jonathan c
Headphoneus Supremus
Neumann NDH-30 + MASS-Kobo 433
Sheer Excellence !!
Neumann NDH 30
- Thread starter rudbeard
- Start date
Nice!!!Neumann NDH-30 + MASS-Kobo 433Sheer Excellence !!
But for $2.500 they shouldn't have missed a "d" on the front plate! They owe you a plate with "balanced output" when they make one!
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jonathan c
Headphoneus Supremus
.... perhaps "d" meant digital, to themNice!!!
But for $2.500 they shouldn't have missed a "d" on the front plate! They owe you a plate with "balanced output" when they make one!
chesebert
18 Years An Extra-Hardcore Head-Fi'er
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That amp is $2500? You can buy a DIY CFA3 for that much, which is no worse than MassKobo 465 if you get it with the right input and output devices.Nice!!!
But for $2.500 they shouldn't have missed a "d" on the front plate! They owe you a plate with "balanced output" when they make one!
jonathan c
Headphoneus Supremus
.... not everyone can DIO ....
chesebert
18 Years An Extra-Hardcore Head-Fi'er
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I don't mean to suggest 433 is bad sounding - I have only heard 465 and not 433. But based on my listening with 465 I kind of understand the brand and their sound profile. If I go by what I heard with 465, 433 being entry level is probably performing at the same level of many of your other amps. I just thought for $2.5k you can actually step into high-end gear rather than paying commercial markup on another mid-tier solid state amp. Granted, how you spend your money is none of my business.... not everyone can DIO ....
Hifiearspeakers
Headphoneus Supremus
Ok so I have to chime in on these with some first impressions and some personal opinions. Right out of the box, they sound very good to my ears. I was immediately surprised by the quantity of bass. I was not expecting that. It’s definitely elevated above neutral, but I like that, because dead neutral bass to me sounds anemic and doesn’t offer enough grounding and drive for the music.
The star of the show for these is clearly the midrange, which again, is my preference. There is no doubt the treble (all of it) takes a back seat to the bass and mids. This is definitely a little bit of a clockwise tuning. I would not think these would be a good mixing headphone. I feel like they would lead to bright mixes.
But here’s what I want to say. I think I know why these can be so polarizing for some, especially those that are older and may have some hearing loss. I am very sensitive to brightness, and treble peaks and resonances. I have always preferred more of an HD650 tuning and almost anything ZMF.
Well these are almost too smooth for me. I would almost call these smooth to a fault. So I can see where someone who doesn’t have a favorable HRTF or might have some hearing loss, would find these too dull or boring. If these were any darker, I’d fall into that category. But I have great hearing, so I really appreciate what these do. I find them pretty fantastic as is, but if they had about a 2 db increase in treble from 6K to 12K, I’d be totally good with that.
Nonetheless, these are very good. And I was turned off by them early on with some in here sounding like they hyped them way too much.
Finally, these do soundstage fairly wide and it’s complete without any 3 blob issues. And they image surprisingly very large, considering how small the drivers are. They image much larger than the 800S. Not as precise as the 800S, but definitely larger.
The star of the show for these is clearly the midrange, which again, is my preference. There is no doubt the treble (all of it) takes a back seat to the bass and mids. This is definitely a little bit of a clockwise tuning. I would not think these would be a good mixing headphone. I feel like they would lead to bright mixes.
But here’s what I want to say. I think I know why these can be so polarizing for some, especially those that are older and may have some hearing loss. I am very sensitive to brightness, and treble peaks and resonances. I have always preferred more of an HD650 tuning and almost anything ZMF.
Well these are almost too smooth for me. I would almost call these smooth to a fault. So I can see where someone who doesn’t have a favorable HRTF or might have some hearing loss, would find these too dull or boring. If these were any darker, I’d fall into that category. But I have great hearing, so I really appreciate what these do. I find them pretty fantastic as is, but if they had about a 2 db increase in treble from 6K to 12K, I’d be totally good with that.
Nonetheless, these are very good. And I was turned off by them early on with some in here sounding like they hyped them way too much.
Finally, these do soundstage fairly wide and it’s complete without any 3 blob issues. And they image surprisingly very large, considering how small the drivers are. They image much larger than the 800S. Not as precise as the 800S, but definitely larger.
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jonathan c
Headphoneus Supremus
It is a silver plated cable. The highest electrical conductivity will be had via pure silver cables -- 6% higher than that of pure copper. FYI, Lavicables and others offer pure silver h/p cables.
good to see so many people enjoying these headphones. I think these are my favourite headphones I have ever used. really over the moon with them, i'm really happy with their performance for mixing in my small studio. one thing which I have noticed though is when my head moves from side to side or i'm adjusting my seating the headphones tend to lose signal slightly and cut out almost like there is a fault with the cable? has anyone else got this before with the stock included cable? i'm thinking of buying another cable and saw this one https://hartaudiocables.com/product...N5M60P_5qevn0V5Zrw-6CINNWuiLSuyMsnBqQ9cSqO0CW
has anyone else had this issue and found replacing the cable solved the problem? I have an ifi zen with balanced output so was wondering if I upgraded the cable to a pentacon cable this might also result in both fixing the problem and upgrading my experience with them? if anyone has better recommendations for a cable around the same price tag that would be great too.
has anyone else had this issue and found replacing the cable solved the problem? I have an ifi zen with balanced output so was wondering if I upgraded the cable to a pentacon cable this might also result in both fixing the problem and upgrading my experience with them? if anyone has better recommendations for a cable around the same price tag that would be great too.
deafLovesMusic
Head-Fier
Neumann NDH 30 + Neumann MT 48
A dream becomes reality.
After contemplenting for one year I finally bought the Neumann MT 48 interface yesterday.
