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Actually the closed-back NDH 20 is internally balanced as well: if you manage to fit a very, very slim and long 4-pol 2.5mm plug in it, the NDH20 pin-layout is TRRS = L+, R+, L- , R-. The negative connections are fully separated unless you use the (standard) 2.5mm TRS plugs where L- and R- are connected by the plug (S).
I cant remember but ---- but would it be possible to use NDH30 cables to do balanced or wasnt the driver not balanced but the jack is. I can not recall that one british headphone shop which does beyer mods. He did take one apart to see if he could do a quick bucks or whether it is to time consuming to offer balanced mods.
I am not aware of „that british shop“ but the left and right drivers of the NDH20 are completely separated and the internal 2.5mm socket is a 4pol socket; i.e. the headphone is balanced. To my knowledge there are no commercially available symmetrical cables for the NDH20 or 30. I had to remove most of the plastic/rubber parts of a 2.5mm 4pol cable plug and to solder a XLR plug on the other end to make it work.
I am not sure since Z reports mono sound when swaping his cable. But those shops which offer the 4pol "Neumann Symmetrical Cable for NDH 30" (e.g. musix - just a google result) list them as "Suitable for all NDH headphones."(!) Those cables are however not available currently and only "internally symmetric" (i.e. 4 separate wires throughout the cable up to the SE 6.3mm plug at the end). In the worst case one would have to solder an 4pol XLR (or 4.4mm) plug to that end with a different wiring scheme.
@@nayuki2020 Yes. Tested and confirmed. Both are internally wired the same way as described by @Thomas Fritz. The "Sleeve" of the NDH-20's TRS connector touches both grounds internally. A cable using the appropriate TRRS connector, that is wired in the correct configuration will allow either the NDH-20 and NDH-30 to be run balanced.
I just got these and they're amazing, but I did find that it's important to make sure the cups are centered on your ears. The back of your ears should touch the cushion. Its like suddenly standing in the perfect spot at a concert.
I have the same experience with the NDH-20s.They sounds incredible only If the back of my ears are touching the cushions. Any other position results in a horrible muffled sound.
I've owned Sennheiser 6 series, a handful of hifiman, Grado, AKG, a bunch of chifi iem's, all the popular over ear bluetooth offerings from Beats, Sennheiser, Boae and Sony, wireless earbuds from Bose, JBL and the NDH-20. I've sold and given away many of them. The only one I refuse to part with is my NDH-20.
I bought these because I love my ndh-20's in the studio. I love these even more. I use them for listening to music too, they are so much fun - which I have never said about studio headphones before!
I'm sold now. I mean i have been having eargasms since getting the NDH20's a couple years ago...and you can EQ those to do f*cking AMAZEBALLS things ... even if you're a basshead. You can crank the bass and be in warmy basshead heaven and yet still enjoy all the detail and highs. So now i am excited all over again and saving me pesos. Thanks Zeos...you bastard.
Neumann NDH20 is one of the best CB headphones I’ve ever heard, don’t know about ndh30 maybe they will be my next headphones but I was hesitating to purchase ndh20 just because all those BS graphs popped out on the net. When I put them on I was shocked, best sounding closed back headphone under 3000usd PERIOD. After purchasing NDH20 I’ll never give a sh.t anymore about any “professional”, “audiophile”, “competent reviewer” or whoever measure anything because that doesn’t mean sh.t until you hear the fu.kig can.
@@g.o.9513 I can’t your answer question because I’m not producing or mastering music I just enjoy music in its purest form without wearing pink glasses while doing that. When I occasionally do I put IE600 in my ears and enjoy different kind of sensation. If you’re skier you will know what I’m talking about and this hobby is very similar. You can’t expect buying one set which is going to do it all (there no such thing and will never be) so you have to purchase at least few to enjoy it big time. Cheers 🍻
I actually flipped the L/R sides on my AKG K553's when I converted them to TRRS 3.5 balanced. I disliked that the can cups laid against my collarbone when worn temporarily on neck between uses, as they opened upwards. I swapped the LR driver connections and the pads. The AKG cable jack now exits on the right, and the 553's lay pad-side against my collar. IMO Neumann got this right, as they are already set up to lay against a person vs a surface. I put mine to my neck far more often than down, especially if I wear them out. I really love that the NDH series cans are set up like this.
Lots of mixing and mastering pro's are saying the NDH30's are even better than the NDH20's for mixing and mastering, because the bass translates better than with the DNH20's.
