AudioQuest Nighthawk

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, Oct 4, 2015.

  1. takato14

    takato14 God of Ruin

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    Disagree here. The Geek Out 450 slaughters the dragonfly for about the same price.
     
  2. michauczok

    michauczok New

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    Yes, but you can use very loose cotton for tests, instead of buying whole big pack. But nighthawks are already stuffed with two horse-shoe shaped pieces of fiber. For now, I've removed one, and damped driver enclosure with dynamat-like sound deadener, with good effects, but velours take away too much bass, better try some hybrids.
    But to be honest, I think that this driver should be put in slightly bigger closed cup, similiar to Sony R10, and that's what I'm going to do :D
     
  3. TMRaven

    TMRaven Friend

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    Wonder how this would have compared to the first iteration of the beta pm3 that I really liked.

    If I loved the HE-400's bass and midrange, but thought it could have used a tad more upper midrange and way less mid-upper treble, and more comfort, does the Nighthawk fit that bill?
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2015
  4. k3oxkjo

    k3oxkjo Friend

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    I think the Nighthawks are serious phones. While not everyone will find them to their tastes, it's interesting to me how much they can sound like a live classical music concert. For example, I have heard the Mozart Sy. 40 twice live and the Linn Records Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Mackerras recording (an excellent recording, BTW) played on the Nighthawks sounded very much like what I heard. My initial take is that the drivers are really low distortion and don't "break up" much, which is really good for not congesting busy music when things get going, a weakness of the HD-650 (a fave of mine), in my view. The Nighthawks do have their own weaknesses, they almost sound like they have the (in)famous BBC "Gundry Dip" (a few DB depression between 1 and 4 kHz) that tends to "back off" and deepen the sense of image and "civilize" the sound to a degree and if it were my design I might have backed off the midbass a bit (though I really don't find the bass as overpowering as some people seem to), to name two.

    More to say coming, but if your philosophy is like mine (get acoustic recordings right and the rest will take care of themselves), you may find this to be a go-to can at a reasonable price.

    Kevin
     
  5. mnt

    mnt New

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    Interesting...and all I've heard is bad things about these....
     
  6. elnero

    elnero New

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    Like most headphones the NightHawk is rather polarizing. They have their fair share of negative reviews and impressions but they also have a very good number of extremely positive reviews. Another factor seems to be that many people don't get what they're about right away and it takes a longer than normal time with them to "get it". I wasn't particularly struck by them myself when I first heard them but it didn't take long for me to fall in love with them. They're still relatively new to me so maybe that will change but so far the more time I spend with them the more they continue to grow on me. I honestly don't get the negativity some people have towards them, I understand they wouldn't be everyones cup of tea, but I just don't hear what some of the naysayers say they're hearing.
     
  7. Ninja Pirate

    Ninja Pirate Friend

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    I've got a set of the Brainwavz hybrid pads coming tonight so I'll see how that goes.

    Definitely interested in how you get on with making a bigger enclosure.
     
  8. Ninja Pirate

    Ninja Pirate Friend

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    Just put the Brainwavz Hybrid pads on my pair and stuffed a bunch of polyfill inside the cups as well.

    Overall bass quantity seems to have been reduced quite a bit, but the mid bass emphasis is still present... Also sounds slightly less hollow than before but not by much.

    Some pics.

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  9. proyb

    proyb New

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    Without knowing the types of songs you're listening, I will take it a pinch of salt for negative opinions.
     
  10. Ninja Pirate

    Ninja Pirate Friend

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    Do you guys think mass loading the baffle and cups would do all that much?
     
  11. HitmanFluffy

    HitmanFluffy Hoping to see real genitals someday!

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    I don't think mass loading would solve the midrange suckout at all.
     
  12. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Stuff some shit in the cups and tell us what you think!

    You can also send to me and I'll tweak the crap out of it and post my psuedo scientific results for all. :)
     
  13. spoony

    spoony Spooky

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    Try putting a piece of felt over the central damping hole of the driver to see if it makes any difference, it does on beyers and the k7xx.
     
  14. kirayamato

    kirayamato Friend

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    i heard some reviews on head-fi seemed like they were horrible nice job
    purrin
     
  15. Poleepkwa

    Poleepkwa Friend

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    In which situation would these be better than the HD-650? Interesting phones, but they are also 2x the price of the HD-650 here in Europe.
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Should I make a Satanic heptagon and compare with a few others?
     
  17. spoony

    spoony Spooky

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  18. Koloth

    Koloth Klingon SBAF Ambassador - Friend

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    Koloth's subjective review of the Audioquest Nighthawk (09. december 2015)

    (I guess this is the place to post this. I dont want to spam up SBAF by creating a new thread unless it's necessary.)

    Over the last four days I was lucky enough to be able to play extensively with the Audioquest Nighthawk. This is my totally subjective review. I am not (yet) able to take measurements, so it’s up to you to relate my subjective impressions and those of others to the measurements posted in the measurements section.

    A week ago I was intent on ordering the Nighthawk blind. From the measurements I had seen in the SBAF measurement section and on Innerfidelity and the impressions of people here and on Head-Fi I was convinced that this was the one for me. Very clean, smooth, non-aggressive sound with deep extended bass – sign me up! I was looking for an open-back replacement or companion to my trusty Sennheiser HD600 which just lack in bass extension and quantity when I’m playing games or watching movies. Luckily I found a dealer willing to let me borrow the headphone over the weekend. I returned them today and saved 600$. There truly is no substitute for personal listening tests.

    Do not get me wrong: I think the Nighthawk is a good headphone. In some areas it’s even very good. I have no trouble imagining some people being very happy with it. For me though, it did not scratch my itch. I don’t want to bore anyone with flowery language and an excessively long review discussing in detail specific songs, amplifier pairings etc. Instead I’ll try to present a review how I like to read them: Covering all important aspects, but also written to the point and in a non-hype’y way.

