Thank you for putting your input about this pair of headphones because Rode sent review units to mostly podcasters and they spent 15mins talking about snaplock and cooling gel and spent only 10sec talking about sound, producing rubbish reviews after rubbish reviews. Only yourself, Z, Ryan Ho, and No Theme Reviews have come up with proper reviews describing your opinions on how it actually sounds. Thanks.
Thank you for this review. It was a deciding factor at the time I bought these headphones. Since then I've picked up a second pair to leave stock (first pair I modded out a bit of mid bass with a tiny bit of teased cotton in the cups/behind the drivers). These are my new reference/daily driver (replaced my 6xx for that). I compare everything to them. Love the comfort, love the sound. Sometimes I don't even bother swapping to a "better" pair of headphones and just vibe listening to music with these. One thing I will mention is the adjustment mechanism broke on my first pair. The replacement pair that was sent to me had a modified mechanism that seems to have fixed the issue.
Yes. On the inside part of the locking mechanism they had a large round flat head instead of a small one on the screw. They are still holding up well and show no signs of fatigue. @@dustydynasty802
13:27 you need to plunge the rubber stopper (provided in the ziplock bag along with the coloured clips) back into the unused jack or else the channel balance and the bass response will go wonky due to the difference in seal. Shown in the measurements of Solderdude DIY Audio Heaven's written review.
OK, Had these babys just over a day now and my initial first thoughts are WOW, firstly the build quaity on these is stellar love the construction of the yokes and the twisted metal which is something I have never seen before on any headphone design and gives them a touch of individuality. The pads are a unique shape and when I ordered these I did wonder if they would encompass my ears and be comfortable , Iam no Dumbo don't get me wrong but I do have larger than average ears but they dont stick out but the triangle shape openings fit nice and snug around my ears without pressing up against them, because of the shape of the opening my conclusion is they actually look smaller than they actually are. The dual sided cable option is another lovely touch from Rode and one which Iam sure will become more of the norm eventually with other manufacturers. The pads are lovely and soft and as a glasses wearer find them provide a good seal. SOUND......when I watched your video I found that you were almost apologising for the comparason against the 6XX but yes I totally agree with your comparison with that stellar headphone, Rode have done a great job on these and being their first foray into the crowded headphone market I must say Iam very impressed and this is coming from someone who has listened to a lot of the major players and their best efforts and these are not my first headphone but could well be one of my last or at least one of my favourites for closed backs. To describe this by summing up I would say the words smooth but detailed in no way harsh or sibilant , forgiving but honest and instruments sound VERY natural and voices also have a resonance and honesty about them also maybe slightly pushed back in the mix but thats minimal. The soundstage is not huge in any shape or form but these being closed back I would not expect that but the imaging and seperation is superb (like the 600 series 6XX) Bass is tight and deep when it is called for in fact my EQ settings are normally giving a little lift to the bass shelf but with the Rode I found I just flattened it out completely and had no EQ setting whatsoever just let them do their thing which with a monitor headphone is what the manufacturer really wants. Just a great sounding closed back headphonne , stellar build quality with unique features and pads
I totally get that when you compare it to HD6xx, the same way I did with KPH40 to HD650. I tried NTH-100 just for fun at a store after auditioning a bunch of high end stuffs like HE1000se LCD5, surprisingly I smiled at the staff there and almost screamed "This is enjoyable! I thought it was bad!" It's way too smooth for its robotic aesthetics, I know it's lacking details, but very engaging. I might've bought these if I didn't own too many headphones already, but I would pick these over any Senheiser any day.
Nice review, have my pair arriving tomorrow paid £84 on Amazon which is am absolute steal at that price, wil leave my impressions on here, Microphone companies that produce Headphones? AKG, Sennheiser and Shure are the obvious ones......
