RHA is a British brand that’s quickly becoming a go-to name for those looking for in-ear headphones that aren’t from the usual suspects. We recently reviewed their top-of-the-line T20 pair of in-ears and found them to be some of the best built and best sounding in-ears on the market. During IFA 2015, the company had their upcoming DACAMP to show off. Audiophiles on the move will be familiar with portable headphone amplifiers from the likes of FiiO and co. to boost the output from our smartphones, but these days portable DACs are becoming popular. DAC stands for digital-to-analog converter and these chips change bits and bytes into analog sound waves that end up being piped into your ear. Everything that plays music these days has a DAC inside of it, but with so many other parts to consider, the DAC in your smartphone is not always the best it could be.
Devices like the ZTE Axon are looking to change this, but the RHA DACAMP – which we’re told will be shown off further during CES 2015 – features a DAC that you can hook up to an Android smartphone, as well as a headphone amplifier. You can use it with an analog connection or a USB connection to get the best out of your device, and there are Bass and Treble adjusters on the side to gradually tailor your experience to exactly how you like it. This sort of thing won’t be for everyone, and will most likely be quite costly, but for those looking to get the absolute best sound on the move this could be a product to watch.
We also got a little chance to spend some time with their new S500i, an in-ear headphone that offers some of that RHA-flavor without the associated cost. These will be available soon, if not already, for £39.95 or $49.95. The S500i are focused on being affordable and also simple to use. These are very much plug and go, and are very light with a smaller micro-driver to boot. Hopefully we should have more impressions of the S500i soon.
