One Headset to rule them all (womp womp fail)

[Psittac]

One Headset to rule them all, One Headset to find them, One Headset to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

 

I was going to post this in Audio but figured it wasn't a question to be answered, but still not quite singular enough to be a status update, so general discussion it is.

 

The Rode NTH-100M is now a thing and I honestly don't see any headset competing with it.  The vast majority of my time on the LTT forum is now spent in the audio sub-section because my computer is up to snuff and I don't feel like I have the experience required nor the finger on the bleeding edge to talk about PC hardware.  However I still enjoy following the audio world as a hobby.

 

Anyways one of the last if not the last headphones I purchased was the Rode NTH-100 and knew that if/when they came out with a boom mic, that would be the end of gaming headsets world wide, that is if people actually knew what it offered over "gaming" branded items.  I have/had about 20 pairs of headphones and while these are among the cheaper/cheapest of all of them I just adore the sound signature.  It's a mixture between the professionalism of Beyerdynamic and the fullness of a Beats headphone.  I know that it is a cardinal sin to even mention beats, but everyone can admit they have a certain "I don't know what" that people enjoy and that's why they sell.  It's like that but refined.

 

These headphones are VERY opaque to what is driving them, meaning that they sound good on a $400 dac and $300 amp but almost sound as good on a phone, and phones are VERY colored.  Some headphones like the Sennheiser HD6xx/600/650 make it a treat by being so transparent that any and every change behind them can be "seen", but these do the exact opposite and it's just as wonderful.

 

The one downfall is the locking mechanism which has apparently been a problem for more than one person.  I have broken them but it was due to pure negligence as they were on my bed under a pillow and I flopped over from standing onto the pillow after a hard days work and broke both locking mechanisms.  I was forward with Rode and told them I would be willing to pay for the parts or the repair and they simply put my RMA through and got me a brand new pair.  I feel that a company who is behind their product to that extent makes a life long customer as has companies like seasonic and corsair in my experience.

[191x7]

That's all nice, but where are your IEM-s?

[Blqckqut]

1 hour ago, 191x7 said:

That's all nice, but where are your IEM-s?

IEM-s? what are those?

[191x7]

15 minutes ago, Blqckout said:

IEM-s? what are those?

In-Ear Monitors. Think of them as earbuds, but better.

 

 

[Blqckqut]

4 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

In-Ear Monitors. Think of them as earbuds, but better.

 

 

i see, btw wasnt there a bluetooth headset thing that just suctioned around your ears? what happened to those, they were pretty neat idea

Human Headphones | Uncrate these ones

[LogicalDrm]

On 2/2/2023 at 7:45 AM, Psittac said:

I was going to post this in Audio but figured it wasn't a question to be answered, but still not quite singular enough to be a status update, so general discussion it is.

Subforums are for discussion centered around the category they represent. Not just questions or suggestions, but also general discussion about the subject. General Discussion subforum is for topics that don't fit in other subforums. This clearly is about audio gear, moved.

[Psittac]

On 2/1/2023 at 11:36 PM, 191x7 said:

That's all nice, but where are your IEM-s?

Never been a fan of IEM's, though I can say I haven't used a set in 20+ years.  Just haven't felt the need for the form factor.  I might look into them next.

[191x7]

1 hour ago, Psittac said:

Never been a fan of IEM's, though I can say I haven't used a set in 20+ years.  Just haven't felt the need for the form factor.  I might look into them next.

Consider these:

Truthear Zero

Qkz x HBB Khan

Qkz x Hbb

7Hz Salnotes Zero

Moondrop Quarks DSP

Moondrop Variations

Tangzu Van'er

Truthear Hexa

Truthear Hola

 

[weez]

Unfortunately we all have different head and ear sizes and shapes and different sound signatures we like so there will most likely never be a one headset to rule them all.

 

Senheiser PC37x and PC38x are great. I have the PC37x and for my head and ears it fits great, very comfortable. Mic quality is amazing and for gaming the headphones sound great. Only complaint is the velour pads are dust magnets 

[HumdrumPenguin]

The design is quite interesting. 

[ShawtyT30beTHICCC]

On 2/1/2023 at 11:45 PM, Psittac said:

One Headset to rule them all, One Headset to find them, One Headset to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

 

I was going to post this in Audio but figured it wasn't a question to be answered, but still not quite singular enough to be a status update, so general discussion it is.

 

The Rode NTH-100M is now a thing and I honestly don't see any headset competing with it.  The vast majority of my time on the LTT forum is now spent in the audio sub-section because my computer is up to snuff and I don't feel like I have the experience required nor the finger on the bleeding edge to talk about PC hardware.  However I still enjoy following the audio world as a hobby.

