[ABRAXAS5150]

Rode NTH- 100

Mini Review - First and initial impressions right out of the box. 3-31-2022


Im using a Ferrum ERCO to Power them.
If you dont have the 0or or the Erco, then stop waiting. They're both user friendly and sound great.
Both play well with the Susvara and the Abyss TC, so, certainly they will power whatever you need to its fullest potential.
Do you want to melt your eardrums? Both will provide the power to get you there.

Music used for the RODE Review Includes :

Sade
Queen
Keane
Kandace Springs
Madonna
Sting
Sara Jarosz
Billy Strings
Rush
Chet Baker

Genre's evaluated :

Dub
House
Dance
Pop
Metal
Rock
Jazz
Classical
Country
Vocal
Instrumental

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RODE Box : Rudimentary packaging.

RODE Cables : You get one SE. Its rubberized and its a single plug in. You choose the side, L<or>R : and the plug is locking. Set it and forget it. Its mostly non-microphonic and isnt too much of a burden to deal with, overall.

RODE Headband : Its soft. However the entire structure of the Headband that is connected to the cups is quite industrial in design, and substantial as a whole.
This is not a plastic toy headband. It's light, but its not totally invisible on your head. The headband's slider adjustment mechanism is well designed, and has a "release" and "lock" control on both sides that allows you to easily find the comfortable position and then lock the headphones into place.

RODE Clamping force : Its a slightly snug fit, not tight, but not at all loose.

RODE Pads : Alcantara . Slightly small for a over ear design. Initially they feel firm : upon first strap on.
I would estimate that if you have a large head and large ears you wont find these cups to be too large. And as you wear them in, they become more comfortable, given time.
Im about an hour with them on, and ive felt no desire to take them off to rest my ears, yet.
I have adjusted them a bit, a few times to locate that sweet spot of comfort, and you will have to do the same, if you purchase the RODE's.

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RODE : Sonic Impressions :

I'll state without reservation that this is the 3rd excellent set of headphone that ive reviewed in the last 6 months.
The 1st was the Meze Liric, and the 2nd was the Hifiman Edition XS, and now this RODE gear. These 3, you need to hear them, and most will keep them.

Sonically, the RODE is a extremely high resolution set of headphones. It's resolution digs deep into the music and deep into the mix.
The RODE gear has striking clarity. It has more clarity than the Meze Liric, and is on par with a $1200 gear. The detail retrieval is unmatched by any other closed headphone including the Denon D9200.
For example....Reverb tails, hi hats, guitar plucks, snare hits, vocal clarity....electric guitar distortion representation, piano notes...All of this is presented with crystal clear clarity by the RODE gear.
Initially, i thought The RODE sounded bright, but within a few mins of listening i realized that this is one of those sets of headphones that provides such clarity (Think AudioTechnica ADX-5000) and detail retrieval and resolution, that this can be mis-heard initially. But as you listen, you realize that there is just so much detail and clarity being created and presented by these ultra ultra affordable headphones.

FR wise, they do present a mild V shape. They have nice sub-bass and well designed extension in their Treble range while also presenting their midrange in a quite linear fashion.
Literally, this is that closed set of headphones that produces a slight V shape YET offers mids that dont sound recessed.
So. This is a no brainer purchase if you want a good sounding CLOSED set of headphones that do not have large pads and offer incredible value for the money. They are not warm sounding overall, and they are not flat, neutral, dull. They have a somewhat exciting sound, tho reference quality, and very affordable.
They will please the person who enjoys good bass, but most of all they will appeal to the person looking for a hyper detailed yet very musical sounding set of CLOSED headphones.
Their Treble is hyper detailed, so, if you prefer a warm round smooth overall sound, then the RODE's would be a good set for you to own when you want to really see inside the music.
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Treble: Extended. Very detailed, yet generally stays away from Sizzzzzzle. The RODE's are Not recommended for lossy or otherwise similar types of sound files, in my opinion, as they offer too much sonic insight and will be too revealing of badly recorded music.
This is a incredibly affordable pro-gear and you must feed it quality tracks or you will not reap the Sonic benefits.

Midrange : Crystal clean and not recessed. Slightly warm. Very musical.

Bass : Similar to the Meze Lyric tho not quite as large and stays nicely separated from the midrange. No Bloat.

Soundstage : Its a closed-back with smaller cups, yet, there is a unique sense of immersion and depth.

