Rode NTH-100 - Mini Review

[Alex May]

Do You reckon it would be a good headphone for DJing

I wouldn't DJ in them because they are just too bulky for gigs, fall off your head easily, mediocre sound isolation, no cups pivot/swivel, etc...

Does it kill the outside sounds enough?

There is just 20 dB attenuation at best. Which means also more spill into the microphone from the headphones. Not the best isolating headphones, unfortunately. Zeos showed it clearly in his sound demo video, how much sound they let through.

Is it comfortable lying on Your neck for a considerable amount of time?

They are pretty heavy and bulky, and no enough clamp force. They will get in the way and will not hold in place on you head as seen clearly from the Booth Junkie's review. They are mainly for booth monitoring or podcasting in the studio.

I can tell you that they are an incredible $$$$$$ value, and a sonic wonder.
ZEOS said they are a $500 set, sound wise, and this is true.

Sorry mate, I've tested them and all I could hear is just honk. Mid-focused headphones. Nothing else. Maybe good for sound effects or monitoring. Sorry for being negative but I'm still desperately looking for a good pair of closed back headphones and haven't seen one except for K361/K371, if only they had more resolution. At the moment we are still using the Audio-Technica M50 (legacy) in the studio. We keep the old M50 drivers like the holy grail, buy new M50x headphones, rip their drivers off (and throw them away) and replace them with our tried and tested M50 legacy drivers. I can't stand the sibilant Beyerdynamics either, let alone they are not more resolving than K371.

I would prefer K361/K371 over Rode NTH-100 hands down. Or I'd choose the NDH20 despite its wiggles in the lower treble, weird 2K region, and muddy mid-bass. These Rodes are as crooked as everything Australian. I'm Australian btw, hi!

 

[robertom]

I wouldn't DJ in them because they are just too bulky for gigs, fall off your head easily, mediocre sound isolation, no cups pivot/swivel, etc...

There is just 20 dB attenuation at best. Which means also more spill into the microphone from the headphones. Not the best isolating headphones, unfortunately. Zeos showed it clearly in his sound demo video, how much sound they let through.

They are pretty heavy and bulky, and no enough clamp force. They will get in the way and will not hold in place on you head as seen clearly from the Booth Junkie's review. They are mainly for booth monitoring or podcasting in the studio.

Sorry mate, I've tested them and all I could hear is just honk. Mid-focused headphones. Nothing else. Maybe good for sound effects or monitoring. Sorry for being negative but I'm still desperately looking for a good pair of closed back headphones and haven't seen one except for K361/K371, if only they had more resolution. At the moment we are still using the Audio-Technica M50 (legacy) in the studio. We keep the old M50 drivers like the holy grail, buy new M50x headphones, rip their drivers off (and throw them away) and replace them with our tried and tested M50 legacy drivers. I can't stand the sibilant Beyerdynamics either, let alone they are not more resolving than K371.

I would prefer K361/K371 over Rode NTH-100 hands down. Or I'd choose the NDH20 despite its wiggles in the lower treble, weird 2K region, and muddy mid-bass. These Rodes are as crooked as everything Australian. I'm Australian btw, hi!

I have some closed back HPs that I use in my home studio for tracking. I have the K371 and I like them, but prefer the Shure 840 with Brainwavz HM5 angled pleather pads:
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/shure/srh-840/
better resolution and soundstage, in my opinion.
You could try the Austrian Audio Hi-X60: I have the open version (the 65) and the resolution is fantastic, only negative side are the over-accentuated highs (not piercing anyway). They should be pretty similar.

 

[bizkid]

Sorry mate, I've tested them and all I could hear is just honk. Mid-focused headphones. Nothing else.

I agree with you that these are nowhere near a 500$ set of headphones. I dont understand why people try to hype products like FullBright did. But calling them mid-focused isn't true either. You are seem attached to you bass and treble boosted m50 and that's totally fine. I don't get why people write in such extremes about a headphone be it positive or negative feedback...

 

[Alex May]

You are seem attached to you bass and treble boosted m50 and that's totally fine.

Well, the M50 is nowhere near as bass and treble boosted as the M50x. These are differently sounding headphones because of the different drivers. That's why I mentioned that in our studio we throw away the M50x drivers (yes, to the trash) and replace them with the old legacy M50 drivers that we have been keeping.

