RBH Sound Wireless and Beryllium Headphones Set New Industry Benchmark

gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
RBH sound has expanded their product line-up with the announcement of two new, over-the-ear headphone models, the HP-1B and HP-2.

The RBH Sound HP-1B wireless bluetooth and HP-2 reference-quality headphones with beryllium-coated drivers set a new price to performance standard along with ultra light weight and high efficiency to be easily driven by a mobile device with great results.

With an estimated street price under $200 we are excited, especially upon first listen during our exclusive interview with the fine folks at RBH Sound.



Read: RBH Sound HP-1B Wireless and HP-2 Reference Headphones Preview
 
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Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
I'm curious if the HP-1B are really much different from these two headphones that I have:
(*) AudioMX
(*) iDeaUSA

The padding looks different, but the overall design looks incredibly similar.
 
Cos

Cos

Audioholic Samurai
Not to be a skeptic here, as I just returned my current headset (PSB) due to noise and I am really wanting to buy these (especially at the price point), but how do you measure or compare headphones (i.e. what guidelines do you use) vs Speakers. Is there a way to accurately measure the sound between headsets?
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
I'm curious if the HP-1B are really much different from these two headphones that I have:
(*) AudioMX
(*) iDeaUSA

The padding looks different, but the overall design looks incredibly similar.
The casings look very similar but the drivers are NOT the same. RBH custom designed their drivers.
 
P

puckhead

Audioholic Intern
Gene,

Can you elaborate on your quote from the RBH product page...

"The HP-2 sound so much better than the headphones I've paid over $1,000 bucks for, they are so lightweight I can even pick them up with my pinky. The HP-2 don't cause ear fatique or helmet hair and have great noise isolation too! I cranked these up and they sounded better than my reference headphones!"
– Gene DellaSala, Audioholics.com


....or do we have to wait for the full review?

I'm very interested in these cans as I have several pairs of the in-ear RBHs and really enjoy them, especially the newest EP3 - they are now my go-to buds for running/workouts. I'm curious which more expensive cans you compared to the new RBH HP-2 over-the-ear offering, and what you liked better about them sound-wise and form/ergonomics-wise (and what you didn't like better).
 
Topken

Topken

Junior Audioholic
Gene,

Can you elaborate on your quote from the RBH product page...

"The HP-2 sound so much better than the headphones I've paid over $1,000 bucks for, they are so lightweight I can even pick them up with my pinky. The HP-2 don't cause ear fatique or helmet hair and have great noise isolation too! I cranked these up and they sounded better than my reference headphones!"
– Gene DellaSala, Audioholics.com


....or do we have to wait for the full review?

I'm very interested in these cans as I have several pairs of the in-ear RBHs and really enjoy them, especially the newest EP3 - they are now my go-to buds for running/workouts. I'm curious which more expensive cans you compared to the new RBH HP-2 over-the-ear offering, and what you liked better about them sound-wise and form/ergonomics-wise (and what you didn't like better).

I am pretty sure that quote came from the video that was posted in this thread if not one of the Cedia videos from this year.

AKA might be in this video if its not in the video that was posted

 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
Gene,

Can you elaborate on your quote from the RBH product page...

"The HP-2 sound so much better than the headphones I've paid over $1,000 bucks for, they are so lightweight I can even pick them up with my pinky. The HP-2 don't cause ear fatique or helmet hair and have great noise isolation too! I cranked these up and they sounded better than my reference headphones!"
– Gene DellaSala, Audioholics.com


....or do we have to wait for the full review?

I'm very interested in these cans as I have several pairs of the in-ear RBHs and really enjoy them, especially the newest EP3 - they are now my go-to buds for running/workouts. I'm curious which more expensive cans you compared to the new RBH HP-2 over-the-ear offering, and what you liked better about them sound-wise and form/ergonomics-wise (and what you didn't like better).
Now that I have a pair of HP-2s in for review, I'd like to take time to do formal comparisons. Upon initial listening I felt the HP-2s sounded more lively than my Oppo PM-1s and Sennheiser HD600s. They are also lighter weight and more efficient. It doesn't take away from the Oppo or Sennheisers which are both excellent headphones in their own respects. I just didn't expect the RBH's to perform at this level for this price. We shall see if I feel the same way after 1 month of testing. I also want to make sure I properly level match to not be biased towards the louder headphones....
 
