Verified
I can trust the low mids
I have three reference pairs on the desk and this is the one I check bass decisions on. The published sweep matched my own measurement within half a dB.
Engineering
The N1 exists because reference headphones are almost never repairable. A driver failure at year four normally means a new pair, because the cup is ultrasonically welded shut. Ours is held by six M2 torx screws, and every wear part — pads, headband, cable, grille, even the driver module itself — is a separate SKU that fits every generation we have made. The acoustic cost of a serviceable seal is real: a screwed cup leaks about 0.4dB more at 40Hz than a welded one, which we compensate for in the rear chamber rather than pretending it does not exist. The driver is a 40mm dome with a 300nm beryllium sputter layer over a polymer substrate, chosen for stiffness-to-mass rather than for the word beryllium.
Specification
Acoustics
- Driver
- 40mm beryllium-coated dome
- Frequency response
- 20Hz – 20kHz, ±1.5dB
- Impedance
- 32Ω
- Sensitivity
- 104dB / mW
- THD
- <0.08% at 94dB
Electronics
- DSP
- Dual-core, 96kHz internal path
- Codecs
- LDAC, aptX Adaptive, AAC, SBC
- ANC
- Hybrid feed-forward/back, −42dB peak
- Battery
- 38h ANC on, 61h off
- Charge
- USB-C, 8h from 10 min
Build
- Earcup
- Machined 6082 aluminium
- Headband
- Steel core, protein leather
- Mass
- 312g
- Fasteners
- 6 × M2 torx per cup
- Replaceable parts
- 11, all sold separately
N1 · The reference
NOVA ONE
A closed-back reference headphone with a 40mm beryllium-coated driver, flat to ±1.5dB, and eleven user-replaceable parts.
EUR 749
In stock — dispatched within 48 hours
In the box
- NOVA ONE headphone
- 1.2m USB-C to USB-C cable
- 1.5m 3.5mm balanced cable
- Torx T5 driver
- Semi-rigid case
- Measurement certificate for your unit
Free shipping over EUR 250. Two-year warranty, and replacement parts available at cost for as long as the product is in the catalogue.
Compare
Against the range
| Specification | N2NOVA TWO | N1NOVA ONE | N1LNOVA ONE Lite | NSNOVA STUDIO | NFNOVA FIELD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 44mm beryllium | 40mm beryllium | 40mm beryllium | 45mm planar | 33mm polymer |
| Frequency response | 12Hz – 24kHz ±1.5dB | 20Hz – 20kHz ±1.5dB | 20Hz – 20kHz ±1.5dB | 8Hz – 42kHz ±2dB | 25Hz – 20kHz, shelved |
| Mass | 372g | 312g | 244g | 398g | 168g |
| Battery | Passive | 38h ANC | 22h ANC | Wired only | 30h ANC |
| ANC | None — open back | −42dB | −38dB | None | −26dB |
| Codecs | Wired only | LDAC, aptX Adaptive | LDAC, aptX Adaptive | Analogue | aptX Adaptive |
| Price | EUR 649 | EUR 749 | EUR 499 | EUR 899 | EUR 329 |
| View | View | View | View | View |
Owners
Reviews
4.7 / 5 · 3
- Verified
Replaced a pad in ten minutes
Six screws and a new pad. My previous pair went in the bin for the same fault.
- Verified
Heavy but honest
312g is noticeable after three hours. The clamp is well judged though, and I would rather have the aluminium.
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