Neumann NDH20 Conclusion 

I agree. These headphones are for professionals, not audiophiles.

I agree!

What about the neumann ndh 30?

If you crank a bass boost on an amp will these headphones distort?

Your review is not valuable UNLESS you have competitors with which to compare the Neumanns, and your comment does not indicate such.

True, same here.

NDH 30 is also out now

Its possible to use them with an ipad or iphone without an amp? Even when is not the best option but its at least possible?

@@Hugosanches594 Yes, you can listen fine on everything I’ve tried them on. They don’t have the volume consumer cans do for that but they work great.

That's what I've read and heard as well. The only place I've seen producers using headphones is in marketing materials from headphone manufacturers.

Lol. It only took a new subscriber to remind me I should probably do that. Sometimes I get lost in the weeds and forget the obvious.

I pair em up with sonarworks and waves Nashville and they my mixes sound better on them then my studio monitors

Wait what lol! The OP is a wild one that’s exactly what these are made for

Yup they are definitely good at isolation

Are they suitable with phone ?

So in summary are they good for monitoring, and simple mastering ?

Lol no your comments are well taken.

Hey. Woah. Hold on there. Sometimes someone says something that makes me sit back and think. Why make these headphones that extend ridiculously past average human hearing ranges? I mean, other than to piss off dogs? Because of the almost unavoidable roll-off at the lower and upper limits. Dude. Thank you SO much; I never considered this, and it seems completely legit. That would make a whole lot of sense. Because the internet is as it is, I feel I must point out that I am NOT being sarcastic. Seriously, thanks for the eye-opener. I gotta go check this out some more.

Oh I forgot! I understand your argument and it is well thought and made. But why does the NDH20 roll off the treble? The greater extension is fine and all but if the detail gets muddy or lost, what’s the point?

@@NoThemeReviews It seems they intended them for monitoring rather than mastering so they will be an easy listen for long periods of time. With mediocre resolution, closed back, narrow soundstage and very small 38mm drivers it's no wonder things get muddy especially with their colored warmth.

I agree with you partially but... It's not the high frequency natural driver extention to sine tones that is important, since you don't hear them anyway. It is the impulse transients that is important. Not all sound is sine, or sine differentiable. Fft/Nyquist works only when your input function is smooth, which music is not. Just pull out your music on audacity and see how many sharp turns it takes. Now the higher frequency response can be one kind of manifestation of good impulse transients, since high frequency sine is essentially very close to an actual impulse input. One of the reason most electrostats are artificially soft is because they lose these impulse transients. They are essentially low pass filters (estat is a capacitor). This doesn't show up if you cut off the chart at 20khz. Also please ignore innerfidelity charts. They use wrong terminology. The "impulse" they mean there is just a inverse fft of the 20-20khz bode plot (which is also known as frequency response). It has absolutely nothing to do with actual impulse performance of the headphones. You can compare this for stax sr207 the convolution of input burst sine with "impulse" as obtained by innerfidelity and actual burst response as measured at sbaf. They won't match.

Maybe one day

I have to answer this with imho - I love M50X red so much that i get it op with that red accent :D And why because there is more air/seperation for the instruments and are more laidback than the M40X =)

He also hates JVC HA-SZ2000

When you say ”…no match to cans like Elegia for montitoring…” Do you mean mixing in the studio as well or do u just mean monitoring tracks as in checking for pops n crackles etc? Also in What way are they beyyer?

Thanks! I like Joshua despite my own certain reservations. He doesn't seem to rave about everything. The video that put me in his camp was his follow-up to the 1Amp. He had that amplifier for some time and spoke highly of it, then explained exactly why he was selling it. His rationale was sound and credible. He overtook Zeos with that one little thing. Regarding your quote of Zeos...how did you ever force yourself to go back and listen to him so you could quote it?? I was working out when I watched that video for the first time and blurted out "What?!" when I heard he chose the NDH20 to impress a woman. I suspect had he brought out the Empyrian or HD800s or Nighthawk, she would have been impressed more--by the unique sound character of each headphone and their unique designs. The NDH20 is as plain biscuit as you can get. Either that woman had been living in a hippie commune and hadn't seen a headphone in her life, or she was faking it with Zeos...you decide. :)

