Reid and Heath Acoustics' CA-200 headphones look and feel incredibly cheap and nasty, with shiny plastic and wobbly earpieces which make a horrendous grinding sound when you adjust their position on the headband. However, it's this loose positioning which makes the headphones fit brilliantly when you’re wearing them. The flexible ear cups sit perfectly against the curve of your skull, encircling your ears. They effectively keep your music from disturbing those around you and block out a fair bit of background noise, too. The headphones come with a fabric-wound cable which plugs into a 3.5mm mono port on each cup and has a standard 3.5mm stereo jack on the end. It's sturdy but the fabric sheath means that the sound of the cable rubbing on clothing is transferred loudly to the earpieces as you move.
Unfortunately, although RHA has designed a set of headphones with great fit, their sound quality doesn't match. Mid-tones in particular lack clarity and are drowned by an admittedly excellent bass. The overall effect gives most rock music rather poor definition. Vocals in the tenor range are clear, but higher pitched sounds - including many female vocal ranges - sound oddly distant. The usually forgiving genres of pop and dance benefit from the vibrancy and detail of the bass, but we prefer a more balanced sound from our headphones. If you want to spend less than £40 on a pair of headphones, we recommend the great-value Cresyn CS-HP600 set, which costs significantly less than the CS-200s.
Details | |
|---|---|
| Price | £40 |
| Details | www.rhacoustics.com |
| Rating | ** |
Specifications | |
| Type | over-ear headphones |
| Driver | closed |
| Active noise-cancelling | no |
| Power source | none |
| Sensitivity | 113dB |
| Frequency response | 20-20,000Hz |
| Impedence | 32 ohms |
| Plug type | 2x 3.5mm mono ports |
| Inline volume | No |
| Weight | 156g |
| Cable length | 1.20m |
| Extras | none |
Buying Information | |
| Price | £40 |
| Supplier | http://www.maplin.co.uk |
| Details | www.rhacoustics.com |