[NickedWicked]

I keep getting confused by what is being discussed, especially when comparing to audiophile HP, like a user kindly presented a few posts back.

If we are discussing the NDH 30 as a studio monitor and the way it reproduces music as "intended" originally, personally I couldn't care less because I'm no professional and listen to enjoy music.

If we are discussing the NDH 30 as a HP suited for audiophile and hobby enjoyment listening, then I'm interested for sure.

It seems that these 2 realities seem to be confused and discriminatory chosen depending which will suit best on a particular answer or discussion.

That’s because it fills both roles really well, it is hands down the most accurate headphone I heard today for in the studio. While at the same time it is a really dynamic sounding headphone.

A bit dry and no standout frequencies perhaps, has the soundstage of an Arya, the natural sound of an Auteur and a pretty impressive low end with plenty of authority which makes it sound nearly as dynamic as a Clear. What’s not to like?

 

[glpsace]

Since I have expressed my views regarding to this a few posts above, I will only say that I cannot think of anything more truly audiophile than an accurate, well balanced, detailed, comfortable headphone. This is exactly what a reference, pro-headphone must be and also what an audiophile/consumer headphone must be. No discrepancy at all for me.
Of course, an "audiophile" oriented headphone can be completed or ornamented with all kinds of luxuries and fancy cables, anything that will raise its cost significantly (and proud of ownership) but very unlikely to alter its sound.

Obviously I wasn't referring to your post(s). But considering your answer it is very interesting because I have a different opinion, also because I'm just an enthusiast and maybe the word "audiophile" wasn't an accurate choice of words by me.

We are all free to do whatever we want and surely there are tons of headphones and gear that are warm, colored and enjoyed by many (myself included) and I believe there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The same way I can also enjoy a neutral, detailed approach especially considering my mood and what genre of music/ recorded quality I'm listening to.

I guess what has been difficult to understand is that, despite its technicalities, is the NDH 30 an engaging HP? Is it fun? I'm no expert and therefore do not use technical words, as I don't understand what they represent. I can just rely on feelings when I'm listening to music and I consider my Grados engaging and My Meze 109 Pro fun.

 

[Awolmartinez]

Subscribed!

 

[headstef]

I know you were not referring to my posts; I was just explaining why I would post a short answer.
Regarding to your questions in the last paragraph, you can read many recent (or older) comments by users, expressing exactly that it is actually a very engaging and admirably life-like sounding headphone (if a headphone can be that).
For a headphone to sound life-like with the highest number of modern recordings and with most musical genres, accuracy and balance are rather mandatory. Accurate does not mean dull or clinical at all. It means natural, life-like sound with voices and acoustical instruments, fun and energy with dance music or weight and presence with electronic music. A good sound engineer provides all these in the recording and they shine with a good, accurate headphone.

 

[Mike F]

This or that other wI guess what has been difficult to understand is that, despite its technicalities, is the NDH 30 an engaging HP? Is it fun?

Yes! If engaging and fun means that you can’t wait to find out what the next track sounds like and you’re constantly amazed by what you hear, not because it has an amazing sound stage or because it has this or that other amazing quality, but because it sounds unrelentingly right, and is so and revealing that you get lost in the music and the headphone disappears.

 

[Rob80b]

Talich Quartet - Debussy, Ravel- String Quartets (2012) [24-96]

Same release?
https://tidal.com/browse/album/135169320

....Ravel and Debussy Quartets are all good to listen to.

Couldn't find this recording though.
"Takacs Quartet - Hough, Dutilleux, Ravel_String Quartets (2023) [24-96]"

The ADX5000 and AKG K812 are excellent headphones, I've spent a lot of time listening and working with them. And I always have them on hand in my neighboring studio. BUT they are excellent not for the money for which they are sold.

