RHA S500

| 140.1 MicroDriver |

? RHA S500, a tiny sized but solidly built in-ear headphone from RHA.

The RHA S500 features aluminum housings and details, RHA’s 140.1 driver and a general durable design.

Aesthetics and build of the RHA S500 has a nice solid and industrial design, a style common on RHA headphones like the:

• RHA MA750
• RHA T20
• RHA MA650 wireless
• RHA MA750 wireless
• RHA CL750

The housings of the RHA S500 have a thin and minuscule footprint with a size and design similar to the: Sony MH1, Remax RM-565i.

The cables of the RHA S500 are half braided/half rubberized, which is a style of cable that we have also found in the:

• 1MORE Triple Driver
• Xiaomi Mi Active Noise Cancelling Earphones
• Xiaomi Mi In-Ear Headphones 2 / Quantie 2
• 1MORE Crystal Piston
• Xiaomi Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro
• Samsung Level In Active Noise Cancelling

You can buy the RHA S500 in silver color.

At first time, the RHA S500 was sold with a 3-button remote/mic that had to be chosen withing Android or Apple compatibility, later on RHA started offering an universal model with a 1-button remote mic. To avoid any possible confusion we are listing you the names of each model:

• RHA S500A – model with a 3-button remote/mic compatible with Android devices
• RHA S500i – model compatible with Apple devices (3-button remote/mic)
• RHA S500 universal – as the name suggest, model with the universal 1-button remote/mic

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RHA S500 Review

Tests & Scores

Weight

RHA S500 weight in Ounces and RHA S500 weight in grams.

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Accessories & Packaging

The RHA S500 unboxing results in a soft pouch, a cable clip, 6 pair of silicone single flange eartips, a pair of double flange eartips, an organizing sheet to place and transport the eartips. Everything comes in a clean designed packaging.

^9_/10

Bass & Sub Bass

The RHA S500 showed a, quite unexpected, strong bass response despite the tiny size. Their lower frequencies will provide fun sound with very punchy mid-bass and sufficiently deep sub-bass.

Applying an EQ, there is a powerful addition of sub-bass depth and noticeable extra punch.

During our extreme basshead tests, the RHA S500 handled up to 35% of a Fiio E12 Mont Blanc max power.

The results were an important empowering of mid-bass and sub-bass, yet they will not enter into basshead territory, remaining way below the impact of the Sony MDR-7550, Sony MDR-EX650 and Pioneer SE-CX8.

^_7.75/10

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Mids & Vocals

The RHA S500 mids have almost no mid-bass bleed but some distant male vocals. Higher mids are crisp and clear but can become harsh too.

With an EQ, male vocals can be pushed to sound less distant and clearer but please do yourself a favor and do not dial up the EQ on upper mids frequencies to avoid extra harsh peaks.

^_7/10

Highs & Treble

The highs of the RHA S500 resolve a fair amount of detail and provide sufficient brightness. Highs do not show sibilance very often but piercing highs are present.

Similar to their mids, we see some potential but a not-so-optimal tuning.

Using an EQ, there is some extra brightness and detail that can be squeezed out of them but their piercing highs will limit the amount of applicable EQ.

^_7/10

Sound Leak

The sound leaking out is very low. Their sound will not be hearable by nearby people at any volume within moderate, if you decide to crank up the volume all the way up, some subdued leakage will happen.

^8.5_/10

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Sound Isolation

The sound isolation provided by the RHA S500 is fairly strong and quite surprising given their small size. Overall they provide more isolation that many standard earphones.

^7.75_/10

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Comfort

The super small and slim profile of the RHA S500 and the additional fact that their total weight is below 15 grams, their comfort level provided is optimal and well-adapted to any ear’s size and shape.

^10_/10

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Response to Equalization

The response to EQ of the RHA S500 was efficient in bass frequencies and highs but not so perfect on mids and vocals.

^7.25_/10

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Scores

RHA S500 Scores

• Accessories - 9/10
  9/10
• Design - 9.5/10
  9.5/10
• Bass - 7.75/10
  7.8/10
• Mids - 7/10
  7/10
• Highs - 7/10
  7/10
• Sound Leak - 8.5/10
  8.5/10
• Sound Isolation - 7.75/10
  7.8/10
• Comfort - 10/10
  10/10
• Response to EQ - 7.25/10
  7.3/10
• Value for Money - 7.5/10
  7.5/10

Summary

AWARDS

Pros

✅ Punchy bass

✅ Bright highs

✅ Tiny size

✅ Aluminum durable construction

✅ Light weighted

✅ Excellent comfort and fit

✅ Low sound leaking leveles

✅ Many eartips included

Cons

❌ Harsh upper mids

❌ Distant lower vocals

❌ Piercing highs

❌ Some driver flex

Conclusion

The RHA S500 are beautifully designed earphones with a super small but industrial and solid build that perform fairly well but will present some issues for treble sensitive people and more demanding listeners.

8.1/10

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RHA S500 Frequency Response Curve

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RHA S500 Technical Specifications

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Photos

RHA S500 Photos

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RHA S500

8.1

SCORE

8.1/10