I choked through most of it just now, when I head that people were ragging you about being misled by him. I actually didn't watch it the first time; I've watched enough of his stuff to decide that I can only really bother myself with his videos if he's doing a direct comparison, and then I'm still hesitant. Also, I must point out that he didn't actually say she was impressed; simply that he chose those to try impress her with. And honestly, I doubt he would have cared if she really was or not, given his general attitudes. If she was impressed, he would have been like "of course she was"... and if she wasn't, he would have pointed out that she was a noob when it comes to audio, so it's not a surprise that she didn't fully grasp the awesomeness of what she was presented with. hahah.

@@NoThemeReviews Hippies know headphones, man.... back off.

@@darrellharwood6600 That particular video where he talked about choosing them to impress a visitor is what stuck with me, too. Thanks for the transcription of that section! I love your description of the unfalsifiability of their intended impressiveness, in that instance, too. Well done.

@@wagstaff6135 Lol. I wouldn't trust hippie headphones. Who knows what they are covered with.

The Neumann fanbabies are out in full force these days. The NDH20 Is by no means an industry standard. The fact that you use it doesn’t make it better than much cheaper alternatives. Moreover, I never said I’m an audio engineer. Needless to say, I’m still correct that the NDH20 isn’t neutral, isn’t flat, and doesn’t remotely have the detail and resolution Neumann and its marketing arm-including the reviewers who praised it-said it has. I paid for this headphone and have as much a right to discuss it as you do. It’s a mediocre headphone and it’s really too bad you can’t accept that.

​@@NoThemeReviews "Neumann fanbabies are out in full force these days"??? what a pathetic response. if you were less arrogant and cocky you could learn a thing or two from your viewers.

Now that you mention it, I did hear the plosives when I put the video together. But since I have a full time job, and have only minimal time to make videos as a hobby, and given that I don’t charge people for any of my content, it seemed like some plosives in a recording were the least to worry about. I mean, if I made a living from YT, you’d have a very meaningful point.

About 0.

There are a multitude of cheaper alternatives that do what Neumann claims the NDH20 does. You should take a very careful look at commentary that is giving the NDH20 high praise. It is always from those who do not do A/B tests, do not put claims under examination, and who have a tendency to over-inflate every new product on the market. If you want a headphone for professional use, then I strongly encourage you to seek advice on AV forums, not headfi or other audiophile forums where BS runs rampant. If you want options, then consider any of the following: MT8, Rane RH50, Ollo S4R or S4X, Avantone Planar, Hi-x55, DT880 or 770. You can use any headphone for your application. Just because a manufacturer slaps the "professional" tag on it doesn't mean much. And you can in fact use the NDH20 for your own purposes--but you'll end up spending a ton of money for a product that doesn't perform as advertised and which can be out-performed in many respects by cheaper options. Finally, I think most artists would tell you that speakers are the most important part of their audio setup. Most professionals don't waste $500 on headphones because they're merely checking their mix.

I'd rather use the NTH100. The NDH20 is a fine headphone, but the price tag is ludicrous for what it offers.

