[Andii]

Further critical listening has revealed even more insight into the performance of the NTH-100. Some further expansion on yesterday's post.

Listening at a low SPL avoids non linearities in the frequency response(the treble roll off), detail loss, distortion and the degradation of other performance metrics even with very dense tracks. The more the drivers move, the worse their performance gets. On sparse tracks without any low frequencies, you can crank the volume up way farther. That means for podcasting/speech they should be more suitable as opposed to music.

My impressions were very favorable after a long listening session at a very modest near background volume while I was reading. This explains why.

Bring up the volume and the detail retrieval, high frequencies and distortion all take a turn for the worse and worse. And this occurs at a level that is in a range where many people, including myself sometimes, would want to listen in.

My LCD-X, my personal benchmark(unfair comparison alert), if I want more volume, I turn the knob and it just makes MORE SOUND in a completely linear way that leaves the quality of the sound completely unchanged making turning up to even intense volumes eerily pleasant(everything in moderation). That's not expected of these, but it's an example of the most stark contrast to the NTH-100 that I have experienced.

Analog mechanical devices can be quite non linear and exhibit it in complex ways. This headphone is very well engineered and impresses me quite a bit. But they are not perfect/flawed.

Now that I know more about the conditions that they thrive in I will be able to enjoy them more effectively.

I will be spending many hours outdoors with these gently caressing my ears while I read. The level of practicality is off the charts. These have provided me with a lot of listening enjoyment to be away from my desktop rig and loudspeaker setup and without having to shove anything into my ear canal or paying very much.

I like these a lot, I am going to get way more than my money's worth out of them, but a recommendation to others would have to come with a disclaimer regarding the specific caveats they exhibit for music playback that would certainly be unacceptable to some, possibly most and workable for others such as myself.

I'm probably done with my critical listening and evaluation. Back to focusing on the music.

 

[Beagle]

It’s common knowledge amongst headphone users that the amount of treble and/or bass is often dependent on how the headphone clamps to your head. If there’s too much treble and bass is lacking, a tighter fit can often alleviate that. Or vice versa.

So when you get reviewers who think there are two different tunings or a quality control issue, did they not consider different head sizes and clamping forces at play?

The RODE initially sounded basically flat but muted up top (lower treble), with a bit of lower mid warmth. When I “adjusted” the headband so it sat on my noggin with just enough pressure to hold it in place, the top end opened up and cymbals sounded more airy and it seemed evenly balanced overall.

But the treble still sounds a bit uneven or rough, or dry and grey. I need more time and amp experimenting to determine if this is actually so, or if this treble is ‘correct’ and source dependent.

Another ‘problem’ is that when the music is not too busy, you get a nice sense of space, with information around your head and just in front of. But when things pick up (like the guitars and drums on Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti), they start to bang into your forehead or jump inside your noggin and everything gets constricted. Definitely a bit forward sounding.

When properly adjusted for fit, the RODE is quite light and comfortable.

 

[lurkusmaximus]

It’s common knowledge amongst headphone users that the amount of treble and/or bass is often dependent on how the headphone clamps to your head. If there’s too much treble and bass is lacking, a tighter fit can often alleviate that. Or vice versa.

So when you get reviewers who think there are two different tunings or a quality control issue, did they not consider different head sizes and clamping forces at play?

The RODE initially sounded basically flat but muted up top (lower treble), with a bit of lower mid warmth. When I “adjusted” the headband so it sat on my noggin with just enough pressure to hold it in place, the top end opened up and cymbals sounded more airy and it seemed evenly balanced overall.

But the treble still sounds a bit uneven or rough, or dry and grey. I need more time and amp experimenting to determine if this is actually so, or if this treble is ‘correct’ and source dependent.

Another ‘problem’ is that when the music is not too busy, you get a nice sense of space, with information around your head and just in front of. But when things pick up (like the guitars and drums on Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti), they start to bang into your forehead or jump inside your noggin and everything gets constricted. Definitely a bit forward sounding.

When properly adjusted for fit, the RODE is quite light and comfortable.

Completely agree with quite light and comfortable. I really like the headband locks. Simple and efficient.