I agree with your Sound assessment. I have the HD58x which are also Open back and (as I understand) have slightly better bass than the HD 6xx, and I find they are very close in presentation to these. I love them. I also have the DT 770 Studio/ Pros from Drop and they sound too bright for music. I use them for recording because they are more comfortable than my HD 280 Pros. These NT 100s should improve that purpose but also provide another comfortable alternative to the HD58x for listening to music.
HD58X are wonderful. And yes, they have a slight bass elevation compared with the HD6XX. Of the two I'd say the NTH-100 leans closer to the HD6XX, especially regarding the vocal presence. I had a highlight for the 58X, but the video got corrupt. I'll have to shoot that one again, cause I do really like those cans.
Solid review , Rode has seemingly made a splash on this debut pair . Ive been wearing them for the last few days and they are solid both literally and figuratively especially at this price point .
I would like to see a comparison between AKG K371 because they are of the same price (more deals for K371 tho since it is older), and they are both positioned as closed back "monitoring headphones". p/s: Please enable CC subtitles for us English as second language viewers.
If they are close to the Sennheiser 6XX, then that's good news, because the Rode NTH-100 are 32 Ohm so they don't need a headphone amp, any audio interface will do.
Correct, an important factor I neglected to mention. That being said, I do believe they benefit from a power source. Even at 32 Ohm I had to crank up my THX789 pretty high on gain 1 to get to a satisfying volume.
If I use my Sennheiser HD600 with my Steinberg UR22mkII audio interface, which doesn't support 300 Ohm headphones, the sound signature of the HD 600 changes for the worse. The sound becomes very dull, there's no weight or body to the music, it's all just mids. I assume and I'm hoping that with the Rode NTH-100 this no longer will be a problem. I saw another review of the Rode NTH-100 where the reviewer stated that his expensive powerful headphone amp didn't bring any benefit. I was thinking of upgrading my Steinberg audio interface with one that can sufficiently power 300 Ohm headphones but the Rode NTH-100 is definitely going to be a cheaper solution. Plus, they will have better acoustic isolation than the HD600.
@@cremersalex if you're going to power through an audio interface then yes, you should get good as gold with the NTH100s. Just maybe not straight from a cell phone.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve just receive them and I think that I love their sound. It was a positive surprise. But in terms of confort I don’t feel completely sure if they are so go in that area. Do you think that it will be more confortable the more I use them? (I’ve just received them this week). Thanks
I do think they get more comfortable with use. The cool gel pads are pretty firm, but they get softer as they warm up. There is a sweet spot where the cups sit on your ears, so you might need to adjust the position a little and try and find where it is most comfortable for you. If the clap force is too intense you can try banding the headband a little, but be careful not to break anything.
@@MasterMarslander May be you are right and it's a matter about the cups position. I'm not sure what should be the right place. But as a HD650 user that love their comfort but I always missed some information in the low end, this Rode sound absolutely lovely.
NTH-100 is a significantly more neutral headphone than the Fidelios. Fidelio X2HR has a fun and relaxed sound, while the NTH-100 is a mastering headphone. NTH-100 is fairly efficient, so it doesn't require significant power, however it does benefit from having some extra headroom. The built in amp you might have in your audio interface will suffice, but can't go wrong with cleaner dedicated amps.
@@MasterMarslander So which is the closed back champ under $500 then? Under $200? In general. Some say the Rode. But I'm not sure why it would be better than the Fostex for best closed back under $500. But interesting that it's debatable.
@@Ben-bs4od the boring answer is that I depends on what you want from your sound. Rodes are a great reference headphone for the price, and have a lot of "cool features." Under $500 you have something like the Aeon Closed, which is a phenomenal neutral headphone. If you just want to have a good time and want my own personal general preferences for a sub $500 headphone, I say go Argons.
