Introduction
Since 2011, RHA has developed a range of acclaimed noise isolating in-ear headphones using premium materials and innovative design. Combining elegant, functional design and intuitive features, RHA creates audio products with personality, transforming the way audiophiles interact with sound, technology and the people in their life.
True wireless or truly wireless earbuds have been a new wireless trend in audio market now. A lot of big players such as Sony, Sennheiser and Jabra have leaped into the catagory. Their involvment in this region changed the rules of the game - Freedom and Sound Quality can co-exist.
I have long experience with RHA since 2015. I am always impressed by RHA products such as MA750, T10 and T20. Nicely tuned by the engineers while the durability is never compromised. RHA succesfully leveraged their expertise in sound quality to the wireless industry. MA750 wireless is one of my favourite wireless earphones. In 2018, RHA launched their new TrueConnect which surprised the audio community including me. After spending some quality time with the unit, I decided to wirte a review on this charm.
Specifications
5+20 hours battery, with fast charging
IPX5 sweat, splash and weather resistance
Driver: 6mm dynamic
Frequency range: 20-20,000 Hz
Range (unobstructed): 10m
Weight (earbuds): 13g
Charging (from 0%): 15m to 50%; 1h40 to 100%
In the box
RHA TrueConnect true wireless in-ear headphones
Charging case
USB C charging cable
RHA TrueConnect silicone ear tips: 2xS, 3xM, 2xL
Complyâ„¢ Foam TrueGrip Plus ear tips: 1xS, 1xM, 1xL
Stainless steel ear tip holder
Design
When I first get the unit, I find the design of RHA TrueConnect looks like Apple AirPods - A black Apple AirPods. After taking a closer observation, there are a lot of difference between the two. The charging case is larger as compared to AirPods' charging case. However, it looks more sturdy as compared to the plastic case of AirPods. Fraid not! You can save much effort by owning RHA because you do not need to find a additional case to protect the case.
TrueConnect is covered with matte finishing which could potentially give a better grip as compared to AirPods. Smooth finishing in truly wireless earbuds is a flaws because oil in the ear will make it slippery and eventually slip out from the ears. Nice selection of material by RHA.
Besides the matte finishing, RHA utilized in-ear design with silicon eartips. This design helps to improve the fitting also because the weight is now further spread out and supported by different part of the ears. Aside from better fitting, this design can give a better seal and ultimately lead to a better bass performance. I will further elaborate this later in this review.
Fitting
As mentioned in the previous section, RHA TrueConnect indeed provides a good fitting by using matte finishing and in-ear design. However, some flaws are spotted. I have a relatively large ear but I felt my ears were stretched horizontally when wearing this. This could be potentially caused by the bone in my ear. Fitting of wireless earbuds are very subjective so I would advice to have an audition before buying. This truly wireless earbuds are finished with sweat proof coating of IPX5. Sport enthusiasts can use this earbuds when hitting up to gym on jogging around the neighborhood. I believe the matte coating can reduce the chance of the earbuds to slip out from your ears because the friction is stronger as compared to those with smooth finishing.
Control
A lot of the truly wireless earbuds do not have much control on the earbuds except for play/pause and voice assistant. RHA did a breakthrough here. You can do volume control and track skipping on TrueConnect. The complete details can be found in the user manual. No rocket science here, as long as you can understand the language, RHA TrueConnect works flawlessly!
Battery Life
RHA TrueConnect enables you to submerge yourself in your audio world continuously for 5 hours. The charging case hold 4 charges, meaning 20 hours of battery life. For those who are taking long journey of train, you can safely arrive at your location without worrying the battery of your earbuds. RHA utilized Type-C USB charging port for TrueConnect which supports fast-charging. Technology advancement is showing up here again.
Connectivity
TrueConnect is embedded with Bluetooth V5.0. Bluetooth 5.0’s primary benefits are improved speed and greater range. In other words, it’s faster and can operate over greater distances than older versions of Bluetooth. The official Bluetooth marketing material from the Bluetooth standard organization advertises that Bluetooth 5.0 has four times the range, two times the speed, and eight times the broadcasting message capacity of older versions of Bluetooth. Again, these improvements apply to Bluetooth Low Energy, ensuring devices can take advantage of them while saving power.
While spending time with this earbuds, I find that strong signal from the surrounding can cause interference with the Bluetooth signal. One instance, when I was waiting at the junction to cross the road, the signal from traffic light actually cut the signal. After further checking, almost 10/10 of the truly wireless earbuds will be interfered by stronger signal from the surrounding. Something to take note here.
RHA TrueConnect does not support any other codec besides SBC. I think this could be a space for improvement for the next generation. Hi-Res Audio is dominating the audio market now and I think in no time truly wireless earbuds will leverage on this bullet train and embark their journey in Hi-Res Audio. We shall wait for this.
Sound
I tested this earbuds with my LG G6 playing Spotify Premium. I do lossless library but I do not think it makes any significant difference here. The soundstage of this wireless earbuds can be considered as wide. I think this is one of the widest I can find in truly wireless range. Depth wise is sufficient. I can feel the layering when the lows are kicking in. The expertise and experience that RHA owned are well utilized in designing this earbuds. The overall sound signature can be considered as dark. It reminds me of MA750 when I first listened to this. I can see the shadow of RHA's IEMs in TrueConnect.
Lows
The lows is taking the back of the stage. The bass is kicking energetically from deep. Personally I find the bass is sufficient even for bass head unless their eardrums are completing damaged. Sometime I really struggle when they tell me the bass of a headphone is insufficient and I actually classified the headphone as bass-head headphone. Well, subjective right? The lows attack fast, precise and take short time to decay. This tuning controlled the lows and minimize the chance of lows bleeding towards mids.
Mids
Mids are neither forward nor recessed. Vocalists are standing right in the center of the stage as the star. I like this tuning. If the mids are too forward will make the overall performance dull and lack of musicality. Recessed wise will make me use much effort to focus on the vocalist. RHA did it right here for TrueConnect. Male vocalists sound energetic and rich while female vocalists sound sweet and airy. For those who like pop songs, RHA TrueConnect is a right choice.
Highs
I find the highs are a little bit shy in TrueConnect. This could be caused by the more emphasis in the lows region. However, the presence is still considerably sufficient. The highs are not exaggerate. It is well extended and decay is managed well without causing any distortions which can be commonly seen in many earphones. The sound produced by cymbals hits you like a wave instead of a needle that pierce through your eardrums. I can listen to this for long.
Conclusion
New Bluetooth V5.0 earphone is rare in the market and RHA TrueConnect is one of them. Besides the stellar connectivity, the supreme sound quality of the TrueConnect can easily beat a lot of major players in the market. Fitting wise is subjective but from the shape we know it can fit most of the people. RHA hears what audio community need and designs according to the needs. I like RHA approach here - Do it once, do it right.
Well done RHA! I love it!