O

OttawaPat

Audiophyte
I just thought I'd chime in with an initial impression of these headphones. As a caveat, I have not had the chance to compare these to higher end headphones but have included a list of speakers and headphones that I currently own that I was able to compare them to.

Let me start this by saying that I absolutely hate these RBH HP-2 headphones! Now before you read too much into that statement, let me clarify. Prior to purchasing the RBH HP-2, I had been happily enjoying my AudioEngine 2 (A2) desktop speakers, my Sennheiser HD-598 SE headphones, my Sennheiser PC350 gaming headset, my Fugoo Tough Bluetooth speaker, and my BOSE on ear headphones. All of these, in one way or another, had a purpose and were pleasurable to use and provided me with what I felt was an ability to enjoy music in different ways depending on the activity I was participating in. Now that I’ve purchased the RBH HP-2 on ear headphones, all of this has changed.


The RBH HP-2 provides such a great soundstage, with amazing depth, range and clarity that I never experienced in any of these other headsets and speakers that going back to any of the other headsets or speakers has become hard to tolerate. Listening to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody on the RBH HP-2 gives me a new appreciation of the song’s range. From Mercury’s falsetto to the purity of sound coming from the piano and guitar or the booming bass drum, I feel like I’m right there in the studio with Queen recording the song. Throw in Aurora’s Half the World Away and you’ll enjoy hearing every breath and inflection in Aurora’s voice as it sends chills through your body. As I closed my eyes, I kept having the sensation that she was right there in front of me singing that song. Any song I threw at these headphones just brought new experiences I had not felt before.


Needless to say, I hate these headphones because they are so good and have set a new standard of acceptability for my listening requirements. I’ve only had a few hours of listening with them so far but the sound rivals that of the Totem Sttaf’s (no.. that is not a typo) floor speakers that I compared them to at a friend's house. The big difference of course is that the Totem’s cost him five times the price ($1800 CDN) but can fill a whole room while these only fill my ears (but only cost $350 CDN). Thankfully my Paradigm Studio home theatre setup still allows me to enjoy music in at least one room of the house.


My only real gripe with these headphones is the curious placement of the cord on the right side. Every single headphone I have ever owned had the cord on the left side. Not that this is anything major but it was just a bit odd at first and is taking a bit of getting used to. The inclusion of a cord with integrated mic and controller allows the headset to also double as a gaming headset to use with a PS4, Xbox One, or PC (although the inability to pin the mic somewhere isn't quite as convenient as the Sennheiser PC 350 gaming headset). For $200 US, I would be hard pressed to find anything on the market that can rival what this headset has to offer in terms of comfort, sound quality, and price. RBH has an absolute winner on their hands with these headphones and I now have to sell all my other equipment to reach for higher standards in order to enjoy listening to music anywhere else in my home.



For any Canadian readers, this headset came up to $225US. I chose the air shipment option which was the same price as a land shipment to Canada. I placed my order on a Sunday night, received an order confirmation on Monday, and delivery was made on Tuesday afternoon. Duty / taxes / surcharges was an additional $45CDN for importing. Money very well spent if this headset has the durability to match the rest of what it has to offer.
 
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T

Tao1

Audioholic
Now that I have a pair of HP-2s in for review, I'd like to take time to do formal comparisons. Upon initial listening I felt the HP-2s sounded more lively than my Oppo PM-1s and Sennheiser HD600s. They are also lighter weight and more efficient. It doesn't take away from the Oppo or Sennheisers which are both excellent headphones in their own respects. I just didn't expect the RBH's to perform at this level for this price. We shall see if I feel the same way after 1 month of testing. I also want to make sure I properly level match to not be biased towards the louder headphones....
So I take it your review will be a month off? If so, would it be possible to see a frequency response curve sometime sooner?