Just pre ordered mine on Amazon, ndh 30 black edition. They release august 31st/2023. Oh man I can’t wait. Getting these strictly for fps gaming haha I’m hopeless
1:07 Sennheiser only sold their consumer side to focus on their professional side. Neumann is part of the professional side of Sennheiser so you are 100% right!
Thanks for the fantastically informative reviews Z! I was looking at these for mixing/mastering. I don’t have the space for studio monitors right now, so I need a pair of really top notch open-backs. If you don’t thinks these are right for this task, what would you recommend in a similar price point?
this driver position is tricky to get a perfect center image. and the frequency response will vary depending on the position of the headphones at your head. Is not difficult, you just can't throw it at your head, rsrs. A little EQ (not more than 2db) will be perfect for mix and master, trust me.
The driver position is very tricky (at first at least for me) to figure out and the response does vary greatly which really concerned me when they arrived. Not sure if the reviewer mentioned this but it's actually a bit of a problem especially since the intended purpose is mixing/reference. I also found them a little light in the high end and added a 2.5 dB high-shelf at around 2kHz to remedy that. I think your points are important and valid and I'm glad I'm not the only one to experience this. Otherwise, great headphones, very similar to their KH line of monitors (which I was pretty sceptical about initially).
the cable problem looks similar to Sony MDR-MV1 one [I've bought a generic balanced 4.4mm to 3.5mm online from Ch**a and the smaller jack seems to be thin and long enough to fit, some $40]
Thanks for the great review. Would you know how they'd stack up to the Focal Clears? I know they are massively different in price, but i am actually between them for mixing/mastering.
38 mm is most watches' smallest size. But it's what you can do with it that makes the musical juice flow (absolutely, by no means is there a profoundly and obscuredly hidden second meaning here). I wonder if you presented us with the unboxings before the main channel review, wouldn't seriously boost the former without particularly affecting the latter. fodder for thought
Do the Doug score thing, ya slippery gypsy! Become the drama-queen of the headphone world (more so). PS. Brilliant review. You are fantastically unique and funny, as a reviewer, and it's a real pleasure listening to you. Real pleasure..
Got them today and just out of curiosity, how did you EQ them and what did it do to the sound? I find them very interesting and (mostly) enjoyable to listen to but mainly on my tube amp (bottlehead crack with speedball). On my solid state they sometimes are a bit too honest which makes them fatiguing on some not so well mastered songs.
@@Raiskauskone I just increased the bass, lowered the mids and increased the highs to make the headset more "punchy" so to say, noting major just a db here or there.
FYI I have been using Brainwavz Headphone Memory Foam Earpads - XL Size - PU Leather (Various Colours) Dark Red on my NDH-20’s since January 2021 really great and comfortable, they have become my day time working cans. the black ear comforters look great too. As for pleasure listening, I am very pleased with Audeze LCD-XC with Babinga wood cups also for mixing and mastering my recordings. The LCD-XC’s are the best yet. Peace and Maximum Respect
@@geracervantes2362 They still tell the truth about the mix. Nothing is over accentuated or hyped. Now they are extremily comfortable. The pads that come with the NDH-20s I never used for more than a moment as they were so uncomfortable, hard and did not go around my ears. The headphones are great, they just need the right pads. Peace and Maximum Respect
@@AntarcticGuitarEnthusiast just got my pair of pads, and i'm wanna tank you so much for the recommendation. As you said the sound is almost unaltered. The only noticeable difference is that now i need to turn the volume a little bit more to keep the same listening levels. Again thank you so much.
Hi, just wanted to check up on your replacement pads for the ndh 20. Just to double check, did you get the XL size pads or the round pads? I ask because on the brainwavz site, they list the ndh 20 being compatible with the round pads (100mm outer, 55mm inner) but not on the list for XL size pads (110mm outer, 65mm inner). And lastly if you did indeed get the XL size pads, how is the fit? Is the fit snug into the "lip" part of the headphones? Thanks in advance!
Got a pair of these 2 days ago for 548,- Euros new :) you just have to search the Internet :) - I have and am used to my KH310s and working with these is pretty familiar from the beginning... I feel that they work great for editing Voices etc... maybe I will order the DT 1990 Pro as well the next week to do an A/B
Same here.. but in my first week with the NDH30 :) - did a Mix / Camera Voice Edit today and double checked with my 310's from time to time ... sounded pretty nice on my Speakers so I guess it's absolutely possible to get great results (even on the highs) when you are used to your Headphones after a few weeks/months... I find the sound on the NDH pretty familiar to what I am used of my 310s...
