[FullBright1]

i'd say tonality is neutral but overall the sound is not "flat" at all , bass is clearly boosted .

Thats a nope.
If you are hearing bass boost, then get a different dac and amp.

 

[Rune1221]

i'd say tonality is neutral but overall the sound is not "flat" at all , bass is clearly boosted .

Glad to see more sane people on this hyped thread

 

[Rune1221]

Thats a nope.
If you are hearing bass boost, then get a different dac and amp.

There are a lot of people hearing these as bass boosted and seriously dipped around 2K. Just like the graphs show. Would you please stop skewing peoples minds towards your understanding of neutrality?
P.S. Fixing headphone curve with DAC/AMP is the most noob thing I've ever heard in audio community.

 

[ballard3]

Thats a nope.
If you are hearing bass boost, then get a different dac and amp.

Maybe if you get a different amp/dac you too will be able to hear bass boost ....

 

[IgorRomaovsky]

FLAT frequency response is not Neutral. Neutral response is the response of Speakers in a good (but non anechoic) room as heard by human ears. That is far from flat, google Harman Target Response. NDH-20 is very close to that response, and i consider it neutral. I play bass and use these phones as monitors. If you got used to bass sound of open headphones, like HD650 or even HD600, you probably perceive a very rolled off bass as neutral.

 

[Rune1221]

FLAT frequency response is not Neutral. Neutral response is the response of Speakers in a good (but non anechoic) room as heard by human ears. That is far from flat, google Harman Target Response. NDH-20 is very close to that response, and i consider it neutral. I play bass and use these phones as monitors. If you got used to bass sound of open headphones, like HD650 or even HD600, you probably perceive a very rolled off bass as neutral.

I'm not "used" to any headphones sound. I had a lot headphones in my life - in very different price categories, with very different response curves, and I've tried most of closed cans praised by community (up to $1000 point). And several of the best open backs.
Harman target curve is absolutely not the last truth in neutrality, rather it's tuned for average listener's pleasure. There exist at least a couple more target response curves, but Harman is arguably the most commonly used - since pleasure is what we seek. It's already bass oriented, and Neumann add to it another 3-5 db in bass area, and subtract 5db in 1.5K-3K area, so no - they are not "very close" to Harman. Several reviewers noticed that already, and it's clearly evident in graphs.
As a matter of fact, even Bose qc35 is closer to Harman than Neumann, yet I don't see many claiming it to be the pinnacle of audio reproduction.
I'm not saying graph are everything, and should be prayed on. Bose is one example of opposite.
But at the same time, those that claim graphs are not to be looked on, and don't hold any value - are ignorant. There's just no way headphone with dancing curve will sound balanced.
Still, there are subjective preferences, and if you like headphones, it's your right, just like it's my right not to like it.
On the other hand, claiming it to be neutral based on how you hear it - is different (not to say arrogant), and for that we don't have a better argument than graphs. And in that area one has to be blind to claim Naumann to be neutral.
Attached some graphs for Neumann, found thanks to google almighty (second and forth image are apparently compensated, while first and third are not):

 

[headphonesaddict123]

FLAT frequency response is not Neutral. Neutral response is the response of Speakers in a good (but non anechoic) room as heard by human ears. That is far from flat, google Harman Target Response. NDH-20 is very close to that response, and i consider it neutral. I play bass and use these phones as monitors. If you got used to bass sound of open headphones, like HD650 or even HD600, you probably perceive a very rolled off bass as neutral.

i can second your statement about the difference between "neutral" and "flat"

It sounds neutral to me but it isn't flat .

Thats a nope.
If you are hearing bass boost, then get a different dac and amp.

I tried quite a few different setups from cheap to pretty expensive , bass presence is strong , certainly not overwhelming or "basshead-like" to me but i think ndh-20 has more bass than a typical "flat" headphones .

Either way , this is an amazing headphones

 

[PaganDL]

@headphonesaddict123,

Just curious, is there any reason why you're hearing so much bass, EQ perhaps?

Bass presence with the NDH 20 is only strong if it is in the track itself, @FullBright1 will agree with this as I agree DACs & especially head amps influence sound more than most will admit but that's just me...

Anyway, as said a few times already, subjectively & personally, NDH 20 is a headphone which has no emphasis in the FR unless it is influenced by source (including head amp when applicable) & recording quality.

Hope everyone has a great day !

 

[headphonesaddict123]

@headphonesaddict123,

Just curious, is there any reason why you're hearing so much bass, EQ perhaps?

Bass presence with the NDH 20 is only strong if it is in the track itself, @FullBright1 will agree with this as I agree DACs & especially head amps influence sound more than most will admit but that's just me...

Anyway, as said a few times already, subjectively & personally, NDH 20 is a headphone which has no emphasis in the FR unless it is influenced by source (including head amp when applicable) & recording quality.

Hope everyone has a great day !

If that's the case , i think it is mostly my music choice , as my daily songs usually have bass elements in it .

