For the true audiophile, these expressive wired headphones will enhance your listening experience
View offers: whf.cm/BestWiredHeadphones2023
Røde NTH-100£115
There’s a lot of choice in over-ear headphones at this sort of money, but wired headphones are harder to come by – and wired headphones that claim to be equally at home in the studio as in the living room are rarer still.
The NTH-100 use a combination of plastic and metal, with Alcantara fabric at the contact points. A lot of attention has been paid to the headband and hanger, and the clamping force is very nicely judged – so the NTH-100 don’t really feel their 350g weight and stay comfortable for long sessions. A little ‘twist/lock’ control on either side of the headband locks the position once you are happy with the fit.
‘Purity of purpose’ is probably the most charitable way to describe the NTH-100, with 40mm full-range dynamic drivers and a claimed frequency response of 5Hz-35kHz, which is more than adequate.
Headphones are either for the purposes of casual entertainment, or they are for critical, business-like purposes such as monitoring or mixing. It’s unusual to find a pair of headphones that are able to fulfil both roles adequately; and it’s even rarer at the sort of money Røde is asking.
Rapid and punchy listen
Wired to a USB DAC and taking receipt of a 24-bit/96kHz file of Nick Drake’s Pink Moon, the Rødes waste no time in establishing that they are an almost fanatically insightful and revealing listen, happy to dish all the details no matter how minor and/or fleeting. They are a balanced and poised listen too; not exactly analytical for the sake of it, but they will describe the whole picture for you.
Tonally, they are on the naturalistic side. What bass there is in this recording is respectably deep, but also swift and well controlled. Attack and decay of individual sounds are really well observed, making the NTH-100 a rapid and punchy listen. It also means they muster very decent rhythmic expression, too.
There is substance to treble sounds, which are delivered with crispness, attack and real conviction. The midrange, though, is the star of the show. Even the most slight variations in tone or timbre are picked up on, even momentary shifts in harmonic detail are identified. Drake’s voice on this recording is quiet and without affectation, and it sounds very much as though the mic is very