And no, I'm actually attached to Hifiman Arya, Ananda, Sennheiser HD600, HD650 - this is the sound I'm yet to find in a closed back headphone. Maybe Focal Stellia... if it cost like ten times less. Up until this day, only the K361 and K371 have been the best tuned budget closed back monitoring workhorses for me along with the legacy M50. So, I'm probably attached to the Harman target rather than to a particular headphone. And for a good reason.

I just strongly believe that you need to monitor and mix in those headphones (if need be) that are tuned to the same target your audience will be using. Therefore, I disagree with Ollo Audio and Rodes in that monitoring should be completely flat. A flat target is actually perceived as mid-focused honk because of the pinnae gain and other HRTF factors. I haven't seen the NTH-100 frequency graph but what I personally hear is absolutely not suitable for my work. The closer you are to the consumer target (i.e. Harman in most cases), the better you translate your audio production. IMHO. You may choose whatever target you like as soon as it helps you deliver a good and translatable product to your audience.

 

[bizkid]

Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me but I have actually owned the original m50 two times. There are surely some measurements floating around which would be more beneficial than 2 different opinions to clear things up. But I'm absolutely with you on mixing with a consumer target which I do as well. However opinions are just as wide spread on this as everything else about headphones. Just have a look at the headphones for mixing thread at gearspace, probably more opinions on this than headphones on the market

 

[PaganDL]

@FullBright1,

As always, appreciate your insightful review, it is very helpful.

Looking at picking these up myself & I agree pretty much no brainer blind purchase, given Rode quality along with price.

I really like head gear which has sound quality far above it's listed MSRP, so see how this one goes.

By the way, interesting comparing these to Liric, one day I will pick up those as well...

Keep up the good work all round & hope you have a great day!

PDL

 

[Alex May]

no brainer blind purchase

Bad approach, mate! You have to listen to them first before buy. I did that and I hated them. Save yourself the frustration and listen to them in the store. Buy them only if you like their sound.

 

[krzysztofmalina]

I can't assess the "neck comfort" as i only wear them on my ears since owing them...

The sound iso they provide is very good, but, im not certain if its "DJ worthy ISO"......... i really can't know, as i dont work in a Loud LIVE DJ environment where i could really test their ability to Isolate.

I can tell you that they are an incredible $$$$$$ value, and a sonic wonder.
ZEOS said they are a $500 set, sound wise, and this is true.
I hope that RODE creates an open back Flagship set, using this Driver TECH.
Id buy it today and review it tomorrow

Thanks for the information. I just got myself Edition XS so I have to stop myself from buying another "listening" headphone Although it really intrigues me. I am just after a "working" pair.

 

[krzysztofmalina]

I wouldn't DJ in them because they are just too bulky for gigs, fall off your head easily, mediocre sound isolation, no cups pivot/swivel, etc...

There is just 20 dB attenuation at best. Which means also more spill into the microphone from the headphones. Not the best isolating headphones, unfortunately. Zeos showed it clearly in his sound demo video, how much sound they let through.

They are pretty heavy and bulky, and no enough clamp force. They will get in the way and will not hold in place on you head as seen clearly from the Booth Junkie's review. They are mainly for booth monitoring or podcasting in the studio.

Sorry mate, I've tested them and all I could hear is just honk. Mid-focused headphones. Nothing else. Maybe good for sound effects or monitoring. Sorry for being negative but I'm still desperately looking for a good pair of closed back headphones and haven't seen one except for K361/K371, if only they had more resolution. At the moment we are still using the Audio-Technica M50 (legacy) in the studio. We keep the old M50 drivers like the holy grail, buy new M50x headphones, rip their drivers off (and throw them away) and replace them with our tried and tested M50 legacy drivers. I can't stand the sibilant Beyerdynamics either, let alone they are not more resolving than K371.

I would prefer K361/K371 over Rode NTH-100 hands down. Or I'd choose the NDH20 despite its wiggles in the lower treble, weird 2K region, and muddy mid-bass. These Rodes are as crooked as everything Australian. I'm Australian btw, hi!

Hi and thank You for valuable input. Guess these are not meant for me than. Not enough isolation and not sitting firmly on Your head while constantly moving yourself and Your head will make them same behaviour as my current setup which is ATH M60x.