Thanks for the feedback. I don't tell people where to buy products; I usually tell them where I purchased mine. I don't think it's appropriate for me to promote one seller or another. I agree with your assessment of the Mojo. Plenty of audiophiles claim it is the second coming of Jesus in audio format. I think it's all a bunch of nonsense. The Mojo has a warm presentation and is unique, but certainly not the end-all, be-all. I don't mean to blame Zeos for something that isn't his fault. I think I've been pretty clear about that in my other videos, if not this one. I do not blame him for marketing, and have never said that he should be held responsible for marketing mumbo-jumbo. I agree he isn't a mixing or mastering artist. But his comments about the NDH20 were unequivocal: better than the Ether C Flow, THE critical listening headphones. He did not say he used the NDH20 for pleasure, but for critical work--and that he would continue to use the NDH20 for his sound tests, and leave the Ethers to enjoyment listening. Such statements warrant investigation. I agree with you that had he done A and B tests as I did, and skewed his results, you might hold him accountable. The fact that he did not is a key problem, in my opinion. The failure to conduct even a single video of A/B tests simply places his comments in a weird position. Either he just gets super excited over every shiny object, or he is not interested in conducting true reviews with comparisons. You be the judge, but I have seen plenty of his videos to reach my conclusion: he's both. I don't mind if he gets excited by new things. But I do mind his unwillingness to qualify his conclusions. Finally, whether Zeos has ill-intent is something I can't say. I don't think he is purposefully nefarious in any way. But there is a distinction between being overtly nefarious and being unintentionally beguiling. In other words, I do not believe nor have I said that he goes out of his way to lie to people. But the way he presents his content, the constant shilling, the unmitigated BUY THIS then BUY THIS then BUY THIS mentality is vexing, not just to me but to others as well. You're absolutely right that audio is a personal experience--a statement I've made numerous times. But Zeos isn't talking about personal taste when he reviews these items--at least not often does he mention personal taste. He instead makes assertions as fact without proof of the work he did to reach that conclusion. People are free to take his word for it, and surely a lot do. I do not. This is because of the same problem you identified: bogus claims. Well, to me, Zeos's assertions about something are bogus until he shows me the proof for his conclusion. All I'm asking is for him to do a real comparison review. I can hardly complain about his methods if he does that; I could still disagree with his preference, but that disagreement has no teeth since it's a personal choice. Ultimately, I can't compete with Zeos or Joshua or DMS or Metal571, or anyone else. I can only do what I think is right, show my work, and make necessary adjustments so that I maintain my own integrity. The big three here are doing something that clearly resonates with many thousands of people--hence their large subscriber base. But that doesn't mean they get a pass.

@@NoThemeReviews I truly appreciate your response. Fair and well-considered in my opinion. I especially find that your view on A/B'ing product would help to substantiate a reviewer's claims about the value of audio equipment based on their findings. As for your last comment.. I can't disagree more. I believe that you most definitely "compete" with the reviewers you listed, and quite a few others. "Follows" or "Subscribes" don't signify value of content in my view. I don't own $5k+ gear, mix audio professionally, or have a headphone cable fetish to name niches that I feel that many of them emphasize. That said, I still manage to find something interesting in each of their takes. Especially since before they got started, no one was really doing this kind of equipment exposition on a regular basis, or they retired. (I miss Inner Fidelity' channel.) You take commonly-talked about equipment and apply a specific and most importantly to me, consistent criteria to evaluate their various aspects. To me, this is of very high value and promotes critical thinking and positive discussion. Thank you for contributing a solid basis for me to consider and weigh options I might be otherwise reluctant to explore.

@@knorrissirronk8665 Thanks, and I'm glad I can help!

There’s no objectively “best” headphone, so I can’t give you a definitive answer. But, you might want to look into the following: Rode NTH-100, Audio-Technical ATH-M60x, Beyerdynamic DT700 Pro X, and OLLO Audio S4R. It also depends what kind of sound you’re mixing for. If you think your audience listens mostly with Beats or Bose headphones, or have massive subwoofers with their speakers, then it makes sense to use bassy headphones to mix with…in which case, I suppose you could use one of the Beats Studios or Bose or Sony Bluetooth headphones. Of course, your resulting mix will be super bassy for anyone using more neutral headphones or speakers. Anyway, give the above list a bit of research. I’ve reviewed all of them.

@@NoThemeReviews Ordered the NDH20 in the new black edition now anyway, let's see how I like them, these are the only ones beside the adam audio sp5 and BD DT 1770 that fall in my roster.

@@roninthegoat2810 So how do you like them?

You have a wide assortment of options: Avantone Planar, Base Audio G12, Rode NTH100, Harmonicdyne Zeus, HD6xx, ZMF Eikon, Monoprice HR5/HR5C, Sivga Phoenix, and Philips X2 are just a few examples.

@@AustinKim-yj8gx no comparison the sp5 any day.

