[AJCxZ0]

Peeps can skip those videos that aren't posted as they are just waste of time. 15mins just talking about snaplock headband, cooling gel and just 10 secs on "oh they sound great".

I concur, having now watched almost all of the 32 videos on the playlist. Don't forget the adventure which is the discovery of the included coloured plastic parts ("NTH-100 ID Set") which can attach to the cable or the 1.2 m and 2.4 m coloured cables available from RØDE while mostly ignoring the included stopper which should be inserted into the unused cup's input.
The one valuable recurring observation from the folks who are interesting in monitoring recordings and previously relied on ATH-M[345]0x, MDR and 280 Pro is that these sound more like the actual sound they are recording, i.e. they really are neutral/natural.

As I type, I am on my first demo playlist listen and have nothing of substance to add to what you've heard and read about the headphones: sturdy, comfy, easily driven, undistorted with a long slightly microphonic proprietary cable.
I do have a different interest about which I accidentally teased myself. At first I was perplexed at the amazing bass and sparking highs, but then noticed that in saving my preset, the Bass Enhancer, Exciter, Crossfeed and EQ plugins had turned off the bypass settings. This demonstrated good possibilities for what I want from this headphone: not to always listen to the true true, but have a neutral point from which to add flavour including tubes and op-amps in my pre-amp and DSP rather than trying to EQ the idiosyncrasies of other headphones to neutral or combined Harmon, then try to modify. But first the true true, which is still sounding very good.

I've added a RØDE NTH-100 item to the Head Gear.

 

[shpadoinkle]

Have these a few days. I would conclude that they are poor for listening to music without eq. In particular, the treble is attenuated and rolled off (plus a gigantic notch around 7.5k). As a result the sound comes across as compressed and unnatural. There may be some nuances particular to the activity of monitoring that I am unaware of, but I cannot understand the praise these are receiving from a sound perspective. All the praise re the build is certainly fine.

 

[GGSuperMe]

Have these a few days. I would conclude that they are poor for listening to music without eq. In particular, the treble is attenuated and rolled off (plus a gigantic notch around 7.5k). As a result the sound comes across as compressed and unnatural. There may be some nuances particular to the activity of monitoring that I am unaware of, but I cannot understand the praise these are receiving from a sound perspective. All the praise re the build is certainly fine.

I think the important thing to remember is that the variations of ears, and different neurological pathways, that we don't all hear the same. I hear excellent timbre from this headphone but treble has a few issues as you have highlighted. I'm using an eq from what another user posted on another forum and it really improves it. That being said, I understand that not everyone cares for EQ and, in general, I'm kind of stuck in between EQ and no EQ myself.

 

[shpadoinkle]

Yes, of course I cannot hear it exactly as someone else would hear it.

I was once in the no EQ camp. I wanted to hear the "terroir" of the headphones. For the most part now, I just want my music to sound as good as possible. There is very little room for quirks, as generally they make the sound worse. So I more or less take it for granted that I will EQ every headphone to some extent.

The timbre cannot be divorced from the frequency response, it IS the frequency response. Do you perceive good timbre before or after EQ (or both)?
Glad you are enjoying the EQ. new version on the way

 

[GGSuperMe]

Yes, of course I cannot hear it exactly as someone else would hear it.

I was once in the no EQ camp. I wanted to hear the "terroir" of the headphones. For the most part now, I just want my music to sound as good as possible. There is very little room for quirks, as generally they make the sound worse. So I more or less take it for granted that I will EQ every headphone to some extent.

The timbre cannot be divorced from the frequency response, it IS the frequency response. Do you perceive good timbre before or after EQ (or both)?
Glad you are enjoying the EQ. new version on the way

You are right that the FR does effect timbre. Did some more listening and I think it's because I prefer slightly thicker mids. The Clear MG takes this too far, while the LSA HP-2s are too thin there for me (though I need to listen again to them to make sure that it what I'm hearing). The Rode un EQ'd get pretty close to what I like but slightly thicker than I like. The EQ creates more balance.

Anyhow, I like these headphones but I can understand while others would not.

