If you’ve read more than one of our articles before, you know Roland gear is some of our favorite when it comes to headphones in particular. As we continue a new year with new gear, this particular model stood out to us because of specs and overall quality it promised. Although advertised specifically for V-drums, you can of course span this across a majority of other electronic drum sets in the market. You can even use these for other audio listening uses as well, which we will cover shortly. Let’s check out the Roland RH-300V Headphones.
Main specs and features of the RH-300V headphones
Closed-back, circumaural design- 2.5 meter straight cord built-in
- Gold plated 1/8″ mini with adapter included
- Folds for easy travel and storage
- Soft cushion on ear pads and head strap
- Drivers: 50 mm
- Sensitivity: 103 dB/mW
- Impedance: 32 ohms
- Frequency response: 10 Hz to 22 kHz
- Weight: 11 ounces
Headphone features
We have the standard features of a high-quality pair of headphones here (which is a good thing). The comfort is great with a relatively long cable attached (great for electronic drum sets since you can never need too much). One of the best features here, which we’re huge fans of (like some of the Audio-Technica headphones out there) is the fact that they fold. We have heard only a small amount of people complain about this, saying it messes with the fit; however in our opinion it doesn’t do much there since the headband is also adjustable. It’s great for those of us traveling around and for storage, it never hurts since you can put it away easily and snug in a tight place for protection.
The 1/8″ plug is gold plated which is always a luxury and you have the adapter alongside your box in case you want to plug them into other gear. The frequency response is standard and the specs (for those who nerd out on numbers like us) aren’t too bad when it comes to impedance and drivers. We’ll talk about those later, but in terms of overall features, the headphone brings what we need. If we were to complain, we do always wish a pair of cans could include interchangeable cables, but beggars can’t be choosers, we suppose.
Overall build and stability
Roland always comes with a solid build with no questions asked. If you’re reading this right now, you most likely aren’t too concerned with getting a “cheap” pair of headphones. This includes not only price point but the overall quality of the pair of cans. The soft cushion on the pads and headband are going to give you a sweet fit with no pain, especially if you’re like us and like to play your music for multiple hours on end (sometimes forgetting to eat or drink water during the process of course). The build here is superb, and it should be considering the price. Roland has your back.
You have some aluminum on the sides of your ear cups and the headphones overall aren’t cheaply made. If you drop them, you’re not losing them altogether. These definitely are not a pair of headphones you’d buy for cheap at your local electronics store. If you take care of them even slightly, they’ll be a long-term investment for years to come.
Sound quality
It has a very tight, full-range sound that’s great for drums (since there’s so much difference between the frequency in each piece you may hit with your stick). Although driver size isn’t much, the 50 mm at least gives us confidence that we have some beefy specs built-into our pair. The ohms aren’t too demanding in terms of needing a headphone amp, but if you do grab one or have a model already to use, it wouldn’t hurt.
Since these are made specifically for Roland’s “V-Drums” (or any electronic drum set for that matter), keep in mind that you have sound quality that is super accurate but more tailored towards a “punchy” sound. The frequency response is great to capture the essence of the bass drum yet still providing clarity for your high cymbals. We wouldn’t consider these as flat as “studio headphones” per se — so they’re not recommended for mixing or mastering. However, if you’re also planning on listening to music leisurely with these aside from your drumming, you should be fine.
The verdict on the Roland RH-300V headphones
These are high-quality, comfortable, and great for electronic drums — as simple as that. If you have to grab them, it all depends on if they fit your needs.
As we said before, these are specifically made for those who play electronic drum sets. In essence, there technically isn’t much difference between these and other models of headphones that are geared towards a broader use, but if you are looking for a pair to mix\make beats\listen to music or movies with, check out our best studio headphones article.
Of course, headphone creators can’t just yell at a pair of headphones and say “be good for drums and not other uses!”. However, there are ways of manipulating the specs inside to give a bit of an emphasis on the low and high frequencies, which are best for drums because of the broad range (can therefore lack some mids, which vocals come into play with). That’s the only way these are better than other headphones for drums and not other uses.
So if you’re indeed looking for a high-quality pair of electronic drum headphones, the Roland RH-300V Headphones definitely won’t disappoint.
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