How many of my NDH20 videos did you watch?

Well...it took a month. I made a video about why I like the NDH20, but it’s not for the reasons Neumann and other reviewers say I should. It’s not a good headphone for critical use. But for casual application, especially if you’re treble sensitive, these are fine...if $500 isn’t an insulting price to you.

@@NoThemeReviews bro these are not casual listening cans lol

@@jambajoby32 Not for you.

Sure thing. Please use the review request form in the description section.

@@NoThemeReviews oops missed that. Submitted 😁

You have lots of options. Check out the Rode NTH100, Beyer DT700, OLLO Audio S4x, and AKG K371

@@NoThemeReviews u mean dt 700 pro x? How are the elegia for my use case? I find focal headphones to be extremely comfortable around the ears. If this helps: I like how my Yamaha hs8 sound And thanks for the reply!

@@kyveriver4316 I've never heard the Elegia so I can't comment about them. Yes, I mean the 700 Pro X.

@@NoThemeReviews Thank you! yeah they sounded quite good. just hurt my ears. Would you not say that the graph on sonarworks for the dt 700 pro x is worse than the ndh 20 though?

@@kyveriver4316 Graphs only tell part of the story. I take graphs only as a general descriptor, and don't rely on them.

I’m glad you like your purchase. But just because YOU like it doesn’t mean the headphone is objectively good or that it is worth its price. As you seem to like this product, there are professionals who do not. Check the Amazon reviews for easy proof. The problem with your assertion that I have no idea what is mixing and studio work is that I have never claimed to be an artist. Never once in any of my nearly 450 videos have I claimed this. Which is precisely why I test headphones based on the specific claims companies and hypemen like Zeos make, and compare to other products. So, while I appreciate you have a different perspective about this headphone, let’s not pretend you’re correct just because you have a contrary opinion than me. Also, just for the future, it would behoove you to provide background for your expertise, tests and comparisons you’ve done, and your methodology when you make these types of statements. It would tend to lend credibility.

@@NoThemeReviews I'm not on the hype train either. The biggest problem of that internet hifi reviews is that reviewers listen to how good headphones sounds. Mixing engineers listen to mud and boxiness in low mids and details in hi freq. Mixing instruments made to find and fix problems. That why dt1770pro is also very good studio headphones. And by the way i didnt watch Zeos review, i guess he like it). I just listen to 6 models in a/b test in a shop on my material.

@@77advanced thank you 🙌, I'm planning on getting them

@@77advanced spot on! ndh20 is like an x-ray for tracks. they will show who did a good job on the final product and who made some questionable sound choices. all Abba's songs and MOdern Talking songs and Streisand's Guilty album to name a few sound so incredible you feel like you never lived before hearing them in ndh20.

totally disagree with you! I have them both 20 and 30 and on some tracks 20s give me more joy than Planars. and I also get what you mean by muffed dull and no details. the trick is in tracks you listen to. if the track is mastrefully panned and balanced and mixed and mastered you will hear heaven with tons of details, punchy bass, mids blooming and highs moderately sparkling but never piercing your ears. they practically make mp3s sound like vinyl. orchestra, retro, disco, everything up to 90s sound so balanced and deep and wide and 3D you never knew those hiding instruments were even there. so my guess is they just put tracks up to a strict test and not every song will pass it, especially recent ones. as for ndh 30 they are more forgiving, more open, and they sound different, less punchy and thick, more even. both are so enjoyable to listen to I forget to stretch my legs sometimes. so my taste in music and those two pairs of Neumann are perfect match for each other

I've never heard the M1ST, so I can't say how it compares to anything else. I would caution you against buying the 1770 or 177x. The 1770 was another hype product that failed in many respects; Beyer basically conceded it's a bad headphone when they released the 177x, but even that is not enough of an alteration to justify the price. You have a lot of options under $500, but you need to tell me what sound signature you want.

