RØDE NTH-100 Released – The Company’s First Professional Over-Ear Headphones

Audio Gear News

by Francesco AndreolaMarch 29^th, 2022

The Australian audio company has finally announced their first pair of professional over-ear headphones, the RØDE NTH-100. Designed with professionals in mind, these stylish headphones promise to deliver an accurate listening experience with natural frequency response, low distortion, proper isolation, and superior comfort. The NTH-100 headphones are now available for purchase for $149.

Australian company RØDE has been a leading brand in the audio equipment industry for over 30 years now, continuously innovating with each product release. From location sound recording to modern forms of content creation, such as podcasting and streaming, RØDE’s vast offering covers it all.

However, up until now a fundamental piece for audio monitoring was missing. Now, after three decades, RØDE has announced their very first pair of professional over-ear headphones. Combining the benefits of open and closed backs, the new stylish RØDE NTH-100 promise that your audio will sound pristine “as it’s meant to be heard”. Let’s take a closer look.

RØDE NTH-100: natural-sounding experience

The new RØDE NTH-100 are wired over-ear headphones designed to combine performance, high-end features, and style. This product clearly aims at professional audio engineers, but also podcasters and streamers who often find themselves wearing headphones for extended periods of time.

The core of the NTH-100 is a pair of custom-matched 40mm drivers that hides underneath an elegant black finish. According to the company, the design of these fundamental components delivers an accurate and balanced frequency response throughout a broad frequency spectrum as well as minimal signal distortion. This is critical for sound engineers looking for the highest audio fidelity possible.

The key component of the custom voice coil of the drivers is a four-layer ultra-high tension aluminum alloy. This voice coil is then paired with an ultra-stiff triple-layer Mylar diaphragm and a rare-earth neodymium magnet to deliver optimal acoustic and electrical results.

RØDE NTH-100: luxurious earcups and headband 

Two large, ergonomic, asymmetrical earcups wrap around your ears, regardless of their shape. They should be quite comfortable to wear during long recording sessions, but also high in performance. The memory foam cushions offer a comfortable fit while isolating the ear from external noise for a more immersive listening experience.

The padding of both ear pads and the headband are covered in fashionable Alcantara, providing a soft suede-like feeling on the skin. The fit of the high-strength spring steel headband is fully adjustable and it comes with a FitLock™ mechanism. This allows for fixing the position of the ear cups so you don’t have to adjust them every single time.

Moreover, the CoolTech™ gel underneath the Alcantara finish helps dissipate the heat that accumulates over time, thus cooling the head and ears during long recording or streaming sessions in the studio.

Long-lasting, functional design

The RØDE NTH-100 features a sleek, elegant, black design that is also lightweight (350g), durable and modular. The headband features a scratch-resistant coating and most parts are easily replaceable to ensure the product has a long life.

Moreover, RØDE largely focused on everyday usability. Both earcups feature a high-quality locking cable connector to easily adapt to different setup configurations. The included black cable is quite long (2.4m/7’10”), but shorter colored options (1.2m/3’11”) are also available to purchase separately.

Moreover, the left and right sides of the headphones can be clearly distinguished by a large letter on the inside of the earpad and a color-coding scheme. A braille marking is also present on the outside.

In the box

• RØDE NTH-100 headphones
• Black NTH-Cable (2.4m/7’10”)
• Storage pouch
• 3.5mm to 1/4” adapter
• Colored ID rings for easy cable identification

Technical specs

• Transducer Size: 40mm
• Operating Principle: Dynamic
• Frequency response: 5Hz – 35kHz
• Impedance: 32Ω
• Sensitivity: 110dB/V
• Maximum Input Power: 1700mW, 1% THD @ 1kHz
• Ear Coupling: Circumaural
• Ambient Noise Attenuation: 20dBA
• Connection Type: Dual TRRS Cable Attachments

Price and availability

Overall, I’m quite impressed by the design and features of RØDE’s first headphones. But what’s even more impressive is their price. In fact, the NTH-100 are now available for purchase on B&H and CVP at the official retail price of $149. I’m sure this price point is appealing to many audio professionals out there.

The retail price of the colored 1.2m/3’11” cables is $22. Moreover, B&H is also offering dual Desktop Stand and Headphone Holder kits that are currently available for $299.99.

What do you think of RØDE entering the headphones market? How do you think the NTH-100’s sound will be like? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below!