[JT13]

I love the punchy sound of the HP50, that regularly gives me goosebumps. It's much more fun to me than the neutral sound of say a Sennheiser. Now, I am looking for some speakers, preferably towers, with a similar sound signature in the range of $1-2k per pair. What are your favorite speakers, fellow HP50 enthusiasts?

 

[Johnny Jumper]

I know that the HP50's don't need an amp but does anyone have experience with using them with one? I got an Audioquest Dragonfly Black for Christmas and I'm wondering what I can expect in sound quality.

Jumper

 

[Johnny Jumper]

Speaker questions might be a little off topic in a headphone forum. But personally I use Yamaha book shelf speakers with a little Lepai amp when I'm not listening to the HP50's.

JJ

 

[jnak00]

  I love the punchy sound of the HP50, that regularly gives me goosebumps. It's much more fun to me than the neutral sound of say a Sennheiser. Now, I am looking for some speakers, preferably towers, with a similar sound signature in the range of $1-2k per pair. What are your favorite speakers, fellow HP50 enthusiasts?

 
The HP50s were designed by Paul Barton, from PSB Speakers.  So you might want to check those out.  I have a few different PSB speakers and really like them. 

 

[Meanstreak]

Delete

 

[RunRunqian]

Everyone who thinks hp50 is better than momentum either works for nad or has broken ears. I don't even think they are in the same class. hp50 is nowhere near hifi. So un-clear in everything. These headphones are the most overpriced headphones I have ever heard. Such a fraud. 

 

[Beagle]

....says the guy with 1 post and no profile. Thanks for enlightening us to the fact that we're all deaf.

 

[rolli1949]

Guess all the reviews of the VISO are fake news ? Listen to music for over 50 years and had many systems and HP aim not saying that aim an expert but aim questioning you're hearing ? Either you have damaged ears by listen to loud music primary MP3 (that is limited in regards of sonic quality) or you like a certain style ? Aim standing by my comments in regard of the Viso > In this price class they represent excellent quality and sonic performance  I have a friend that has several   high quality HP that cost around 1000 US or more and they sound better when it comes to details and better controls of bass !However if you pay 4 or 5 times more one can expect improved sonics >  but you don't  get a 4 or 5 times better sound !

 

[keroro0071]

To me the HP50 sounds kinda blurry as a 250 usd headphones, maybe it is just me.

 

[Beagle]

  To me the HP50 sounds kinda blurry as a 250 usd headphones, maybe it is just me.

It's you and RunRunqian

 

[mbwilson111]

The creaking was driving me nuts! So I decided to analyze the problem. And in the process I found a simple fix, just adding a small piece of electrical tape...

I took some photos with my iPhone, somewhat documenting the process, see this gallery:
http://www.head-fi.org/g/a/1042689/nad-viso-hp50-creak-removal/




My process in words:
1. I removed the earpad - four metallic screws appeared.
2. I unscrewed the four metallic screws and gently removed the plastic part with the driver attached to it. There was a piece of loose black foam behind the driver - I put it aside.
3. The secondary black cover piece could be removed (not screwed in, but may not come off without some fiddling).
4. Four black screws appeared - unscrewed them.
5. Now I could see the hinge mechanism, which seemed to be the source of the creaking noise.
6. With some trial and error I determined that the creaking noise came from the encircled plastic parts rubbing against the last removed plastic piece (the one attached with four black screws).
7. I added a small piece of electrical tape to the problem area and the creaking noise was gone!
8. I put the parts back together again in the reverse order. When you get to the point of putting the loose black foam back in, note that the cord goes on the backside of the foam (towards the outside of the ear cup) and that the side with a circular indentation faces the driver.

Note the little self-adhesive foam pad in one of the photos. I bet that is there to prevent the hinge from scraping against the black piece of plastic! But the two encircled pieces of red plastic apparently also needed some kind of "padding".

I hope this is of help to others experiencing the same problem...

I had stopped using my HP50s partly because of the creaking and partly because of pad discomfort. I changed the pads to slightly bigger msr7 pads but the creaking was extremely irritating. I remembered seeing this post and managed to search for it. I want to thank you for sharing this. Both cups needed to be done. I can now enjoy these headphones.

 

[Jazmanaut]

I´m professional live and studio engineer, and i was seeking new pair for my livemonitoring purposes, to replace good ol Sony mdr-7506:s.
So what i need is good sealing, sensitivity and dead flat sound, so i know, that what i hear, is truly what it is. Oh and they must bee so rigid, that they last proper gigging.
So it took good half year period, that i tried every sealed headphones i got my hands on to. And my budget was up to 1000€:s.
Long story short: At last there were only two left, when i was ready to dig my wallet:
Focal Spirit Pro:s came extremely close, but NAD:s just were a bit more analytical and open.
They sound like extremely good fullsized festival linearray PA system, and hey, thats my game!

If i must dig negative sizes from them, they could be a bit more "open" sounded. A bit more HF brightness, and overall "lightness" would be nice. (I think i try some mods for that.[ any ideas are wellcome])
And uh, hey are very, very hot. They are so well sealed, that only air that moves inside earcups, are soundwaves
And some says that cups are too small, so beware, if you got a bit bigger ears. I had no broblems with that.

But yeah, i really really like these cans!

 

[Nevi]

Me too. I started taking head-fi serious after I was introduced to the Dragonfly DACs to my Sony Z5 phone. Then after looking a long time after some good headphones I bought NAD HP 50 because I was on a budget. I dont understand what RunRunqian mean with his comment. I´m an old audiophile, and I do understand how to judge a pair of headcans. Before I bought mine, I read all the good tests on the internet (actually it was difficult to find a bad one), so all these people have misunderstood the whole thing? I remember when listening to the Momentums, and the NAD cans sounded better in my ears. I know I could get some better headphones, but in my ears the HP 50s are a great deal for the money. In the late 80s I borrowed some Koss phones, I dont even remember their name, but they had a deeper bass. But the rest was not especially better than the HP 50s.If I had the money I would jump on a pair of Stax phones, but they are damn expensive. Its fantastic good earphones. At least I can dream about them.
I have been living in Thailand, so all the hi-fi stuff was something I knew I would come back to when I came home to Denmark again. Im happy I found this place. Great to find some with the same interests as myself.

 

[Marc Lian]

If i must dig negative sizes from them, they could be a bit more "open" sounded. A bit more HF brightness, and overall "lightness" would be nice. (I think i try some mods for that.[ any ideas are wellcome])

No need to mod, consider trying out the PSB M4U2 also designed by Paul Barton. I've heard that they have very similar sound signatures except the PSB M4U2 has a slight high frequency lift in comparison. It sounds like just what you need.

 

[zazex]

I bought the HP-50's when they were first released (here in the States),
swayed largely by an unusually laudatory review by Tyll Hertsens.
I bought them without listening to them first. This was quite a while
back.

So I liked them for a while...a kind of warmish, generic sound without much detail.
Bass was pretty nice. Reasonable soundstage for closed headphones. Very
comfortable, although I'm not a fan of the sqared earcups.

To me, their main offense was that they were boring. I don't feel it's necessary
right now to try and define "boring", and just what about the 50's made them so.

If we get into any kind of discussion about it, I'll be glad to elaborate.

Another thing which I think is pretty important is that you can get
better sounding headphones for about the same money, or maybe
even a little less. Especially today, after the explosion of new headphone
releases over the past couple of years.