AUDIOPHILE AUDITION focuses on recordings of interest to audiophiles and collectors, with an accent on surround sound for music, and on all hi-res disc formats. Over 100SACD, DVD Video/Audio and standard CD reviews are published during each month, and our archives go back to January 2001.
Goldring NS1000 Active Noise Reduction Headphones
They really do their job, but phones without the noise reduction circuitry can produce better sound for less money.
Goldring NS1000 Active
Noise Reduction Headphones
$300
Distributed in the United States by Music Hall
http://www.musichallaudio.com/
516-487-3663 (voice)
516-773-3891 (fax)
Description
Dynamic closed-ear headphones with active noise reduction that operate on a single AAA battery; detachable 1.8m QED cord; .25” adapter; double-prong airplane adapter and hard travel case; 40 hour battery life; .5 pound with cable; >21 dB noise reduction; rated 15Hz – 23kHz bandwidth; THD <.3% (1mW @ 1 kHz); Max input power 260mW; 330 ohm impedance; 2-year warranty.
Associated Equipment
Marantz CC4001 CD Changer, Marantz SR5002 Surround Receiver, Apple iPod Nano (portable), Lexar Digital Music Player (portable), Bose Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones (also $300) and Grado SR80 ($95) headphones for comparison.
The Basics
The manual with the headphones is two pages long—pictures of what comes with the package, how to replace the battery, how to plug in the cord, how to turn them on, and a small section on troubleshooting should you need it. One of the nice things about the Goldring headphones (in comparison to many others) is that the cord only attaches to one side meaning a lot less chance of getting it caught in something. When the noise reduction is on a small blue light on the side is illuminated. Changing the battery is cool—you just twist on the headphone face and it opens up to reveal the hidden battery. The fact that the battery is AAA means you can replace it without too much trouble (seeing as there is no charging function).
I found out quickly that the headphones didn’t sound all that good when they weren’t turned on. Apparently the specifications also change when they are not in active mode. Impedance goes from 330 down to 100 ohms and rated SPL is reduced from 101 dB with 1mW to 93 dB. At first I thought there was something wrong, but then I realized that turning on the noise cancellation improved the sound dramatically (and I conducted all the further listening tests with the ANR on).
Even with the headphones unplugged and turned off they manage to form a tight seal over the ear that blocked a lot of extraneous noise. The pads are a soft vinyl and not felt like some other headsets although they were comfortable.
Listening Tests (vs. Bose)
My first listening was with the song “Bailamos” by Enrique Iglesias. The NS1000 had good high frequency response and air, bass wasn’t overbearing or muddy and the music was balanced and clean. The Bose headphones are physically much lighter with smaller pads (as opposed to cups), so they didn’t fit as tightly on the head. They are also more efficient, so it was necessary to readjust the volume during the tests. Though they were easier to drive there was almost too much bass and a slight muffling of the sound. I asked a friend to listen after me and without trying to influence him find out which ones he liked. At the end of the listening tests he agreed that the Goldrings sounded better.
With Nina Simone’s “My Baby Don’t Care For Me” I was more impressed with the Bose headphones than I thought I’d be. My friend described the sound of the Bose as cloudy. They tended to warm up the voice with a resulting tradeoff in resolution. My guess is they would be a good match for those listening to a lot of spoken voice (like books on tape, conferences, etc). The NS1000s had more definition, but weren’t nearly as airy as you’d get from electrostats or open ear headphones. Still, they are a good set of ‘phones.'
Listening Tests (vs. Grado SR80s)
I wanted to find out how competitive the NS1000s would be with a wired set of headphones lacking any kind of noise cancellation with music. The Grado set is almost the opposite of the Goldring in that they are open ear so not only is outside sound audible, but the sound from the headphones is audible to others. Many believe this is still the best sounding design. If you haven’t heard the difference, then it is essential before deciding on a set for straight listening. The closed ear sets sound much more “closed-in” and typically have more bass output, while the open ear designs usually sound lighter, more spacious, open and airy.
I listened to music from both the Lexar and the iPod to compare the sound of these two headphones from artists like Madonna, Bruce Cockburn, Knarls Barkley, and Bob James. I had the volume all the way up on the Lexar and it wasn’t loud, but loud enough with the Goldrings. This device doesn’t have a lot of output, but worked with the NS1000s well enough. The equivalent volume on the Nano was about 2/3 up. I could turn it up so that the music was quite loud and still not at the loudest setting on the device. From these tests I would say that the NS1000s will work fine with portable devices (and should work fine with laptops, portable DVD players and other devices).
