Review: RØDE NTH-50 On-Ear Headphones

Review: Rob Hanlon

Unlike its elder sibling, the NTH-100s, the new Røde NTH-50s seems a little boring. No endothermic ear pads. No trapezoidal over-ear design. Rather than standing out, the red cable on the right, on-ear design and round driver housings all harken to the monitoring headphone all others must answer to, the Sennheiser HD-25s. The Rødes not only compares directly in appearance, but in price. So what’s the difference?

PARTS FOR A LIFETIME

For such a no-frills appearance, the Rødes feel quality in the hands. Great-feeling plastic all ’round with tight tolerances between pieces. Enough weight to feel sturdy. Reassuring locking connectors on either side, with braille to tell the difference. And I can’t help but love the Røde signature gold dot. Timeless and enduringly distinctive.

Each driver housing is removable and connected to the headband via ultra-firm USB-C connection (carrying analogue!) for easy repairs. The headband cushion, ear pads and, of course, cable all snap on and off too. If these phones break, which feels unlikely, you won’t need to buy a whole new set.

The cable has a nice long coiled section, and an extra one near the earcup termination. Though supposed to work microphonics-cancelling magic, there’s a still some low-end rumble when the cable moves. That said, the cable is rugged feeling and befits the lifetime warranty.

NEED TO KNOW

PRICE

A$199
US$109
CONTACT

Røde: Røde.com.au
PROS
- Excellent build quality; robust and repairable
- Detachable, swappable components (including USB-C analogue driver connections)
- Clean, usable monitoring sound with no obvious flaws
- Affordable and backed by a lifetime warranty
- Modern design and aesthetic cues
- Cable connection on either earcup for added flexibility
CONS
- Some cable microphonics despite coiled design
SUMMARY

The NTH-50s don’t aim to break new ground in sound or style but instead focus on reliability, comfort, and smart design. With rugged construction, user-replaceable parts, and a lifetime warranty, these cans are built to last. While the sound won’t wow audiophiles, it hits the mark for monitoring: clear, focused, and versatile.

HEAR TO PLEASE

The NTH-50s sound good – nothing revolutionary for an on-ear, closed back headphone but good. A bit of extra bass. A bit of a push in the upper mids so vocals pop. Everything you could want out when you’re monitoring – you hear what you need to hear when you need to hear it. I noticed that the low end isn’t especially linear, and is a little slow, but that’s pretty much moot for something with little magnets, as anything of this design has. But I didn’t notice any distortion at high volumes, any weird artefacts or tuning missteps. These will sound good on any source. Any situation. Their versatility is obvious.

In use, they have just the right amount of flex in the headband to take one ear off, without losing grip on the noggin, and don’t feel clampy, at least for the first hour or so. You can also attach the cable to either earcup, buying a precious 20cm of reach depending on which way you need to turn.

NOW & SENN?

So, in summary: do these headphones deserve a Red Dot award? No. Do they deserve to be in your bag, on your neck and head? Absolutely. Are they better than the Sennie classic? Well, they’re a modern headphone, with a modern design, while the Sennheiser’s still look and feel era appropriate. Altogether, I would buy these for the build quality alone, which for a pair of throw-around monitoring headphones, is nigh on most important for me. Røde has struck on a reliable winner here at an excellent price.