone to get a secure fit and seal.
 
Housings
The housings of the T20 are made of stainless steel. They are built like a tank. They are slightly heavy for an IEM, but not ridiculously heavy that it’s going to impair your ability to get a fit. RHA molded them into a pretty nicely rounded shape so they fit in the ear nicely and are very comfortable. The housing is designed for over the ear fit.

 
Cable, Y-Split, Cable Jack, Strain Reliefs
The T20 cable is a thick and robust design that looks like it's made to withstand the test of time. The cable has very little memory and enough spring to keep itself from getting tangled. It is a very high quality material that most will appreciate. The first three to four inches from the housing sports a rubber material memory wire. Some will like it, but like almost all memory wires I didn’t necessarily care for it and would have opted for no memory wire and the provided chin slider. Your mileage may vary.
 
The Y-split is made of a combination of a stainless steel jacket and rubber strain relief. It is VERY low on the cable. It’s saving grace is a very useful chin slider that will keep there from what would be two separated cables running down to most people’s naval.
 
The Cable jack is a stainless steel straight 3.5 mm gold plated plug. Strain relief at the cable is a metal spring.
 
All in all, I find the cable to be just a bit too long for portable use (I am over six feet tall and still find it to be long). The amount of slack from the Y-split to the housing is excessive. On a brighter note, everything about the cable is top notch in terms of materials used.
 
Ergonomics, Fit and Microphonics, Isolation
Ergonomics are nice in terms of housing shape. They fit nicely, but the memory wire did require me to do a little extra messing with the wire to get a comfortable and balanced fit with them. Finding a tip that fit well was easy, as RHA provides a ton of silicone tips and comply foams in a couple different sizes. I doubt there will be anyone who can't find a stock tip that fits.

 
I find the cable to be a bit long. Between that and the weight of the product, it is bordering on bulky. The chin slider is great in terms of solving these issues because it can be used to snug everything into place. Once I achieved a good fit, I didn’t have to readjust them very often. Getting a good fit took a little bit of extra work, but once I got it they weren’t going anywhere and were very comfortable.
 
When I used these for walking or running I didn’t get any microphonics because of the over the ear design, but I did get a cable noise from the weight of the cable tugging and vibrating with each step. I found that snugging things up with the chin slider more than normal helped remedy this. With smart use of the chin slider I recommend them for use when being active.
 
Isolation is slightly below average, however the robust yet controlled bass that the T20 presents makes them work great for commuting. When wearing them with no music playing, I can definitely tell that they are a vented design.

 
Sound Review & Materials
 
I used my usual same songs for testing gear:
“Limit to your love” by James Blake (bass speed, punch, response)
“Doin’ it Right” by Daft Punk (sub bass)
“Get lucky” by Daft Punk (bass to midrange transition resolution, male vocals)
“Madness” by Muse (soundstage, separation)
“Some nights” by Fun (soundstage and male vocals)
“The soundmaker” by Rodrigo y Gabriela (texture and imaging)
“Bassically” by Tei Shi (bass to midrange resolution, female vocals)
“Skinny Love” performed by Birdie (female vocals, acoustic playback)
“One” by Ed Sheeran (male vocals, acoustic playback)
“Outlands” from the Tron Legacy Soundtrack (symphonic presentation, imaging)
“Sultans of swing” by Dire Straits (detail, separation, balance)
“And Justic for All” by Metallica (driver distortion, treble response, rock playback)
“Ten thousand fists” by Disturbed (driver distortion, treble response, rock playback)
 
Note: Other tracks were used, but the listed songs were primarily used to asses and break down the gear’s response.
 
Sound Signature
The RHA sounds as tough and awesome as it looks. They are a beast of an IEM offering  a powerful and rich presentation that maintains a great level of separation. I heard a slight V signature that is customizable with different filters to tweak the sound and optimize listening pleasure. The filters didn’t change the sound too much, and offered minor adjustments while maintaining the RHA signature tuning for the most part. There was enough difference with each filter to know that anyone who tries these will have a preferred set, but not different enough that the general consensus will find any of the sets to be useless.
 
The T20 plays every genre well with its somewhat consumer friendly tuning that will appeal to both audiophiles and the music enthusiast picking up their first higher end earphones. What I fell in love with when listening to these is how well they play rock music and metal. Simply put, they ROCK with these genres. To this point, I don’t think I’ve heard any other in-ear monitor that makes these genres so enjoyable.
 
