This is the official thread for the RĂDE NTH-100
This thread is for discussion and reviews.
- Type: Over Ear
- Amp needed: No But Better With
- Closed Back
- Most Comfortable âStudioâ Headphone Ever?
Hifiguides Amazon Link[Reviews]
Z Reviews
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Would love to hear more opinion on this. Looks super interesting and could tempt me to get a second hdp
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should be getting mine in the next 2-5 days Iâll post impressions then 
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Same, I should have mine here early this week.
Solderdude reviewed it on DIY Audio Heaven:
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Graph looks strange.
-Open back bass roll off on a closed back?
-10k notch on a flat plate measurement without artificial ear?
edit: Comparison GIF
Also the comparison itself is a bit oddâŚ
Why the HD650, its open back, not in the same price range and itâs not âstudioâ headphone even by Sennheiser themselves, just because a lot of people heard the 650s doesnt make them any sort of benchmark
There are plenty of closed back studio monitoring headphone, a recent example is the DT 700 Pro X, or even the MDR 7506 they mention at the end of the review that had been more suitable for a head-to-head
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Am still waiting for more impressions about this headphone. It looks very comfy, and it looks quite interesting.
Itâs surprising how RĂDE didnât price these higher up⌠itâs very nice to see a company release a fair-priced product.
Anyways, Iâd say wait for more measurements.
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It looks strange as itâs compensated (I assume). Edit - actually that statement is incomplete, is just read the details of his test setup.
I do believe the 650 is a good comparison for a claim of neutrality.
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according to Andorama theyâll be $250 later $150 is a discount price apparently
update: apparently mine is on backorder, hopefully itâll just be a bit longer for me to post any impressions
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With strange I just mostly mean that the bass on the NTH-100 (closed back) rolls off like on a HD650 (open back). On a closed back you normally want a small bass shelf or at least no roll-off in the sub bass.
Pretty sure it is not compensated. It looks so flat (no pinna gain between 1k- 3kHz) because it is a flat plate measurement without an artificial ear. Basically a microphone in a wood plate.
Edit: saw this too late. Leave my reply in case anyone else wonders why the graph looks so different from others (oratory1990, crinacle, The Headphone show)
While DIY Audioheaven might not have a professional GRAS rig like others they provide a lot of extra info or measurements. Like how a seal break with different glasses effect the bass response, measurement on high output impedance amp or in case of the NTH100 how the sound changes if you donât close the second 3.5mm jack on the headphone with the rubber plug.
Guess they mainly target music studios. If you go up in price too much they keep buying the DT770 like the last 40 years.
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Exactly that. The cheap&familiar works and will keep on working.
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they look awesome tbh, I looked for ages for a good closed back with non leather pads that had a decent frequency response (so not the 770s), ended up going for the 177x but thatâs way more expensive, same for the 700 pro xâŚ
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So i got my pair today via amazon UK i sat down to listen for a couple of songs, now im not as âwell versedâ as some of the most experienced folk around here but ill give my initial impressions.
Overall i think its a contender - might not be the 2nd coming of Christ, but i think its very solid on all fronts in its price range.
Build
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its a heavy, at least 100+ grams more than my AKG 361, sivga 006 and SV0021, most of the weight comes from the top/headband but everything is well paded so i dont think its an issue for long listening sessions but ill get more time with it to test that out
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Pads feel great, the cooling gel is a very nice touch. I do wish they were bigger, they do feel a bit crowded but i like the shape and overall feel - very comfy overall
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Cups are plasic but feel solid and dense
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The locking mechanism makes you think "God damit why didnt anyone else do this before?! " its so great but having to worry about the readjusting the cups
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Out of the box the clamp is a bit strong but can easily be fixed with a little adjusting.
Sound
I didnt have much time and only got to sit down and listen to it, but here is what did get
I really enjoyed them, i did a quick swamp on 3 different stacks Warm (IFI zen DAC + Can) / Neutral ( Topping A50s + E30) and Hybrid (Loxji P20 with Russian tubes + Topping D10 Balanced), i tend to love warmer sounds and i think something like the IFI or even tubes fit it pretty nicely. i get why Zeos said he just wanted to keep turning it up, its a fun sound, very intimite with a nice kick in the bass.
iâll try collect my thoughts properly and maybe try to AB test with a few other sets i have AKG 361/ SV0021/ Sivga 006 (OG with sheepskin pads) / Sony MDR 7506 but ill try to compare it to my DT 700 Pro X.
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Just got my set. Definitely sound netural, sine sweep pretty good. Sub bass roll-off and a bit of a drop around 7, but doesnât seem dramatic as solderdudeâs graph would suggest. Seem to be aligning with my expectations so far. Natural sounding, closed backâŚ
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A few other comments. The build seems excellent. They have a very solid feel, nothing flimsy. Lots of steel / metal bits. Even the back of the cups, which are plastic seems very nice. They feel heavy in the hand, but for me at least, not so much on the head. Cups are relatively small. Maybe bigger than the Creative Aurvana type, but not by much. They are pressing on the back of my glasses arms a little. Weâll see if that becomes an issue. Pads very soft. Adjustment mechanism might be the best Iâve ever seen.
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I agree with you on all fronts regarding it. Received mine yesterday and I need to listen to it more to make sure my impressions are not tempered too much by bias. The only thing that I can see why there is diverging opinion on this headphone may be due to how loud people play their music. I listen to music at around 70-79 dB and these sound great. At lower volume (lower than 70 dB) they definitely present a more flat frequency response.
Early impressions are that this is a great headphone at this price, and I like how it sounds and performs better than my other closed backs which are all more expensive and range from 2x to 5x the cost of these. These headphones being the LSA HP-2, Austrian Audio Hi-x55, Pioneer SE Monitor 5, and the Final Audio Design Sonorous 3. While the HP-2 is technically more capable, itâs timbre is disagreeable to me.
Please compare which sets are more suitable for monitoring and mixing between NTH100 & K361 thanks!
Sure ill throw in the Sony MDR 7506 in the mix (since its also a monitoring headphones) as well, but it will take me a bit
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