I could not resist anymore because of it is currently down from USD 2,150 to USD 1,600 here in Switzerland for alimited time. It is still a heavy investment but after listening to music, podcasts, youtube and more it just sounds perfect with the Neumann NDH 30.
The sound is difficult to describe, it is extremely clean and clear but not sterile or harsh. Spoken language is easy to understand. I often do not have to turn on captions anymore when watching youtube vids in English (my native langue is Swiss German). Music is taken to a new level. Again, I have never heard such a clean but still relaxing sound across the whole frequency range. Even on low to medium gain level music sounds full and detailed. Increasing the gain level does not add any distortion or harshness. The large wheel allows you to change the gain in very small steps. Crossfeed for headphones is available, too.
The Neumann MT 48 is an audio interface and I am not using all featurs yet. It is future proof and more tools and software will be available in the future. They added Monitor Mission earlier this year, for example.
The technology of the MT 48 comes from Merging Technologies, a Swiss company Neumann is partnering with. I remember looking at Anubis two years ago and I was very impressed about it. Neumann added the USB connection and removed a few features. But overall, everything else (mic amps, headphone outputs etc.) is exactly the same like on the Anubis. By the way, the MT 48 has been Dante ready since the last firmware update.
A dream becomes reality.
After contemplenting for one year I finally bought the Neumann MT 48 interface yesterday.
I could not resist anymore because of it is currently down from USD 2,150 to USD 1,600 here in Switzerland for alimited time. It is still a heavy investment but after listening to music, podcasts, youtube and more it just sounds perfect with the Neumann NDH 30.
The sound is difficult to describe, it is extremely clean and clear but not sterile or harsh. Spoken language is easy to understand. I often do not have to turn on captions anymore when watching youtube vids in English (my native langue is Swiss German). Music is taken to a new level. Again, I have never heard such a clean but still relaxing sound across the whole frequency range. Even on low to medium gain level music sounds full and detailed. Increasing the gain level does not add any distortion or harshness. The large wheel allows you to change the gain in very small steps. Crossfeed for headphones is available, too.
The Neumann MT 48 is an audio interface and I am not using all featurs yet. It is future proof and more tools and software will be available in the future. They added Monitor Mission earlier this year, for example.
The technology of the MT 48 comes from Merging Technologies, a Swiss company Neumann is partnering with. I remember looking at Anubis two years ago and I was very impressed about it. Neumann added the USB connection and removed a few features. But overall, everything else (mic amps, headphone outputs etc.) is exactly the same like on the Anubis. By the way, the MT 48 has been Dante ready since the last firmware update.
MayorSimpleton
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2006
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Just a headsup for UK-based members of the community, I’ve just listed my pair of NDH-30 on classifieds if anyone is interested 
John Buchanan
1000+ Head-Fier
I use the Merging Anubis - it doesn't have the ease of connection of the Neumann MT48, but it has more flexible software and the ability to use Sonarworks' Sound ID Reference headphone and speaker EQ software. You can, however, EQ the headphones with the MT48. I think if I was buying again, I'd get the Neumann, as the USB-C and optical connections alone make it far easier to connect.Neumann NDH 30 + Neumann MT 48
A dream becomes reality.
After contemplenting for one year I finally bought the Neumann MT 48 interface yesterday.
I could not resist anymore because of it is currently down from USD 2,150 to USD 1,600 here in Switzerland for alimited time. It is still a heavy investment but after listening to music, podcasts, youtube and more it just sounds perfect with the Neumann NDH 30.
The sound is difficult to describe, it is extremely clean and clear but not sterile or harsh. Spoken language is easy to understand. I often do not have to turn on captions anymore when watching youtube vids in English (my native langue is Swiss German). Music is taken to a new level. Again, I have never heard such a clean but still relaxing sound across the whole frequency range. Even on low to medium gain level music sounds full and detailed. Increasing the gain level does not add any distortion or harshness. The large wheel allows you to change the gain in very small steps. Crossfeed for headphones is available, too.
The Neumann MT 48 is an audio interface and I am not using all featurs yet. It is future proof and more tools and software will be available in the future. They added Monitor Mission earlier this year, for example.
The technology of the MT 48 comes from Merging Technologies, a Swiss company Neumann is partnering with. I remember looking at Anubis two years ago and I was very impressed about it. Neumann added the USB connection and removed a few features. But overall, everything else (mic amps, headphone outputs etc.) is exactly the same like on the Anubis. By the way, the MT 48 has been Dante ready since the last firmware update.
Much of the two are exactly the same, however. The DAC and headphone amplifiers are both superb.
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bozoskeletonz
100+ Head-Fier
I got one from Hart for my NDH30’s. It’s a very well made cable, inserts/twists in easily, and I haven’t had a single issue. I would recommend getting the cable for the reasons you listed: it may help with the problem, and it’ll likely sound better with the balanced connection.
OM hawk
100+ Head-Fier
I finally ordered an ndh30. The NDH20 has been one of my main cans for years, and although I understand now that the mids are recessed, I actually always heard the NDH20 as being the most honest, sensible tuning of any headphones I've had. It's like the Neumanns make everything sound Normal But Better, vs all these other headphones that are either missing something vital, like the HD600 missing the deep bass, or the DCA Aeon 2 Closed having a total absence of bass slam, or adding in something distracting and fake, like the forward upper mids on Grados, Kennerton Vali, or Sendy Peacock, and the hyped treble on the Beyerdynamic T1 3rd Gen.
If the NDH30 can make things sound even more Normaler But Betterer, with better detail in the mids and better soundstaging, etc, I'll be a happy camper.
If the NDH30 can make things sound even more Normaler But Betterer, with better detail in the mids and better soundstaging, etc, I'll be a happy camper.
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