RHA T10i review: Great sound quality without the hefty price

The T10i is easily one of the weightiest pairs of in-ear headphones we’ve tested, but also one of the best built - improving on RHA's own MA750i we reviewed back in 2013. The use of stainless steel goes some way to explain the added weight and we actually found the extra heft reassuring.

RHA T10i review: Build quality and design

Initially, we were concerned the weight would mean they might be uncomfortable by pulling down when in your ears, but we were pleased to find this wasn't the case. Mouldable over-ear hooks help keep each earphone in place, with the cables looped behind your ears rather than straight down.

You’re able to bend the hooks into a custom shape around your ears to remove any slack. The driver housing is also reasonably low profile, sitting flush against your outer ear so they don’t protrude or succumb to the weight of gravity pulling them away from your ear canal.

RHA has been extremely generous with sleeves, which helps when it comes to comfort and finding a secure fit. There are three different sized silicone tips and you get two pairs of each, meaning you have a spare should you lose a set.

It’s always annoying to lose a tip and have to resort to using a different size so we were glad to have a second pair. There are also two different sized double flange tips that provide a greater level of isolation as they sit a little further in your ear canal. On top of these, you also get two pairs of memory foam tips, which we found provided the greatest seal.

You also get a well-made carry case, which offers a good level of protection while also being large enough that you don’t need to squeeze the earphones in. The sleeves and tuning filters also come with holders.

RHA T10i review: In-line mic

The T10i uses a Y-shaped cable, with an iPhone-compatible three button remote and microphone built into the right earphone cable. Volume controls, unfortunately, don’t work with Android. The rubberized cable terminates in a straight 3.5mm jack that is reinforced with a spring, which should help with flexion.

The only minor complaint we have with the T10i is the mix of materials and colours. It’s as though RHA has attempted to use as many shades of grey as possible for the cable, remote, microphone and driver housing, so the T10i lacks a degree of visual and material consistency.

Unlike in-ear headphones from Shure, the cable is designed more to be worn down your front, rather than run down your back, which is similar to how musicians often wear in-ear monitors. This method won't really work with the T10i because the microphone would then be located behind your neck, although if this isn’t an issue you can still wear them in this manner and take up the excess slack with a cable cinch.

RHA T10i review: Sound quality

Similar to the Alfa Genus Rock Jaw , the T10i uses interchangeable tuning filters in order to adapt its sound signature. Three sets are included: bass, reference and treble. We actually found the reference pair had more than adequate bass response for most tracks. When we did want a little more energy the bass tuning filters performed admirably by adding some extra warmth without muddying the sound.

We were less impressed by the treble tuning filter as it caused the sound to become a little too bright. We spent most of our listening time with the reference tuning filters, however, preferring the flatter, more neutral sound signature, and found the sound delightfully delicate. The T10i’s dynamic drivers delivered crisp details in instrumentation and the sound stage was about as wide as you could expect from a pair of in-ear headphones at this price.

RHA T10i review: Verdict

We’re big fans of the RHA T10i . They not only sound great but they’re very well built, too. We found them significantly better than the similarly-priced Tonino Lamborghini Quantum HL-01 and also preferred them to the more expensive Atomic Floyd SuperDarts Titanium +remote .

If you’re looking for a premium pair of in-ear headphones, the RHA T10i is a great choice especially considering its great three-year warranty.