@@MasterMarslander Yes. That's funny. That's what I am leaning with. I feel pound for pound, even more than the Rode, there is a reason the Fostex T50rp is the most modified headphone on the planet. Because dollar for dollar it's the best sound for the buck. I don't find it offensive that manufacturers make $2000 and $3000 headphones. But does a person really need more than the Argon or Fostex? What does offend me is when Dan Clarke puts out $4000 headphones (which is an insane price for any headphone- my used car was $1700) but that it doesn't sound better than their $700 Aeon headphone or sounds worse. That bothers me. Or when people review $600 Focale headphones and say their $200 Audiotechnica has better detail. Immediately, I tend to write off Focale for the same reason, lacking in value. Thanks for the well-phrased suggestion. I feel even if these need an amp, they will sound amazing for the price. And I'll have money left over for a cheap pair of portable used headphones (or even the Rode) for portable use.
@@Ben-bs4od I feel ya. I guess it is like any other hobby - there is a threshold where you get diminishing return. The difference from a $10 headphone to a $200 headphone is major, but the difference between a $200 headphone and a $2000 headphone is not as big of a leap. Kind of like cars, I suppose. No one needs a Porsche 911. A Toyota Camery can drive you to the same place at roughly the same time assuming you follow speed limits. But ballers still gonna get that 911, boy.
Rode 100s are more neutral, have better vocal performance, are more comfortable, are better built, and have more unique features. That being said, if you swap the pads of the M40x you can get a lot more out of them and close the gap. That does mean you're putting more investment in the M40x's though. I wouldn't reccomend the M50x as a comparison here.
Thank you for putting your input about this pair of headphones because Rode sent review units to mostly podcasters and they spent 15mins talking about snaplock and cooling gel and spent only 10sec talking about sound, producing rubbish reviews after rubbish reviews. Only yourself, Z, Ryan Ho, and No Theme Reviews have come up with proper reviews describing your opinions on how it actually sounds. Thanks.
Thank you for the kind words! I only hope to improve.
Couldn’t agree with you more. Good take.
Thank you for this review. It was a deciding factor at the time I bought these headphones. Since then I've picked up a second pair to leave stock (first pair I modded out a bit of mid bass with a tiny bit of teased cotton in the cups/behind the drivers). These are my new reference/daily driver (replaced my 6xx for that). I compare everything to them. Love the comfort, love the sound. Sometimes I don't even bother swapping to a "better" pair of headphones and just vibe listening to music with these. One thing I will mention is the adjustment mechanism broke on my first pair. The replacement pair that was sent to me had a modified mechanism that seems to have fixed the issue.
Glad to hear you're enjoying them! Bummer about the first pair failing on you, but very glad to hear they addressed it in later models.
Did your replacement pair look different compared to your 1st pair? Wondering whether the White edition or Microphone edition have fixed the mechanism
Yes. On the inside part of the locking mechanism they had a large round flat head instead of a small one on the screw. They are still holding up well and show no signs of fatigue. @@dustydynasty802
13:27 you need to plunge the rubber stopper (provided in the ziplock bag along with the coloured clips) back into the unused jack or else the channel balance and the bass response will go wonky due to the difference in seal. Shown in the measurements of Solderdude DIY Audio Heaven's written review.
Oh! Thank you! I wasn't sure what that was for, you're a life saver!