The T20 comes with 3 sets of tuning filters that screw onto the housing. Each filter could be screwed on to the housings and had a rubber gasket to ensure a seal of the filter when attached.
 
With the bass filter there was a more forward bass presence and a reduction in highs. Separation and detail was still there, but it was a little too much bass for my preference, as it seems to intrude in resolution of the lower midrange.
 
The treble filter was a close second to the reference filter for me. They provided the most linear sound with a more controlled bass response than the other two, yet still enough bass that it wasn’t lacking in any way. Treble was the most crisp of all three filters and while I enjoyed it quite a bit, I could imagine some people not caring for how forward the treble is, especially those who listen to their music at higher volumes.
 
The reference filter was my personal favorite and rendered a slight v-signature that was pretty balanced and had a nice bass slam and higher frequencies that were spot on. Bass with the reference filter was sometimes bordering on too much with some tracks and would slightly impact the resolution of the lower midrange. Still, there is a level of separation of sound that you have to hear to appreciate.  All in all this was my favorite filter and what I will base my review on moving forward.  
 
Bass
Bass on the T20 is bold, forward, fast and with enough punch and rumble to say that is is very well rounded and not lacking. There is a very nice balance when running sweeps from sub to mid bass tones. If there is anything I could fault about the bass response, it’s that the midrange and treble have such nice separation and air between sounds that the bass could sometimes seem wooly in comparison. I really don’t think it’s that the T20 bass is bad at all, because honestly it’s excellent.
 
Midrange
Midrange is lush, textured, and separation is superb. I really enjoyed listening to complex music passages, picking out particular midrange instruments and vocals and listening to them play without the sounds blending with other instruments. The T20 dissects the music and plays it beautifully without any midrange distortion. Although I do get a slight sense of these having a V-signature, It is a very slight V, and midrange frequencies are not necessarily lacking and don’t seem distant like other monitors with this type of tuning. I think the biggest accomplishment is the ability of its midrange to have a slightly thicker note presentation and still retain awesome separation and resolution. Well done RHA!
 
There is a forwardness and resolution in the upper mids that I really enjoy and you probably will as well. This aspect makes the midrange pop and balances things with the robust bass presence, giving it a very entertaining sense while still being pretty natural sounding.
 
Treble
Treble was spot on, with a tuning that many could appreciate. The pronunciation of the letter S never got harsh to my ears. It has very nice extension, better than average detail and a crisp feel that will get your toes tapping. It was only during some of the most complex treble passages that I would get sense of cymbals getting slightly splashy or grainy, but even then it didn’t necessarily take away from the overall presentation. Do I think the treble could be a little more resolving? The answer is sometimes, but I’m not going to deduct points because overall the treble response of the T20 is fantastic.
 
Soundstage and Imaging
The extended bass and treble along with the nicely separation in the midrange give me good sense of space, but for whatever reason the louder you play them the larger the soundstage gets. At lower volumes they don’t yield the same soundstage to my ears. I’m not sure if it’s because the bass presence or what, it just seems that way and I can’t put my finger on it. This applies to imaging as well. turning things up to around the ½ to ⅔ mark yielded better imaging that at ⅓ volume. I suppose isolation and venting play a part in this as well.
 
Source Selection
The T20 will sound fine with something as simple as a cell phone but I did notice that a more powerful and higher resolution source gave me better result. For the most part the better the source, the better these sound.
 
Comparisons
 
Fidue A73 ($130 to $150 USD on many sites)
 
A73 is like that dessert you can't stop eating. The mids are like a perfect consistency cream filling that you can't have just one bite of. You keep coming back for more. While it's not linear or flat or whatever you want to call it, it's this perfect amount of warmth and resolution that never gets tiring. The bass response is forward-ish and present, and displays extension and can be authorative when called upon. Midrange sounds (and vocals) really pop and sound lovely. The top end is layed back in upper mids and still high resolution, and finishes with a nice bite at the top end that is crisp without being fatiguing. Bass through midrange and treble, it is probably the most grain free sounding IEMs I've ever heard. I love the way the a73 fits. The housings are lightweight and there isn't any memory wires to fart around with. Some people prefer memory wire so take my fitment preference with a grain of salt.
 