On the Marantz CD player I listened to track 4 and 6 from Shieffeld’s My Disc. The Goldrings have a richer sound and punchier bass while the Grado’s have more highs and air, but sounded more natural. On guitar and acoustic instruments the Grado’s sounded more realistic, while the Goldrings pushed the voice a little giving me the feeling they would be better with spoken word and dialogue.
These two sets sounded different, but weren’t out of each other’s league yet the Goldring NS1000 are three times the price. If noise cancellation is merely a novelty, then it would be worth investigating less expensive headphones (even from Goldring—like the DR150 at half the price), before paying the extra expense for noise cancellation. Whether the style is open, closed, on or over the ear, there is something available that should give comparable performance for less or better performance for the same price as the NS1000s.
I didn’t compare any earbud designs (in the ear), because even the most expensive ones I’ve heard don’t sound competitive and there is a tendency for the listener to turn these up rather loud and risk hearing damage. [Right - as audiophiles we should all Boycott Buds!...Ed.]
Listening Test (with Dolby Headphone)
I was curious to try out the Dolby Headphone output on the Marantz receiver as I’d never tried this before. I used a couple of chapters from Gladiator - especially chapter four. Turning this feature on and off I can say that listening with Dolby engaged was a more enjoyable experience. I didn’t try the feature with music because my experience is that favorable sound from simulating surround with two-channel music is very listener and recording dependent.
Airplane Listening and Extraneous Noise Tests
I wasn’t sure when I was going to be able to try the headset on a plane, so I did some experiments with noise in a typical home environment. I used track one from The Kinks’ Live To The Bone set playing in the background and turned the cancelling switch on and off (with no music playing through the headphones). As noted before, just by putting the headset on there is a reduction in external sound. With the noise cancelling engaged midrange and bass was reduced and external high frequency output was reduced. The Bose set I had did not block as much sound because the physical connection between the headset and the ears was not as tight as with the Goldrings.
I finally got to try out the headset on a flight to and from Utah. I used the headphones for about two hours in each direction. Even with no music the advantages of the noise cancellation were immediate. I turned the set on and off and heard the lower frequency rumble and high frequency hiss caused by the plane drop down in level tremendously. With the music playing (from the on-plane radio) I could hardly hear anything around me. The fact that the NS1000s come with an adapter was awesome. Unfortunately pilot announcements interrupt the radio, so it would have been nice to have some sort of external player to use. The noise reduction offered by the NS1000 helped calm me down and made it much easier to fall asleep (as I’m not the most relaxed flier). On the flight over for some reason the jazz station was only coming out in mono—I wished there was some sort of mono switch on the headset, but I haven’t seen this feature on other sets either. The bulkiness of the headphones made wedging me up against the window with a pillow not the most comfortable, but it was a tradeoff between good isolation and size of the ear piece.
Comfort
In my years of selling headphones I discovered that headphone comfort is somewhat subjective. Some people like the feel of different materials on the ear, some like in-the-ear phones, some like over-the-ear (as opposed to on the ear), and different shapes and sizes feel more or less comfortable from one person to the next. Of the three sets I tried I’d rate the Goldring in the middle in terms of comfort for me. The Bose was lighter weight and didn’t push as hard up against the ear; unfortunately they also sounded the worst. I would recommend trying any headphone set before committing to it. Headphones are a lot like sweaters in that, once you find one you like, you’ll keep it for a long time. I would have preferred the felt pad like that used in the Goldring DR150 or many of the Sennheiser headphones, but perhaps there is a sound reason (pun intended) why Goldring chose to use the other material. In any case, try it before you buy it!
Conclusion
Having had a positive experience at least 15 years ago listening to headphones with noise cancellation, I was curious to hear what could be done these days with technological improvements moving at a rapid pace in hearing aids, computers, room correction, etc. When it came to the noise cancellation aspect of the NS1000 headphones I was very impressed. In the place where it was most important (on the plane), they were a winner. As for use as normal headphones they worked very well, but couldn’t offer the same price/performance ratio as a typical wired headset (even from Goldring). So, if noise cancellation is not important, I would look elsewhere. They did offer an improvement in dialogue (voice) intelligibility, so if this is an issue, then they will be a good match. For portable use the cord length is more than enough, but in a home environment a longer cord (or extension) might be a good investment.
In a lot of ways headphones are just small speakers and every speaker is a compromise in one way or another, so personal preference will always come into play. Not only for comfort is an audition important, but to make sure that the NS1000 headphones offer the type of sound that the purchaser will like. In my estimation, they offer a fine value in a headphone that can be utilized with both portable and home equipment and block out external sound.
-- Brian Bloom
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