Started using you new EQ, so far for Metal the old eq is preferred but for EDM and acoustic I'm enjoying the new EQ. I need more time with more songs before I give more feedback.

 

[StivVid]

Have these a few days. I would conclude that they are poor for listening to music without eq. In particular, the treble is attenuated and rolled off (plus a gigantic notch around 7.5k). As a result the sound comes across as compressed and unnatural. There may be some nuances particular to the activity of monitoring that I am unaware of, but I cannot understand the praise these are receiving from a sound perspective. All the praise re the build is certainly fine.

I had them for a few days and your experience matches mine exactly. I thought they lacked some air and texture that a little more treble would give them, and that there was something off and artificial sounding in the timbre. You describe it as compressed. That may be right. Anyway... I sent them back. I can't fault their build, though. They're the most solid pair of headphones I've come across. AKG needs to make a new K371 with this build.

 

[shpadoinkle]

I had them for a few days and your experience matches mine exactly. I thought they lacked some air and texture that a little more treble would give them, and that there was something off and artificial sounding in the timbre. You describe it as compressed. That may be right. Anyway... I sent them back. I can't fault their build, though. They're the most solid pair of headphones I've come across. AKG needs to make a new K371 with this build.

I might have done the same, but they have became a nice little EQ project. The build for the price makes that kind of worthwhile (to me). However, I definitely feel a need to balance some of the hype that's going around. Let's call a spade a spade etc.

 

[unrelated]

Like so many, I also purchased the NTH-100 on a whim. Having had the NTH-100 for over a week now, my experience is very similar to many here. I think that they are great-sounding, well-built, and take to EQ quite well. Boosting around 8khz to taste seemed to have the most positive change. Along with changes, similar to how I EQ the HD650's mids/lows, led to an improvement in how I enjoy these headphones.

One thing that I've not really seen mentioned is that these headphones don't give me the "vacuum" feeling that I associate with most IEMs or closed-back headphones. The lack of that feeling, combined with everything else sound/build-wise, makes these my favorite closed back that I've owned (displacing the Ether CX when used with EQ and ZMF pads).

I'm enjoying the NTH-100 far more than I expected - finding myself reaching for these as often as I have for my Verite Open (my favorites over all).

 

[Tysun]

From Joshua Valour: He mentions "veiled treble". Do you all agree?

 

[unrelated]

From Joshua Valour: He mentions "veiled treble". Do you all agree?

I would definitely agree with the veiled treble impression. I don't mind using EQ to address it, but some may feel otherwise. There are some measurements on DIY Audio Haven (HD650 comparison attached) which can give a look into that veil a bit more closely.

I think he nails the sound impressions, at least compared to my unit (since unit variance is a concern he raises).

 

[DarktoreS]

I fell under the spell of this RODE NTH-1, I am pleasantly surprised by the perceived quality and the very good listening provided by these headphones. After 24 hours I thought why not test it on the Ibasso DC04, unfortunately you can't listen to it with a balanced source. Cut the cable depending on the speakers, then I assumed to keep the distribution of the stereo connectors on each side. And here I am with the Rode NTH-1 on the small Ibasso DC04 in 4.4mm, I can say without too much risk that it forms a high quality system at a very low budget.

 

[shpadoinkle]

From Joshua Valour: He mentions "veiled treble". Do you all agree?

Yes.

 

[StivVid]

From Joshua Valour: He mentions "veiled treble". Do you all agree?

I agree.

 

[dstarr3]

Reading/watching reviews, the general impression I'm getting is that this is basically a closed HD650. Extremely detailed mids, rolled off sub-bass, veiled highs.

 

[unrelated]

I fell under the spell of this RODE NTH-1, I am pleasantly surprised by the perceived quality and the very good listening provided by these headphones. After 24 hours I thought why not test it on the Ibasso DC04, unfortunately you can't listen to it with a balanced source. Cut the cable depending on the speakers, then I assumed to keep the distribution of the stereo connectors on each side. And here I am with the Rode NTH-1 on the small Ibasso DC04 in 4.4mm, I can say without too much risk that it forms a high quality system at a very low budget.

Very cool! Did you have to modify the locking mechanisms to allow for standard 3.5mm plugs?