A73:Better fit for me, Better midrange, Completely grain free sound that is smoother and less fatiguing than t20, yet still entertaining, tuning works fantastic for vocals, Symphony, and EDM. Almost $100 cheaper.
 
The t20 is a beast, period. It's built like a tank. It has a slight V-signature without making the mids sound distant in any way. Their tuning is customizable, which will better allow users to tweak the sound beyond tip rolling. To my ears there's more separation and air between sounds. The t20 really sounds like a multi driver setup to me. They have similar bass forwardness with a little more bass spilling into the midrange but is still minimal (a73 has forward midbass but less spillage). The upper mids are more forward and aggressive on the t20, but very high resolution (I prefer the t20 upper mids as they are more entertaining). The accessories package is phenomenal. There's enough tips for anyone to get a fit, and their accessories package destroys the a73's offering. I am not a fan of memory wire and caught myself farting around with the housings and wires to get a good seal more often than I would like. The t20 is truly end game caliber in terms of build and sound. They will impress everyone who hears them. They are a tough guy and an entertainer at the same time. Their world class separation of sounds is legendary.
 
T20: Sturdier build, better separation of sounds, more accessories, customizable tuning, V-signature better for rock and modern genres, three year warranty is phenomenal

 
T-Peos Altone 250 ($199 USD on CTC Audio)
I had high hopes for the Altone 250 because I really enjoyed the Altone 200, and am partial to single dynamic and single armature hybrid earphones for the most part. However they messed up the tuning of the Altone 250 with tons of mid bass that drowns out the user’s ability to enjoy the rest of what they have to offer.
 
Even with the bass filter of the T20 (which was my least favorable) the T20 destroys the Altone 250 in just about every auditory aspect with the only exception being that maybe the the Altone 250 has a slightly better treble response due to its armature driver being a hair more resolving and able to handle complex passages. Other than this the T20 is leaps and bounds better in sound quality. It also offers a better tip selection and case. The Altone 250 offers two detachable cables (one with a mic and remote, and one without) but their cables are stiff and springy and much more of a PITA to handle than the RHA model.
 
Is there anything that would make me choose the Atone 250 over the RHA T20? NOPE! After using both of them, I would pay an extra hundred, let alone the small forty dollar difference between these two.
 
Conclusion
The T20 rocks. It’s built like a tank, sounds phenomenal, and comes with a three year warranty. The only thing that would prevent me from recommending them to someone is if they said they were looking for something lightweight and with a linear tuning. Other than the fact that they don’t check these two boxes, there is nothing about them I could say is a glaring fault. I already expressed interest to RHA that I want to buy a set. I’m sad that I have to ship them off to the next lucky guy who gets to review them. I know my rock music collection won’t sound as good without them.

Thanks for reading and happy listening!

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-Introduction-​

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RHA is an interesting company. It has forged its own place within the audiophile world, making a name for itself based on the industrial design language of its products and the generous duration of the warranty that accompanies them. Today I have the privilege of reviewing the T20, RHA’s former flagship IEM. While it’s no longer the pinnacle of what RHA has to offer, it’s certainly still worth taking a look at.
You can find the T20 for sale on RHA’s official website here, for $240.
Disclaimer: This review is based upon a sample unit provided to me by a manufacturer or distributor in exchange for my honest opinion and un-edited words. I do not profit in any way from the writing of the review. I would like to thank Marina and Caroline at RHA for sending me this review unit.
Preference and Bias: Before reading a review, it is worth mentioning that there is no way for a reviewer to objectively pass judgment on the enjoy-ability of a product: such a thing is inherently subjective. Therefore, I find it necessary for you to read and understand what I take a natural liking to and how that might affect my rating of a product.
My ideal sound signature would be an extended sub-bass with a leveled, but textured, bass. The mids should be slightly less pronounced than the treble, but still ahead of the bass. I prefer a more bright upper range.
Source: The T20 was powered like so:
PC optical out-> HifiMe SPDIF 9018 DAC 3.5mm out-> earphones
or
AP100 3.5mm out -> earphones
All music was served as MP3 @320Kbps or as FLAC.

