First of all thanks for a great line-up
Recently I have been looking for a pair of really good headphones that I can plug into my iPhone 5 for daily commuting 1h 20m each way (lots of time to listen to great music). I have a great music system at home (Musical Fidelity M6 series), but would like to have the possibility to take some good music with me on the roads.
Recently bought a pair of NAD HP50 after listening and comparing them to a set of B&W P7 in our local www.hifiklubben.dk chain here in Denmark. I thought the sound was fantastic, and the iPhone had no problem driving them at high volume with heavy bass sequences. On Beyoncé's "Partition" (Beyoncé album) where the bass goes wild, it is under full control with these cans hearing every little detail in the bass sound (even though it is a synth sound). Also playing John Lee Hooker's "Tupelo" with the simple vocals and guitarre sounds great. If the P7 sound had been nearly as good, I would have bought them, cause they looked alot nicer. However I choose music quality.
Comfortwise the NAD's were also the most comfortable headphones, they had in the shop. My one ear has a very narrow opening, and some on-ear headphones can make my ear canal close completely, so I was only looking for over-ear headphones.
After some listening the experiences made me pull up my credit card without even thinking about telling my wife, that I was about to buy the most expensive headphones I have ever bought (here in Denmark they cost $370).
My enthusiasm lowered a little when I jumped up on my bike riding back to the train station. The jack connector when plugged into the headphones sticks out a bit less than an inch and always get caught in my jacket, when I turn my head. Looking into windows I saw my mirror image revealing a rather weird head band design. When walking in public I was wondering whether people would be talking about me behind my back
After coming home I read one reviewer express that he looked like a species out of Star Trek with the NAD's.
Also I am in doubt whether the headband is really leather or if it is plastic. The NAD site says "Lush leather fabric". I think it feels like it could be easily torn if unlucky.
During the week the volume control on the cable stopped working sometimes. I havn't given it a hard time in any way, and no rain or similar. To stop the jack connector catching my jacket I tried swapping ends on the cable, so I got the angled connector at the headphones. This helped but then I couldn't use the controls at all.
Yesterday I took the headphones back to the shop for a refund, and there was no problem getting all my money back
Once again I listened to the P7's but with heavy bass sequences I think the iPhone's amp maxed out, so the bass started being all muffled - not at all as good as the NAD's, and I don't want to carry an external amp around.
After reading your review I think I will be going for the B&O H6, even though they are quite a bit more expensive than the NAD's ($555 in Denmark).
If anyone is interested I can provide som real life commuting experiences.
Best regards,
Philip
