RHA T20 Wireless review: An audiophile’s wet dream

Glasgow-based RHA has grown by leaps and bounds since the few short years of its existence. The brand is famous for offering a range of audio products across varied prices with the sole aim of providing audiophile-grade products without any compromises to the masses. Earlier this year, we tested the RHA TrueConnect true wireless earphones and they exceeded all our expectations. Hot on the heels of the awesome TrueConnect, RHA has recently introduced the T20 Wireless earphones in the Indian market.

As the name suggests, the RHA T20 Wireless is a Bluetooth version of the audiophile-grade RHA T20i wired earphones. The newly launched earphones packs in all the best qualities of its predecessor such as above-average audio quality, interchangeable tuning filters and more all in a cord-free format.

We now take a look at the RHA T20 wireless earphones and break down the reasons why they should be your next pair of audiophile-grade earphones.

Design, Build

When it comes to the design of these earphones, the RHA T20 Wireless looks similar to every other neckband-style earphones available in the market. It comes in one colour — matte Black and has a rubber-like exterior that encases the neckband while the black cables reach the earbuds. Unlike some of the competition out there, the housing of the earbuds here is a bit bulky as they appear to be custom-built to house the dual-drivers. With the earbuds finished in matte black with silver accents, there is a fair sense of understated appeal that shows off the premium design of the RHA T20 Wireless. These earbuds also come with magnets that allow you to keep them secure when hanging around your neck. It has to be said that these magnets are not the strongest and they come undone pretty easily.

The neckband is constructed from a soft, flexible material that features a power/pairing button on one side along with a USB Type-C port for charging the earphones. On the cable, there is an in-line remote control and microphone unit that reaches up to the right earbud. Like the rest of the earphones, this unit is built of premium materials and boasts a multifunctional button that is in charge of playback, answering calls and your voice assistant. The in-line remote also features volume rockers that apart from adjusting the volume can also control shuffling between tracks.

The biggest design change of the T20 Wireless is undoubtedly the wireless functionality. However, in a bid not to isolate any section of its fans; RHA has also added a wired functionality here. This feature is rarely found on earphones and it is actually quite a big deal. The RHA T20 Wireless sets itself apart from competitors by offering detachable earbuds. Yes! You read that right! The earpieces can be unscrewed from the cabling and attached to a wired cable that’s a part of the packaging. This feature is pretty common with wired earphones, but extremely rare with Bluetooth earphones and we are glad that RHA has added this highly welcome feature. While connected with the wired cable, you can use the T20 as a pair of old-school earphones. This will appease the traditionalists who feel that wired earphones have a substantially better audio quality.

There are dust and water protection certifications thrown in here as well with the T20 Wireless rated at IP64. While this isn’t the most water-resistant; you can safely use it in the gym or if you are caught in a light shower, it should manage to hold up to the elements of nature. With that being said, it’s best to keep it protected as there are open ports such as the USB-C charging port which can cause you some issues if some water accidentally gets in it. Better to be safe than sorry with this pricey option.

Another chief feature of the RHA T20 Wireless is that it comes with a variety of tuning filters. There’s the bass filter, the treble filter and a reference/neutral filter. These filters come as a part of the packaging and are colour coded. Attaching them to the earpiece is a cakewalk and are easily hot-swappable. Out of the box, the T20 Wireless are attached with the neutral filter; but depending on your mood of the hour or the genre you listen to often, you can screw on whichever filter you want.

Comfort level is a top priority when it comes to earphones and the T20 Wireless are no exception. The earphones come with a host of silicone tips and Comply memory foam tips in the box and it’s best you try on a range of tips to give you the snug, sealed fit. By choosing your ideal ear tips, you can block out ambient sounds as well as enhance the bass impact to a bit with a tighter seal. Interestingly, RHA has also thrown in a pouch that can be used to store your earphones when not in use.

Performance

While RHA does well in the design and build department, it is in the audio performance where it actually flexes its muscles and outshines most Bluetooth wireless earphones. The T20 Wireless being audiophile-grade speakers aren’t fitted with the common, run-of-the-mill dynamic drivers; instead, RHA uses DualCoil driver that’s paired with a voice coil as well as a custom diaphragm that provides a balance to the bass, trebles and mids. The bass output here witnessed isn’t overpowering and the vocals are smooth.

The audio quality here is absolutely extraordinary and there is a crisp, clear playback that’s devoid of any bit of tininess or jarring treble even when the volume is set to its highest. An advantage these earphones have over its rivals is in the form of the custom filters and these help in enhancing the audio quality to an extraordinary degree. The bass or treble can be improved upon depending on the genre you’re listening to.

While the reference filters are great and you get a balanced tone throughout and you get the sound as the artist intended; our favourite was the bass filter that absolutely transforms the T20 Wireless experience. With this filter screwed on, you experience a booming, animated, rich and deep bass that doesn’t drown out the mids and treble. This filter was definitely our favourite of the lot. The treble filter did its job as advertised and it managed to make the vocals and acoustics shine by offering a very defined audio performance.

As far as codec support goes, it does offer aptX for those using Android devices; unfortunately, there’s no AAC support here. With this being said, during our testing period, the T20 Wireless was paired mostly with an iPhone XS Max and it still managed to offer excellent audio performance.

The battery life is rated at 12 hours of continuous playback and in our testing, we found this to be about accurate. Call quality was good through the earpieces; however, when outdoors, the person on the other end couldn’t hear us all that well and on more than one occasion we received a handful of complaints about us being inaudible.

Another neat feature of these earphones that’s seldom mentioned is that while getting a call, the neckband vibrates. In all our experience, we have rarely found this option where the earphones vibrate while getting a call to alert us. These are the small features that go unnoticed but are highly appreciable.

Verdict

The RHA T20 Wireless is priced extremely competitively at Rs 19,999 and though some of you may baulk at the price is too high for a set of wireless earphones, you have to understand that these are no ordinary Bluetooth earphones. The T20 Wireless is the next step in the evolution of the T20i wired earphones and those are widely considered as one of the best audiophile-grade earphones in recent history. The T20 Wireless packs in so many features and then some more. The ability to swap out filters, the option to go from Bluetooth earphones to wired earphones, and the extraordinary sound quality all combine to be a tech enthusiast and an audiophile’s wet dream. If you have been saving your cash for a good pair of wireless earphones that offer audiophile-grade audio quality, then look no further than the T20 Wireless as this is where all the best audio performance is at.