For those of you looking for a great all-around headphone, run, don't walk, to your nearest NAD dealer and get one...right now.
Not convinced yet? Okay, I'd be happy to go on for a little while about why this headphone is simply a game changer. We'll start with Paul Barton...
You may have read my recent article on the work done by Sean Olive et. al. at Harman Intl. on
developing a new headphone target response curve. In it, I describe the great lengths to which this research team has gone doing the detailed work needed to carefully develop a pleasing headphone response by both objective and subjective means. This very careful study is slowly but surely coming to the conclusion that headphones should sound like speakers in a room, and a target response curve for headphones is slowly coming to light. Dr. Olive is proceeding with this very methodical work in an effort to conclusively establish a new headphone target response curve for the audio engineering community. Much of Olive's work and methods rest on research done at Canada's National Research Council in the 1980s, which was aimed at finding pleasing loudspeaker target response curves. Floyd Toole lead the team of researchers at the time; both Sean Olive and Paul Barton were involved with the project.
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Barton [...] in his work designing product for PSB and NAD. His job is simply to make a good sounding headphone.
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Paul and I both await Sean Olive's final headphone target response curve with baited breath. He because he's pretty darn sure the NAD VISO HP50 is right on target, and I because after hearing Paul's latest take on "Room Feel" have got to believe that tuning headphones to sound like good speakers in a good room leads to a darned good sounding headphone, and I'd
love to have a better compensation curve for my headphone measurements than the one I currently use.
Physical Description
The NAD VISO HP50 is a full-size, circumaural, sealed headphone. The overall look of these headphones is very nice, in my opinion, and the integration of ergonomics, comfort, and styling is very well executed.
Synthetic materials are used broadly, and appear to be of high quality. Ear-pads and headband pad are ample and use high quality protein leather coverings. Ear-cushions are memory foam, and, though a bit snug, were quite comfortable for me. On first view I thought the headband pad might be a bit under padded, but found the HP50 quite light, and comfort was good for long listening sessions.
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On my somewhat larger than average male head, the NAD VISO HP50 had a snug fit. Caliper pressure was moderate, and isolation and ear-pad seal performance seemed quite good. Because these headphones are fairly light, the snug fit seemed very secure on my noggin; I see no problem using these headphones in mobile applications while moderately active.
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Sound Quality
In a word: Fabulous! I keep on wanting to write that these are a warm and punchy sounding headphone, but it's just not quite true...well, they're warm and punchy when the music is, and the bass is well extended and very tight, but they're also articulate and clear in the treble, and well balanced throughout the mids. They're as open sounding and coherent as any sealed headphone I've heard, delivering fairly good depth and imaging; and they do a great job of delivering a very balanced transition from upper-mids through the mid-treble, which gives vocals and acoustic instruments a lively and natural voice.
And maybe that's the benefit of the whole "make headphones sound like good speakers in a good room" thing: it makes the music as a whole sound compelling. [...] NAD VISO HP50 is somewhat warmer than the average headphone, and yes, the jury is still out as to whether or not this is the scientifically provable most satisfying sonic signature for headphones, but I have to say, I thought they sounded really,
really good.
Criticisms? Well, they're not as open and airy sounding as good open headphones, so they're a bit constricted and close sounding. The very top octave could use a slight boost, possibly, and the mid-treble is ever so slightly bright for my taste—which means that most folks will likely find it right on the money.
I keep trying to dig up a circumaural sealed headphone that I think sounds better...but I can't. My Denon D5000 is a bit more refined sounding in the highs, but their bass is a bit too loose. The AKG K550 and K267 Tiesto are a bit artificial sounding in the treble. And my previous favorite, the Sennheiser Momentum, may have the edge in upper-treble air, but sound somewhat loose and bloomy in the bass relative to the HP50.
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The really great thing about the HP50 is it seems to hit the nail on the head in so many ways. Not only does it sound great, but it also fits comfortably, isolates well, looks good, and is nicely priced.
Summary
Simply put: The NAD VISO HP50 is my favorite sealed headphone to date for general purpose use. Paul Barton's "Room Feel" headphone response curve intended to make a headphone sound tonally similar to good speakers in a good room seems to do exactly that; these headphones have a very pleasing, somewhat warm sound that doesn't get in the way of the details. Bass is deep and tight, midrange is well tonally balanced, and the treble is nicely articulated without being harsh—though the top octave might benefit from a slight lift. These are sealed headphones however, and are not quite as coherent and airy sounding as some open headphones.
Sound quality alone would get these headphones onto the "Wall of Fame", but the real strength of these cans is that they perform so very well in so many ways. The look is elegant and clean without any pretention; they're light, comfortable, and secure on the head; isolation is quite good and will make for a relatively quiet commute; they pack away in the included carry case in a remarkably thin size; and last but not least, they're very fairly priced in my opinion. Yup, "Wall of Fame" bound, they'll knock off the Sennheiser Momentum largely due to ergonomics, but I also like the sound a bit better.
Something a bit different for the video this time. I had the chance to interview Paul Barton at this year's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, and had him talk about the development of these very fine headphones.