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-Sound Signature-​

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Initial Impressions:
Silver/Reference filter: Treble has a notable presence. It is transparent, but not biting, raw, or sharp. Mids aren’t too far back, and are rather dynamic within the mix. Bass is slightly boosted, giving the low end of the spectrum a nice weight to it.
Gold/Treble filter: While the treble filter doesn’t actually decrease the amount of bass being produced, it does make it feel less forward by boosting emphasis to the treble and upper mids. This boost does make the T20 feel a little more precise, and opens up the sound a little bit more. It does not, however, make the treble sibilant or sharp. As a side effect, mids are also slightly pushed back.
Black/Bass filter:
The black filter adds a notable amount of sub-bass, with a slight boost to mid-bass. This makes drops deeper, drum kicks harder, and classical concerts more sonorous. While still not at bass-head levels of bass, the T20 does do a good job delivering in both quantity and quality of bass using the black filter, more so than many “warm” and “bassy” IEMs in this price bracket.


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Unless otherwise stated, the statements made in the following sections are made with regards to the neutral (silver) filter.
Treble: Songs used: White Flag, Midnight City, Outlands
As I’d mentioned earlier, treble is quite nicely placed. It is very transparent and well-extended. Impressively enough, it is also very much not sibilant, sharp, or raw, instead adopting an bold, yet respectful presence. This manifests itself as a good level of retrieval and micro-detail placement in songs like White Flag. Treble layers well, and has it’s own dynamics and depth to it. Outlands fairs just as well, as the T20 does a very good job creating a sense of air, separating out the violins well from the rest of the song.
Hi-hats decay well, and don’t smudge too much into the rest of the upper register.
Mids: Songs used: Flagpole Sitta, Jacked Up, I Am The Highway, Good Life
Evaluating the mid-range of an IEM is more often than not my favorite part of my reviews, and the T20 feeds my interest well. My songs really do come to life on the T20, as each instrument is distinct, with its own position and depth, which is likely due to the airy feeling the T20 gives to many songs. Interestingly enough, the T20 does not seem to have a large spike around the 1–2KHz range that many IEMs use to boost vocal resolution and clarity. While there is certainly a climb from 1–2KHz up to 5Khz or so, such a incline gently moves the vocals forwards, without making them too commanding of the song.
Bass: Songs used: Lights, Gold Dust, 99 Problems (Hugo Cover), Leave Me
Even with the reference filter, bass is not at “reference” levels of emphasis. Instead, RHA chose to give the T20 a small boost in mid and sub bass. While audio purists may disagree with that choice, I actually quite enjoy it. It allows songs like Lights to have a very satisfying level of depth and body, without causing songs like Gold Dust and Leave Me to become boomy and messy. In fact, the reference filter still manages to give said songs a meaty bass drop with some excellent sub bass extension.
Clarity: Songs used: Throne, Map of The Problimatique, I’m Not Alright
The T20 is developed using RHA’s proprietary “dual coil” dynamic drivers. While this may sound fancy (and likely is in practice), the theory behind it isn’t too complex. The “dual coil” refers to a 2-in-1 driver that’s split the transmission coil of the dynamic driver into two separate rings, allowing the driver to divide its workload among the two coils. Thusly, it functions as if it had two dynamic drivers inside, while maintaining a size close to that of single dynamic driver. This technology does show itself when the T20 is pushed quite hard, and it shows itself well. The T20 handled Throne without problem, as it did with I’m Not Alright. No distortion, no noticeable smudging. There was, however, a small amount of lost micro-detail, which is to be expected.
Sound Stage
Sound staging is precise. So precise, in fact, that I had what I’d consider to be my first true “3D” sound space experience with it during the intro of Soldier’s Poem by Muse. But further than that, as I’d mentioned earlier in my review, the T20 does a wonderful job creating an airy and spacious stage for the instruments of my songs to play on. Classical songs can take on a symphonic feeling, punk vocalists can scream their hearts out right next to you, and electronic bass drops can immerse you in the chaos that is the modern EDM scene.

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-Packaging / Unboxing-​

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My apologies for the slightly rotated pictures, as the rock I was taking pictures on was not flat.
 


