Have you tried the DT-150? Seems close to what you're looking for.
Neumann NDH 20
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Have you tried the DT-150? Seems close to what you're looking for.
headphonesaddict123
Member of the Trade: Aya Workshop
hi , where can i buy new ndh-20 pads? also any suggestions for alternate pads beside the original one?
The black cloth (outer layer) of pads are torn out today , so the sponge inside (the pad itself) is bursting out .....
The black cloth (outer layer) of pads are torn out today , so the sponge inside (the pad itself) is bursting out .....
sphones19
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I read this thread with interest before getting a pair of NDH 20 headphones. Although I hope to write up a little more about my impressions and thoughts later, I was particularly interested in the discussion around the comment below, because it reflects one of my strong impressions of the headphones.
One thing that has changed in the 25 years I've been interested in high-fidelity audio is the kind of music that consumers of 'audiophile' oriented equipment listen to. My brother used to work in the industry, and he and many of his colleagues, and their customers, tended to listen to a lot of live acoustic music, especially jazz and to a lesser extent classical music. Of course many liked what we would have called 'classic rock' then, too, but few albums were considered audiophile material.
I notice that especially those interested in headphone audio, or at least especially those interested in headphone audio who write about it on the internet, very often listen to metal and EDM, in addition to various East Asian pop genres. This diversity in musical tastes is great, but it also changes how one might think about evaluating what counts as good sound. One cannot be brought to a live performance like performance at a jazz club that never existed. When listening to good quality recordings of live music, good sound was often understood to be something like making it sound as though you were at the performance itself.
Of course there have to be many qualifiers to this; one doesn't want to record some of the real features of performances, like excessive audience noise, air conditioning, etc. But in any case, one might find a reasonable middle ground to give the experience of listening to live music. Recording EDM, for example, is obviously a very different kind of thing, as is the recording of many genres of popular music in studio.
To me, good quality recordings of the traditional audiophile kind (not necessarily audiophile label recordings) with wide dynamic ranges, live instruments, etc, sound really superb on the NDH 20s. I've noticed the compressed sound of compressed recordings is much more obvious and intrusive on the NDH 20s than on my other over-ear headphones (Meze 99 classics and Oppo PM2s). If one listened to genres, or recording periods, where they were the norm, I could imagine that NDH 20s would not be a pleasing sounding choice. I wonder if this accounts for some of the wide range of reactions to these headphones. Perhaps they conform much better to the expectations of some types of listeners than others (said without judgement about those expectations, I should add).
More later. But thanks for an interesting discussion on this thread. I've just included the quote below to point to where part of the discussion I had in mind took place.
One thing that has changed in the 25 years I've been interested in high-fidelity audio is the kind of music that consumers of 'audiophile' oriented equipment listen to. My brother used to work in the industry, and he and many of his colleagues, and their customers, tended to listen to a lot of live acoustic music, especially jazz and to a lesser extent classical music. Of course many liked what we would have called 'classic rock' then, too, but few albums were considered audiophile material.
I notice that especially those interested in headphone audio, or at least especially those interested in headphone audio who write about it on the internet, very often listen to metal and EDM, in addition to various East Asian pop genres. This diversity in musical tastes is great, but it also changes how one might think about evaluating what counts as good sound. One cannot be brought to a live performance like performance at a jazz club that never existed. When listening to good quality recordings of live music, good sound was often understood to be something like making it sound as though you were at the performance itself.
Of course there have to be many qualifiers to this; one doesn't want to record some of the real features of performances, like excessive audience noise, air conditioning, etc. But in any case, one might find a reasonable middle ground to give the experience of listening to live music. Recording EDM, for example, is obviously a very different kind of thing, as is the recording of many genres of popular music in studio.
To me, good quality recordings of the traditional audiophile kind (not necessarily audiophile label recordings) with wide dynamic ranges, live instruments, etc, sound really superb on the NDH 20s. I've noticed the compressed sound of compressed recordings is much more obvious and intrusive on the NDH 20s than on my other over-ear headphones (Meze 99 classics and Oppo PM2s). If one listened to genres, or recording periods, where they were the norm, I could imagine that NDH 20s would not be a pleasing sounding choice. I wonder if this accounts for some of the wide range of reactions to these headphones. Perhaps they conform much better to the expectations of some types of listeners than others (said without judgement about those expectations, I should add).
More later. But thanks for an interesting discussion on this thread. I've just included the quote below to point to where part of the discussion I had in mind took place.
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Oculomotorius
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If a good recording sounds good and a bad recording sounds bad, isn’t that what a real monitoring headphones should reveal?
John Buchanan
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Well mastered modern or old stuff all sounds great on these No regrets buying them at all.
Oculomotorius
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Does anyone know how these compare to Audeze LCD-1?
sphones19
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A few impressions of the NDH 20 headphones...
I've had the NDH 20s for long enough now that they are not new to me. I've been running them through two dac/amp combos, a Benchmark Dac1 USB and an RME ADI-2 FS. My music flies are all CD quality or higher resolution. I mainly say this to note that the headphones are being correctly amplified and that there shouldn't be any significant coloration coming from the source components.
The NDH 20s sound pleasingly close to correct to me. After a lot of experimenting, I sometimes like to EQ them lightly, although at other times I do not. When I do use EQ, I have been using a roughly 4 db boost at 2000 Hz and a 3db attenuation at 30 Hz. The former sometimes gives voices and many 'mid range' instruments a slightly more present, fuller quality to my ear. In space, the sound is brought a little nearer. The sub-bass attenuation helps with the balance to my ear mainly when listening to organ music, where there is more going on at that frequency than usual.
