I would not count myself as an audiophile or expert in reviewing or critiquing phones, but I love my music and I love listening to a good sound, so my choice of headphone is important to me.
I mainly listen when commuting on trains and tubes, and this means my source is also restricted to iPhone 6 as I want the convenience of one device only. (Although I have toyed with the idea of adding the beautiful looking Oppo HA2 but unsure if much difference is worth the price tag.)
For the last year I have been using B&O H6. I love them, the sound and feel of the headphone makes me smile and enjoy much loved albums all over again, but only when listening to them in a quiet environment.The H6 have poor isolation, poor sound leakage, and poor power when driven just from an iPhone 6. even if I bought an amp/dac too, the problems of poor isolation and leakage remain. So these problems add up to me sadly conceding my H6 are no good for my travelling listening needs, the outside noise just covers up all the intricate detail the H6 provide. I refuse to sell them, and will try to use them at home for pure enjoyment as much as I can.
So I decided IEM was the best way forward for me. My must have requirements were: sound quality, isolation, comfort and no leakage. My nice to have requirements were: in-line remote, style and design. This led me to a few options of quite different prices: RHA T20i, B&W C5 S2, and the upcoming Dunu 2002, and for various reasons discounted the Shures, Klipsch, Westone, Etymoticand Bose.
I read a lot about the Dunu range, focussing on the 2000J, but realised the newer range due out soon was better suited for me. The 2002 option would be not as heavy as the 2000J; a better ergonomic design, hopefully improved hybrid driver combinations too. I emailed Dunu to try to find out some detail on when these would be reviewed or released and received the following friendly reply:
"Hello Alex,
There won't be any DN-2002 released information lately, because we haven't decided the launch date, most probably on March or April next year, USA and UK simultaneously release.
Thanks for asking
Vivian" vivian@dunu-topsound.com
However, I decided against the Dunu 2002 because they don't exist yet, probably about £300 mark and may or may not be good. This meant my decision was easily the RHA T20i, made easier with the more understated (and I think better looking) all black versions available via Apple Store, and the excellent three year guarantee from RHA too.
As my wife contributed to part of the cost I was not allowed to see or try them until Christmas, so I had to join in with the seasonal customs of present giving and receiving before I could play with my new purchase. I did give them an initial listen to straight out of the box and like what I heard. Immediately noticed the superb isolation and they seemed to warm up very quickly.
I am not sure about the burning in need for in-ear phones, but gave them about 20 hours under a large cushion with a variety of music types. Not sure this made a huge difference, if anything the mids and highs have come out more as the bass seemed a tad boomy when listening straight out of the box.
My main worry about buying the T20i was comfort, not having used over ear loops previously, and I have annoyingly small ears and canals. So the wide range of ear tips reassured me somewhat, but only one pair out of 12 fitted in my small ears, which were the rubber double flanges. I have since bought the Comply isolation tx small tips and have used those for the first time today, which are still quite tight and will take a bit of getting used to.
For my requirement of comfort I like these so far. The new experience of over ear loops is made better with the easy to shape and comfortable ear hoops specially designed by RHA, the comply tips work well to keep it secure, and they do not feel too heavy at all. The cable is slightly heavy and bulky, and works better when held in place under a coat or on a clip, as walking with a bouncing wire certainly pulls a little.
For my requirement of sound quality, I like what I hear so far. I still need time to listen to various music styles and types, but listening to and hour of blues and folk this morning was very enjoyable. I like the balance these seem to provide, a very open clear range with just enough warmth to be an enjoyable sound. Will update more on this in a couple of weeks time.
For my requirement of isolation and no sound leakage, these are excellent. The Comply Tx tips add help to make the world 90% disappear, leaving just enough for me to hear traffic and other life saving sounds. Plus, the leakage seems non-existant; my wife had to put her ear next to my head in a quiet room whilst I listened at a mid to high volume to hear any leakage at all.
I also feel that my nice to have requirements have also been met, the style (especially in all black) is good; the design works well, and the three button remote works fine too (note: have not tested phone calls yet).
I would appreciate any comments or advice; especially regarding best ear tips to use with very small ears and canals.
And would love to hear any other new RHA T20i owners views too.