@@NoThemeReviews I'd say somewhere of the sennheiser 6xx sound are. Definitely not too much treble but with a bit of sparkle. My main problem is I do not like consumer headphone sound. Bass can be flat. NDH20 surely do not have a useful presentation. HD25 sound bad to me for example. I kinda just look for different good headphones to do additional research. I also noticed KEXP for example uses for all guests who perform on their shows and also staff Sennheiser HD300pro. TLDR my current reference headphones are still 58x since 2 1/2 years where I can hear all intentions in songs and video games. yeah rather vague but I miss the knowledge by not knowing a lot of headphones

I like it. There’s a lot of detail retrieval though not as much soundstage as the hd800s. I the the 1840 and hd700 are pretty similar.

@@NoThemeReviews do you think soundstage in a headphone is correct? I find every headphone that is producing a soundstage to be either having a fr wonk (2khz boost and dip following that) or having some phase decay issues. That was the case with my short listen on hd800. It's relaxing for chilled out listening though. Pretty much every headphone that sounded spatially correct on binaural recordings sounded like you had two speakers strapped to your ears when listening to normal stereo music (and I actually like the response of your ear=mic).

@@NoThemeReviews of the headphones you have currently. Can you check and let me know which does this song the most accurate? vimeo.com/184459967

@@manueljenkin95 IMO, yes. I think the soundstage is fine.

Well, to say that YOU like them is a far cry from Neumann delivering what it promised. I’d caution you against using grandiose statements like “these are perhaps the best closed backs” since you’ve not even qualified what your experience is. I do thorough tests for a reason-so that people get a concrete idea of the product performance. But what you did in this post is merely state vague commentary about how great these sound to you. If you disagree with my assessment, you should provide specific examples of your testing and actual A/B comparisons. It really doesn’t help anyone understand where you’re coming from when you aren’t specific. Please explain what specific performance these headphones excel at.

@@NoThemeReviews Hmmm. That's rather abrasive for someone in the wrong. Anyway, I come from a family of musicians and we own a studio where I also mix part-time. I'm also an audio enthusiast and have been in this hobby for over a decade now. Not that I need to explain myself to you but I hope this helps you get some perspective. In our studio we still have our old EMI console on which we mix and master. We still record the old analogue way. We rarely use headphones for mixing but I do tend to finalise/master the mixes on both my monitors (ATC Studios) and my reference headphone rig. In my rig I have quite a few headphones ranging from expensive (LCD4, Erzetich Phobos) to super cheap (Samson SR850) cans. For my digital front end I've got a TOTL non oversampling DAC which feeds an expensive ss/tube amplification system, that I sometimes buffer by a tube based line preamp; so yeah its a pretty good setup that has taken me years to accumulate. Again, I don't need to explain myself to you but here you go. Last year we put up a secondary room for recording regional content so I was searching for a decent pair for that purpose. I made the mistake of taking your word on these. Especially after watching mr pantera's review. I could provide you with objective data too but I'm guessing you're already biased against these so its moot. Just because you run a youtube channel, doesn't mean your findings are right, if at all you can call a frequency response curve objevtive data at all. Get off your high horse dude. You're clearly in the wrong here. I heard these for 4 hours yesterday and I was literally fuming that I had let go a very decent deal at that time (I wad getting 100 usd off on these). At 500usd these are very good headphones even if we consider sq as the only deciding factor. The response is pretty flat and there is no accentuation of any specifc frequency group. The gentleman was using a yamaha console and these were plugged into a neve headphone amp (rather new age compared to the console) and I really liked what I heard. My current price-performance reference for closed backs is the fostex th900 mk2 and this was equally good if not better. The fostex might be slightly more detailed but at half the price of the fostex, these are a solid pair of cans. I don't know which pair you reviewed or if your pair was bust. Whatever is the case, I urge you to go back to these and try them again with a different setup. Anyway, to whoever is reading this: trust your ears and audition before you buy. Don't take anyone's word for it. If you're getting these at 400usd or less, they are absolutely worth every penny. Very well built and definitely suitable for critical work. I'd buy these in a heart beat if I get that deal again.