 

Anyways one of the last if not the last headphones I purchased was the Rode NTH-100 and knew that if/when they came out with a boom mic, that would be the end of gaming headsets world wide, that is if people actually knew what it offered over "gaming" branded items.  I have/had about 20 pairs of headphones and while these are among the cheaper/cheapest of all of them I just adore the sound signature.  It's a mixture between the professionalism of Beyerdynamic and the fullness of a Beats headphone.  I know that it is a cardinal sin to even mention beats, but everyone can admit they have a certain "I don't know what" that people enjoy and that's why they sell.  It's like that but refined.

 

These headphones are VERY opaque to what is driving them, meaning that they sound good on a $400 dac and $300 amp but almost sound as good on a phone, and phones are VERY colored.  Some headphones like the Sennheiser HD6xx/600/650 make it a treat by being so transparent that any and every change behind them can be "seen", but these do the exact opposite and it's just as wonderful.

 

The one downfall is the locking mechanism which has apparently been a problem for more than one person.  I have broken them but it was due to pure negligence as they were on my bed under a pillow and I flopped over from standing onto the pillow after a hard days work and broke both locking mechanisms.  I was forward with Rode and told them I would be willing to pay for the parts or the repair and they simply put my RMA through and got me a brand new pair.  I feel that a company who is behind their product to that extent makes a life long customer as has companies like seasonic and corsair in my experience.

I have the NTH-100 Headphones and LOVE them. They are easily worth more than the $119 they ask for them.

[Psittac]

12 hours ago, weez said:

Unfortunately we all have different head and ear sizes and shapes and different sound signatures we like so there will most likely never be a one headset to rule them all.

 

Senheiser PC37x and PC38x are great. I have the PC37x and for my head and ears it fits great, very comfortable. Mic quality is amazing and for gaming the headphones sound great. Only complaint is the velour pads are dust magnets 

I agree 100% and when I first started recommending them I warned that they might not fit well because of the odd ear cup design.  Until a few weeks ago I brought them over to my "audiophile" friends house to hang out and I asked him if he wanted to try them.  He's a really big guy with a big head and ears and his knee jerk response was "oh no man, I can't wear those", then he tried them on and instantly said "oh never mind".  So I'm not worried about recommending them for fit.  As to sound signature everyone is different and I won't say these are better in every way than my other headphones because that's just not true.  But I can say that they have a pleasurable sound signature that most would enjoy and they do it on almost any power source.  Many of the "gaming headset" manufacturers could learn from what they've done.  The sound is full without being bloated, bass response is crisp and abundant and I can even say that the sound stage is good for a closed back.  My original post was more along the lines of..... I have so many headphones ranging from $20-350 and these are the ones I want to wear more often than not, so the instant I got an e-mail saying they had a boom mic I HAD to make a post.

 

The mic isn't perfect if I'm honest.  It doesn't have a mute or swing away function like an antlion does, and they're pigeonholed into only these headphones.  Not to mention the locking mechanism is confusing, I can never tell where it engages and disengages.  BUT it's a mic integrated into one of my most enjoyable headphones, and I think that makes it a power move by Rode.

 

9 hours ago, HumdrumPenguin said:

The design is quite interesting. 

They're very comfortable and the sound signature is very enjoyable.  They are extremely opaque so they sound 90% as good on a phone as they do on a $700 dac and amp.  But I'm the kind of person that geeks out over $20 Koss Kph30i's with $10 pads on them, though for completely different reasons.

 

8 hours ago, ShawtyT30beTHICCC said:

I have the NTH-100 Headphones and LOVE them. They are easily worth more than the $119 they ask for them.

They went back up to $150 last I saw, and even at that price they're a steal.  Keep in mind that the locking mechanism on the headband is prone to failure so be careful with them and you'll be fine.  I flopped over on mine and cracked both of them but Rode gave me a new pair.  I don't see them having a problem with mild abuse and use.  Headphones are supposed to be handled properly and I didn't handle mine like I should have.  BUT I didn't want to take them off when I went to sleep and they wound up under a pillow.

[ShawtyT30beTHICCC]

13 hours ago, Psittac said:

They went back up to $150 last I saw, and even at that price they're a steal.  Keep in mind that the locking mechanism on the headband is prone to failure so be careful with them and you'll be fine.  I flopped over on mine and cracked both of them but Rode gave me a new pair.  I don't see them having a problem with mild abuse and use.  Headphones are supposed to be handled properly and I didn't handle mine like I should have.  BUT I didn't want to take them off when I went to sleep and they wound up under a pillow.

Don't matter to me. I have a huge head so I use them all the way extended. If the locking mechanism broke, I'd simply JB weld it into the bottom most position lol

[Psittac]

Sooooooo...... turns out these have the same problem as most gaming headsets..... Shared ground between input and output.  I can't listen to anything at a moderate or higher clip while on comms because it bleeds through.

 

Well I guess lesson learned, it's not an onboard audio thing, as I thought it might have been.  Rather it's the cable as I'm using a schiit fulla-e and it doesn't do this with my antlion mod mic.

 

I'm going to make another post asking if anyone knows how to solve this but I haven't heard of anything and short of rewiring it internally I see no way of getting around the shared ground.