Nad HP50 Review: Like closed-back HD6XX/650’s.
I honestly do not know why I did not review these. I had these for maybe two years, maybe more. Sometimes it’s like you get in this stupid mentality where you have a beautiful secret you want to keep for yourself? Maybe, unconsciously, this is why I did not review the Nad HP50’s. Until now. But above all I had just nothing to say about these… because I was too busy listening to music with these.
I usually start my reviews saying the gear used, but… these sound great on everything and are not picky at all. They don’t need power at ALL, so they even sound good with my old Samsung S7 phone (good, not great, but your smartphone 3.5mm out – if you’re lucky enough to have one – will never have sounded that good). Fun fact about the cable: You can plug it under the left earcup, you can plug it under the right earcup… But that’s a 4-pin, so the Nad HP50’s can be balanced? Nope, it’s a 3.5mm 4-pin for the microphone. Yeah, it’s odd. Convenient when receiving calls, though (the mic is just “okay”, for info… but we’re not here for this).
First, the stock pads of these are… rectangle. Yeah. Throw em in the trash (lol). Seriously, you can’t expect any kind of good seal with rectangle pads, especially if you buy em used (I bought mine used). Expect the bass and sub-bass to be even lower than what you get with open-back HD6XX’s/HD650’s. But there’s an easy fix: Cheapo amazon, fake-leather angled pads. Something like this will seal, will give you an impressively decent amount of quality bass and sub-bass and be very comfortable, very closed. Yup, with decent pads, you get a great seal, and a great sound. Be careful though, too thick pads will boost the treble region. So… just avoid angled pads altogether if you want to be sure not to make a mistake. Anyway, I’ve been using mine on the bus often, and… No, you don’t need noise-canceling headphones. These are my Hi-Res winter earmuffs!
Mids are where the music is.
The reason why the Sennheiser HD650’s/6XX’s are legendary is, imho, because Sennheiser knew “mids are where the music is”. Someone told me Nad HP50’s were apparently “their own take at the harman curve”. And as I already said, “I’m glad they failed at it, because it’s the reason I love these”. No, I don’t like the harman curve. No bass. No kick. Soulless mids. Bright an annoying treble. With the Nad HP50’s (and “round” pads for a great seal), you get bass. A very decent drum kick. Soulful mids. Clear high-mids and low-treble, but a very inoffensive treble with no sibilance whatsoever. Which means these headphones are great for absolutely everything. Just press “shuffle” and enjoy. More than Closed-back HD6XX’s, with pads that seal, these become something like closed-back HD6XX’s with bass.
Some people might find the Nad HP50’s too mid-oriented? Maybe, with the stock “rectangle” pads. But round pads will seal and add bass. I already said these sounded good even plugged straight into my smartphone, which is impressive. Why? Mids. This little mid boost will give a soul to everything that doesn’t have one (like the DACs in smartphones, hah). And by that I mean, the singers will sound alive, voices will sound full instead of low-resolution or “thin”.
High-quality headphones that don’t require, but will reward you for, using high-quality gear.
Above all, it’s not about the frequency response. Graphs don’t show depth. Graphs don’t show detail. Ironically enough also I believe these closed-backs might have more soundstage than my open-back 6XX’s. And graphs definitely don’t show how natural these sound. These are dynamic drivers done right. If I want a “reference”, I either take my 6XX’s or my HP50’s. And I seriously do not know which one of these are the most detailed. My 6XX’s are here to stay, but I have a personal preference for closed-backs. This is why I use my Nad HP50’s… more than 75% of the time.
Finally, I already said the Nad HP50’s aren’t picky at all, but only using em on your smartphone would be a disgrace. I got mine “refurbished” on eBay for like 100$, but I’m very lucky. They originally were (MSRP) 300$ or more. I believe they’re worth 200$. My signal chain is now “Moon 100D → Aune X7S → Nad HP50”, and I’m dead certain my Nad HP50’s aren’t a bottleneck. Because Nad HP50’s look, and sound, high-quality. 
What can I add… if you want your treble with “sparkle”, look elsewhere. Even the 6XX’s are better at that. But, on the opposite, if you want decent bass, and if you want to shuffle your playlist for hours without ever being bothered by a song with too much “sparkle”, this is it.