 

[Alou]

Today i took my pair at the studio while their was live concert recording.I tried them on the headphone out on the LAWO and the CALREC consoles.
The sound was so much clear and crisp i could hear the orchestra with allot of detail and spot all the instrument locations.When i switch and used a headphone amp from the monitor out to the amp ,sound was still good but a little more restrained specially at higher levels.Look like that these we tuned to play with little amplification not much.
I compared them with the DT700 600ohms we had at the studio and found that the DT770 plays better with an external amp then the onboard headphone out from the consoles.The Rhode plays better or equal with the amp or at a lower level and the setting for the headphone out (HIGH or LOW) at low with crossfeed off.
Both my colleagues agreed,propably they were tuned to be used with protable or low amplified units. Yet the still preform as monitors with low amplification or with a good studio head amp at low gain !!

 

[Andii]

Today i took my pair at the studio while their was live concert recording.I tried them on the headphone out on the LAWO and the CALREC consoles.
The sound was so much clear and crisp i could hear the orchestra with allot of detail and spot all the instrument locations.When i switch and used a headphone amp from the monitor out to the amp ,sound was still good but a little more restrained specially at higher levels.Look like that these we tuned to play with little amplification not much.
I compared them with the DT700 600ohms we had at the studio and found that the DT770 plays better with an external amp then the onboard headphone out from the consoles.The Rhode plays better or equal with the amp or at a lower level and the setting for the headphone out (HIGH or LOW) at low with crossfeed off.
Both my colleagues agreed,propably they were tuned to be used with protable or low amplified units. Yet the still preform as monitors with low amplification or with a good studio head amp at low gain !!

That is 100% consistent with my experience! In my tests the NTH-100 sounded better from the RME's weak headphone out than the Neve rnhp. As soon as I heard the thing that was the exact opposite of what my expectation was, my first thought was that they must be very optimized for the most typical sources in some way.


I also did some additional purpose specific testing. Field recording. I plugged them directly to the output on my zoom H1 with a windtech wind screen installed. They were driven very easily by the onboard headphone output and fantastically so. These headphones are really in the groove of their designed purpose in this territory and they shined.

I could effectively monitor for all of the common issues that happen like wind, hiss from internal noise/gain and handling noise. In addition to that, the sound was fantastic. I felt like I was immersed in the recording, It felt eerily like the real thing that was happening in the world outside of the headphones even though these are a rugged closed back. Since most nature sounds and speech don't bog the driver down they were within the parameters where they perform the best. And I was comfortable while wearing these. I will definitely be using mine for monitoring on location sound for film making. I was impressed at how well they worked for this task. Better than the ATH-M50 from what I remember of them.

Next test: voice over recording. I am honestly expecting greatness. Once again, since the drivers are not multi tasking with multiple instruments happening at once, I expect them to sound great and hold to their intended FR target at any level I would want to monitor at. I will try this very soon and report back.

 

[Alou]

Next test: voice over recording.

That would be interesting after all the are advertised as Podcasters Phones. Just a general observation the more i listen to them the more i start to clear things in my hearing through them.Its like you start to now were everyone is behind the curtain. I must also admit at first hearing form the box ,they seems a little constrained ,now almost two weeks after they are either breaking in or my brain starts to now now to use them and were to spot what. I will still say that they are more Alert so to speak phones ,then relaxed,to be alert and spot whats happening. Interesting feeling.

 

[arar]

So TL;DR on these: warm-leaning sound signature with a midbass bump and rolled off (and darker?) treble, good comfort and isolation, subpar technical performance? I need a comfortable closed-back pair for general use (gaming, media consumption, music listening) at home whenever there's something loud going on and for when I'm at my partner's place and I'm thinking these might be worth a try. Tonality is king for me and I prefer warmer, thicker, darker sounding cans, technicalities don't matter that much to me. Already got the Meze 99Cs and while they're superb when it comes to comfort and isolation, they sound kind of strange to me nowadays. Bloated bass but also really thin mids?

