NeumannNDH 20 Closed-Back Studio Headphones with Headphone Stand & Mini Male Extension Cable 25' Bundle

Unbelievably accurate, neither warm nor dark. What's recorded on the source material is what you get! That being said, decent source material (I have a particular fondness for electric blues of all sub-genres, jazz, classical and of course rock! )…is the key to exceptional sound with all headphones and speakers. The reason I state this is because the great thing about these "Monitors," (if you will; though I would NOT just put them in that category as many have,) is that they are, amazingly enough,... fold-up portable and can be used on the run, on the plane, in the subway (though a tad heavy and perhaps a bit OSTENTATIOUS for the NYC subway) or at home for long term, relaxed, serious, listening sessions or in the studio whilst recording, mixing, et. al.! I've a very expensive set of Ether-C's, at almost twice the price and the Neumann's, quite frankly, put them to shame in EVERY CATEGORY!The NDH-20's are somewhat heavy being machined from aluminum but not enough to make them uncomfortable! For the life of me I cannot seem to find an aftermarket cable for them (though the proprietary cables are OK- one straight rubberized and the other coiled both at 10 foot length.) It ist naturlich das Neumann wants these to be used in the studio "or else!" Pardon my poor attempt at humor however, it would be nice to have a 4 foot option for the plane or a nice, cloth covered, thicker 10-12 foot option maybe made out of OFC to plug into the HP Tube Amp. Mine sound delicious out of my Cavalli Liquid Platinum and I can imagine a nice aftermarket Periapt cable or some such goodie might make them sound! I have a large collection of headphones that I use (due to the fact that I live in a 3 family Browstone in Brooklyn) and my "full throated, stereo, big rig SOUND" of pre-marriage and pre-RENT PAYING tenant days," are no longer a practical or "peaceful" option!BUT....as is oft the case, I digress! The cans come with a nice heavy cardboard presentation box with the phones , wires, and carrying bag all neatly laid out in the appropriate, precise, Teutonic order und discipline!BTW,....the old adage about "burn-in" for these is true! Take it from one who has been forced to pursue peace and tranquility within the "homestead" by the acquisition of quite a few high-end examples of the headphone arts and sciences,...that, the more burn-in,.... the better! I KNOW MANY BELIEVE this to be hogwash (and on lesser sets of cans, quite possibly so) however, there is NOT a set of high end cans that I own and use that I have not found this to be the case! If you wish to rush the process a bit, just get an old receiver (odds are, if your reading this, you or someone you know, already own one of these and MOST, if not ALL, had a headphone jack. Just put any source (even an AM channel IF you have to) on medium volume { if you have less than stellar reception just tune to the best possible channel and right as it gets to be fuzzy and annoying sounding; back off the volume knob,} put under and/or in between a pillow/s...and walk away for a couple of days!) Trust me....works great! Don't buy into all the pink/white noise psychobable B.S. ! Just put some electric current through those voice coils or planar magnets and it will drastically reduce the time needed to do serious listening!I highly recommend these headphones! I find them delightfully enjoyable; about as musically enjoyable a "flat response curve" as you're ever going to hear! Not one spectrum is favored. All are represented with as much accuracy as is possible before becoming "dull and lifeless" as some of those very expensive alternatives that I know and own, unfortunately! They are closed back so obviously the soundstage is somewhat limited in width and depth however, accuracy is delightful and again curiously, very musical for what this set of HP's was originally designed to do. Then again, maybe that's what Neumann (studio microphone builders extraordinaire since 1927) set out to do in the first place; give a tool to studio engineers to monitor their mixes and recordings w/o boring them to death with dry and lifeless sound!Hey folks,....I spend a small fortune in time, energy, and moola buying and using stuff that I buy here on amamzon so, if this review was HELPFUL....well, you know what to do! Many thanks.

First off, can’t go wrong with the Neumann brand. They are a benchmark in the audio industry. For me, this is my first “high end” microphone. I’m barely getting a studio going, and this was an excellent purchase. I was looking to invest in a good vocal mic, and something that could also work with instruments. Thanks to the stimulus help, I was able to afford it. It has warmed up my vocals, and sounds really smooth. I have used it on my bass amp as well. Although, I prefer other mics for that, I like the detail it captures. I have barely used in a handful of projects so far, from vocals to instruments, still have a lot more to go. Can’t say much yet about it. But it is excellent!

I'd been searching many yaers for some GREAT-sounding headphones. I bought Beats, Sennheiser, JBL AT . . . many through the years. Lately, I had been listening and checking out Bose and the Sony WH 1000's. Never quite pulled the trigger on either. My friend purchased the NDH-20's and in casual conversation was praising them. So I took his word and ordered them. I can say without a doubt, THE BEST. It's really brought the music that I enjoy, back to life. The sound, for my old ears, is very clear w/o too much hi-mid and the lows are real w/o a boost. I use them w/a Focusrite d/a converter when listening to mp3's or YouTube, and go direct out for a CD player. They are NOT cheap . . . but, my search is over, I love 'em.