I really need a new pair of headphones, and to hear Zeos excitement I'm super interested...but that cord seems like it will be a real pain in the ass at some point. Why did they make them like that???
So Im getting ready to pick a set up tonight of the NDH 30s. I had the NDH20s and loved them. I traded the for cash and some HD-650s. and i miss the NDH20s but something 4k bugged me. I always feel this way with closed back. Hope this is a good move and im sure it will be.. thanks for the vid... enjoyed..
I've tried a few different makes of earpads now...and gone back to the stock Neumann pads. Clearly Neumann knows what they are doing when it comes to what pads provide the best sound signature with their cans. Everything else i've tried can get "close" but still sounds pretty crappy in comparison to the stock pads. I imagine the NDH30 pads will work just fine on the NDH20's ...if you feel like shelling out the $69.00 for them. Some things are best left alone. 🙂
Got them for 500€. It's a very good deal for headphones that sound that good. But someonne can clearly see where all the money went for these. Clearly not transportation bags or extra cables.
This only goes for forty minutes. It only takes 17 minutes to discover which side the cord goes into. After that it all starts sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher.
I'm looking for a pair of headphones that work for monitoring as I play guitar, but also sound great for just enjoying music, gaming, etc. The HD600s didn't work for me. The Aeon X (open and closed) weren't it either - I don't think planars respond to guitar all that well, at least playing one. I'm tempted with the NDH 30, but I'm also being tempted with the Hemp or RS2X too. I think it needs to be these though - but I remember Grado's being kinda Live sounding, which I enjoyed with the RS1i years ago, if a little bright.
@@Therapyxx you don't want the sound of your previous tracks or guitar bleeding back into the microphone by coming out the sides of the open back headphones
Since I'm already spamming the comment section anyway (praise the algorithm) what's an upgrade to the M1060c opened modded which keeps the bass' slam but has more detail and more soundstage? cheerios!!
Iv’e had these cans for 2 days. They do sound good but honestly I think there’s some hype going on here. I also have some high quality IEM’s that actually were more than these open back phones by N, and well … there isn’t much difference. I have cheaper AKG’s as well that surprisingly give these Neumann’s a run for their money. … I’m probably going to return these NDH’s and spend my hard earned casholla on some other much needed pro recording gear …
I have those too. The Austrian audio 60 and 65 are on par if not better... more accurate. the king of course being the audeze mm500 by many marroquin mixing engineer... Mixing mastering phones for triple the price
Ok, so I`ve received NDH-30 today. Now I have a question for anyone who `s already using those : how much "burn-in" time those Neumanns need to start reproducing music in "fun" manner ? out of the box it`s just pain to your ears.
Forget about the "fun" or the "audiophile" thing. These cans are for working. Even the manufacturer says this. Period. If you want to change the way they sound, play with EQ.
I ffffed up and have perfect headphones. BALANCED TYGR's with the Dakoni pads.( Byerdinamic video) and a pure copper xlr cable. I have you to Thank. Again thank you.
Way out of my budget but nice to know that Germany did something for the betterment of mankind :D BTW Zeos you ND filter is swinging in and out of frame all the time, maybe bluetac that sh*t into place, but the second you swing your head or look down you cna see the filter come into frame
@@ZReviews Then Its probably a combination of both - if it wasnt in view of the lens you wouldn't be able to see it (and its a circular vignette so its no way its digital)
@@ToBeSimplyMe ... It is digital. Digital image stabilization works by digitally zooming/cropping and then countering the camera's movement by moving the image. So if you were able to see the entire sensor's output, you'd see the vignette of the filter all around.
@@Mikkel111 What you are seeing is the edges of the frame not a digital crop (a digital crop doesnt create a circular vignette - and you can actually see the frame of the fliter). The Gopro might crop a bit of it when using the stabilization but its still part of the native image - there is a reason you dont see it 99% of go pro videos
Nope. The sensor output is square, as the sensor is square. That’s still the ND-filter coming in and out of frame due to IS. … You do realize that there isn’t just 1 company who has the patent for GoPro ND-filters, right? If the one Zeos has is meant for a GoPro with less FOV, this would be the result.