 

[Alex May]

The HEADPHONE Show and Andrew Resolve's take on these 'meaningfully worse than the K371' headphones. Please, watch this before you buy:

 

[Alou]

Opinions are personal and accepted but always judge for yourself and your ears ,specially with headphones and speakers !I Have bought speakers and headphones that were very well praised and sounded like trash! So behind measurements and basic specs always try to listen if you can before making choices.Headphones are very personal to ones hearing and also taste. But we should always be open minded to reviews and opinions buy in the end its you and only you whow will decide after sometime if they are for you.
Thats why we use this forum in the first place to share info and experiences.By the way i never ever had a headphone i liked by putting it on.It always took time to get used to its sound.Ok the ones you like they usually get to you in a few hours but on the other hands there are those that tell you the "truth" and might not sound musicall to you but the are more of instruments so to speak ,you can even tell the difference between compression schemes ,datarates etc and those who are so musically and forgiving that make even the worst compressed youtube sound like a heavenly melody!Both work both do what they are supposed to its up yo you!Thanks for the post ,i Have seen so many videos of these phones lately i dont recall doing these with any phone in the past! LOL! The foam mod he recommends might be something to try just for the fun but void the warranty.Hmmm!

 

[marts30]

So TL;DR on these: warm-leaning sound signature with a midbass bump and rolled off (and darker?) treble, good comfort and isolation, subpar technical performance? I need a comfortable closed-back pair for general use (gaming, media consumption, music listening) at home whenever there's something loud going on and for when I'm at my partner's place and I'm thinking these might be worth a try. Tonality is king for me and I prefer warmer, thicker, darker sounding cans, technicalities don't matter that much to me. Already got the Meze 99Cs and while they're superb when it comes to comfort and isolation, they sound kind of strange to me nowadays. Bloated bass but also really thin mids?

I think you'd like these then, I have zero regrets about buying them on a whim. They're a perfect contrast to my brighter headphones like HD800S and Grado 325x.

Signature is perfect for me, especially since I listen to some more treble-heavy metal and such, just takes the edge off nicely, mids are really nice imo.

 

[arar]

I think you'd like these then, I have zero regrets about buying them on a whim. They're a perfect contrast to my brighter headphones like HD800S and Grado 325x.

Signature is perfect for me, especially since I listen to some more treble-heavy metal and such, just takes the edge off nicely, mids are really nice imo.

Cool, thanks for the response! I think I'll check these out a bit later in the spring, then, the asking price is low enough that I might as well. I watched Andrew's review posted above and it was great (like all of his reviews, really). It was certainly very critical, but none of the main criticisms made me go "okay, these won't be for me" right away.

 

[GGSuperMe]

Also on the headphones subreddit Resolve points out that a lot of factors could lead to someone really liking and enjoying it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones.../?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

 

[Alou]

Here is another no so biased review , more are coming out everyday. I just want to add that the sound gets better after usage ,only thing a still find is a little tightness in the high trebles.On the other hand songs with high tremble specially one heavily compressed when recording with a plugin or something,in these headphones they dont hurt my ears. Over all they are nice and reliable .Thing is i now have 2 pairs !LOL! I was given a second as a gift from a friend who i helped in the past, He said i saw this in the store they looked high tech and got them as a gift for you!! Hmmm now i don't know if i should keep both for studio use , 1 for engineer and 1 for Artist. Will see.

 

[GGSuperMe]

Here is another no so biased review , more are coming out everyday. I just want to add that the sound gets better after usage ,only thing a still find is a little tightness in the high trebles.On the other hand songs with high tremble specially one heavily compressed when recording with a plugin or something,in these headphones they dont hurt my ears. Over all they are nice and reliable .Thing is i now have 2 pairs !LOL! I was given a second as a gift from a friend who i helped in the past, He said i saw this in the store they looked high tech and got them as a gift for you!! Hmmm now i don't know if i should keep both for studio use , 1 for engineer and 1 for Artist. Will see.

Well I removed the front damping filter on mine and it livens the treble. You could try that on one pair.

 

[Alou]

Well I removed the front damping filter on mine and it livens the treble. You could try that on one pair.

I read that somewere ,can you do that with out damaging the filter foam in case you want to put it back ,i read its glued in place.