RHA S500i Review

RHA S500i

RHA is no stranger to the world of audio devices, it holds a reputation for building great quality headphones at an affordable price. With RHA S500i, the company is attempting to deliver noise canceling and premium audio experience at a really great price.

RHA, however, has one big problem ahead – cheap earphones. The earphone market is flooded with cheaper options. Can RHA deliver something remarkable for the price? Let’s find out in our review.

Price: Rs 3,999

What is good?

RHA S500i comes with tangle free cables, so, it can be curled and dropped into your jeans pocket

For a good set of earphones, the biggest advantage has to be portability and RHA S500i totally nails that. RHA S500i comes with tangle free cables, so, it can be curled and dropped into your jeans pocket. RHA has also bundled a neat carry bag which enhances the portability further.

If you are buying RHA S500i, then it is primarily for the sound. RHA S500i plays well with both bass and treble. It doesn’t offer bass as deep as Sony or Sennheiser would, but it’s well balanced. RHA S500i’s peculiarity is with the midrange. From Indian classical to latest rock, it delivers excellent audio even at low volume.

RHA S500i will also hit the tone right with all those who prefer listening to instrumental music. RHA S500i has a soundstage that is good enough to differentiate cymbals from percussion. Such levels of detail is practically impossible with stock headphones.

RHA S500i comes with a remote that works perfectly with iPhone. Its easier to accept calls and the volume rocker works just fine. RHA S500i is built with Apple’s iPhone in mind and it just shows every time you connect it to any non-iOS device(which is largely Android smartphones).

RHA S500i has a soundstage that is good enough to differentiate cymbals from percussion

RHA S500i comes with a wide choice for eartips and offers comfortable fit. Though I won’t recommend going on marathon music sessions with this one, it is still ideally a perfect replacement headphone for those stuck onto the headphones that came bundled with their smartphone.

What is not good?

Earphones have never been ideal for gaming and RHA S500i fails to do justice when it comes to gaming. RHA’s T20 is still an earphone that justifies gaming, not this one.

Should you buy?

If you have been planning to replace the stock headphones for something way better then RHA S500i is a great option. It’s balanced soundstage and tangle free cables would appeal to every music fan.

But if you are obsessed with bass, then offerings from Sony or Sennheiser would be more apt.