@Dr.G.S. Chadha Uh, it's "abrasive" to ask you to be specific?? You've quite the nerve to make bold, unsupported claims about a product then scoff at being asked to be more particular. "I really liked what I heard" is the definition for vague, emotional reaction. Try harder. I'm not remotely interested in your family or your part-time gig. What I want to know--what is relevant--is the testing methodology you employed to listen for 4 hours to the NDH20. I want to know what tracks you listened to, what you heard, what you compared to, what stood out to you in that comparison, and a breakdown of why you believe the NDH20 is the best closed back headphone. Merely repeating the same emotional commentary as before doesn't bolster your position. Your comments are the same rhetorical bullshit that pervade Headfi posts--the same nonsensical, emotionally-driven, unresearched, untested, and uneven glowing recommendations for pricey products. As for me being wrong--no, I don't think so. I reach my conclusions for devices after thoroughly testing and comparing them--which is a far cry from what you've done. Feel free to disagree with me, but don't expect to have any credibility when you've merely a muddled explanation of your position. Not only did you take a defensive tone after I simply asked for your precise findings, you also have the tenacity to insult me. If you think I'm on a "high horse", go right ahead. You're adopting a fairly unique definition of the term, considering I actually spent the time, effort, and expense into testing these headphones. But, alas, since my findings don't coincide with your emotional experience, I'm the one on the high horse. Brilliant thinking. It's a real chore having any discourse with people like you. If you're going to render an opinion as flamboyant as yours, do us the courtesy of actually supporting your conclusions with specifics.

@@NoThemeReviews bruh why tf are you gonna argue with someone who brings value your channel (viewer engagement). You’re so definitive in your position and completely disregard the idea that we all hear things differently. Good luck w the channel but that’s not how you grow it or retain viewers especially as a product slut for many companies

I shan't rub it in. I'm sorry for your bad experience. I hope the 4x works out. I haven't bought one yet, but am looking forward to it next year. In the meantime, check out the Avantone Planar. I've got a review on it.

Will do. Thank you.

Well... I went all out and ordered both the Ollo S4X (incredibly fast shipping considering they come from Slovenia) and the Avantone Planar Reds. Yes, crazy, but didn't want to dilly dally, with the intention of sending one back. Long story short, I'm sending the Avantones back. They are 2 different takes on “neutral,” if that makes any sense. The S4X has a little fun mixed in - a smidge smiley - which I believe is useful even when mixing. The Avantones remind me a lot of Yamaha NS10s, which will appeal to old school mix guys: slightly too mid forward for my liking, and quite tame in the highs. They’re downright boxy compared to the S4X, which, coincidently, is actually what I expected from the NDH 20 from all their fancy marketing language. (FAIL!) The Planars look unique/80s retro, but a tad overlarge and clunky, even for a 6'1 guy like me. The Ollos are elegant and lightweight, and while I can't say they sound absolutely flat - at least to my subjective idea of “flat” - any color they splash on is subtle, and it’s neutral enough for me. If I can pull off a miracle and convince my wife, maybe I'll keep both! (Doubt it.)

It’s unfortunate you thought I am a music professional. Clearly you haven’t watched my videos before, and I have as much a right to review any gear I paid for as anyone else. Insulting me because you don’t like what you hear is pathetic. Why would you do something as childish as that? Grow up.

@@NoThemeReviews I meant no disrespect, apologies if it came off that way! And sorry you felt insulted. Was not my intention at all. Just stating my opinion as you did yours. All best to you!

Absolutely. The NAD HP50 has significantly better soundstage and more flat frequency response. The Ollo Audio SR4 hands down beats the NDH20. The Ollo is much cheaper than the NDH20. I have done numerous videos on the Ollo. If you choose to go down that path, you may want to contact Ollo first and ask if they might give you a small discount, and mention you found them through this channel. I think they are looking for more exposure, and might be willing to reduce the price a tad. Worth a try.

@@NoThemeReviews Thank you so much! I noted the ones you mentioned in this video already, but I'll definitely be contacting them, great tip! PS- Love the tests you run in your videos.

@@NoThemeReviews does one have better technicalities than the other or are those two pretty comparable?