OK, Had these babys just over a day now and my initial first thoughts are WOW, firstly the build quaity on these is stellar love the construction of the yokes and the twisted metal which is something I have never seen before on any headphone design and gives them a touch of individuality. The pads are a unique shape and when I ordered these I did wonder if they would encompass my ears and be comfortable , Iam no Dumbo don't get me wrong but I do have larger than average ears but they dont stick out but the triangle shape openings fit nice and snug around my ears without pressing up against them, because of the shape of the opening my conclusion is they actually look smaller than they actually are. The dual sided cable option is another lovely touch from Rode and one which Iam sure will become more of the norm eventually with other manufacturers. The pads are lovely and soft and as a glasses wearer find them provide a good seal. SOUND......when I watched your video I found that you were almost apologising for the comparason against the 6XX but yes I totally agree with your comparison with that stellar headphone, Rode have done a great job on these and being their first foray into the crowded headphone market I must say Iam very impressed and this is coming from someone who has listened to a lot of the major players and their best efforts and these are not my first headphone but could well be one of my last or at least one of my favourites for closed backs. To describe this by summing up I would say the words smooth but detailed in no way harsh or sibilant , forgiving but honest and instruments sound VERY natural and voices also have a resonance and honesty about them also maybe slightly pushed back in the mix but thats minimal. The soundstage is not huge in any shape or form but these being closed back I would not expect that but the imaging and seperation is superb (like the 600 series 6XX) Bass is tight and deep when it is called for in fact my EQ settings are normally giving a little lift to the bass shelf but with the Rode I found I just flattened it out completely and had no EQ setting whatsoever just let them do their thing which with a monitor headphone is what the manufacturer really wants. Just a great sounding closed back headphonne , stellar build quality with unique features and pads
I don’t know it was just my unit but the treble seemed pretty veiled. Really liked everything else about it though.
I totally get that when you compare it to HD6xx, the same way I did with KPH40 to HD650. I tried NTH-100 just for fun at a store after auditioning a bunch of high end stuffs like HE1000se LCD5, surprisingly I smiled at the staff there and almost screamed "This is enjoyable! I thought it was bad!" It's way too smooth for its robotic aesthetics, I know it's lacking details, but very engaging. I might've bought these if I didn't own too many headphones already, but I would pick these over any Senheiser any day.
great review, thanks!
Nice review, have my pair arriving tomorrow paid £84 on Amazon which is am absolute steal at that price, wil leave my impressions on here, Microphone companies that produce Headphones? AKG, Sennheiser and Shure are the obvious ones......
Hope you enjoy them! That's a great deal.
Informative review! Keep it up!
Thank you!
I agree with your Sound assessment. I have the HD58x which are also Open back and (as I understand) have slightly better bass than the HD 6xx, and I find they are very close in presentation to these. I love them. I also have the DT 770 Studio/ Pros from Drop and they sound too bright for music. I use them for recording because they are more comfortable than my HD 280 Pros. These NT 100s should improve that purpose but also provide another comfortable alternative to the HD58x for listening to music.
HD58X are wonderful. And yes, they have a slight bass elevation compared with the HD6XX. Of the two I'd say the NTH-100 leans closer to the HD6XX, especially regarding the vocal presence. I had a highlight for the 58X, but the video got corrupt. I'll have to shoot that one again, cause I do really like those cans.
@@MasterMarslander love to see your HD 58x review.
Solid review , Rode has seemingly made a splash on this debut pair . Ive been wearing them for the last few days and they are solid both literally and figuratively especially at this price point .
I would like to see a comparison between AKG K371 because they are of the same price (more deals for K371 tho since it is older), and they are both positioned as closed back "monitoring headphones".
p/s: Please enable CC subtitles for us English as second language viewers.
Heard nothing bit good things about the K371. I'll pick them up one day. And thank you, I'll enable the CC from now on. Appreciate the insight!
If they are close to the Sennheiser 6XX, then that's good news, because the Rode NTH-100 are 32 Ohm so they don't need a headphone amp, any audio interface will do.
Correct, an important factor I neglected to mention. That being said, I do believe they benefit from a power source. Even at 32 Ohm I had to crank up my THX789 pretty high on gain 1 to get to a satisfying volume.
If I use my Sennheiser HD600 with my Steinberg UR22mkII audio interface, which doesn't support 300 Ohm headphones, the sound signature of the HD 600 changes for the worse. The sound becomes very dull, there's no weight or body to the music, it's all just mids. I assume and I'm hoping that with the Rode NTH-100 this no longer will be a problem. I saw another review of the Rode NTH-100 where the reviewer stated that his expensive powerful headphone amp didn't bring any benefit. I was thinking of upgrading my Steinberg audio interface with one that can sufficiently power 300 Ohm headphones but the Rode NTH-100 is definitely going to be a cheaper solution. Plus, they will have better acoustic isolation than the HD600.
