First Listen: RHA Audio T10i earphones

Roughly a year a go I penned a Hi-Fi+ web exclusive review of a very fine and surprisingly affordable earphone called the MA750i from the Scottish firm RHA. If you read the review, some points I hope you might take away from it would be the fact that RHA has particular strengths in two key product-related areas:

• First, build quality (which was and is exceptionally good, especially in light of the MA750i’s modest $129 price), and
• Second, neutrality of voicing (which is one of those characteristics that seems quite difficult for manufacturers to get right, especially in earphone-type products).

My point is that the MA750i is admirable for a number of good reasons, so that it has become for me a nearly automatic go-to recommendation when listeners ask which earphones on the market offer the sonic “good stuff” and rock-solid build quality, yet don’t cost vast sums of money to acquire.

Now, let’s jump forward a year to the present time to see what RHA has done for us lately. The answer, in simple terms, is that they have just created a new upscale, yet still quite reasonably priced, high performance earphone called the T10i that goes even further than the MA750i did in terms of both sound and build quality.

The new  T10i (priced at $199 or £149) has a number of distinguishing features that set it apart from the earlier MA750i. Among these features are:

• An all-new handmade dynamic driver (internally known at RHA as the model 770.1 driver) that is said to “reproduce all genres of music with high levels of accuracy and detail.”
• An included set of colour-coded, metal, screw-in type voicing filters that allow users to fine-tune the T10i’s voicing for a “Reference” (neutrally balanced), “Treble” (slightly treble-enhanced), or “Bass” (subtly bass enhanced) presentation.
• Impressive-look, ultra-comfortable, and very durable earpiece housings made of—get this—Metal Injection Moulded stainless steel (stainless steel is not an easy material to use in moulding processes, so that the construction of the T10i earpieces involves heating the earpiece housing to “1300° C for up to ten hours to ensure the steel is the correct shape and density for outstanding comfort and durability.”
• Distinctive, patent-pending over-the-ear ear-hooks that are relatively flexible and easy to shape, yet that hold their shapes quite well once properly adjusted (qualities rarely seen together in the same design).
• A multicore, 1.35mm signal cable with oxygen free copper conductors and an Apple-certified 3-button in line remote/microphone module.
• Elaborate and tasteful accessories including a zip-closure premium carry case, an extensive set of single and dual-flange ear tips and well as memory foam ear tips, plus a detachable garment hook for those who like to use them.

Because we will soon (as in our December issue) be doing a full-length review of the T10i, I will limit my comments on its sound except to provide a few “First Listen” impressions that I trust will whet your appetites for more information later on.

Tackling first things first, does the T10i sound better than the MA750i? The short answer is that it does, though the differences are subtle and more qualitative and textural in nature, rather  than dramatic differences in tonal balance, etc. As we see it, this is actually a good thing, in that the MA750i offered neutral voicing (always a plus in our book) and so, too, does the T10i when its Reference voicing filters are installed.

Now, pressing ahead to the inevitable follow-up questions, do the T10i’s voicing filters give listeners worthwhile sonic options and are they subtle or garish in their effects?  The answer to the first question is that, yes, the voicing filter will give useful presentation control options to listeners who wish to make small yet quite audible adjustments vis-à-vis the T10i’s standard, “Reference” voicing curve. The answer to the second question is that the voicing adjustments are comparatively subtle (though I think most veteran audiophiles who are used to doing careful and extensive product evaluations would have no problem spotting the effects of each of the filters).

Specifically, the Treble voicing filter adds no more than 3dB of lift above 1kHz and—importantly—follows the general shape of the T10i’s neutral voicing curve without adding any untoward response peaks or troughs. Similarly, the Bass voicing filter adds not more that 3dB of lift below 200Hz, again closely following the shape of the neutral curve. If you know how to pick musical materials that highlight the regions affected by the filters, then their sonic effects are easy to discern, yet those effects are never egregious, overwrought, or over-the-top. 

Given that firms such as the famous hearing technology company Phonak (and others) have done research that shows different individuals do have different in-ear perceptions of sonic neutrality, we’d have to say that the inclusion of voicing filters (and precisely made voicing filters at that) is a definite step forward. Thus far, I can think of only three earphone designs—two of them more costly than the T10i—that offered similar voicing filter systems: the AKG K3003i (gulp, £1,000), the now discontinued Audeo/Phonak PFE 232($599), and the also discontinued Audeo/Phonak PFE 122 ($179). 

But frankly, the sheer build quality of the RHA and of its filter elements shades much more in the direction of the exquisite AKG K3003i than in the direction of the late, lamented, but also somewhat “fiddly”, Audeo/Phonak designs. This observation only serves to reinforce our perception that RHA’s T10i, much likes its forerunner, the MA750i, offers remarkable value for money.

Stay tuned for our rapidly approaching Hi-Fi+ review of the RHA T10i and until then, do take any opportunity you might have to hear these new earphones in action. You won’t be disappointed and we think you’ll be impressed.

Happy listening, all.