RHA SA950i On-Ear Headphone Review

RHA SA950i's

The RHA SA950i on-ears represent RHA's most expensive headset (as of this writing) pricing in at still reasonable $60 dollars full retail.  The RHA SA950i's bring a few nice to see features to the table for being a relatively cheap set of headphones, such as the inclusion of an iDevice compatible volume and microphone control on the included detachable cloth cable.  The SA950i's also sport 40mm titanium coated drivers which I am surprised to see as most on ear headphones of this size typically utilize smaller, 30mm driver units. The RHA SA950i's are also an extremely lightweight pair of headphones, however this fact unfortunately does not translate to increased comfort which is something I will get into a bit later.  Overall however, the RHA has brought a relatively competitive product to the market with the SA-950i's.

Not much in the way of accessories is included with the RHA SA950i's, although this is to be expected with a pair of $60 dollar on-ears.  Included in the box is the headphones themselves and the detachable cloth cable.  Other than some literature, that's all you get.  I found the RHA SA950i's build to be a tad bit disappointing.  I suppose I was wrongly expecting a similar level of build quality to the RHA MA350i's.  All things considered the build isn't horrible but at the same token I felt like the plastic teardrop shaped ear cups were constructed out of some pretty chintzy plastic.  On the topic of the ear cups, consumers will notice that the black plastic is extremely glossy.  While this can add aesthetic appeal, I can confirm that the glossy plastic is predictably a fingerprint/ scratch magnet, so for those people who like to hastily toss their headsets into bags or backpacks, be warned:  Your RHA SA950i's will end up scratched.  In addition to this issue, the ear cups have an annoying tendency of coming detached from the chrome wire frames that hold them in place and these wire frames also like to scratch the aforementioned glossy plastic. I will say that I liked the fashion in which the headband is constructed as well as the materials used.  The ear pads are adequate but due to the on ear nature of these headphones they do become uncomfortable for me after only about two hours of usage, however I have historically had comfort issues with on-ear headphones so this issue could just be limited to me.  I will inject some personal preference here and state that I don't really care for the SA950i's aesthetically.  I feel that they are an attempt to mimic the Skullcandy Aviator headphones aesthetically and I don't much care for the flashy chrome accents. I do realize that aesthetics are very preferential so I will leave it up to you as to whether or not you like the way they look. The included iDevice compatible remote and mic is one of the nicest that I have ever seen on headphones in this price bracket and even more expensive ones. Overall I would describe the build as adequate and the comfort as adequate as well. Two final minor gripes that I have with the build is that although the cloth cable is supposed to prevent tangling, I noticed that it often gets into annoying knots very easily and the headphones also do not fold up or become more portable in any way, although this isn't a huge issue as the headphones are already very small.

Despite the so far average nature of the SA950i's, the sound quality is one area where I was pleasantly surprised.  Unlike the MA350i earphones that I reviewed from RHA a few months ago, the SA950i's provide a relatively warm and more bass focused sound signature.  The upper range is less bright and sparkly but is still accurate and crisp.  The mid range and bass frequencies are highly emphasized, but due to a slight lack of mid range accuracy and the heavy emphasis listeners are left with a slightly muffled sound signature that is amplified by the ever so slightly bloated bass.  In regards to purely bass impact and depth however, I was surprised by the SA950i's as most on-ear headphones in this price range do not possess bass that extends so deep without significant roll off nor provide so much impact.  I believe that the surprising amount of bass impact and depth that the SA950i's possess can be attributed to RHA's use of 40mm driver units because, as I mentioned earlier, most small on-ears like the SA950i's utilize much smaller 30mm driver units. Sound stage is predictably limited.  I mean, lets be honest here, a $60 dollar pair of on ear headphones isn't going to provide much in the way of instrument separation nor do a great job at revealing the depth and width of sound in a track. Despite this however, I found the sound stage to be above average for on ear headphones in this price range and even a little bit beyond.  The RHA SA950i's are interesting in that they perform very well with certain genres of music and not so well with others.  Electronic and dance music is when area where these headphones fall a bit short, but they conversely perform extremely well with most rock and most acoustic music.  The SA950i's seem to loose some overall definition with more complex, electronic tracks. In all honesty, the SA950i's have been one of the hardest headphones to review in terms of sound quality, simply because of how above average they may sound with one track and how adequate they may sound with another.  Despite the SA950i's relatively minor sound quality flaws, it is by far the best area of the SA950i's and it's main selling point, along with the commendably low price point.

To surmise my thoughts of the RHA SA950i's I would state that the build was passable, the comfort was adequate but not spectacular and the sound signature provides a very pleasing warm texture with great bass depth and impact with only the slightest amounts of muddiness in the extreme low ranges.  Overall, the most impressing part of the RHA SA950i's was the sound signature. For someone looking for a spectacularly priced headphone with a wonderful warranty (3 years) and for someone that is not bothered by the inherent comfort problems that plague almost all on-ear headphones, the RHA SA950i's are a wonderful choice.  In terms of purely sound quality, the SA950i's provide a very good price to performance ratio and I can recommend them truly
on that basis alone.