Instrument Separation : Equal to the best closed back, or better. Class leading. Exceptional.

Resolution : Highly articulate.

Timbre : Analytically Musical

Id recommend this RODE set for those times when you really want to examine all the details in your music as well as enjoy it.

Highlights : Vocal presentation. Instrument separation. Soundstage. Detail retrieval. Overall Dynamics.
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Specifications​

Acoustic & Electrical Specifications​

Transducer Size
40mm

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Operating Principle
Dynamic

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Frequency Response
5Hz – 35Khz

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Impedance
32Ω

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Sensitivity
110dB/V

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Maximum Input Power
1700mW, 1% THD @ 1kHz

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Ear Coupling
Circumaural

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Ambient Noise Attenuation
20dBA

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Connection Type
Dual TRRS Cable Attachments
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Just ordered mine 20 min ago can't wait can they be used with a Fiio M11 ees player just curious.

 

[StivVid]

Mine arrived today. Build quality is fantastic, but the sound just isn't there. I can see why these have been so heavily marketed toward podcasters. Treble rolls off too early leaving very little air or top end shimmer. There's something a little off in the timbre that reminds me I'm listening to a recording and not an actual performance. Just a bit artificial at times. Wish I could describe that better. I'd like the low end to extend into the sub bass better too. My K371's sound miles better to my ears. I really wanted to like these, but they're going back to B&H.
I do think Rode are on to something good here, though. A few tuning tweaks and these would be an amazing bargain. As it is, they have a solid headphone for monitoring vocal recordings--spoken word not singing. Ok for music, but not great.

 

[StivVid]

Something else... Since these headphones are being marketed to podcasters and location sound recordists... One of the things you're listening for when doing field recordings is sibilance. The fact that this headphone rolls off early in the upper treble means that sibilance will be de-emphasized making it hard to hear when your levels are hot or your subject is too close to the mic. I think that's a flaw in their design for their intended purpose.

 

[lurkusmaximus]

Mine arrived yesterday. I concur that the build quality is excellent. There are many things that they got right. I love the simple mechanism to lock the headband in place. It works very well and is so simple. Perfect placement every time I put it on my head. Also, the ability to choose which side I wish to connect the cord to. This is especially nice if you have more than one listening station and the optimum side is different between them.

On to the sound. I personally have not experienced the early roll off on the highs. Admittedly I have an equalizer in the path, so I can, and do, tweak it to my liking. I find it takes slightly more power than some of my other closed backs, but to my ears, the sound is quite good. Good isolation. Very light and comfortable. An outstanding value in my book. I get plenty of bass extension. Not as much as some other far more expensive headphones, or for those tuned for bass heads, but I did not find it lacking.

I see this as a nice choice for those looking for great bang for the buck.

 

[power]

Just opened the box-^ this came out!

 

[Andii]

In an unprecedented occurrence I have decided to be an early adopter sight unseen and sound unheard. Mine are on the way. There are so many design elements that are well thought out and functional and so many aesthetic design elements that are really impressive and tasteful.

I don't expect to be blown away by the sound, but I need a practical and comfortable set of closed backs for listening to speech, editing video and watching movies etc. Just general use where the sound quality isn't super super critical, but comfort, weight, decent portability, isolation and robust build and just good enough sound are.

I also need a pair of closed backs for monitoring voiceover, field recording, recording vocals and acoustic instruments etc. in my studio to avoid bleed and feedback from open backs. That's a big factor. The closed backs I've owned are on their last leg/have moved on to a new home/didn't/don't sound good at all. I almost bought beyers for the build and comfort, but feared the treble peak. These were probably what I was waiting around for to fill that role. When you have a studio you have to have closed back monitor headphones.



I hope to be get a really practical pair of unoffensive sounding headphones at a great price.

But don't worry, I'm going to share my detailed sound impressions for listening to music, mixing and mastering. I will give my opinion on what tasks I think that you can use them for regarding technical work and how well they scale from apple dongle to Neve.

