RHA T20 Wireless review: Outstanding but pricey

UK-based headphone manufacturer RHA has produced some stellar earphones over the last few years, from the impressive true wireless TrueConnect to the excellent-sounding wired T20i. Building on the success of the latter, the Glaswegian firm has now developed the T20 Wireless, which take the sonic components of the T20i and add wireless connectivity to the mix.

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RHA T20 Wireless review: What you need to know

The RHA T20 Wireless employ a neckband design, where the two earpieces are connected by a cable that hooks around your neck. This cable has a one-button remote on the right side and a rechargeable battery pod with a USB Type-C port for charging on the left. The earphones don’t have active noise-cancelling (ANC), relying instead on the passive noise isolation provided by the ear tips.

Unusually, you don’t have to use the neckband if you don’t want to. The RHA T20 Wireless are endowed with special connectors that allow you to swap out the neckband for a regular 3.5mm wired connection with RHA including a 1.5m-long cable in the box.

As for build quality, the RHA T20 Wireless are just as well made as the original T20i, with an all-metal housing that oozes premium feel, left and right channel indicators that are engraved into the shell so they’ll never wear off and magnets built into the housings so the earpieces snap them together when you’re wearing them around your neck. Disappointingly, the T20 Wireless don’t power off automatically when clipped together as the OnePlus Bullets Wireless 2 do, so you’ll need to remember to power them down manually every time you stop listening.

Aside from audio cables and the build quality, the box contains plenty of extra treats. There’s a USB Type-C to Type-A charging cable, a soft carrying pouch, a clothing and sports clip and a good selection of ear tips, including two sets of Comply Tsx-400 foam tips.

Oh, and you also get and three screw-on tuning filters, which are used to customise the T20 Wireless’ sound profile. The copper-coloured filter delivers a treble-biased sound, the black ones give you more bass and the silver filters provide a happy middle ground. Having the ability to tailor the earphones’ sound signature isn’t essential but it’s a very nice feature to have.

And as far as that sound quality is concerned, the T20 Wireless are jolly good. The best sound quality is achieved by using a wired connection. Swapping from wireless to the wired connection results in a crisper, less congested sound and a noticeably wider soundstage.

Despite the limitations of Bluetooth, however, the RHA still sound great if you want to stick with wireless. In terms of the overall sound profile they sit somewhere between the analytical Sennheiser Momentum Free and the smooth, laid-back approach of Brainwavz’s wired in-ears – the B400 – and they use the higher quality aptX codec to transmit audio.

I conducted most of my listening tests in wireless mode and, here, the RHA T20 Wireless extend well into the higher frequencies all while providing a pronounced bassline with plenty of impact. With the silver reference filters fitted for a balanced sound I turned to one of my all-time favourites tracks, T.I.’s “My Life Your Entertainment”, a track filled with challenging sub- and mid-bass tones, vocals and background instruments. While the Sennheiser Momentum Free struggled with it, sounding sibilant and strained – especially at louder volumes – the RHA T20 Wireless coped admirably by delivering a controlled bass response and maintained an excellent extension in the highs.

Unfortunately, the RHAs aren’t sonically flawless: they’re a little veiled in the mids, lack control around the 250Hz region and have an air of closeness to them. If you want the very best sound quality, your best bet remains a pair of wired headphones. Overall, though, these are enjoyable headphones to listen to and better than most other wireless earphones I’ve listened to.

READ NEXT: RHA TrueConnect review: True wireless earbuds for audiophiles

RHA T20 Wireless review: Price and competition

Still, the T20 Wireless price of £200 is a little on the high side. So what else is available if you don’t want to spend quite so much.

It turns out, there’s plenty of choice: the Libratone Track+ (£170); 1More Triple Driver BT (£130); Sennheiser Momentum Free (£147); and OnePlus Bullets Wireless 2 (£100) for instance, all cost less than the T20 Wireless. They’re all good in their own ways and worth the money; however, none are quite as rounded as the RHA T20 Wireless.

RHA T20 Wireless review: Verdict

The RHA T20 Wireless deliver a compelling package. The ability to switch cables and tweak the sound profile makes them more flexible than most, and they sound better than the competition, too. They’re superior to the 1More Triple Driver BT and OnePlus Bullets Wireless 2, make for a slightly more laid back listen than the Sennheiser Momentum Free and deliver a meatier sound than the Libratone Track+.

Truly, my only problem with these earphones is that price. If your budget can stretch to it, though, I struggle to come up with a better alternative.