Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of Røde – the company may be a big deal in the world of pro audio, but the NTH-100 are both the first pair of headphones and the first attempt to get in touch with the consumer audio market . So unless you have an interest in the world of microphones for recording studios and whatever, this Australian brand will be new to you.
The pro audio world is competitive enough, of course, but the consumer-oriented equivalent is absolutely killer. And Røde doesn’t seem to have given itself the greatest chance of making waves by turning its first product into wired headphones – if there’s a consumer audio category that’s less fashionable right now, we’d like to hear about it. But who knows? Perhaps Røde NTH-100 performs well enough to lure us back in time.
Price
The Røde NTH-100 is on sale now and in the UK they go for £149 a pair. In the United States, they’re $149, and in the company’s native Australia, they’re an even more reasonable AU$249.
You don’t have to tell us that there is of course an awful lot of choice when it comes to over-ear headphones for this kind of money. But wired headphones are harder to come by – and wired headphones that claim to be equally at home in the studio as they are in the lounge are even harder. Is it a good thing that Røde has so little competition? Or does it suggest a flaw in the NTH-100 concept?
Design
There’s a school of thought that says over-ear headphone design reached perfection almost immediately, and anyone who tries to mess with the rule book is doomed to failure. It’s hard to argue against – and it’s certainly clear that Røde sees no reason to play with a winning formula. So the NTH-100 looks exactly as you’d expect from a pair of (reasonably) affordable over-ear headphones.
A combination of plastic and metal, with Alcantara fabric at the contact points, creates a purposeful look. The large, stylized ‘Ø’ on each slightly triangular ear cup manages to be both bold and understated at the same time – the company’s usual gold dot is about as close to a ‘flourish’ design as the NTH-100 gets. Unless you want to spend a little more by changing the color of your cable.
The Røde weighs no less than 350 grams. But the company has put a lot of thought into the headband and suspension setup, and the clamping force has been rated very well, so the NTH-100 doesn’t really feel its weight and remains comfortable even through long listening sessions. They can even stay comfortable forever, but the ‘CoolTech’ gel integrated into the memory foam earcups will only stay cool to a point. Long before the frame of these headphones has become a burden, the ear cushions return your own body heat – with interest.
Functions
We’ve all gotten used to having a long list of features associated with over-ear headphones because we’ve all gotten used to wireless headphones. So it’s a little surprising at first to see how short the feature list of a wired product like this is. Purity of purpose is probably the most charitable way to describe it.
Essentially, the NTH-100 is a way to hang a pair of 40mm full-range dynamic drivers over your ears. Røde claims they have a frequency response of 5Hz – 35kHz, and if those numbers are even remotely accurate, they’re more than adequate.
Rode NTH-100 technical specifications
Type Closed back
Drivers 40mm dynamic drivers
Claimed frequency response 5 Hz – 35 kHz
Cable 2.4m cable included
Dimensions (ie) 188 x 190 x 80mm
Weight 350g
Otherwise real ‘characteristics’ are rather sparse. The NTH-100 is supplied with a 2.4m cable, with a 3.5mm jack on one end and a twist-to-lock plug on the other. The generous length of the cable indicates that Røde wants to make it as easy as possible for professional users, and the fact that the cable can be plugged into either ear cup confirms this. Knowing that 1.2m cable is a cost option is disappointing, no doubt about it.
However, the NTH-100 also has Røde’s ‘FitLock’ system, and it is an authentic feature that is really worth mentioning. The company has fitted a small ‘twist/lock’ control on either side of the headband so that once you’ve adjusted the headband exactly how you want it, it can be locked into position. The simplest ideas are often the best, and they seem even better when there are no other features vying for attention.
Sound
Headphones are for two things: they are for casual entertainment or they are for critical business purposes such as eavesdropping or mixing. It’s unusual to find a pair of headphones that can adequately fulfill both roles, and it’s rarer still for the kind of money Røde is asking for the NTH-100.
Wired to a half-decent USB DAC and receiving a 24bit/96kHz file from Nick Drake’s pink moon, the Reds waste no time establishing their indisputable strengths and subjective weaknesses. They are an almost fanatically insightful and revealing listener, who likes to present all details, no matter how small and/or fleeting. They’re a level-headed and level-headed listener, and not exactly analytical for the sake of it – but they’ll spell out the whole picture for you.
Tonally they are on the neutral and naturalistic side. The bass in this recording is quite deep, yes, but it’s also fast and well controlled – attack and decay of individual sounds are perceived really well, and as a result the NTH-100 are a fast and (in the right direction) conditions ) hard listening. It also means they muster some very decent rhythmic expression as well.
At the other end of the frequency range, they are equally detailed and equally articulate. Trebles have substance here, but it’s not the kind of weight that can bog down a recording – instead there’s sharpness, attack and real conviction in the high register. Even if you’re listening at a considerable volume, you can be sure that there will be some treble harshness in the recording you’re listening to – the NTH-100 doesn’t try to dress up a recording any more than it tries to make it to cover up.
The mid-range is the star of the show, though. Even the slightest variations in tone or timbre are picked up, even momentary shifts in harmonic detail are identified – so without being emotionless in any way, the Røde are as informative as a 24-hour news station. Drake’s voice throughout this recording is calm and unaffected, sounding very much like the mic is very close to his mouth – and then the NTH-100 describes his vocals with all the intimacy and directness it demands.
Add to this considerable dynamic headroom, a large and solidly constructed sound stage and an overarching impression of ‘control’, and it should become clear that the Røde NTH-100 are a very capable pair of headphones. If you want to know the details of the differences between ‘mix A’ and ‘mix B’, or if you just want to hear your favorite recordings in a cleanly explicit way, they are right for you. Austrian Audio’s Hi-X50 have a slightly more analytical feel about their presentation, but don’t quite display the same sense of energy or drive.
Verdict
There are expectations when it comes to headphones that cost this kind of money, doubly so if the headphones in question are wired. But it’s safe to say that the Røde NTH-100 comfortably exceeds those expectations – if you can live with a long cable (and eventually warm ears), they’re excellent value.
TO SCORE
LAKE:
Read our review of the Austrian Audio Hi-X50
Also consider the Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X
Read our Grado SR80x review
Best Wired Headphones: Budget to Premium