Reviews for RHA MA450i Noise Isolating In-ear Headphones with Mic

Rarely would I spend an evening writing a review on a product, only when I had something worth sharing. These little earphones are the new sensational units from RHA. They exist in a price range that one might imaging is way below top-end earphones but somehow RHA have delivered awesome quality of sound for a modest price, packing such quality of build and sound into these little buds that they genuinely are worth the five stars.

The phones arrived bang on time as promised within 2 working days of order. The packaging is unique. How many times have you cursed the waste (not to say the challenge) of plastic show cases. Not so here. An understated, eco-friendly card box simply with a set of earphones inside. Sweet!

The phones are solidly and robustly engineered as individual aluminium units which makes them wonderfully resilient in use. They are are comfortable - I have them in my ears now and I am already easily forgetting they are there. Lightweight, snag free cable and gold 3.5mm jack - A snug, sound-tight fit in each ear. I use the medium size that came on the buds but there are larger and smaller options to suit.

All of which would need to be matched by the actual sound quality to mean anything. The biggest surprise is the quality of sound. How on earth is it achieved in such budget priced earphones? These are as far away from the price competition as it is possible to get, in a stroke reinventing the concept of inexpensive earphones. They have a clean, clear punchy bass. Clarity in the upper register is diamond clear though please give them a couple of days of serious listening to let the drivers settle down. Across the whole spectrum the sound is even and clear. My Senn HD485 cans are ALMOST as good as these but now given the choice between open £100 cans and these, I genuinely go for these! In large Bruckner symphonies the whole orchestra stands out without the usual blurring of the different frequencies. Add more volume and the quality is not lost. In such bargain priced units I can't quite understand how other manufacturers get away with their sonic offerings!

Well how is it achieved? I have an idea that it is designed that way. The overall impression is one of intentionally designed excellence. The angled jack plug, the cord sleeve to avoid tangles, the single piece build to ensure durability all reflect the design that has gone into the units. One small example that shows the care taken; the 'L' and 'R' are embossed on each rubber ear sleeve. The 'L' has a small raised dot underneath. So pick up the buds and a blind man (literally) can instantly get them in the correct ears. Priceless!

10 of 10 people found this useful

Picked this up as a replacement for a faulty set of headphones of another well-known brand and had heard good things about these offering more for the money. Need to remember to thank whoever it was that recommended these as they're excellent.

Before talking about the sound I want to say how good these headphones are as a package. For the price you get aluminium earphones, fabric cable, iPod/iPhone remote, seven sets of tips (in a nice little box) and a three year warranty - I don't think there's any other product out there offering as much.

Sound wise, the MA450i are fantastic. They offer a much greater degree of clarity than my previous earphones, vocals really sounding crisp and the bass punchy but not overpowering. I tried out a variety of different genres and couldn't really fault them in any of the tests. The tip choice means I was able to get a well-fitting pair and the sound isolation so far has been very effective used on the underground and buses.

All in all, they're an excellent investment for the money. Couldn't ask for more from a product costing as little as this does. Excellent build, isolation, sound, extras. Class all round.

5 of 5 people found this useful

I loved these RHA headphones. Their price, the sound, the cables which don't tangle very easily, and the remote control which I found much easier to press than the Apple official headphones.

So why only 2 stars? Well I bought these at the end of November 2012, and on January 19th 2013 they broke with the remote control end's volume dipping to near silent. Whilst I don't expect "Shure" or "Bose" level of quality from a set of £40 headphones, I do expect them to last longer than this.

I don't think I would get another one. Whilst I may have had a duff model, I can't shake the feeling it will be the same again, so I will spend a little more on a better known brand who I trust next time.

1 of 5 people found this useful

Where to start.

Didnt like these at all. The remote is far too fiddly, the earbuds dont stay in and the worst part is, theres alot of cable noise every time you touch the cable. You get a loud THUD every time you slightly touch it.
Get some Klipsch's, theyre better IMHO

2 of 6 people found this useful

Just bought a pair and to be honest I think they're great. Sound quality is fantastic, really clear and balanced. I'm hearing detail in tracks I've not heard before. Amazing for the price.

2 of 2 people found this useful

I was waiting for these to be out, since i bought the CA200 last christmas. RHA is not as big as most other manufacturer but trust me these are at least as good as the big brand ones!

Read the other reviews for more details :)

15 of 16 people found this useful

I am very satisfied as they provide me with good clean and powerful bass. They are also very comfortable easy maintained. You get your own cloth which helps in keeping them good. And the most important thing is microphone and sound/pause/play buttons for which you don't need to control music while cycling running or whatever reason.

I just love it.

15 of 16 people found this useful

I invested in these because I listen to music on my iPhone all the time and spend lots of time on Skype so earbuds with a remote really appealed, I have some RHA headphones with great sound quality that I've had for years so I figured these would be worth the money.



The sound is fantastic, really natural and really clear. I listen to all kinds of music, from classical to hip hop and everything sounds great and just seems to sound like it’s meant to. These sound far better than my boyfriends Beats which cost more than twice as much. In particular, I think vocal sound really rich, almost like live recordings and I’ve heard little details on tracks I’d never heard before.



I also find the microphone really responsive; I don’t have to hold it close to my mouth to be heard clearly. The remote works well and seems sturdy. Generally, these earbuds seems much more expensive than their price suggests; they’ve got a nice fabric cable, are made of metal and come with spare tips and a little bag.



I've previously had problems getting headphones that fit well, so I loved that these came with lots of tips sizes. I like to listen to music when I’m writing and I can wear these all day without getting sore. They also block noise really well - I used them on a train yesterday to protect against a screaming baby and I could barely hear anything except my music, which was fantastic and I would’ve given them a five star review for that alone.



All in all, these are great. I could have paid a lot more for these and I would still think they were really good value and high quality. Highly recommended.

68 of 70 people found this useful