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Product Description
The RHA T20 is what Wired calls “a stellar, audiophile-quality in-ear with truly killer isolation. Place them in your ears and the world disappears.” And for good reason: Featuring durable stainless steel housings with moldable over-ear hooks and a natural, contoured shape, these IEMs fit into the ear securely and comfortably Read More
Best in ear monitors in my collection! Originally purchased for $250, then traded a friend my silver pair for black pair because he liked them so much. (Shout out Jared) Congrats to anyone who purchased T-20's for a killer deal.
now... nerd time!
The sound quality you get for the price is absurd; it goes head to head with some of the most expensive iem's I've given a listen to. I think they rival the Shure KSE1500 ($3000) and Beyerdynamic Xelento ($1000). The ONLY better pair I've heard are the Audeze iSine20($600) which boast a 30mm planar magnetic diaphragm. Yes it's still an in-ear! I had an opportunity to try the ceramic RHA CL1 but found they sound like the T-20 on a amp. I have not heard the new planar CL2 but would have high hopes for them. Compared to cheaper RHA in-ears I'll just say you get what you pay for... CL750>MA390>MA750>S500 by sound signature imo. CL750's need an amp and its noticeable, the others don't.
What they are good for?... They can handle anything from Anderson Paak to Ray Charles to Chon to G Jones. The option to switch between filters can make old songs like Mercy Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye pop with the treble unrestrained. On the alternate spectrum, the low sub bass of something like Step It Up by Peekaboo becomes a consuming experience. 90% of the time I have the black/bass filters on because it suits my preferred sound signature, listening volume and genres. I'm a huge advocate for bass as these do deliver plenty in frequency and SPL. They may not have an umph or boom you'd get from an over-ear but the frequency extension and distortionless clarity makes up for that. I'd give the dual-diaphragm tech an applause for that. Harnessing bass detail below 90hz should be mark to reach for every headphone manufacturer.
They benefit slightly from an amp and do not need "burn-in" as they use modern proprietary drivers. If you've read until now I appreciate you and you might just need to give these a try if ever possible.
Zac0019Sennheiser KSE1500 ($3000) ... REALLY ??? Maybe SHURE KSE1500 :)...
and as i have them both ... and i like the RHA T20i .. they are no way near (!!!) the KSE1500 not even 20%.
There is a reason why HQ EIM cost as they are... lets be a little realistic with our reviews here..
ZIG1971Thanks for the correction* lol. Wish you the best. ummm before we talk about the audio aspect we should take age into account. Based on your account name... 1971 would mean we are going to have very different taste in music... maybe.
Based on your Drop purchases we wouldn't have similar tastes in headphones... you bought a bluetooth amp and retro koss foamies... I don't use bluetooth and prefer more isolated technical brands. Agree to disagree? Link some songs
BUT don't forget why audio is so important to be opinionated about. To really recommend a headphone you need to know what a person listens to and likes from a headphone... unless you are stubborn. Money/price is not a direct correlation to quality. It's what you are looking for. I used "head to head" because someone who wants clarity and flatter response (while having louder extended frequency range than 95% of cans, in the case of KSE1500's) would not choose the T-20's because there is noticeable distortion for certain genres which is a tasteful choice IMO. If you want the best ABYSS AB-1266 PHI TC is my true vote. My biggest argument for price would be the Ultrasone. They are not built for modern music or anything close to what i listen to a majority of the time. Edition 8's at ~$1200 could not handle my more complex test songs with highly layered guitars or supersaw synths. Meze Empyrean's are on my wish list, check out the technology they've developed for them.
I've got to say I love mine! Sound quality is great (definitely one that sounded considerably better after about if daily use). Bass is very low and controlled and can thump when powered up.
Not as crisp and defined as some of my armature and driver phones, but one of the nicest overall sound signatures I've heard.
Build quality is rock solid, and I have no problem with the cabling a lot of other people have mentioned.
My only gripe would be that I wish they did removable cables, especially at this price.
