Rode NTH-100 Over-Ear Professional Headphones Review

The Rode NTH-100 headphones are a working tool for musicians and sound engineers, podcasters, filmmakers, etc. The converters are dynamic, and the design is closed. Passive noise cancellation is helpful in many recording scenarios. The headband is made of robust spring steel. The cable routing is one-sided, whereby you can choose between a connection on the left or right. The bayonet lock, the jack adapter and a carrying bag are included in the scope of delivery.

The Headphones offer exceptional sonic performance and superb comfort that encourages creativity. Specially selected drivers provide accurate reproduction of the sound image, ultra-low distortion and exceptional detail. All of this makes the headphones ideal for all forms of content creation, including music production, mixing, sound editing, podcasting and live streaming.

Luxurious Alcantara ear cushions with CoolTech filling provide maximum comfort for extended use, while the fully adjustable headband with the innovative FitLok locking system ensures a perfect fit.

Headphone includes:

• Cable
• Storage case
• A set of color markings
• Adapter 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm
• Documentation

PROS	CONS
Bracket infinitely adjustable and lockable	No in-line microphone
Comfortable and well-built design	Distortion present at high volumes
High wearing comfort
Efficient noise cancellation
Great overall neutral sound quality

Design

The perfect combination of classic aesthetics and cutting-edge industrial design makes the NTH-100 a desirable purchase. Thanks to the beautiful lines and high-quality finish, the headphones look very modern and concise. They are ergonomic and designed to work comfortably for long periods. Customize the NTH-100 to match your style with high-quality cables available in four vibrant colours: pink, green, blue and orange.

The modular design ensures maximum durability even with heavy daily use. Using premium materials, each pair is designed and manufactured at RODE’s precision equipment in Sydney, Australia. You can take on any creative endeavour knowing the headphones will be with you for the long haul.

The Rode NTH-100 is a dynamic and closed headphone. The built-in 40 mm neodymium drivers are selected in pairs in all delivered models, which should positively affect the playback properties in terms of left and right matching.

With a transmission range of 5 Hz to 35 kHz, the headphones cover far more than the frequency range audible to humans, at least on paper.

Thanks to a low impedance of 32 ohms, the Rode NTH-100 can also be operated on devices such as smartphones without any problems.

The processing quality of the Rode NTH-100 is excellent. Solid, stylishly designed, scratch-resistant housing covers with a shiny black Rode logo protect the built-in electronic components.

In addition to a large white-framed R and L on the inside of the earphones, there are also Braille symbols on the outside for orientation. This small but fine feature makes it easier for blind people to use the headphones and should, in my opinion, be found on every new headphone model.

The earpads of the Rode NTH-100 are made of memory foam, which is covered with Alcantara – the same applies to the robust spring steel headband. 

The suspension of the ear cups is also made of metal components, which is something special for headphones in a price range of less than 200 USD. Four strain relief points secure the connecting cable of the two earpieces against a load of up to 25 kg.

The connection cable Rode NTH-100, which can be fixed either on the right or left with a bayonet lock, can be loaded with 12 kg.

Comfort

The wearing comfort of the Rode NTH-100 is very pleasant thanks to the memory foam with the Alcantara cover on the headband and the ear cups. The gridless height adjustment with Fitlock closure keeps what it promises.

Due to the closed design, the Rode NTH-100 also has good passive noise cancellation in both directions. The headphones are also perfect for use when travelling.

The temples are infinitely adjustable and secured with the FitLock closure system, an in-house development by Røde. To do this, twist a plastic cap on its side to open the clasp, slide the shackle to the desired position, and lock it again. On the one hand, this has the advantage that it actually sits firmly here and does not constantly jump into the next notch (or has to be readjusted the next time it is put on); on the other hand, it can also be perfectly adjusted. It is also well thought out that the cable can be attached both on the left and on the right, depending on where it is less in the way, and here, too, a clever locking mechanism ensures a secure fit.

A small but fine detail: the ear cups are not only marked on the inside with large “R” and “L”, but also have a small corresponding identifier in Braille on the outside: three dots on top of each other stand for “l” or “L”. “left”, three dots plus one in the middle/front for “r”, i.e. “right”. A small feature that proves that someone at Røde has thought about it – and one that should have been standard for many years. But unfortunately, it doesn’t.

Two small drops of bitterness: The ear cups can be swivelled on the brackets, but the brackets themselves cannot be folded 90 degrees to be able to transport the Rode NTH-100 in a space-saving manner. On the other hand, it is usually precisely these joints that fail first at some point. And the Rode looks so good that you’d rather hang it around your neck than hide it in your pocket. On the other hand, the Alcantara upholstery quickly attracts lint and dust but can be cleaned just as soon with a duster.

Sounds

The NTH-100s are designed for use in monitoring, mixing or mastering applications. Uniquely contoured ear cups provide exceptional detail and clarity, while memory foam provides excellent passive noise isolation. The headphones are meticulously crafted to preserve every detail and nuance of the sound and allow you to work comfortably with any audio material.

The NTH-100 drivers are equipped with a custom quad-layer aluminium-alloy voice coil bonded to an ultra-rigid 3-layer Mylar diaphragm. Combined with a rare earth neodymium magnet and an innovative phase connector, these components provide accurate frequency and phase response across the entire audio spectrum.

The Rode NTH-100 convinces with a fun sound. The favorite songs can be listened to with great detail and good resolution without distortion, even at higher volumes.

Due to the closed design, the three-dimensionality suffers somewhat compared to open representatives such as the Beyerdynamic DT 900 PRO X.

This aspect and the low-frequency ranges, which are fun but somewhat overemphasized, do not make the Rode NTH-100 the perfect companion for analytical applications such as mixing and mastering songs. Good three-dimensionality and a linear sound image are required here.

However, the Rode NTH-100 is a perfect companion on the way to work or for creative applications such as video editing due to its great wearing comfort and the fun sound.

All in all, the headphones sound balanced, fun and convincing with good resolution – but are less neutral and analytical.

Conclusion!

The Rode NTH-100 convinces with a very good processing quality, high wearing comfort and a fun sound. Due to the emphasized bass and the good but not perfect spatial imaging.

However, the Rode NTH-100 is also very suitable for on the go and various creative areas of application such as video editing due to the great price-performance ratio. Rode’s headphone debut was a success – it’s worth listening to.

The fact that the Rode NTH-100 is a few grams heavier than many of its competitors is not particularly noticeable given the pleasant wearing comfort. And all this is available for 179 USD.