[dpeterfy32]

I see a lot of posts about 660S2 vs NDH-30 headphones. Can you possibly provide a link or similar, where these two headphones are compared very correctly, how they compare to each other, in terms of tonality and technical knowledge?

 

[Plieb]

Haven't heard this recording and just took a listen over lunch.. ....thanks!

Tidal link..
https://tidal.com/browse/album/282335375

How did it sound?
Im asking because your playing at reqular cd quality.
My experience is that 96 khz 24 bit adds just a little to the fidelity and sometimes makes the recording too bright. Some of my best sounding stuff is cd quality.
The high res of this recording does sound magnificent.

 

[Rob80b]

How did it sound?
Im asking because your playing at reqular cd quality.

Thats the highest quality I have, but I just sat through the whole hour and a 23 min….sounded pretty good. That was with the Sennheiser HD820 though and not the NDH30, crescendos and bass were impactful and highs were wonderful smooth, well delineated recording …wonderful evening at the symphony. Thanks

 

[chesebert]

Thats the highest quality I have, but I just sat through the whole hour and a 23 min….sounded pretty good. That was with the Sennheiser HD820 though and not the NDH30, crescendos and bass were impactful and highs were wonderful smooth, well delineated recording …wonderful evening at the symphony. Thanks

what made you decide to buy HD820? Were you able to demo the cans before purchasing? TBH, the raw FR of HD820 is really concerning.

 

[chesebert]

This is my initial impression of the NDH30 with copper Cardas cable. Below are my unscientific scores for NDH30 with the silver cable. TLDR: wow.

NDH30 (with silver cable) Score Breakdown:

Visceral impact 4.5
Mid range purity 4.8
Holographic 4.8
Bass definition 4.5
Sub bass 4
Resolution 4.8
Space rendition / atmosphere 4.8 (the space and the harmonic sounds around each instrument is impressive)
Sound stage 5 (for correctness) / 4.5 (size)
Treble realism: 4.8
Timbre 5 (can hear the tiny harmonics variances in each note, realistic to how actual instruments sound, leading edges are clear and realistic and not overbearing or sharp)
PRAaT 4.7
Body/weight: 4.7
Macro dynamic: 4.7
Micro dynamic: 4.8
Transparency: very high

For reference here are what I scored HD650 sometime back when I took listening notes:

Visceral impact 3 (average, lacking mid bass punch and sub-bass punch
Midrange purity 4
Holographic 3 (reasonably holographic but cannot compete with higher tier)
Bass definition 3 (a bit slow, reasonable definition)
Sub bass 3 (average, some sub bass, but barely able to feel anything)
Resolution 3.5
Space rendition / atmosphere 3 (some resemblance of space rendition but lack any sense of front to back and lacking coherent/whole of space)
Soundstage 3.5
Treble realism: 4
Timbre 4
PRAaT 3.5 (a bit slow and lacking some dynamic nimbleness)
Body/weight: 3.5(average, lacking the weightiness to the notes and harmonics of sound)
Macro dynamic: 3.5
Micro dynamic: 3.5
Transparency: mid
Odd behavior: could be slightly busy sounding/congested/compressed with large orchestra or big band

2 months check in. Initial impression is still reasonably accurate - scoring is more objective than the written words (there were some honeymoon optimism in some of the word choices). Still super happy I bought 2 copies.

 

[indigogo]

Thats the highest quality I have, but I just sat through the whole hour and a 23 min….sounded pretty good. That was with the Sennheiser HD820 though and not the NDH30, crescendos and bass were impactful and highs were wonderful smooth, well delineated recording …wonderful evening at the symphony. Thanks

Jean Sibelius - Complete Symphonies (2022) [24-96]
Simply talented handsome guy with blue lenses)))

 

[Rob80b]

what made you decide to buy HD820? Were you able to demo the cans before purchasing? TBH, the raw FR of HD820 is really concerning.

Wanted another higher end closed back that were less analytical than my AKG K872….the NDH20 were a consideration but as they’re not as good as the NDH30, well can’t have that. lol
And yes I was able to demo them and directly with a few contenders…IMHO the HD820 had the most natural timbre, best sound staging (very important otherwise I would have stuck with my Elegia), treble was very good, and the midrange presentation was properly delineated…bass was not as tight as the Stellia (which overall did not sound natural to me, especially in the treble) but again the 820 was more correct on impact and quite deep, what’s not to like. Anyway so far so good and not the 1st time published graphs didn’t gel with my hearing. : )

Hi Guys..
I've been on the fence for a new closed or semi closed back and have been eyeing the HD820 for awhile but wasn't convinced from the short audition at a trade show when they first came out but I wanted something that did not feel closed in. I've the AKG K872s, and while are very good IMHO and sound more open than many opened back they can be more analytical than musical.
So just the other day I was with a friend to audition some Focal Bathys and while waiting got to do direct comparisons of the HD820 with some other closed backs.
I was able to play a wide selection from Tidal Hi-Fi, jazz, Dave Holland acoustic bass, classical, Stravinsky "Rite of Spring, some vocal work, percussion pieces and then some Kraftwerk.
First up were the Focal Stellia, which I'd not like at all, at least not for the asking price, nothing really special about them, think I preferred my Elegia. Second up were the Meze Liric which were quite sibilant, something odd about them not sure what was going on but it did not fair well.
The more affordable Dan Clarke Aeon sounded fine and reminded me of the HD600 series but the HD820 overall where just a lot more entertaining, the audio illusion is more immersive, bass was more than adequate, especially if one is fine with HD800S and the treble was IMHO the best of the bunch.