Also thanks for your review Pat! You had me worried there those first few lines, so I admit you got me fairly good ;) I am also a Canadian, so nice to hear about the shipping option.
 
P

puckhead

Audioholic Intern
Now that I have a pair of HP-2s in for review, I'd like to take time to do formal comparisons. Upon initial listening I felt the HP-2s sounded more lively than my Oppo PM-1s and Sennheiser HD600s. They are also lighter weight and more efficient. It doesn't take away from the Oppo or Sennheisers which are both excellent headphones in their own respects. I just didn't expect the RBH's to perform at this level for this price. We shall see if I feel the same way after 1 month of testing. I also want to make sure I properly level match to not be biased towards the louder headphones....
Thanks for the follow-up Gene.

...those are some solid cans for comparison. I'll be very interested in the full review!
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
Here is a quick and dirty way to measure over the ear headphones using a foam head at a Michael's which is a crafts store. Let's call him Mr. Bob.

See the graphs comparing the new RBH HP-2 to the Sennheiser HD598SE. The sensitivity of the Sennheiser is about 7dB lower than the HP-2. For those that prefer less bass, the 3 holes on the ear-cups of the HP-2 can be covered up which flattens the bass response (see graph).


20151211_141612_resized.jpg
RBH HP-2 vented vs. sealed.jpg
RBH vs SENN1.jpg
 

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Cos

Cos

Audioholic Samurai
I was always curious how they do testing. When I was at an event, the PSB guy spoke about how they used human cadaver ears to test sound. I thought that was a little overkill (no pun intended :) ) I am going to give these a try out. For some reason the PSB had line noise in their headphones, which might have just been a bad pair, but I wasn't 100% sold on fit.
 
T

Tao1

Audioholic
Here is a quick and dirty way to measure over the ear headphones using a foam head at a Michael's which is a crafts store. Let's call him Mr. Bob.

See the graphs comparing the new RBH HP-2 to the Sennheiser HD598SE. The sensitivity of the Sennheiser is about 7dB lower than the HP-2. For those that prefer less bass, the 3 holes on the ear-cups of the HP-2 can be covered up which flattens the bass response (see graph).


View attachment 17144 View attachment 17145 View attachment 17146
Thanks for the graph, Gene :)

I have a couple of questions though:

What did you use to cover the holes? Electrical tape?

Also do the HD598SE have a slightly different frequency response curve that the original HD598s? I ask because your graph doesn't show the characteristic -10 to -15db dip in the higher frequencies that the HD598's are known to have.
 
N

nogaro

Full Audioholic
Thanks for the measurements, Gene. I'm also interested in knowing how the holes can be covered. I'm hoping there's a nicer looking solution that electrical tape. To me, they sound a whole lot more natural when I place my fingers over the holes.
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
Thanks for the graph, Gene :)

I have a couple of questions though:

What did you use to cover the holes? Electrical tape?

Also do the HD598SE have a slightly different frequency response curve that the original HD598s? I ask because your graph doesn't show the characteristic -10 to -15db dip in the higher frequencies that the HD598's are known to have.
Yes electrical tape or your thumb to cover the ports.

Not sure about the 598 vs 598SE. I did measure the HD600s which looks pretty similar though I used a cup instead of Mr. Bob.

http://www.audioholics.com/headphone-reviews/sennheiser-hd-600-headphone-review
 
T

Tao1

Audioholic
Yes electrical tape or your thumb to cover the ports.

Not sure about the 598 vs 598SE. I did measure the HD600s which looks pretty similar though I used a cup instead of Mr. Bob.

http://www.audioholics.com/headphone-reviews/sennheiser-hd-600-headphone-review
Yes I did see your review on that, thanks. You actually had me sold on getting those until only a few days later you and Hugo did the first Cedia overview video and mentioned the HP-2s ;)

The HD600s corrected the dip in the curve that the HD598s had. I actually got to try a pair of HD598s, and although good, were definitely missing something in the high end.
 

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