REVIEW – Join me as I take a look at the Rx8s from RevoNext. Great specs, braided cable and a price that likely forces a double take. You’ll want to keep reading.
What is it?
RevoNext’s Rx8s are a pair of dual-driver earphones with detachable cable and solid performance at a very attractive price.
Hardware specs
- Type: In-Ear
- Connectivity: Wired
- Cable Length: 125cm±2cm
- Sensitivity: 105dB
- Impedance: 25Ω
- Frequency Range: 7Hz-40KHz
- Plug Type: 3.5mm L Plug
- Pin Type: 0.78mm
- Weight: 20g
What’s in the box?
- Dual Driver In-Ear Headphones
- Silicone Ear Tips (3 Pairs)
- 3.5mm input, 2 pin Detachable Hifi Audio Cable
- User Manual
Design and features
The Rx8s are designed with an ergonomic fit to sit relatively flush into your ear. Three different sizes of silicone ear tips are included to customize the fit. Two different drivers are used in the Rx8s; a Dynamic driver which offers a wider spectrum of response, and a Balanced armature which is tuned for a sweet spot. In theory, this provides great coverage and should reduce the risk of the earphones not being perfect for a certain type of music. They’re available in 4 colors: Solid Black, and then transparent versions of Blue, Red, and Grey which are shown in this review.
The audio cord is designed to wrap up and over the back of your ear. It’s removable from the earbuds which is a great feature as cords tend to take the most abuse on headphones with inadvertent tugs and constant winding and unwinding for storage. The connectors use a pair of male pins on the cord side and a mated female connector on the earbud side.
The cord itself is twisted pairs from the earbud to the yoke and then braided below that which creates a very sturdy cable. There’s a small, clear heat-shrink sleeve over the cable where it wraps over your ear. This smooths the texture and provides a bit of a formed shape to make the fit consistent. The audio plug is a 3.5mm stereo jack w/ a 90º connector with built in strain relief.
Setup
This part is pretty easy. Try each of the ear tip sizes to see which one fits best for you. It can be tempting to go for the largest one as they seem pretty soft, but it may add too much pressure over time and become uncomfortable. Too small and you may not get a good seal in your ear canal, resulting in less bass response and external sound seeping in.
From there it’s really just getting them properly seated in your ears and running the cord up and over the top behind your ears.
Performance
When the RevoNext R8s came up for review there were three things that jumped out at me in the product description and images. Dual-driver, behind the ear design and the price.
I’m a big fan of cords that wrap up over the ear. The earbuds stay put better during cord tugs and the yoke stays against your chest better due to the cords draping closer to your shoulders.
The braiding on the cord does mean that it has a pretty bumpy texture which can translate into some noise migration up to your ears (think cable rubbing against a zipper). I was concerned that there’s no moldable wire in the ear shape, but the cord stayed put really well. It took a solid week for this thicker cable to forget the tightly folded wrap from the packaging. It did go away after I hung them upside down for a couple days to let them unkink. There’s no storage bag/case of any kind provided but I usually seek out my own storage solution anyway. In this case, I had a Blue Lounge Cableyoyo laying around and it worked really well for these if I nestled an earbud in from each side. It keeps the cable wound in a smooth circle while the earbuds are held in the center magnetically.
As for dual-drivers, I like listening to music and any technology that allows my music to sound better to me… well, that’s a good thing. I like a broad selection of music and would prefer not to swap headphones and audio settings as I switch between them. The match of dynamic and balanced armatures in the Rx8s really seems to suit my tastes well. I can get the bass response I’m looking for in my heavier music selections as well as the clarity when I’m listening to something jazzier. I didn’t want to crack these open to get at the insides, but the translucent shell lets you see a bit into all that’s going on in there.
If you’ve spent any time looking at high end earbuds you’ll know that detachable cables and multiple drivers are common. It’s not common to find those features at this price. They’re listed at $36 on RevoNext’s website but currently only $26 on Amazon.
At either of those prices, these are a steal. As I write this review I have three small things to point out which I cannot fault them for at this price point.
- The connectors are friction fit and seem to hold well, but they are not directional. This means you could install them +/- reversed per side, or swap L/R, or even both. It’s not a deal breaker as they’ve clearly marked L & R on the connector and the bend of the cable won’t wrap over your ear correctly without a big twist if you connect them wrong.
- The ear tips may not be a perfect fit for you. Luckily the tip-post has a very common shape so you’d be able to pick up some other options or Comply tips if needed.
- This is an audio only cable with no microphone. Almost all my music is through my phone, so I do get interrupted with phone calls and it would be much easier if the cable had a mic. Luckily, it looks like RevoNext has one and it’s only $12 on Amazon with 3 button control. No-brainer purchase.
What I like
- Price!
- Sound quality
- Replaceable cable
- Solid in-ear fit
What needs to be improved
- No storage bag/case
- See above for additional notes
Final thoughts
I can’t find a reason that you shouldn’t pick a pair of these up right now. These sound as good as some earphones costing $100 or more. If… you like good sound, are afraid of losing expensive earbuds, break earbuds often, etc.
I’ll be picking up the mic cable and using these for a while and am now thoroughly intrigued by what their triple and quad driver earphones must sound like.
Price: $36
Where to buy: RevoNext and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by RevoNext
Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
Do you wear glasses and if so, does the cord wrapped over the ears cause discomfort?