@@BaptizedTTV HP50 and S4R? No, not the same. The S4R is the most neutral headphone I have ever heard. It is everything Neumann, Beyer, Sennheiser, AKG, Sony, etc. all SAY their headphones are supposed to be. The HP50 has a very unique speaker-like sound. The HP50 is not neutral, but its soundstage is noticeably better than the NDH20's and is more detailed. The Ollo and NAD are pretty close to detail retrieval.

@@NoThemeReviews thank you again for all the info!

Actually Glenn Schick masters exclusively with headphones and he's got quite a resume. Look him up.

I don’t even master but we all know a true Master Masterer uses ALL formats to fine tune ie the car test or the phone test as well as monitors and headphones 🎧 test

I did review them over several videos. Either watch the videos or stop complaining

Thanks for the support. Some people lose perspective and jump to the wrong conclusion. When we are passionate about something we tend to be over protective of that thing as if any critique of it is a negative mark on us. I understand that thinking since I go through it all the time. I try not to let other people’s negative commentary get to me. After all, I have great, supportive subscribers like you!

These are great for mixing and mastering. They just don't meet an audiophiles standards. They meet professional standards though.

And laden with plosives.

?

True that. But I think there are some objective factors that are either true or false. For example, if someone says a headphone has no accentuated bass signature and it turns out by testing the opposite is the case, then it’s not a matter of differing opinions. I like the NDH 20 for what they are. The whole review for better or worse turned out to determine if the hype about its ability to be an amazing monitoring headphone was accurate. As I’ve said many times before, we can mix/master on absolutely anything and get good results as long as we know our equipment and technique. But over-promising marketing and misleading info is bad news for the regular person. Anyway, I don’t hate the NDH 20. They’re staying with me for a while.

@@NoThemeReviewsCan you explain how you determine whats a neutral headphone based on just listening to it because i'm not really sure on how that works

It's a bit more involved than just listening to a pair of headphones. I look at the frequency response for the headphones (sometimes companies provide it, other times you have to hunt for it on reputable websites); I use a standard test playlist that I've listened to on various headphones--and thus know the details and character of each song; and then I compare the headphone with others. IMO, that's the only way to truly say whether a headphone is neutral (or more neutral than another pair of headphones). I frankly don't think it is possible to say any pair of headphone is neutral based upon listening to it and not comparing with anything else. Nor is it particularly wise to reach a conclusion without looking at the frequency chart.

I've gotta back up our guy, here, while agreeing with you in part, also. I'm so picky about what I spend my money on, simply because I don't have much money. So, I've been having to research all this for a couple months now (what a nerd I am. heheh). So, you're right to say it's subjective about whether or not a headphone sounds good. Definitely, because everyone's ears are different, and everyone has specific preferences to what kinds of sounds they like. However, the objective factors are simple facts: whether or not a headphone (or dac or amp) colors/changes the source sound, and how. How does that work? Well, they can set up headphones on two mics and record the sound that it outputs, and compare THAT to the source material that was sent to it. Assuming a perfectly neutral dac/amp is being used... if the headphones are putting out more or less bass, mids or treble than the source track had, then it's an objective fact that the headphones are colored and NOT neutral. As he said, charts that graph the frequency output can almost always be found, even if it takes a bit of searching to find them. But, an individual reviewer on the scale of Zeos, Josh Valour and our guy here... they've got access to so many headphones and spend so much time listening to all of them, that even without a chart to spell it out, they SHOULD hone the ability to tell the what is neutral and what is not, as long as they're listening to tracks they're very familiar with, and using dac/amps that they're very familiar with. However, since they know their business, they can also check those charts or even make charts of their own, and then compare to tried and true neutral headphones that they've kept on hand specifically for monitoring purposes.

I actually got a pair of the Era-1 very cheaply in December.

@@NoThemeReviews That's great! Hope to hear your thoughts soon, I was looking at your Ollo and Neuman vids just now, see if there's any good to be had. The Quad's did come to mind immediately. Hope they don't get discontinued like the Oppo PM-1' s.. The Ollo's are looking interesting so far, the Quad's have superior build quality but a 500euro set of cans :-)

@@heliopijpe I can vouch for the Quad's build. Stellar. There's some talk in the forums that the Quad is the same as the Alara...but it's all based on how the two look alike. I have both and will see. If the Alara is the same thing as the Quad...well...