I hear the NDH 20s as having excellent instrument definition in space. On good recordings, voices and instruments sound like they are coming from somewhere specific, even with complicated and busy music. The soundstage has a nice 3D quality when listening with a little crossfeed and good width for headphones (to my ears) when listening without crossfeed. As is usually the case, that is a trade off. I'd say overall that instruments have realistic timbres, and there is a lack of exaggeration to many aspects of the sound that can be pleasing, but don't ring true to me when compared to how live music sounds. I'm not sure exactly how best to describe what I mean, but there is often an exaggerated sense of resonance and body with instruments like timpani drums, which can sound interesting, but which obscures their live character where the attack is more balanced against the resonance of the body. And in the converse case, the sound of fingernails or a plectrum on guitar strings sometimes dominates the sound of the notes themselves when they should not. But that is also largely absent on the NDH 20s with good recordings.
I can't comment on what makes for good monitoring headphones, since I have no relevant experience with which to make that judgement. I can say that the NDH 20s make for very satisfactory 'serious' listening with well recorded acoustic music, carefully produced rock, and the little bit of 70s and 80s electronica that I listen to. That being said, I find myself reaching instead for the Meze 99 Classics or Oppo PM2s with poorly recorded, compressed pop music. Those recordings sound dull and fatiguing on the NDH 20s. But for well recorded music, the NDH 20s fit the bill rather nicely in my view.
I've had the NDH 20s for long enough now that they are not new to me. I've been running them through two dac/amp combos, a Benchmark Dac1 USB and an RME ADI-2 FS. My music flies are all CD quality or higher resolution. I mainly say this to note that the headphones are being correctly amplified and that there shouldn't be any significant coloration coming from the source components.
The NDH 20s sound pleasingly close to correct to me. After a lot of experimenting, I sometimes like to EQ them lightly, although at other times I do not. When I do use EQ, I have been using a roughly 4 db boost at 2000 Hz and a 3db attenuation at 30 Hz. The former sometimes gives voices and many 'mid range' instruments a slightly more present, fuller quality to my ear. In space, the sound is brought a little nearer. The sub-bass attenuation helps with the balance to my ear mainly when listening to organ music, where there is more going on at that frequency than usual.
I hear the NDH 20s as having excellent instrument definition in space. On good recordings, voices and instruments sound like they are coming from somewhere specific, even with complicated and busy music. The soundstage has a nice 3D quality when listening with a little crossfeed and good width for headphones (to my ears) when listening without crossfeed. As is usually the case, that is a trade off. I'd say overall that instruments have realistic timbres, and there is a lack of exaggeration to many aspects of the sound that can be pleasing, but don't ring true to me when compared to how live music sounds. I'm not sure exactly how best to describe what I mean, but there is often an exaggerated sense of resonance and body with instruments like timpani drums, which can sound interesting, but which obscures their live character where the attack is more balanced against the resonance of the body. And in the converse case, the sound of fingernails or a plectrum on guitar strings sometimes dominates the sound of the notes themselves when they should not. But that is also largely absent on the NDH 20s with good recordings.
I can't comment on what makes for good monitoring headphones, since I have no relevant experience with which to make that judgement. I can say that the NDH 20s make for very satisfactory 'serious' listening with well recorded acoustic music, carefully produced rock, and the little bit of 70s and 80s electronica that I listen to. That being said, I find myself reaching instead for the Meze 99 Classics or Oppo PM2s with poorly recorded, compressed pop music. Those recordings sound dull and fatiguing on the NDH 20s. But for well recorded music, the NDH 20s fit the bill rather nicely in my view.
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Oculomotorius
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sphones19, thank you very much!
Actually, you described a very good monitoring headphone and you brought me much closer to buying them!
Actually, you described a very good monitoring headphone and you brought me much closer to buying them!
headphonesaddict123
Member of the Trade: Aya Workshop
it's been almost 9 months since i own this headphones , coming from hd650/dt990 and a few more ..... this one is the right choice for me
but does anyone know where i can buy new pads? my pads busted
but does anyone know where i can buy new pads? my pads busted
Oculomotorius
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headphonesaddict123
Member of the Trade: Aya Workshop
I used the headphones in a humid and hot environment , i sweat too much and every few months i clean the pads with alcohol cotton swabs ... don't know what happened actually
i mean i said the pads are busted but it's not like it's unusable , the outer layer ( black cloth ) fell out quite a bit , they were supposed to cover the foam inside , but the foam is still in good condition .
i mean i said the pads are busted but it's not like it's unusable , the outer layer ( black cloth ) fell out quite a bit , they were supposed to cover the foam inside , but the foam is still in good condition .
Oculomotorius
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Have you tried to contact Neumann directly? I'm sure they will help you with a replacement.
sphones19
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I'm glad if I could be of help. I'll be interested to hear whether you share the same impressions. Hopefully they'll be what you expect!
kinkling
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Any impressions of these vs the KRK 8400s?
Has anyone heard BOTH the NDH20 and the Beyerdynamic DT1990? I can get them basically at the same price and can't seem to make up my mind.
It'd be purely for enjoyment, and I'm leaning toward the Neumann purely because they don't leak sound compared to the 1990
It'd be purely for enjoyment, and I'm leaning toward the Neumann purely because they don't leak sound compared to the 1990
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