I would have bought a new pair right there and then If not for some up and coming dental crowns. : (

And as we all know being on Head-fi... resistance is futile ...happily a few used "like new: pairs were out in the wild and. : )

Eh Voila! Signed sealed and delivered.

 

[dpeterfy32]

can anyone provide a picture or link of the ndh30 exact frequency course?

 

[indigogo]

Wanted another higher end closed back that were less analytical than my AKG K872….the NDH20 were a consideration but as they’re not as good as the NDH30, well can’t have that. lol
And yes I was able to demo them and directly with a few contenders…IMHO the HD820 had the most natural timbre, best sound staging (very important otherwise I would have stuck with my Elegia), treble was very good, and the midrange presentation was properly delineated…bass was not as tight as the Stellia (which overall did not sound natural to me, especially in the treble) but again the 820 was more correct on impact and quite deep, what’s not to like. Anyway so far so good and not the 1st time published graphs didn’t gel with my hearing. : )

You should have at least first compared this to the NDH20 black internally balanced. And you would understand that you get almost the same thing with better bass and for much less money!!!

 

[Rob80b]

You should have at least first compared this to the NDH20 black internally balanced. And you would understand that you get almost the same thing with better bass and for much less money!!!

Possible...but sadly no black NDH20 in town...

with better bass and for much less money!!!

I don't believe it would be better bass... just different........
.....the great thing though is I'm no longer saving for retirement, I am retired lol and life is too short , so whats a few dollars difference here or there.

 

[indigogo]

Possible...but sadly no black NDH20 in town...



I don't believe it would be better bass... just different........
.....the great thing though is I'm no longer saving for retirement, I am retired lol and life is too short , so whats a few dollars difference here or there.

Ok - I hope you already have a Sennheiser HDV 820?
For me, the HD 820 started to sound really as intended in a big way only together with it...
Well, it's not difficult, a dollar there a dollar here))))

Well, you can still try this Sony TA-ZH1ES - but I liked HDV more ...)))

 

[Plieb]

I'm about to order up a Hart for my newly acquired NDH 30. This stock cable is my least favorite (physical) aspect of this headphone. I'm fine with the single, right-sided entry, but man... 10 ft is obscenely long for 99% of my listening applications. I was walking around the house this morning with my NDH 30 running off my Qudelix 5k and had this massive wad of cable in my pants pocket that was hilarious.

I've been following along over on the HD660S2 thread for some time, trying to decide if the NDH 30 or the 660S2 was going to be my next purchase. I'm a HUGE fan of the original HD660S, and the thought of a headphone improving on that sound is extremely appealing.

I pretty spontaneously pulled the trigger on the Neumann 2 days ago. I think I was compelled by the overnight shipping from Amazon... well that, and the plethora of favorable reviews here and elsewhere, many from people I consider to know a thing or 2 about headphones.

WOWZERS is this thing good! I'm going to jump on the hype train here and declare that this headphone is totally end-game worthy. The separation is superlative, and there is a serious amount of contextual information you can infer from well-recorded music on these monitors. Imaging is pinpoint accurate, and the ancillary cues and subtle details you can pick up about mic placement on acoustic instruments, room reverberations (natural and effected) are seriously impressive. There is an incredible amount of depth to each "voice" in the mix, and very subtle modulations in intonation of vocals and wind instruments make for an incredibly realistic presentation. Timbre of pretty much every instrument I've heard thus far has been accurate and totally convincing. This headphone is wildly articulate, and I'm psyched to add it to my collection.

I'm curious if anybody else finds the bass extension to be slightly distracting at times, and perhaps a tad unnatural sounding? If I had one complaint about this headphone (and seriously, it's hard to come up with anything critical to say about these) it's that the bass is sometimes a little too full-sounding. Some acoustic tracks have this heft in the low end that, IMO they maybe shouldn't? The bass response on these is generally considered to be one of their strong points, but I'm curious if anybody else thinks it's just a touch heavy-handed sometimes?

On a side note, I also have in-house a new Nectar Ambrosia which I consider to be very close in character to the Neumann. I'm going to get my act together soon and write up a review of this new HP from Nectar, but it's an incredibly good all-arounder, just like the NDH 30. It sounds a bit like a 650 with better extension (both directions) and much better imaging and a wider stage. Definitely worth a listen if you can get your hands on one. I think there are only a handful in existence at this point.

Yes i also think that the bass can be a bit heavy handed especially when playing very loud. Thats my only major gripe. However its more pronounced on certain amps.

 

[Plieb]

Question? Hart or fogcity for a balanced 4 pin xlr termination? Dying to hear on my singxer sa1.

 

[Ichos]

can anyone provide a picture or link of the ndh30 exact frequency course?

 

[Rob80b]

Ok - I hope you already have a Sennheiser HDV 820?

No, only it's older brother the HDVD800 but with the 2 x 4 pin XLR outputs and I'm not using the internal DAC, just direct balanced in from my sources.


...and in the living/media room the Bryston BHA-1.