@@NoThemeReviews No way hha ... no way! But since there are so few reviews on the ERA-1 and Quad reviews are usually almost always too positive (their ESL's are amAzing 57's 63's, 28/2912,, however I never liked the dynamic driver Quad speaker series, superb build, sound ok, but nothing above anything Kef does) ... So very curious if the ERA's are worth the price or just a superbly build ok headphone :-)

@@heliopijpe Yes, exactly lol. I've been thinking about these as my planar option to balance out my collection

I don’t have to make another video. I’ve made several about this headphone with actual comparisons. Learn patience. It might help.

Oh that's ok. I was really just joking.

Eeeeeh. Yeah. I have no idea why Neumann decided to make a headphone. What's it competing with? What problem is it trying to solve? Why is it better than the competition? There's a lot of marketing nonsense and hype, but nothing specific. If they manufactured their driver to focus on the higher frequencies to demonstrate hyper-accurate detail, but the rest of the frequency range is subdued...then I'd say that's rather unique. I can see a professional buying the Neumann at that point so that he can get the most accurate impression of the higher frequency, and then switch to something else for the lower range. As it is, though, the NDH20 is some weird amalgam of good intentions, poor execution, and a hype train.

Sennheiser have owned Neumann since 1991. They're not 'new' to headphones at all

Unfortunately, I don't remember what I was talking about. This video was uploaded over 1 year ago.

Yes I have the HD6xx which is the HD650. The Neumann are not the 650. The Neumann sounds very different.

@@NoThemeReviews it's not at all like the 650. Agreed and thanks for the info.

@@Baljortar I have the 6xx too. If you look at the specs of each in detail, it's near-identical. The price is lower bc of manufacturing location, I believe.

@@zachstout7747 I said that because I listened to both of them

Yes it is trusted. But the headphones still do not perform as promised.

@@NoThemeReviews Okay, I've been mixing with the Yamaha HPH MT7's. These Neumann's have got to be an upgrade right?

@@NoThemeReviews What about it's low harmonic distortion, which according to soundonsound, it has little to none of?

@@lxuaes6915 I did not hear any distortion. But the headphones do NOT separate the frequencies sufficiently to be called "mastering and mixing" headphones. They have a warm presentation and the details in the mids and treble are less than stellar. The soundstage is average at best. The headphones sound fine as they are, just not worth the exorbitant price and certainly not for the misleading marketing that these are analytical headphones.

@@lxuaes6915 I can't say. I haven't heard the MT7. But the NDH20 is less impressive than the NAD HP50, the Shure SR1840, and several others that I tested against it.

Talk to Google about that, not me. I don't control how many ads people see.

For what?

@@NoThemeReviews Vocal live monitoring, music appreciation, and gaming

@@NoThemeReviews My IEM is IER-M9, I want a similar signature. DT770's treble is too harsh for me.

I haven’t heard the M9 so don’t have any idea what it sounds like. But if you’re concerned about treble and want something neutral, the Ollo S4r is a very good option. NAD HP50. The NDH20 is very gentle with treble and sounds pleasant but for its reproduction of piano.

@@NoThemeReviews Who listen to piano these days, I buying these to mix metal, we´ll see how it works. ;)

ASAP. I plan to start within a week.

@@NoThemeReviews I saw you've recommended the Ollo, but the FQ measurements from this website are the only ones I could find NOT by Ollo themselves. and they don't measure nearly as "Flat" as they claim. Honestly, though their chart on their website is a bit hard to read as it's not using a proper graph and looks stretched out horizontally to appear more flat. reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/hp/ollo-audio-hps-s4.php Honestly, their marketing seems pretty misleading to me. Why not show off a proper chart with actual graph lines?

And a very reliable source of income for every company.

He has superhuman hearing? Funny, I can’t seem to find that on his website. You think it’s “hating” when I mention facts? That’s rich.