@@cremersalex if you're going to power through an audio interface then yes, you should get good as gold with the NTH100s. Just maybe not straight from a cell phone.
ahhhhmmmm
champs? I dont think so but definitely a decent position in that price bracket
Dimples for braille.
Oh my gosh, I didn't even think of that!
Thanks for sharing. I’ve just receive them and I think that I love their sound. It was a positive surprise. But in terms of confort I don’t feel completely sure if they are so go in that area. Do you think that it will be more confortable the more I use them? (I’ve just received them this week). Thanks
I do think they get more comfortable with use. The cool gel pads are pretty firm, but they get softer as they warm up. There is a sweet spot where the cups sit on your ears, so you might need to adjust the position a little and try and find where it is most comfortable for you. If the clap force is too intense you can try banding the headband a little, but be careful not to break anything.
@@MasterMarslander May be you are right and it's a matter about the cups position. I'm not sure what should be the right place. But as a HD650 user that love their comfort but I always missed some information in the low end, this Rode sound absolutely lovely.
I know the fidelio x2hr is open-back, but compared to it and the rode nth-100, which one is better in terms of sound? And the nth-100 needs an amp?
NTH-100 is a significantly more neutral headphone than the Fidelios. Fidelio X2HR has a fun and relaxed sound, while the NTH-100 is a mastering headphone. NTH-100 is fairly efficient, so it doesn't require significant power, however it does benefit from having some extra headroom. The built in amp you might have in your audio interface will suffice, but can't go wrong with cleaner dedicated amps.
Better than Fostex T50rp with Shure pads?
For referencing, yes. T50s have more speed though and are more of a fun time, imo.
@@MasterMarslander So which is the closed back champ under $500 then? Under $200? In general. Some say the Rode. But I'm not sure why it would be better than the Fostex for best closed back under $500. But interesting that it's debatable.
@@Ben-bs4od the boring answer is that I depends on what you want from your sound. Rodes are a great reference headphone for the price, and have a lot of "cool features." Under $500 you have something like the Aeon Closed, which is a phenomenal neutral headphone. If you just want to have a good time and want my own personal general preferences for a sub $500 headphone, I say go Argons.
@@MasterMarslander Yes. That's funny. That's what I am leaning with. I feel pound for pound, even more than the Rode, there is a reason the Fostex T50rp is the most modified headphone on the planet. Because dollar for dollar it's the best sound for the buck. I don't find it offensive that manufacturers make $2000 and $3000 headphones. But does a person really need more than the Argon or Fostex? What does offend me is when Dan Clarke puts out $4000 headphones (which is an insane price for any headphone- my used car was $1700) but that it doesn't sound better than their $700 Aeon headphone or sounds worse. That bothers me. Or when people review $600 Focale headphones and say their $200 Audiotechnica has better detail. Immediately, I tend to write off Focale for the same reason, lacking in value. Thanks for the well-phrased suggestion. I feel even if these need an amp, they will sound amazing for the price. And I'll have money left over for a cheap pair of portable used headphones (or even the Rode) for portable use.
@@Ben-bs4od I feel ya. I guess it is like any other hobby - there is a threshold where you get diminishing return. The difference from a $10 headphone to a $200 headphone is major, but the difference between a $200 headphone and a $2000 headphone is not as big of a leap. Kind of like cars, I suppose. No one needs a Porsche 911. A Toyota Camery can drive you to the same place at roughly the same time assuming you follow speed limits. But ballers still gonna get that 911, boy.
how do they compare to M40x and M50x ?
Rode 100s are more neutral, have better vocal performance, are more comfortable, are better built, and have more unique features. That being said, if you swap the pads of the M40x you can get a lot more out of them and close the gap. That does mean you're putting more investment in the M40x's though. I wouldn't reccomend the M50x as a comparison here.
Braille L and R