Their ceramic cases ones do have a removable cables though, so maybe it will make its way down to this model eventually.
Couldn't be happier with them though and can highly recommend.
Liberty11Ie80's sound better they have a better sound stage. After listening to the ie80's the t20i sound lacking in comparison. The ie80's definitely provide better value. Tho the carrying case is a little useless.
I would not get these again. I have had them for less than a year and they have broken three times. How they designed the headphone jack causes it to get caught with enough leverage to break. They do sound good but they are not as durable as they say. The one bonus is that they will replace them for free if you ship them to there repair center but I can think of a lot of better headphones that you can get here for cheaper or the same amount that have removable cables. I can't wait to get my Nobles which will dominate these anyway.
I can also attest to the fact that they tangle constantly. They need to make this model with detachable cables so you can replace them with something that isn't a complete piece of ....
I was a Shure user for around 12 years and the last pair I owned were the se846 and my T20i compare favorably to them they are truly giant slayers. They have great extension is the bass without mudding up the mids. The highs soar to some people it might be fatiguing but they are not for me. Imaging and soundstage is very good the sound stage has more depth and width than my se535. The soundstage is an out of the head experience and extends past your ears it also has height as well . Instruments have air and space between them and have a realness to them. They are very transparent even more so than my se846 were they simply disappear. They are pretty comfortable buy they do not go very deep into the canal and are vented so outside noise is present unlike any Shure I've used. They give you a nice selection of tips and I've found the comply foams (black olives) work best for me. I did have issue with my first set but RHA sent me a new set with no hassle.
DJ2ndI also have the SE846 and man, how can you compare these headphones? They are completely in different leagues. Only thing this RHA beats the Shure is the price (between those 2 models), RHA is 220$, Shure is 1.000$. Not even an RHA salesman or employee would favor these over 846s.
TurkayActually you are incorrect everyone who has A/B'd them has found the RHA compares favorably with the se846. The mids and construction are better on the Shure but not 4x's better. You also get a vert expense case and kit with the se846 that I never used. Look at http://www.head-fi.org/u/181385/Koolpep write up.
I own the T20i and I will try to share my experience. I will talk about sound in a very basic way, also you can check web pages like head-fi for that, they got all what you need.
what bothers me about T20i:
- The wire is though and rugged, but the material it's made of( high friction rubber), so it like to stick and grab to things.
- the cable is not straight and its a bit hard to get it straight, because of the thick wire. So you get a rugged, strong wire but lose flexibilty.
- the wire is not dettachable since there is many do have this feature in the price rang.
- they are comfortable after a while of adjusting and trying different ways to bind the upper part of the wire. Maybe because of my ear shape YMMV.
Now after all that negative points, I will write about what I like.
- sound filters that actually work proven by brooko from head-fi
- lots of accessories: Silicon tips, few foam tips, carrying pouch, sound filters
- sound signature in general wich is warm and energetic. With the right amount of bass, clear mids, and detailed clean & clear highs. However, the highs was a bit harsh for me, as I usually like to hear my music loud. But I've changed my bad habit and have no problems, lowering the volume one time on my note5 will remove the harshness. For more details on sound and more professional analysing look at head-fi !
xIVIxone more thing to add, the costumer service is really great. I had a problem with the jack an they've send me a new box with everything. where other companies may only send the headphones themselves alone in a plastic bag or any other cheap packaging.
I agree the t20i would have been a better drop.
I really like mine. But I prefer my MEE Audio Pinnacle P1. It is a similar design aesthetic, and has a similar sound signature.
However, it comes with both a headset cable and a silver audiophile cable in the box, and Shure's upcoming Lightning cable will it it as well.
For durability and excellent sound sound at a lower price, the Pinnacle P1 beats the excellent t20i for me.
Been using them for almost a year and a half and they still are my favourite earphones.
I also wrote a (lenghty) review on them: http://www.soundphilereview.com/reviews/rha-t20i-review-210/
My advice is: buy these if you want comfortable, bassy (but not too much) and extremely detailed earphones. They are well worth the price.