T10i:
The RHA T10i is probably the best looking and best built in-ear headphone for $200. The design is exquisite.
T10i:
The RHA T10i is probably the best looking and best built in-ear headphone for $200. The design is exquisite, featuring noise-isolating stainless steel buds, hand-made drivers, interchangeable sound filters, and an oxygen-free copper cable.
There are a lot of excellent in-ear headphones for $200 though. How does the T10i stack up? Here’s our full review.
Build and Fit
The T10is exude a luxury not typically found in the $200 in-ear range. Even the $500 NuForce Primo 8 didn’t feel as expensive as these. It’s not just the metal buds themselves that impress. Included in the box are ten pairs of tips: six silicone domes, two “Christmas tree”, and two foam (not specifically Comply, but similar), all arranged on a metal tray.
Even more interesting are the interchangeable filters. The Torque Audio and Shure SE846 have this as well, and it’s a cool idea. In theory it allows finer tuning of the sound to suit a wider range of personal preferences. What I’ve found, though, is they’re hard to judge: If there’s one filter I like the sound of, does that mean the other filters sound “bad”? A heavier question than we have space for here, perhaps. Regardless, with the (admittedly excellent) Shure SE846 I stuck with the “Neutral,” the others sounding a bit more… tilted. So I started with the Reference filter here, checking out the Bass and Treble filters after.
Rounding out the included goodies is an in-line 3-button remote and mic, and a really nice leather (?) wallet-sized carrying case.
After you pick your favorite of the myriad tips, you’ll need to take a moment to fiddle with the cable loop. The T10is have an over-the-ear cable design I’ve found hit-or-miss with other headphones. For some people, the design works great, keeping the buds secured comfortable. Others can’t stand it, and can’t get a good fit. I’m somewhere in the middle, with some headphones that feature the design working great, others… not so much. A lot of that is how well (or not) the cable interacts with my glasses. The T10i were OK, but I didn’t ever love it. I was able to get them to fit without pushing on my glasses frames, which isn’t something I can say about the Shures. Even if you don’t have glasses, expect some trial and error to get the fit right (and do get the fit right, otherwise the T10s won’t sound as good as they should).
Sound
For test music, I used songs written about in Best Headphone Test Tracks, using both my HTC One and Apple iPod touch as sources.
The overall sound of the RHA T10i, with the “Reference” filter, is of a lot of bass, and noticeable boost in the upper-midrange. The bass is a little muddled, more “whump” than “thump.” The spike in the upper mid-range is right around the snare drum range. I tend to like a little extra bass, but I like it better defined than this. If you’ve ready any of my headphone reviews before, you know I hate upper mid-range boosts. A lot of headphones have this (for reasons not worth getting into here).
The bass though, goes really deep. Organ music, for example, sounds pretty epic. Or Roger Water’s bass on “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2.” I can’t say I’ve heard in-ears that seem to go as low as these do. Overall I could, ahem, basically get used to the low end with the T10i. That spike in the upper mids, though not nearly as bad as many headphones, was a bit more than I’d like. It gives the T10s an almost shouty sound with certain voices.
Not to pre-judge, but I expected to hate the “Treble” filter. I can hear high end sounds really well, and I definitely don’t need more of them. Ever. But hey, thorough review and all that. The filters screw on and off very easily, which isn’t the case with many such designs.
Yeah… um, the Treble filter had almost the same amount of bass as the Reference filter. There is definitely more treble, though not as much as you’d think. There’s a lot more sibilance though. So I’m not sure even people who like a lot treble would really dig this filter. It’s a bit harsh.
Last up was the “Bass” filter. Given the Reference filter already had as much bass as I’d care for, I was pretty curious what this filter would do. There is more bass, but it actually sounds a little better controlled, which I wasn’t expecting. That 2-3k spike is still there, though, which is a bummer.
However… I switched to the foam tips and the sound changed a lot. This has been the case with several headphones I’ve tried (the Shures, for one). In-ear headphones are all about the fit, and it’s hard to get a better seal than with foam (at least for most ears). Using the Bass filters and the foam tips, the sound was a bit mellowed. The spike was reduced, and because of the reduced treble, the T10s sounded less open. I liked them a lot more though. They went from “good, but not great” to “I could listen to these.” It’s still a lot of bass though, keep that in mind.
I switched to the Treble filters. A more even frequency response than with the Bass filter, certainly, but with the mid-range very forward. Voices, for example, were a bit louder than they should be. The Reference filters, not surprisingly, were a balance between the two. Bit more bass than the Treble, a bit more treble than the Bass.
Overall, the foam/Treble combo (in my ears, anyway) was what I’d say is the best balanced, though I preferred the Reference. Regardless, the T10s in this configuration were a touch dull sounding. They did have some excellent stereo separation, soundstage, and imaging, though, better than I’ve heard with most in-ears.
Conclusion
The RHA T10i is a beautiful headphone, of that there’s no question. The multiple tips, filters, and overall design is fantastic, especially when you consider the price.
The sound though… is harder to say. I did find a tip/filter combo I liked, and that is the point of including them all. However, I didn’t like them until I found that one combo, which is a bit worrying. These had the biggest difference in how much I liked/disliked the sound between best fit, and worst fit, of any headphone I’ve tested. Plus, the foam tips were the only tips that fit comfortably for me because of the over-the-ear cable loop. It’s lucky, perhaps, that the way those tips change the sound in my ears, changed it in a way I liked.
Further, there are plenty of excellent sounding $200 in-ears that just sound good as soon as you put them in, without all the hassle.
Which is to say, I can’t flat out recommend the T10i. But I’m not not recommending them. If you can get a good fit, and you like the around-the-ear design, and you like bass, these are definitely worth checking out.
And they’re certainly gorgeous.
Read the full article at Forbes