Rode’s first pair of headphones, like most of the Australian manufacturer’s other gear, are made for content creators such as filmmakers, musicians, and podcasters. The $149 Rode NTH-100 headphones aren’t wireless, but they fit securely and remain comfortable over long listening periods. More importantly, they’re just as adept at delivering accurate audio as they are at producing powerful subwoofer rumble. Beyerdynamic’s $179.99 DT 770 Studio headphones are slightly more impressive in terms of sonics, while Sennheiser’s $99.95 HD 280 Pro headphones are long-standing favorites for studio use on a budget, but the NTH-100 over-ears are stylish alternatives worth considering.
Cool and Comfortable
The NTH-100 headphones, available only in black, use earcups with a rounded triangular shape that roughly matches the contour of your ear. The grilles inside the earcups sport L and R markers and the outside panels feature a large Rode logo (an O symbol with a slash through it that resembles the null sign) and, thoughtfully, braille markings.
A locking mechanism on each side of the headband helps ensure a secure fit. It might have been a little more useful if were detents for precise adjustments, but you shouldn’t have much trouble making changes based on sight and feel.
The earpads and parts of the headband use a comfortable, suede-like Alcantara material with memory foam gel padding underneath that’s designed to maintain a lower temperature during long listening sessions. In our experience, the headphones indeed stayed cool during these periods.
Rode includes a detachable cable in the box that measures approximately 7 feet and 10 inches in length; it terminates in a 3.5mm connector on both ends, and the earcup-connecting end twists to lock into place in the headphones. The package also includes a quarter-inch adapter for stereo and pro gear, and several pairs of tiny plastic rings that snap onto the cable at both ends—the rings (pink, orange, green, or blue) help you color-code your cable for setups that involve multiple pairs of the same headphones. In addition to these accessories, you get a drawstring storage pouch. The cable doesn’t include a mic or any inline controls, which isn’t too surprising for a pair designed for studio use.
Internally, 40mm dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 5Hz to 35kHz with an impedance of 32 ohms.
Accurate Audio
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the headphones deliver consistent, clear low-frequency depth. Connected to a McIntosh stereo receiver with flat EQ settings, the lows on this track sound clean and transparent—neither overly exaggerated, nor thin. Boosting the 30Hz band dramatically (and thus dialing up the frequencies at the bottom end of the frequency range) resulted in some palpable thump, but the drivers didn’t distort. In short, the headphones are capable of both sub-bass depth (as the frequency range implies) and a flat signature that doesn’t emphasize the lows by default.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, better reveals the general sound signature of the NTH-100. The drums on this track can sound thunderous on bass-forward headphones, but here the lows are clear and defined. Again, boosting the deepest lows on our stereo receiver brings out subwoofer-like thunder, but with flat EQ settings, they deliver a relatively neutral response. Callahan’s vocals benefit from a healthy balance of solid, but not overwhelming, low-mid richness and high-mid crispness. The acoustic strums and higher-register percussive hits sound strong even without any sculpting.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives an ideal amount of high-mid presence that lets the attack retain its punch, while the sub-bass synth hits come across with subtlety. The vocals on this track are free of any additional sibilance. Once again, if you dial up the bass on your sound source, the headphones produce serious power, but at flat, professional settings, the drivers present each frequency range with a high level of detail.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, come across with slightly richer low-mids than we expected (we’re perhaps splitting hairs to point out that the sound signature isn’t absolutely flat by default), but still sound good. The lower-register instrumentation takes the slightest step forward, but the spotlight properly belongs to the higher-register brass, strings, and vocals on this track.
An Impressive Debut for Studio Use
If you’re looking for headphones with a transparent, reliable, and accurate sound signature for studio use, the market isn’t lacking in options. Rode’s NTH-100 headphones are an excellent debut thanks to their strong audio capabilities and comfortable design. Competition is fierce, including the classic and affordable Sennheiser HD 280 Pro, and the slightly pricier, sonically superior Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X. Rode’s entry in the space is promising, however, and the NTH-100 headphones hold their own against these established offerings.