 

[Alou]

Hi all,
i got a pair last week.Its the first time i buy a pair of headphones without reading anything besides the manufacturer specs.I just saw their built and read that its made in Australia and bought them.In Eu they cost slightly more around 179-180 euros. when i opened the box i was impressed with their built!! Almost as tough as my Beyerdynamic pro series and in some cases even better,the hinges are made from steel.Top quality! Sound-wise when i first heard them out of the box i was no so impressed as they seemed a little "tight"after all they are new,yet they were very detailed in revealing the faults in audio tracks.I hear specific problematic tracks were i knew were the problem was and they were spot on.Next i had the phones play 4-5 hours a day since last Friday ,sound was so much better specially in music ,you can tell the difference since straight out of the box.
I bought these for quality control in audio and video ,in TV broadcasting , and also wanted them to be solid because i usually have them on off from my head and they get a desk beating regardless of how soft i place them on there.Most headphone i tried over a period of few months they crack.So far only Beyerdynamics proved solid enough.
Hey i have a DT 770 pro 600 ohm from 2005-2006 that i use everyday and they keep going.Wanted to try something different tough and these look solid enough.
Musically so far they are quite nice yet a "little tight " yet they open up as the days go buy. The sound more like open headphones more or less .These headphones have all the detail needed but they are not lets say relaxing.Looks like they were tuned to keep you awake and monitor and not get carried away with the music. This happens to me allot with the beyers. Sound is so good that sometimes i pass a nice track as i was listening for pleasure and have to go back and listen again for monitoring.

Also initially the triangular like curve inside the pads, probably designed to match the shape of the outer ear,seem strange and a bit unusual on my ears.
After 3-4 days with them i find them comfortable and yes the alcantara pads are awesome! Like someone is caressing you ears gently!
I remember i had a sportscar in the nineties with nice Gray Alcantara seats LOL.
Genuine alcantara buy the way is made by a company in Italy that have the patended and copyright,all others are lookalikes and can to use that name!
( https://www.alcantara.com/)

I dont know whow well they will hold up with sweat though.I will have to wait and see ,summer is coming. I believe that in terms of built they are unbeatable at this range ,sonically they are very detailed .Music wise in terms of pleasure listening, is something you have to get used to it.They open up slowly ,yet in some tracks they sound better then they beyers in others less.When is say less in terms of sound wideness ,depends on the music.
I can not be specific ,since everytime i hear something different .
In general terms its apair that you have to spend time with to get used to it or not ,so far only 4 days!
So far looks like good purchase will see how they go!

 

[Andii]

Day one first impressions:

12/10 I am ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN CHOOO CHOOO. I agree with the most extremely positive impressions that I have seen that I thought might have been over-hyping them. They're really really good. I was trying to keep my expectations tempered, but they really did manage to blow me away. I have listened to them all day long.


I can thoroughly enjoy these for portable listening and studio monitoring even though I am a complete cork sniffing audio snob. This will be what I recommend to every non audio audiophile person who doesn't own an amplifier to simply plug into their phone and audio interface headphone jack.

One observation I have is that the dynamics in the mid bass region are a bit strident with my Neve RNHP, and things get a little over analytical, but on weaker sources it's smoothed out and I can crank up the volume and let it rip and rock out and it sounds amazing. I have this suspicion that these are specifically engineered to work well on typical sources like the headphone amplifiers in audio interfaces and phone jacks on most equipment. Like there could be some sort of compensation to overcome shortcomings of low power sources that gets blown out of proportion with more power. The Neve feels like it wants to blow my brains out a little with strident dynamics even at low volume. My other headphones are all the opposite. They need to the juice from the Neve to come alive. I would love to hear if anyone else has noticed these thriving more on low mW outputs at the same SPLs.

I plugged them into the output on my phone and listened for hours with the quobuz app and I have never heard anything so good from such a practical headphone before. I am going to be sitting outside and reading books, walking around at the grocery store and traveling with these.

EDIT: I have now tried every single source I have access to and the Neve is just a terrible match for these. I really have no idea why exactly. They sound fine with my RME's 3.5mm(50mw?) and my ancient Hirestech Microstreamer(150mw?)(remember those?) makes them sing.

 

[Alou]

Now you gave me an idea to start experimenting.So far i was listening with the Grace m903 and the Topping DX7 pro,i will start listening to sources with built in headphone out,like my dj mixers ,an av amplifier ,a pc audio card etc. Truth is that with the Grace when the volume starts to get over 50 its too loud at least for me,i have sensitive ears,yet Undistorted.In many headphones specialy when the cups are plastic when the volume gets high and has allot of low freq ,sound might not distort but you cab hear or sense the plastic rattling .This happen in now way here ,even tough i tend to increase volume for testing purposes slowly ,you should never crank up the volume at once with new phones before the membranes work for a few hours. Anyway if for a while you forget about all the tech and focus on sound and just sound you can hear more and more every time! You train your ears to your headphones.Like i said before these are a set that need to spend sometime with them to start having opinions,so far they are what i expected.Little tight at the beginning opening slowly,and i don't talk about the breaking in, I talk about focusing on what you want them to reveal to you.

