Product page https://www.rha-audio.com/us/products/t20 Reviews http://www.head-fi.org/products/rha-t20 I was very interested about new DualCoil tech, so I went into our major headphone store and after listening T20 for 1 hour I bought them (with 10% discount thanks to local cyber-monday). Very interesting and tasty sound. Edit: Being with balanced armature IEMs for a several years I can say that T20`s bass mesmerizes me. Edit: On the way of test session I also tried Sony XBA-A3 and Audio-Technica ATH-IM50 but would not choose them.
Hi gurus, was about to buy and try some balanced armature in ears with at least 3 way because it is something different rather then some dynamic drivers again. But the more i am searching the web the more different techs i find. There are the classical dynamic drivers, balanced armature, Beyerdynamic's xilentio mini tesla driver, that Adel in ears with a second membrane to protect your ears, and now i a have to read this post about RHA's with its dual-coil tech driver. All reviews of each are saying the sound is great and clear etc... so no real help for me to make a decision. I am willing to spend about 500 buck for some in-ears. The usual i was spending was about 40 bucks for some standard in ears. I am not sure if all the "new" techs are just some over-hyped, useless, moneymaking overpriced techs, or if they are really worth. My in ears are all the time in use for music, games, movies. Any experience with the different technologies ? thanks, Loster
I guess you would get faster response if you would start your own thread in this subforum (https://forums.guru3d.com/forums/soundcards-speakers-hifi-file-formats.23/) This particular dual-coil tech is just usual dynamic driver but with two coils and magnets (iirc) incorporated on one membrane. And to add to your confusion balanced armature has two designs now: classic armature and moving coil (utilized for example in several models of Ortofon and Final Audio Design) https://www.head-fi.org/threads/review-ortofon-e-q7-56k.461101/ As for my experience, balanced armature drivers usually sound more precise (with more details), usually cope better with so called attack (struck on strings, on drum) - and hence sound more aggressive, but have difficulty with lower bass and higher treble and frequently sound too dry (which is called "analytical"). Dynamic drivers usually sound more juicy, have more own coloring, have more extended ranges both at bass and treble sides (but can lose control). Also note that headphones with balanced armature can be divided by the number of drivers inside - single or multi. And in case of multi driver ones the signal should be split which can be done with crossover or just tuning drivers to react to their own frequencies. Multi driver headphones therefore can bring distortions connected to filtering (and very limited space for crossover). They can have kinda "disjointed" bass, mid and treble. And all of in ears have this flaw - they should be inserted correctly to seal the ear canal or else you will hear greatly changed bass register. I strongly recommend to read/listen opinions and articles, create list of models and then to listen them before buying. Only your ears and brain will tell you the truth. It is ok to buy without listening only if you have option to sell or exchange with another geeks. PS Btw, what is your source of music? Be sure to have a balance between source and headphones. PPS And to game and to watch movies in in ears headphones is not that good idea because with big cans (of good quality ofc) you will get more WOW/BOOM effects (with proper soundcard and maybe dedicated amp).
Thank you mbk for your answer, Yeah it is pretty confusing, but nevertheless as you said yourself the best time to decide is after listening with the own ears. Problem will be to find a reseller who gives the opportunity to listen before buying. My source of music are mostly CD's (16bit 44,1Khz), MP3's , FLAC's. As you asked me about some big cans for movies/gaming, i got a pair of Beyerdynamic's DT880 which are awesome, but somehow i like my current cheap EP-630 in-ear more. Easier to listen to. https://en.creative.com/p/headphones-headsets/ep-630 Actually to be honest i am pretty happy, but you probably know how it is, there is time for something new to try out. Every time i read or watch a review and there is always mentioned how much more details they can hear out of the song they were listening to like thousand times before with other headphones, makes me want to have some of those right away. I kinda think about the Audiofly AF180 https://audiofly.com/shop/af180/ or perhaps AF1120 https://audiofly.com/shop/af1120/ thanks, Loster
Well, I now use Westone UM Por 30 for portable(with FiiO X5-II player), Monster Turbine Pro Copper/RHA T20/FinalAudioDesign Heaven IV at home (can`t use big cans due to mostly night time for entertaining), and Beyerdynamic DT770 (80 Ohm) at work (can`t use open ones like yours). Do you use any dedicated/external soundcard or headphone amp? Embedded soundcards are a joke for HIFI+ headphones. PS And I tried also IEMs Etymotic, Ultimate Ears, Phonak Audeo, Audiotechnika, Klipsch, Sony, EarSonics. And big cans AKG, Audiotechnika, Denon, Sony, Sennheiser.
Well, i see you got some serious variety on IEMs tried out. I do use an external soundcard the omni5.1 https://en.creative.com/p/sound-cards/sound-blaster-omni-surround-5-1 which i think is pretty good, but i don't have anything to compare it with really. As you tried them all , i guess you can compare the different techs and can give a recommendation if BAs, Hybrids, DualCoils etc.. are the way to go maybe ? thanks
If you are a basshead then go with Hybrids or try RHA T20. If you like to analyse music down to musician`s farts go with BA (no matter classic one or moving coil). Problem is even within one tech you will find quite different sounding. And all of them have different organoleptic aspect - the length of nozzle, the set of tips of diff sizes, the quality of wire etc. I have never heard of Audiofly. But to me your determination to jump right on $500+ IEMs looks bit hasty especially after "i got a pair of Beyerdynamic's DT880 which are awesome, but somehow i like my current cheap EP-630 in-ear more". As for omni5.1 I guess Creative did not produce a shitty devices. But with any headphone amp there is a problem of compatibility of output impedance with impedance of headphones. Even HIFI+ ones could not sound equally good with any pair of headphones.
I am not a basshead at all, rather a good natural sounding deep then overdosed bass. Well the DT880 600Ohms i got are really great, crisps highs and natural bass just my taste, but i am more an in-ear person it seems, i can have my EP-630 all day long plugged in my ears with no problems. The DT880 are very soft and all but still after maybe one hour i need a break and need to take them off. That's why i do concentrate myself on IEMs now. Yes $500 are alot of money for a newbie like me, but that's why i am kinda skeptical about "hype or not", more expensive don't always mean more quality and better sound. I never heard of Audiofly either until two weeks ago, browsing youtube and watching this I thought the Amps should be compatible with all headphone impedance. Why does it have to be so complicated.
Second from the left in the thumbnail of that video is Etymotic 4P (or 4S) - one of the oldest model of BA in the market.