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-Build-​

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Construction Quality
RHA did a very good job making the T20 feel sturdy and premium. The polished stainless-steel driver housings look like little metallic jewels, and have a satisfying clack when bounced against one another. The driver housings look to be comprised of two metal parts, joined at a seam roughly in the middle of the housing. While it’s an impressive feat, there seems to have been a slight misstep along the way when my particular unit was manufactured. The seam of my left driver housing is wider than the one on the right driver housing. My suggestion to RHA is to try an make the seam less noticeable, as it would greatly enhance the premium look and feel of the T20.
However, for those of you who are nervous, fear not. RHA has great customer service and a heft 3 year warranty on their IEMs, so they’ve got you covered.
 


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[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The T20’s cable terminates in a gold-plated 3.5mm jack, and is protected by a spring. This gives the T20 (and most other IEMs made by RHA) an industrial, but still premium, feeling. It’s not just a fancy gimmick either. The spring, as well as all the other stress relief systems on the T20, do a very good job protecting the cable from day-to-day mechanical stress.[/color]
 
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[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]While my unit does not have inline controls, RHA sells a version that does for $10 more called the T20i.[/color]
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[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Comfort[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]Comfort is highly subjective. Everyone has a different bar that an IEM must reach in order to be deemed “comfortable”. Therefore, all I can say is that this section may not be representative of your experiences with this product.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]I find the T20 to be quite comfortable. The insertion depth of the nozzle is farther than the MA750i, and is a little longer than most IEMs I own in general. This lets me get a pretty good seal, even with the stock silicone. The shape of the T20’s driver housings is quite ergonomic, and doesn’t even feel like it’s there most of the time. The cable’s memory wire is also quite good, having an almost perfect balance between pliability and stability. It’s far superior to the implementation of memory wire on the MA750i.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The memory foam eartips were, however, not very usable for me. It appears as if RHA chose to use generic memory foam instead of genuine Comply eartips. I had a hard time achieving any reasonable insertion depth with them, and found them generally uncomfortable.[/color]

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-Accessories-​

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[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]In typical RHA fashion, the T20 comes with a plethora of eartips all placed neatly on a stainless-steel plate. A variety of nine extra sets are included, which encompass standard silicone, double flange, and memory foam eartips.[/color]
[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]I am confused as to why RHA chose to include these particular memory foam eartips, which are not genuine Comply, when lower tier IEMs in RHA’s product line, such as the MA750i, include eartips that are either genuine Comply, or very convincing generic versions. It’s pretty disappointment for me, as I absolutely love memory foam eartips.[/color]
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[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]I mentioned earlier that the T20’s case is large enough to fit the unruly rubber cable permanently attached to the T20’s driver housings in it with no issues. Furthermore, there is plenty of space to throw in some extra eartips or the metal filter holder. As an added bonus, the case is a [/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]perfect [/color][color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]fit for the Hidizs AP100, my current mobile workhorse.[/color][/color]
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-Summary-​

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[color=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8)]The T20 is a versatile, premium IEM. While fit and finish could use a little work, the T20’s sonic prowess is notable for its price. Listeners looking for a stylish, durable, and comfortable IEM with a small amount of bass emphasis should find great solace in the T20’s warm aural embrace.[/color]

 




 
 



































On the other hand, when the bass filter was used for tracks which didn't require bass enhancement or didn't improve the sound using enhanced bass, the overall output felt a little muddied. The tightness of the bass response while using the reference filters was traded off for a more enhanced but less refined one when listening to folk, rock, acoustic and even some metal tracks.
 
Overall, the reference filter was the preferred pair, for my tastes at least.
 
Summary >
 
RHA have ventured up the price ladder with their new flagship, and I feel they're on the right track. I haven't been able to listen to their first flagship, the MA750, which I was looking to purchase at one point, but settled for the Havi B3Pro1 instead, and the MA750 was the model that got RHA the fame they deserve, in my opinion.
 
Now would the T20 be recommended by myself? Whole heartedly. Is it the best price/ performance value out there in this price range? Yes it probably is. The sound tuning filters sure add a whole lot to this department as it can cater to a whole range of consumers, be it the big bass loving, or the slightly treble inclined individuals, there's a filter for that. The sound signature, apart from being 'rich' and not dry at all, is fairly uncolored in my opinion.
 
So that's it, folks, thanks for reading through this hastily written first timer's review. Would appreciate your thoughts, suggestions et al.
 
So while I reluctantly prepare to bid farewell to the review unit, here's wishing you fine folks some happy listening!
 

 
 
Thanks & Cheers