 

[Alex May]

I just got myself Edition XS so I have to stop myself from buying another "listening" headphone Although it really intrigues me. I am just after a "working" pair.

That's an excellent choice! Edition XS is a wonderful headphone to enjoy music. Great price to performance ratio. And it sounds fantastic. I'd buy it as well if I didn't have Ananda and Arya already (and I keep both just because I love'em). M60x is also a very good sounding headphone, although it's on-ear, so it depends on your workflow if on-ear still does the job for you in terms of isolation. But if you still need a working pair of closed backs, try AKG K361. Good budget workhorse and tuned very well. Definitely better sound isolation than NTH-100, very lightweight, extremely portable and still over-ear, easy fit into any backpack when going anywhere to a gig, to a field recording or whatever.

 

[krzysztofmalina]

That's an excellent choice! Edition XS is a wonderful headphone to enjoy music. Great price to performance ratio. And it sounds fantastic. I'd buy it as well if I didn't have Ananda and Arya already (and I keep both just because I love'em). M60x is also a very good sounding headphone, although it's on-ear, so it depends on your workflow if on-ear still does the job for you in terms of isolation. But if you still need a working pair of closed backs, try AKG K361. Good budget workhorse and tuned very well. Definitely better sound isolation than NTH-100, very lightweight, extremely portable and still over-ear, easy fit into any backpack when going anywhere to a gig, to a field recording or whatever.

Thank You! Well I am enjoying them very much listening everything from jazz and classical, to house and techno. Trying to get to know them better in terms of amplification. Trying different configurations of my zen dac, which appears ok for them, but something more powerfull would be a better fit.

As for the djing headphones I was looking into the K361 some time ago and almost got them, but quit it after reading numerous user reports of those yolk to headband connections (hinges?) getting loose or falling apart - which made them unusable. Do You have any info is this a real issue as of now? Once again thank You for sharing all the information with me

 

[Alex May]

As for the djing headphones I was looking into the K361 some time ago and almost got them, but quit it after reading numerous user reports of those yolk to headband connections (hinges?) getting loose or falling apart - which made them unusable. Do You have any info is this a real issue as of now?

There were some quality issues with K371 afaik where metal and plastic joint parts got loose on the earcups. I haven't heard anything like that about K361 though where it's all plastic. Anyways, here is a video that provides some sort of update in regards to the quality control issues:

Unfortunately, I don't know any other headphone in this price category that is tuned equally good. Maybe Beyerdynamic DT250 but it has much less bass. Still nice tuning though.

 

[robertom]

Unfortunately, I don't know any other headphone in this price category that is tuned equally good. Maybe Beyerdynamic DT250 but it has much less bass. Still nice tuning though.

I have both K371 and DT250 and my opinion is just the opposite: The DT250 is very extended and has the right amount of bass (a sligth emphasis on bass and sub, very musical and natural), while the K371 is right down to 50Hz, but overemphasized from 50Hz down. Listen to the Daft Punk R.A.M. album, in some songs the sub-bass is really annoying on the K371.

 

[Alex May]

I have both K371 and DT250 and my opinion is just the opposite: The DT250 is very extended and has the right amount of bass (a sligth emphasis on bass and sub, very musical and natural), while the K371 is right down to 50Hz, but overemphasized from 50Hz down. Listen to the Daft Punk R.A.M. album, in some songs the sub-bass is really annoying on the K371.

Well, for me at least there is not enough bass in DT250 - less than the Harman target suggests. I like it when I hear everything in the sub-bass area. But I didn't say the DT250 is bad. It's exceptionally good indeed. Therefore, I'm with you on DT250, it's a very musical and natural sounding headphone. If K361 didn't exist, I'd pick the DT250 hands down.

And I actually meant K361 rather than K371. For me the K361 sounds closer to the DT250, with still much more sub-bass but that's what I prefer.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find comparable frequency graphs between the K361 and DT250 to illustrate their similarities. So here are the two graphs from Crinacle showing K371 and DT250:



PS: I wish there were some measurements of the NTH-100 as well.

 

[robertom]

PS: I wish there were some measurements of the NTH-100 as well.

You can find comparable measurements of K361, DT250 and NTH-100 on solderdude website:
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/

according to his measurements NTH-100 seem to be darker than both.

As for bass quantity: yes, it is of course a matter of personal preferences, for me the bass quantity of DT250 is just right