IFA 2016 - RHA's New Specialist Product Range
August 29, 2016
25 Aug - The second biggest tech show after CES, IFA 2016 will be held from 2 to 7 Sep in Berlin. To kickstart the slate of launches prior to the event proper, RHA throws its hat into the ring with 3 new "specialist" products - 2 earphones and 1 amplifier.
What's So Special?
Five year old British-based RHA has traditionally been developing products in the earphone domain such as the T10i we reviewed previously. Now it has come up with its first portable amplifier.
1. Dacamp L1
RHA's first effort in this product type is a fully balanced DAC / headphone amplifier that leverages on an ES9018K2M DAC chip and a class AB amplifier for each stereo channel. In plain English, this translates to high quality digital audio file processing from mobile / desktop sources.
There are a vast array of inputs (USB / micro-USB / combined optical- and line-in) and outputs (four-pin balanced out / earphone-out / line-out). Dacamp L1 is compatible with Android / iOS / PC / Mac with dials for Bass / Treble / Gain. Oh, and its 4000mAh battery promises up to 10 hours of usage.
2. CL1 Ceramic
The 14g CL1 Ceramic rises to become RHA's new flagship earphones with moldable and wrappable earhooks. Two things set these buds apart.
i. Dual-drivers - We have seen similar implementations such as the Klipsch Reference XR8i Hybrid. These earphones offer traditional dynamic drivers and a ceramic plate transducer (now you know where the product name comes from). The plate boasts "unprecedented control over high frequency and harmonic tone reproduction". Combined, this should promise a more than decent audio output with the dynamic drivers that takes care of the bass and mid-range and the ceramic plate to handle the treble.
ii. Customizations galore - For a pair of in-ears, the options provided here really attempt to impress. You can choose from the 2 sets of braided cables provided (one traditional cable with a 3.5mm jack and one balanced cable with a 4-pin mini XLR linkable to Dacamp L1) to connect to the CL1 Ceramic earbuds via SSMCX. There are 11 earbuds to choose from ranging from silicon (2 sets of S / M / L), double-flange (S / L) and Comply Foam Tsx-200 Comfort Plus (S / M / L).
3. CL750
These buds appear to slot themselves in the upper mid-range tier of RHA earphones, between the T- and MA-series of products.
The CL750 uses dynamic drivers, termed CL Dynamic ultra-wideband transducer, for "authentic sound reproduction up to 45kHz". They leverage on RHA's trademarked Aerophonic design, employed in their MA-series and are certified as high-resolution audio capable by the Japan Audio Society. Similar to the CL1 Ceramic, they come with the same 11 earbud pairs to choose from.
Let's check out a teaser video courtesy of RHA:
Pricing and Availability
Worldwide, all 3 products are expected to be available from October 2016. We are now checking on Singapore availability.
Dacamp L1 - GBP 400 (SGD 714)
CL1 Ceramic - GBP 350 (approx SGD 625)
CL750 - GBP 100 (approx SGD 179)
Five year old British-based RHA has traditionally been developing products in the earphone domain such as the T10i we reviewed previously. Now it has come up with its first portable amplifier.
1. Dacamp L1
RHA's first effort in this product type is a fully balanced DAC / headphone amplifier that leverages on an ES9018K2M DAC chip and a class AB amplifier for each stereo channel. In plain English, this translates to high quality digital audio file processing from mobile / desktop sources.
There are a vast array of inputs (USB / micro-USB / combined optical- and line-in) and outputs (four-pin balanced out / earphone-out / line-out). Dacamp L1 is compatible with Android / iOS / PC / Mac with dials for Bass / Treble / Gain. Oh, and its 4000mAh battery promises up to 10 hours of usage.
2. CL1 Ceramic
The 14g CL1 Ceramic rises to become RHA's new flagship earphones with moldable and wrappable earhooks. Two things set these buds apart.
i. Dual-drivers - We have seen similar implementations such as the Klipsch Reference XR8i Hybrid. These earphones offer traditional dynamic drivers and a ceramic plate transducer (now you know where the product name comes from). The plate boasts "unprecedented control over high frequency and harmonic tone reproduction". Combined, this should promise a more than decent audio output with the dynamic drivers that takes care of the bass and mid-range and the ceramic plate to handle the treble.
ii. Customizations galore - For a pair of in-ears, the options provided here really attempt to impress. You can choose from the 2 sets of braided cables provided (one traditional cable with a 3.5mm jack and one balanced cable with a 4-pin mini XLR linkable to Dacamp L1) to connect to the CL1 Ceramic earbuds via SSMCX. There are 11 earbuds to choose from ranging from silicon (2 sets of S / M / L), double-flange (S / L) and Comply Foam Tsx-200 Comfort Plus (S / M / L).
3. CL750
These buds appear to slot themselves in the upper mid-range tier of RHA earphones, between the T- and MA-series of products.
Let's check out a teaser video courtesy of RHA:
Pricing and Availability
Worldwide, all 3 products are expected to be available from October 2016. We are now checking on Singapore availability.
Dacamp L1 - GBP 400 (SGD 714)
CL1 Ceramic - GBP 350 (approx SGD 625)
CL750 - GBP 100 (approx SGD 179)
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