 

[Alex May]

Another critical review. This time from Josh Valour. Main issues: extreme unit variations (QC?), veiled treble with few detail in many instances which compromises the very purpose of a monitoring headphone. Although Josh does his best to "like" this headphone and be positive every time he reviews something. His main positive point apart from the build is that NTH-100 is quote-unquote "perhaps a little bit more fair and honest to the recording" when comparing it to the K361. On the other hand, my point mentioned previously here was that the K361 is actually tuned to the Harman target and, if the music is to be reproduced at a consumer's side with this target, it should be monitored with this target as well, not with some "flat" tuning which in my opinion is neither representative, nor honest to the recording and to the final consumer. Just to reiterate, I absolutely dislike this headphone for how it sounds both from a creator's and an audiophile perspective. Sorry guys, million times sorry!

 

[MayaTlab]

Main issues: extreme unit variations (QC?),

I've measured two different units with in-ear mics. There is quite a bit of difference between them, definitely above threshold of audible differences. The second one's channel matching is quite poor (and resistant to pad swapping, so coming from the earcups). This also wasn't a question of coupling for the most part (for reasons too long to detail here). I might try a third one.
Not that it's any worse than what I've seen from Harman product, for example. Just not on Apple / Sennheiser (audiophile category headphones only) level, perhaps the only two brands I'm prepared to give a presumption of decent sample variation so far (just a presumption still).

On the other hand, my point mentioned previously here was that the K361 is actually tuned to the Harman target and, if the music is to be reproduced at a consumer's side with this target, it should be monitored with this target as well, not with some "flat" tuning which in my opinion is neither representative, nor honest to the recording and to the final consumer.

That presupposes that it can actually deliver that target to your own ears, which in the case of the K361/K371 is a pretty substantial hypothetical.

 

[Mark Up]

I'd hope there are pad swap options ahead. I have to imagine pleather / fenestrated pleather may improve the sub bass a bit.

 

[Alex May]

That presupposes that it can actually deliver that target to your own ears, which in the case of the K361/K371 is a pretty substantial hypothetical.

Yes, and the producers' ears compensate for that target because producers themselves have accustomed to it as consumers. Therefore, we produce what we actually want and/or expect to hear. The objective result will actually be relatively flat. And by using the same target we don't have to compensate it for a consumer. On the other hand, if we produce with a presumably flat target, we would actually boost the lows and highs because our ears expect it to hear that way. And then when this final audio material reaches a consumer, they will listen to our boosted product with a boosted target which will effectively double boost it. Therefore, we need to monitor with the same target as our audience will.

 

[Andii]

I have finished the extremely critical subjective listening phase. This is my actual detailed review.

My opinion is that the people with completely divergent opinions/perception about the treble/this headphone are both completely correct. I think that my detailed subjective evaluation helps explain why this headphone is so polarizing.


Air region of the treble: The perception of this has to do with instrument separation and not FR. It seems like the worst situation is delicate air during a very busy passage. Example: a very breathy saxophone that sits almost completely in the air region during a busy passage gets diminished until almost nothing is left but a ghost. (I don't know how many people are familiar with the extremely breathy playing I'm talking about.) Planars do everything and do it all the time and don't care how many things are happening at once. My perception of the high treble depends on what is happening in the song. I perceive it to be better when less is happening at once. The most important parts of the FR for the heart of the music are excellent most of the time. During something stripped down with maybe just an acoustic guitar and a voice and some room sound I really feel like even listening very critically the air is excellent and I can hear analog tape hiss in great detail, which is very fine grained and high up in the air range and I can hear the acoustic space reverberating. More instruments come in and the air fades back. Then during busy passages, the air sounds quite deficient or even gone altogether to where the people saying that they are dark and veiled are completely right, but the most important parts of the treble, the heart of the music are still fantastic most of the time. Right now I basically hear the air dipping in and out depending on how many things are happening. A choral or a capella recording reveals what these are capable of when they're not busy.... wow. In that moment the performance completely blows me away and they are at their most remarkably lifelike.