Change of heart? : )

 

[plyr]

When I bought the NDH30, I was basically evaluation Apple Music, I said here the upper frequency were super polite. Apple Music sound very round and detailed, but have problems, like the voice channel has this weird bug where it was shifted off-center on some music randomly. I grabbed my 660S to double check this and it was the same, but never bothered me before, because the sennheiser less wide presentation. <- iTunes for windows, restarted the PC and its OK.

Yesterday I started using Spotify, and the thing shifted to a more coherent representation of what I remember for certain tracks, highs were more prevalent, low end slightly less so... The voice channel dead center on tracks I remember them to be so. <- Same as above.

So I don't know, I picked differences on streaming services before, I'm familiar to the major 5 streaming services already, and I settled on Apple Music just till now...

So my take here is that we are I am being bamboozled by the source material and drawing conclusions.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

When I bought the NDH30, I was basically evaluation Apple Music, I said here the upper frequency were super polite. Apple Music sound very round and detailed, but have problems, like the voice channel has this weird bug where it was shifted off-center on some music randomly. I grabbed my 660S to double check this and it was the same, but never bothered me before, because the sennheiser less wide presentation.

Yesterday I started using Spotify, and the thing shifted to a more coherent representation of what I remember for certain tracks, highs were more prevalent, low end slightly less so... The voice channel dead center on tracks I remember them to be so.

So I don't know, I picked diferences on streaming services before, I'm familiar to the major 5 streaming services already, and I settled on Apple Music just till now...

So my take here is that we are I am being bamboozled by the source material and drawing conclusions.

“Bamboozled”

Great word! Haven’t heard that in a while.

 

[Not so fat head]

Maybe your friends are right, you are wasting you precious time here..
You've apparently got your endgame..
Enjoy them

To be honest, they think I'm crazy because I'm writing here and they think I'm just wasting my time. For this reason, they are unlikely to appear here)))

 

[plyr]

As more and more users are coming to test this headphones now, It might be useful once again to remind that they sound as they should only with the cable on the right.
If the headphone is put in reverse on the head (L to R) the sound is altered considerably because of the off-centered and inclined drivers. (It happened here before and also to one or two youtube "reviewers", clearly seen to wear them backwards. For the same reason the headband must be on the top of the head.
The wrong way results to significant loss of higher mids and higher treble or "air", as described in detail and measured in this post (#229):

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/neumann-ndh-30.963439/page-16#post-17236966

I think Neumann should have used more visible L-R indication letters on these cans.
(I apologize to those following this thread from its start for the repetition).

Neumann's fault really...

 

[PixelSquish]

“Bamboozled”

Great word! Haven’t heard that in a while.

You should play Apex Legends, that's Mirage's main schtick!

 

[erics75]

I'm glad you mentioned this! My replacement set is due in tomorrow and I know i would have just put them on my head, cable left, and gone on my way. i'll have to read up on the head positioning thing. hopefully they fit my fat head ok, it's big haha

As more and more users are coming to test this headphones now, It might be useful once again to remind that they sound as they should only with the cable on the right.
If the headphone is put in reverse on the head (L to R) the sound is altered considerably because of the off-centered and inclined drivers. (It happened here before and also to one or two youtube "reviewers", clearly seen to wear them backwards. For the same reason the headband must be on the top of the head.
The wrong way results to significant loss of higher mids and higher treble or "air", as described in detail and measured in this post (#229):

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/neumann-ndh-30.963439/page-16#post-17236966

I think Neumann should have used more visible L-R indication letters on these cans.
(I apologize to those following this thread from its start for the repetition).

 

[PixelSquish]

“Bamboozled”

Great word! Haven’t heard that in a while.

You should play A

I'm glad you mentioned this! My replacement set is due in tomorrow and I know i would have just put them on my head, cable left, and gone on my way. i'll have to read up on the head positioning thing. hopefully they fit my fat head ok, it's big haha

I have a big head, not fat, but big. These fit fine. They are comfy

 

[reuben3]

I too picked up the NDH 30 and I've been very impressed. I've had a chance to compare them with my other phones and here are some very brief initial impressions - for what they're worth. The other phones are: MySphere 3.2, Audio Technica ADX5000, AKG K812, Sennheiser HD800, Beyerdyamic T1 (1st). I'll add further comments if anything changes. I've been listening to some well recorded string quartets and some smaller orchestral music.

