Specialist British audio company RHA announced the availability of two new Bluetooth in-ear headphones in Singapore last month: the MA650 Wireless and MA750 Wireless. These had joined RHA’s acclaimed product range in Summer 2017, and these are their first Bluetooth wireless products. I have the higher-end MA750 Wireless for this review.
RHA’s commitment to design, build quality and audio excellence is immediately apparent, at least in the looks department, the moment you open up the box. The 303F stainless steel earpiece looks exquisite.
The MA750 Wireless is a neckband-style in-ear style headphone, a style that’s getting quite common and one that I’m quite fond of. With neckbands, the weight of the headphone mostly rests on the neck, leaving the earpieces light and without cable weight pulling down on it.
The neckband is uniformly weighted, and covered in smooth comfortable rubber finish. It feels good and won’t slip around easily around the neck.
The right-side end of the neckband incorporates the power/pairing button, as well as a modern USB Type-C (USB-C) port for charging the headphone. The NFC logo on the left-side end shows where you should place your smartphone for NFC pairing.
The slim inline remote is positioned on the right-side cable The three buttons are covered with rubber. The centre button is thankfully recessed, otherwise it’ll be quite hard to distinguish between them the three buttons. Long-pressing on the centre button launches your smartphone’s voice assistant. The inline remote also includes a microphone, so you can take calls with the MA750 Wireless.
The premium-look earpieces look really good. The cables are curved and designed to hook over your ears. The earpieces are also magnetised, so they stick together when you hang them down your neck.
The earpieces incorporate handmade model 560.1 dynamic drivers, which are engineered to deliver an accurate and clear listening experience. Its Aerophonic housings channel sound into the ears without distortion. It should sound very good, and I’ll come to that in a bit.
The MA750 Wireless comes with a generous number of ear tips, though some of them are just extras in the same size: 4 pairs of silicon tips (one pair already fitted in the earpieces), 2 pairs of double-flange silicon tips, and 2 pairs of comply form tips. I love comply foams, but oddly the only two pairs provided by RHA are of identical size.
Sound isolation is good once you use the right-sized ear tips to fit your ears.
There are a few more notable features of the MA750 Wireless. Its batteries are rated for a good 12 hours of listening. It is splash and sweat-proof to IPX4 rating. You also get aptX and AAC compatible Bluetooth streaming from this headphone. There’s no ambient sound mode, active noise cancellation, or other more advanced features.
Considering that RHA positions themselves for the audiophile community, I am tempted to hold it up to those higher expectations. To that end, I think the sound quality from the MA750 Wireless can be considered somewhat middling. But if you consider its price point, and come to it with the ears of a casual listener, I think the MA750 Wireless is quite good.
Music from the MA750 Wireless on the whole is well-balanced and immersive. The bass presence is definitely evident. However, it doesn’t stand out, and often comes across as lacking energy and enthusiasm.
The mids and highs do a lot better sounding forward, lively and energetic. It’s markedly more engaging, and they do reasonably well with clarity and detail.
Included in the MA750 Wireless packaging is a USB-C charging cable, carrying pouch, and a variety of ear tips.
The RHA MA750 Wireless carries a suggested retail price of S$289, and is available from AV One, Analogue+, Connext, Cumulus Nimbus, Elush, Stereo, Treoo, Xgear, 1st mobile and headphones.sg.
Conclusion
The RHA MA750 Wireless in-ear headphones are very good, especially the excellent build quality and comfort, and has matching audio quality that will satisfy most casual listeners.
Pros:
- Excellent build quality
- Comfortable neckband
- Reliable Bluetooth connection
Cons:
- Had higher expectations in audio quality
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