NAD VISO HP50 Headphones Review

The NAD VISO HP50 have a stylish and unique look that feels well-made. They have a thick, cylindrical headband, and flat, square-ish ear cups that make for a decently low-profile fit for an over-ear. Their color scheme also stands out with a brushed aluminum finish for the headband frame and bright red plastic casings for the ear cups. Overall, they're eye-catching headphones, but the casings of the ear cups feel a bit cheap once in your hands.

The NAD VISO HP50 are well-padded and decently lightweight but uncomfortably tight. They should be good enough for casual listening, and the large ear cups fit well around most ears. Unfortunately, the headband doesn't extend far enough to accommodate all head shapes and sizes, and the hinges swivel in the opposite direction of typical over-ear headphones, like the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H6. However, the swivel stops at 90 degrees with no leeway in the range of motion which contributes to the tight feel. On the upside, the soft pads of the ear cups make the tight fit somewhat bearable but they won't be the most comfortable headphones to wear for very long listening sessions.

The NAD VISO HP50 have a simple 3 button set-up that provides all the basic functions: call/music, track-skipping, and volume control. They don't have any additional features, but the in-line remote buttons are responsive and deliver decent feedback.

The NAD VISO HP50, like most closed-back over-ear headphones, will make your ears a little warm after an hour of continuous listening. It's about average for over-ears with faux leather padding and closed-back ear cups, but this also means they won't be ideal for more strenuous activities. They'll make you sweat a bit more than average.

The NAD VISO HP50 aren't the bulkiest over-ears, but they don't fold into a compact format to save space. The ear cups lay flat which could be handy in some situations but doesn't make them more portable. They're too cumbersome to casually carry around on your person unless you have a bag or backpack.

These headphones come with a good hard case that will shield them against impacts like drops and scratches. Unfortunately, the case is bulky and isn't very portable.

The NAD VISO HP50's build quality is decent but not great. They have a sturdy and flexible headband that's reinforced with an aluminum frame, which makes them decently durable. The hinges also feel sturdy and not loose like some of the other over-ear headsets we've tested. Unfortunately, the ear cups, although dense, are covered in a plastic casing that doesn't feel as durable as the rest of the design. Also, where the ear cups and the hinges meet has a limited swivel range which may cause the plastic casing to crack under moderate stress. Overall the build quality is decent but not as sturdy as the Oppo PM-3 or the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H6.

These headphones have a tight fit on the head which doesn't move around much once you have them on. They're stable enough for jogging and come with a detachable audio cable that will disconnect if it gets hooked on something. However, since they're still fairly bulky over-ears, they won't be the most suitable for intense exercises and workout routines. For example, lying down for a bench press or leaning at an angle will sometimes make the headband shift, which may need readjusting, but compared to other over-ears they should be stable enough for running.

• NAD VISO HP50 Headphones
• Carrying case
• Cable pouch
• Audio cable (x2)
• 1/8" to 1/4" adapter
• Airline adapter
• Manual

The frequency response consistency is sub-par. In the bass range, the maximum amount of deviation on our five human subjects at 20Hz is more than 12dB, which is quite noticeable. The bass drop was especially pronounced on the subject who wears glasses. So if you have long hair or wear glasses that could break the air-tight seal between the headphones and your ears, you could experience a decrease in bass delivery. However, they are decently consistent in their treble delivery across multiple re-seat, with a maximum deviation of about 3dB below 10KHz.

The NAD VISO HP50 have great bass. Their LFE (low-frequency extension) is at 10Hz, which is excellent. Accordingly, sub-bass is within 0.8dB of our neutral target, indicating a deep bass with just the right amount of thump and rumble common to bass-heavy genres like dubstep, hip-hop, and film scores. Mid-bass is also flat and well-balanced, which is important for producing the body of bass guitars and the punch of kick drums. However, high-bass is overemphasized by about 4dB, adding a bit of clutter and boominess to the mix.

The mid-range is very good. The 3dB bump in low-mid is actually the continuation of the high-bass overemphasis, which thickens vocals a bit and adds some muddiness to the mix. Mid-mid and high-mid are relatively flat, but over our neutral target by about 1.5dB, making the overall sound a tad mid-rangy.

The treble of the NAD VISO HP50 is great. The response is quite flat, but slightly uneven throughout the range. Low-treble and mid-treble are underemphasized by 1.2dB, placing the level of detail, brightness, and presence of vocals, lead instruments, and cymbals just south of neutral.

The imaging is great. Their weighted group delay is at 0.19 which is very good. The GD graph also shows that the entire group delay response is below the audibility threshold. This indicates a tight bass and a transparent treble reproduction. Additionally, the L/R drivers of our test unit were very well-matched in amplitude, frequency, and phase response, which is important for the accurate placement and localization of objects (voices, instruments, and video game effects), in the stereo image.

The soundstage is mediocre. The PRTF graph shows an average amount of pinna interaction, and there is even a good amount of depth to the 10kHz notch. However, the accuracy of the activation isn't good. This results in a soundstage that may be perceived as small, but not located entirely in the head. Additionally, due to their closed-back design, their soundstage won't feel as open and spacious as that of open-back headphones.

The isolation performance is sub-par. The NAD VISO HP50 don't have ANC (active noise cancellation) and isolate passively using only their ear cups. They don't isolate in the bass range and will let in all the rumble of airplane and bus engines. In the mid-range, where most of the speech sits, they achieved about 5dB of isolation, which is inadequate. In the treble range, however, which is occupied by sharp S and T sounds, they achieved about 32dB of isolation, which is good.

The leakage performance is very good. A significant portion of their leakage is between 400Hz and 3kHz, which is a relatively broad range and covers portions of both the mid and treble ranges. However, the overall level of leakage is very low. With the music at 100dB SPL, the leakage will peak at around 45dB SPL at 1 foot away, which is below the noise floor of most offices.

The NAD VISO HP50 has an average microphone. In quiet environments, speech recorded or transmitted with this mic will sound noticeably thin, but quite detailed and easily understandable. In noisy environments, however, they'll struggle to separate speech from background noise in loud places like a subway station. They'll perform well in quiet and moderately loud situations.

The NAD VISO HP50's mic has a decent recording quality. The LFE (low-frequency extension) of 508Hz suggests that speech recorded or transmitted with this microphone will sound noticeably thin. The HFE (high-frequency extension) of 16kHz is excellent and along with the mostly flat response means that speech will have the right amount of detail and brightness. The dip around 10kHz negatively affects the presence of sibilances (S and Ts), but it won't affect the understandability of speech.

The in-line microphone of the NAD VISO HP50 is below-average at noise handling. In our SpNR test, they achieved a speech-to-noise ratio of 16dB. This means they perform best in quiet and moderately loud environments, but they will struggle to separate speech from ambient noise in very loud places.

The NAD VISO HP50 doesn't require a battery.

These headphones don't have a compatible app or software. If you want wired headphones with app support, try the Logitech G430.

The NAD VISO HP50 don't have any Bluetooth capabilities. If you want Bluetooth compatible headphones, check out our best recommendations here. These headphones have a wired connection with negligible latency.

These headphones have a 1/8TRRS iOS audio cable that does not have microphone compatibility with consoles. If you have a headphone/microphone port on your laptop or tablet then you will have microphone access but for desktops, you may need an adapter.

The NAD VISO HP50 don't have a dock. If you need a headset with a dock that also has a wired connection for gaming or watching movies, then consider the SteelSeries Arctis 7 Wireless 2017.