CLICK HERE for the RHA SA950i Product Page
CLICK HERE for the RHA SA950i Amazon Product Page

Audio- Technica ATH-WS77 "Solid Bass" Headphone Review

The Audio Technica ATH-WS77 is situated firmly in the middle of Audio Technica's "Solid Bass" headphone line, with the on ear ATH-WS55's comprising the low end and the over ear ATH-WS99's comprising the high end.  The ATH-WS77's sport a rich and warm, bass and midrange centric sound signature that is sure to please anyone who prefers a warmer sound signature in their headphone.  Audio Technica wasn't joking with the "Solid Bass" marketing moniker as these headphones primary focus is of course the bass and the midrange and the seamless blending between the two.  Of course, with any headphone in this price range, a few drawbacks are present.  However, if you are looking for a portable on/ over ear headphone with a very warm sound signature and lots of bass and mid range presence, you may want to seriously consider the ATH-WS77's.  In the crowded market and price bracket that these headphones are located within they stand out quite a bit and easily smite other popular and similarly priced headphones such as the Beats Solo HD's with their outstanding sound quality.

While the superb sound quality is an area that I will delve into in a moment, there are a few minor drawbacks to the ATH-WS77's in regards to accessories and a couple minor build complaints.  Firstly, accessories: there are none.  I find this to be a bit unfortunate as these are a $150 dollar set of headphones that are marketed as being portable, yet there is no supplied carrying case, bag or pouch to speak of.  There is no 1/4 inch adapter in the box either, which is not that big of an issue because these headphones are portable but all you get with your purchase is the box, the headphones and some paperwork about the warranty and safety information.  I would classify the ATH-WS77's build quality as "passible" or "adequate" but not spectacular. They are fairly light weight (which is good for comfort) but there is a certain creakiness to the plastic when they are stretched to be placed on the head. Another very minor gripe I have is that the sliding headband adjustment mechanism is not notched and the ear pads sit a bit loosely on the ear cups and have a tendency to shift around very easily.  Overall, I think that the cable is adequate.  There are strain reliefs around the 3.5mm termination jack and where the cables enter the ear cups which is nice to see.  However, I find the cord to be a tad bit too short.  It's also important to note that the cable is non detachable and it is a Y design.  One area of the build that I do like is the metal (presumably aluminum?) ear cup faceplates, compete with a shiny chrome Audio Techica symbol.  Combined with an aesthetically pleasing chrome strip around the ear cups, the ATH-WS77's look very, very nice.

Comfort is another area where the ATH-WS77's are just average.  Audio Technica claims on their website that the ATH-WS77's are over ear headphones.  I believe that the ATH-WS77's are somewhere in between an on ear and over ear design.  The ear pads are larger than most on ear headphones but are smaller than the typical over ear design. The pads are "pleather" essentially a synthetic leather but they are relatively soft.  The clamping force is just right. Just enough so that the headphones don't fly off your head when the bass response inevitably leads to head banging (I am looking at you Sennheiser HD 439's!) and not so much that the clamping force hurts your ears.  As with most pleather ear pads, a little bit of ear sweating occurs with extended listening sessions.  I will say that the ATH-WS77's are plenty more comfortable than most on ear headphones on the market, but at the same time they aren't as comfortable as many over the ear headphones.

Finally, the sound quality.  The ATH-WS77's redeeming feature and the thing that keeps making me listen to them even amongst my plethora of other headphones. The bass and the midrange are simply put, absolutely spectacular, even from the moment I first plugged them in. A week later and a thorough burn-in and the bass impact, response and presence is enough to send shivers down my spine when listening to Daft Punk's Random Access Memories album. The bass response on these headphones is pretty much unparalleled by similarly priced competitor headphones, such as the Beats by Dre Solo HD's and the Sony Extra Bass line.  The bass extends extremely low without significant roll off, it's extremely punchy and hits hard and does relatively well with faster, complex tracks without muddying too much.  The bass is relatively tight but likes to let loose and really slam you with bass in the low ranges. Moving into the midrange and the blending between the bass and the mids is completed in an almost seamless fashion.  The midrange is relatively equivalent to the bass in terms of prescence and is very warm. There is a very, very slight amount of recession in the upper mids, but over all the ATH-WS77's present mid range tones as well as vocals very well. The upper range is a bit sparkly but it initially doesn't seem so in the face of the very prevalent bass and mid range.  Despite this sparkle, sibilance is usually kept so a minimum although a occasionally a bit of it creeps in now and then. Sound stage is relatively limited which is to be expected in a closed back headphone, however the sheer depth of the frequencies help to give a certain aspect of expansiveness to the sound.

I must admit that when I saw "Solid Bass" plastered across ATH-WS77 box in gold I was a bit nervous of what was to come.  Typically "bass centric" headphones as I like to call them, tend to be all about the bass and less about the rest of the frequency spectrum, and even with that many "bass centric" headphones possess bass that is muddy, bloated or both.  Enter the ATH-WS77's, a gleaming light in the world of bass heavy headphones. The fact that Audio Technica was able to achieve such amazing bass response yet maintain clarity throughout the entire frequency spectrum is an incredible feat to say the least. Aside from a average build quality and few other very minor drawbacks, the ATH-WS77's more than make up for them with it's absolutely stellar sound quality.  It's also important to mention that the ATH-WS77's are easily driven by portable devices without (surprisingly) a significant decrease in bass response. If you are in the market for portable, bass and mid range heavy warm headphones, look no further. Get the ATH-WS77's!

CLICK HERE for the Audio Technica ATH-WS77 Product Page
CLICK HERE for the Audio Technica ATH-WS77 Amazon Product Page