YingTK
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2013
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NAD HP50 is a headphone with special tuning. Personally, i like the bump in the lower midrange. It gives vocals body and realism. Very few headphones have that colourization. From memory, the only headphones that does that is probably Nighthawk.
MDR100AP does not have that. It's thinner in the midrange in comparison and has more bass. It still have a very likeable sound. It's the headphones i use most even though i have better headphones. In comparison to NAD, the Sony has less treble, less warmth but slightly more bass. Other aspects should not be too far apart.
I personally wouldn't worry too much with NAD build quality. Just use them till they break and get a new one. With the rate of new product release for past few years, by the time your NAD breaks, there might be a new MDR100AP or NAD HP50.
Wow, thanks for the comparison! Your description on the HP50 is pretty much spot on on its highlight! I do listen to mainly vocals and the HP50 is so far the pair I like the most among multiple headphones I tried within the price range.
I usually bring it with me, and it sounds great at quieter places. However, it is hard for me to enjoy its strength at noisier places. At those places, I would wish it had more bass (but only then. I love pretty much every bit it sounded when the ambiance is quiet.) Another thing that bothers me is comfort. The upper edge of my ear would touch the unit when I wear them, and it eventually hurts after about 1.5 to 2 hours. My momentum works better on these two aspects while I'm traveling. I can also wear them for hours. But when I got my destination and wanted to have some intense listening, I felt that I sill prefer the sound of the HP50 quite a bit more than the momentum. But it I had to bring them both while traveling, I guess that defeats the purpose of these being "portables".
I've been looking for a pair of portable headphones that can do a little bit of both, and that's why I came across this pair. It's been a long time since I tried a pair of Sony intensively, and I have to admit reading the comments and hypes on this pair through this thread, it makes me tempted. Although according to your comparison, from the way their sound characteristic is compared to the HP50, I think I'll probably like the HP50 more. I also read that sound isolation on the MDR-100 isn't that great either. I think I'll eventually try to give them a try when I get a chance.
Thank you very much for your reply!
(And... I do wish NAD would come up with a new HP50 with the way momentum feels on my head and with the same HP50 house sound )