First, and generally, the NDH 30 is very fine I think, but not as appealing to me as any of my other phones. I find I agree very closely with the assessments made in the SOS review - linear and natural and satisfying - the bass is surprisingly present and clear - it presents an impressively layered image. The area where I find the NDH 30 less engaging is in its creation of a three-dimensional performance space apparently in front of me. All of my other phones are more convincing in this regard - although all with slightly different takes on 'natural'.

Surprisingly, I find the NDH 30 has more in common with the MySphere than my other phones. I find the MySphere similarly avoids any suggestion of high-frequency accentuation or splash. The MySphere, however, is more open and airy (although it must be said the MySphere is the airiest and most open phone I've heard). As with my other phones, it also strikes me as more refined, more delicate. Listening to the MySphere caused me to wonder whether the unembellished, 'immediate' presentation of the NDH 30 can sometimes work against depth imaging.

The AKG, Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic create appreciably deeper performance spaces, with added brilliance in terms of their presentation. Whether this brilliance is more natural is something, I think, that would divide listeners. I find some of this quality is helpful in creating the illusion of a live performance - and so can help with realism - but others may take a different view. The Audio Technica is, to my mind, the most impressive of my phones in terms of high-frequency delicacy and adds a dimension that I miss with the NDH 30.

The Beyerdynamic - which I've always loved - has probably the 'lightest' character of the phones I own but nevertheless - to my ear - presents a more convincing image of acoustic instruments. Once again, I can well imagine others taking a different view.

While I no longer own Focal Utopia, Hifiman HE1000SE or Stax SR-009S phones, I have owned them. In one way or another they seemed to me less convincing in presenting a natural performance space. While obviously a personal opinion, I'm confident I could live much more happily with the NDH 30 than any of these phones.

Edited slightly above, to better explain the comparison with the MySphere.

I wouldn't say the HD800S is worth double, but it is still a special headphone after all these years. I posted here like 2 months ago since I was jokingly questioning whether the NDH 30 would be a good competitor/replacement to the HD800S and surprisingly it is.

The NDH 30 isn't as extremely airy and open sounding as the HD800S yet maintains a lot of the same detail retrieval, it has the same microscopic sound just without being forced. Same goes for soundstage, where it performs very similar to the HD800S, perhaps more comparible to the Hifiman Arya, as it has similar height, depth and width, which scales with the source material, small room recording (small sound), grand hall recording (sounds very spacious) etc. Whereas the HD800S tends to force the soundstage, breaking some recordings in the process.

Bass is way more prevalent in the NDH 30, but it is IMO an acquired taste, the lean bass on the HD800S can also sound very nice and clean and from what I've heard it was done intentionally so the bass wouldn't bleed into the mids so we get these exceptionally clean sounding mids and top end on the HD800S. I can appreciate both, it just takes some time getting used to the different sound signatures.

All in all I think the NDH 30 is the better allrounder, but like I said the HD800S will remain an exceptional headphone that has it's own role that no brand is willing to fill / compete against as of yet.

Awesome guys, been patiently waiting from some good impressions (other than the main contributor and his pal). It sounds like something I'd like, a studio monitor that's also great for listening. I find in the audiophile headphone realm, the formula has always been accentuating a feature going overboard to compete in a crowded space, i.e. Arya/800 soundstage, ADX500 sparkly high's, TH900 sub bass, each have their special feature. It's great the ndh 30 doesn't have to compete in this space, the impressions seem like it's not trying to accentuate anything and has good dynamics for casual listening.

 

[plyr]

I rib off my HD5XX headband and install in the NDH 30 - wow, most comfortable headphone I have ever worn with light clamping force and velvet pads. Feels lighter than HD660S2.

Hi, how did you managed to fit, did you cut a little bit of the band?