Article: NAD VISO HP50 with Roomfeel Headphone Review

[rando]

@mitchco On a lark I did a search here to see if there were any forum posts not expecting to find a full blown review.  A very informative and well researched one at that.      

 

The sudden interest in a nearly decade old hp brings up more questions than it answers.  Your interest and mine!  If I might, what spurred your interest in reviewing these particular headphones as they appear to have reach a point of being phased out?  

[mitchco]

@rando Thanks! My conclusion sums it up... Really, I am looking for the most neutral sounding headphone out there. According to Tyll, who has measured over 1000 headphones (wow!!), and referencing Harman's scientific study around neutral sounding headphones, plus my own measurements and subjective listening, these are it!

 

I recently upgraded my binaural mic preamp, as mentioned in one of my earlier comments, and recorded a tune with these headphones and then compared to the original recording. I am really impressed how close the recorded sound compares to the original track. Don't know what to say, I am still impressed on how neutral these sound and listening to them right now

[rando]

@mitchco Did a little more research into your article and product development of the HP50. First thing that struck me in Tyll's review was the Canadian connection between yourself and the research team that split off into developing this product and the standard.

 

A month or so back there was a speakercentric help request on the forum.  Poster described himself as an island dweller updating his system who was struggling with how the (speaker) options available to him portrayed sound. The solution is less important here than the sound he was correcting for.  Adjustments to a flat response that were naturally attuned to his environment.  Not only did he want more bass and less treble. He had very distinct ideas of how they deviated in recorded form from how they sounded live and unamplified on his speck of sand. 

 

Where his treble fell apart was very noticeable to him in horn playing. Numerous others politely noted the world of emotion and artistic expression lying in the "too hot" playing we felt with good faith was being accurately reproduced in the dealer showroom. Alternately bass failed to carry an implacable sense of weight.  Warm densely humid air + profuse vegetation combined with steady low frequency drumming of ocean waves envelop natural sound there. Just as being 2000 miles from a coast in a geologically sound area with cold dry air and prairie mixed with forests do in Chris's listening loft.  

 

As you've no doubt gathered, this larger factor boiled down into headphones, and their problems, seems to have a natural sound solution for you through this string of researchers.  Many of the long term audiophiles here have touched on how they approach environmentally unique system adjustments as a concern which needs to addressed. Especially in discussing this hobby online where both camps...

 

I hadn't seen this touched on here in the article or comments. My hope in posing a vague question was to elicit a natural reaction. Before asking your thoughts on what impact the ground your listening room rests might have as a continuation of the speaker output through headphones study.  For all I know, you could've left Canada years ago for parts quite geographically dissimilar.