This is an example of where FR graphs may come up short for predicting subjective listening experience with a real world musical signal. Test tones operate using a sine wave in one region at once and do not factor this in. The FR graph may not reflect people's subjective perception of the high treble on this headphone. In the future bursts of noise that span the entire spectrum at once may be used, but the tests will be more technically complicated to design and conduct. This is an example of where subjective listening can provide additional insight past the rudimentary sine and square wave based scientific testing that is used for audio currently.

The image is diamond shaped, precise and strong. The center is very tall and it narrows as it gets to the edges. By the time you get to the area right outside the cups, the image is rather short. The center is REALLY TALL and strong. I love that. It sounds super cool and fun. There's no front to back depth perception to be found. Imagine a diamond shape from the playing card suit in 2D.

Detail: downright impressive. How microscopic it goes depends on once again, in my perception, how busy it is. The more things happening at once the less detail in every single instrument, but there's always an impressive or at least respectable amount. In simple passages with only a few things happening they go really microscopic. My LCD-X stay microscopic(of course) and don't care what's happening at all which is a thrill to listen to because you will definitely hear things you wouldn't on the RODE on most recordings(including a stable FR LOL). Even comparing the two, the RODE are extremely admirable during stripped back passages.

FR/tonal balance/timbre: I am a musician and I have attended many intimate live performances with a range of instruments. These are quite natural sounding. I would say that they nailed it. The timbre is better than I expected. Like some of the other aspects of performance, I think this is also dependent on the material being played back and how many things are happening at once. The less things going on, the better it is.

The transients are strident on a powerful amplifier and I don't like them powered with a lot of juice. They seem to thrive on saggy low powered sources. That's an odd impression to have, but that's my subjective observation. The types of amplifiers in audio interfaces that are typical for podcasters and beginner audio engineers are quite wimpy and these thrive off of that. Phones too. I had shared that impression early on and that hasn't changed. The Neve drives them with an authority that hurts me a bit, it's brutal. I think that this may have something to do with the separation characteristics too. The Neve is tossing the drivers around following every little thing in the kick and bass powerfully and this is more disruptive to the treble getting produced. The performance on the best amplifier I have seems to actually harm the sound greatly in my listening tests.

If you're a discerning audiophile who already has nice headphones: Maybe, maybe not. Do you need a portable wired circumaural?

Travel and portable: YES. I'm taking these everywhere. This is what I'm most thrilled about. Music enjoyment at this level that is not tethered to my desk is fantastic. Absolutely thrilled. Durable with isolation. Runs off of anything. Just for this I'm going to get way more than my money's worth. I was walking around outside listening and was just like wow. This is luxury.

If you're a beginner and you have no amp and only $150: Ignore all of the pondering of everyone and just buy them. I wish I had these when I was a teenager instead of the ATH-m40s and ATH-M50s which were good for the price back then in ancient times. I would have never stopped listening to these. My mind would have been completely blown. I currently have some kinda expensive stuff and still like these a lot.

For audio engineering music: They would work on a very low budget in a pinch and work better than a lot of the things that people try to use. In the majority of the range that is most important they excel. No eq in the air region should be done while using them for busy passages. In genres of music where the air is super critical to that degree like jazz and classical, these wouldn't work at all. Using them for audio work would have to be done with the short comings in mind. I think they do give a lot of insight into what is going on especially for headphones in this class. They do give a big picture and insight and fidelity better than most cheap studio monitors like KRK and the like. They could also be used as a second reference for the bass that falls below the studio monitors bass roll off if you don't have a subwoofer. These would be great for that. I personally won't use them for music audio work at all. They would be good for live sound mixing because you can hear the PA when you take them off and it's just a lot less critical or precise than recording.

For monitoring while tracking in a studio or monitoring voice overs and podcasting: YES. A MILLION TIMES YES. The treble issues for hearing hiss and noise I believe are a non issue when there aren't a million things happening at once. These will be flawless for that as far as I can tell. On material with analog tape hiss and one instrument at a time I definitely could hear the hiss down to a microscopic level so you should be able to work with simple recordings at a very detailed level and with extreme precision.

My opinion is still extremely positive. Still 12/10. Just not literally perfect. Extremely material dependent.

They're just a $150 closed back with mylar dynamic drivers that are better than they have any business being.

 

[Alou]

Excellent review,you found a way to explain things i couldnt put to words!On their 7th day they sound even better to my ears and swap in between with another pair to avoid ears getting accustom to them ,to have a better opinion.