I don't use EQ at all , though i am a bit curious about sonawork's EQ software , and my comparison was based on ndh-20 with my other cans ( hd600 , dt990 , hd800 .... ) listening to the same songs .

I don't disregard the possibility that my opinion is completely subjective & there are other factors at work .

 

[PaganDL]

If that's the case , i think it is mostly my music choice , as my daily songs usually have bass elements in it .

I don't use EQ at all , though i am a bit curious about sonawork's EQ software , and my comparison was based on ndh-20 with my other cans ( hd600 , dt990 , hd800 .... ) listening to the same songs .

I don't disregard the possibility that my opinion is completely subjective & there are other factors at work .

Well said, @headphonesaddict123

Good to know you don't EQ.
Tried to demo Sonarworks a few times more for curiosity than anything else, subjectively & personally, not very useful, in most cases, actually made most things I listen to worse but that's just me.

A lot of music I listen to has bass elements as well & they tend to lean to more natural (instrumental, actual weather, etc) rather than processed like EDM.
What music do you lean towards?

I suggest looking into listening other head gear other than Beyer or Senn as that does tend to skew listening habits & influence sound preferences.

The important thing to remember is as long as you enjoy what you're listening to & what you're using to listen to, then that's all that matters.
No one can tell you different though there are certainly others who will try.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[FullBright1]

There are a lot of people hearing these as bass boosted and seriously dipped around 2K. Just like the graphs show. Would you please stop skewing peoples minds towards your understanding of neutrality?
P.S. Fixing headphone curve with DAC/AMP is the most noob thing I've ever heard in audio community.

Well, you are wrong on both counts.
First, the Neumann is not a bass boosted set of headphones.
And 2nd, if you think that different amps and dacs do not possess different EQs then you are lost in audiophile delusion.
Every gear has its own "sound" fella., even yours.

 

[IgorRomaovsky]

I don't use EQ at all , though i am a bit curious about sonawork's EQ software , and my comparison was based on ndh-20 with my other cans ( hd600 , dt990 , hd800 .... ) listening to the same songs

These cans are well known to lack bass, even HD800. Looks like your cans are compensating the bass heavy tracks you used to listen to.

 

[Rune1221]

Well, you are wrong on both counts.
First, the Neumann is not a bass boosted set of headphones.
And 2nd, if you think that different amps and dacs do not possess different EQs then you are lost in audiophile delusion.
Every gear has its own "sound" fella., even yours.

You're repeating the same line about bass over and over - it doesn't make it any more convincing. There are numerous people/reviewers stating too much bass, and you are just another person with subjective opinion. You can keep repeating that earth is flat, for all I care.
Every gear has it's color for sure, but in a chain source-DAC-amp-headphones, headphones bring the most coloration, and influence the result the most out of all components.
It's enough to look at freq. response of any DAC/amp out there, and compare it to freq. response of any headphone, and you'll see how much of a difference there is.
You can slightly influence the resulting sound with right components - mostly in transients, staging, details, musicality, bass texture/tightness etc.
But not in freq. response. In this aspect most DACs/amps are flat from 10 to 20khz

 

[FullBright1]

These cans are well known to lack bass, even HD800. Looks like your cans are compensating the bass heavy tracks you used to listen to.

@headphonesaddict123,

Just curious, is there any reason why you're hearing so much bass, EQ perhaps?

Bass presence with the NDH 20 is only strong if it is in the track itself, @FullBright1 will agree with this as I agree DACs & especially head amps influence sound more than most will admit but that's just me...

Anyway, as said a few times already, subjectively & personally, NDH 20 is a headphone which has no emphasis in the FR unless it is influenced by source (including head amp when applicable) & recording quality.

Hope everyone has a great day !

Apparently there are some confused listeners here on the Thread, who have Graph lust obsession, and who are evaluating the Bass response of this Gear, not related to the gear but related to the music they are using.
The reality is, its as ive said, and as you are informing......this set of headphones is not bass heavy, or bass boosted. But if your music is, then yes, so will your headphones be also....

 

[FullBright1]

You're repeating the same line about bass over and over -.

And so are you....
Will you repeat it again, next time you post? I think you will.
You keep repeating what 3 others have said, vs a Thread that is months long that does not in any regard generally or specifically evaluate the headphones bass response as you and the other 3 here want to announce.
Just accept that your graph is a misfire and your hearing is apparently in need of a treble check up. ????????????????????????????????????
These headphones are designed to be reference grade studio monitors created by Senn and a German company that is highly esteemed for making some of the best microphones ever created since the history of TIME regarding ACCURACY.
So, they created their Neumann's with the help of Senn, to represent a very good idea of sonic neutrality, and they do it well.
Perfect ??? Nope. nothing is perfect.
But compared to something like the Audeze LCD1 which proclaims itself to be a neutral reference gear, the Neumann is about 10x more accurate, sonically speaking.
You and your 3 seem to be describing what months of commentary on this Thread deny.....so, good job.