    [​IMG]

    Let me start with the obvious (and possibly most subjective!) aspect: The visual design and construction quality. These headphones are truly well built. The ‘liquid wood’ design is unique and nice. The construction feels very solid. In my limited time I could not find any squeaky or dangerously fragile parts. Now I don’t think it’s the last word in build quality either: There IS a lot of generic plastic on this thing (compared to say the offerings of Beyerdynamic or Sony). But all in all there is no reason to complain. Build quality and design are in my opinion very good.

    The same goes for comfort. The clamping force was (for my head size) absolutely perfect. Not too much to be uncomfortable, but still firm, so as not to wobble around and make noises when I move my head. The headband is very nice so I only experienced very few aching spots on the top of my head after wearing them for many hours at a time: Not quite as good as the Sony MDR-Z7, about the same as my HD600 and a lot less than the 7-bumps-of-pain K701. I do think this is something one(‘s head) gets used to over time. The ears however do get moderately warm after wearing the Nighthawk for an hour or more. Really nothing to complain about, but – it is December. So it’s possible that this ‘issue’ might get worse when wearing them with higher ambient temperatures. My ears certainly got warmer than when wearing the HD600 or K701. Even the MDR-Z7 seem cooler in comparison (because the pads allow for more room around the ears). All in all though comfort is quite good.

    Onto the sound quality then. I was surprised when I put on the Nighthawk for the first time. They truly sound unlike anything I had heard before. This very unique signature is still tastefully done and will certainly find a few admirers. One of the most positive qualities of this headphone is the extremely low distortion across the frequencies: The sound is extraordinarily clean, I heard zero distortion – independent of frequency or volume. The Nighthawk can in fact be played very loud (louder than I would ever be comfortable listening to) without distorting. The headphones present a very good amount of detail throughout the frequency range as well – certainly a function of the great clarity of sound the biocellulose drivers are able to produce. I think the Nighthawk are by far cleaner and less grainy sounding than my HD600’s or Z7’s: Especially in the bass. Even very low notes remain distortion-free. The nice thing about the way the Nighthawk handles micro-details is that they are presented in a very organic way. No fake detail richness qua treble spikes here. All in all, the sound is very organic, harmonic, soft, smooth and – nice. I am rather sensitive to aggressive treble and I can attest that the Nighthawk finds a good balance in the treble: It’s not muffled sounding, but it is never aggressive. You can get sibiliance out of it by feeding it tracks that have been recorded too hot (for example Amy MacDonalds acoustic version of ‘4th of July’). I can imagine some people might wish for more treble energy. Clapping does not sound convincingly realistic on the Nighthawks for example.

    On the other end of the frequency spectrum the bass extension is extraordinary. The Nighthawk goes deep – much deeper than the HD600 or MDR-Z7 – without (it bears repeating) any distortion. The bass is clean and detailed. Unfortunately, it was severely lacking in quantity for me. It was barely better than the HD600 and K701. The MDR-Z7 was running circles around it and laughing while doing it. This was one of the biggest disappointments for me. Whereas the MDR-Z7 gives me a satisfyingly deep rumble when s**t explodes in movies or games the Nighthawk is utterly anemic. It’s emotionless, funless. If you are looking for a fun headphone for the occasional movie or game – keep looking, this is most definitely not for you. It isn’t just in plebeian activities like gaming or watching movies that the bass of the Nighthawk falls short though. When listening to orchestral soundtracks the lack of a strong bass foundation is very noticeable. It all sounds good, but you don’t find yourself unconsciously tapping along to the beat of the music.

    What about the mids then? Here is where the Nighthawk was truly unique for me. The mids are quite recessed. Now, I know headphones with recessed mids: ‘fun’, U-shaped frequency curves with lots of rumble down below and lots of sparkle upstairs but no emotion. The Nighthawk isn’t that. First of all, it isn’t very fun. But the mids are also not drowned out. They are simply a little too distant. It’s quite frustrating actually, because the sound is otherwise so very clear, smooth and detailed. But the singers always seem to stand a few steps too far away. You find yourself concentrating to hear the details in the voices, because the freaking headphone pushes them just a little bit too far away to be happy with them. As a consequence, with densely instrumented songs the voices get drowned out in the power of the instruments. The ultimate transparency is lacking in precisely that frequency spectrum where emotion lives – and it’s not because of a lack of technical proficiency of the drivers but simply a question of tonal tuning. Very frustrating.

    As a consequence music does sound a little devoid of emotion sometimes, a little lacking in energy. I listened to entire orchestral soundtracks while working on a paper and was only pulled out of my work when the last track had ended. Compare that to the Z7 or HD600 that grip you, call your attention to them and make it hard to focus on other things. In a way it’s a double-edged sword: The Nighthawks aren’t ultimately involving or energetic, but they are extraordinarily good for long-time listening – perhaps even background listening.

    The final negative I noticed was that the soundstage felt very small. Everything seemed to emerge right in the middle of my head. Depending on the song it seemed a little claustrophobic. The HD600, K701 and Z7 have vastly superior soundstaging.

    What to make of the Nighthawk in a final assessment then? If I had unlimited money, I would keep them as a companion to my other headphones. The sound signature is unique, the strong points are truly strong, and it is very enjoyable to listen to – especially with acoustic music, where it sometimes achieves a stunning degree of realism. But I don’t have unlimited money, and so the Nighthawk with its – so to speak – very limited area of expertise must go and make way for a hopefully better all-rounder in the future.

    =================


    Formal stuff: I listened to the Audioquest Nighthawk (which was well broken in) out of my BMC Audio PureDac and my Cowon J3 PMP over the course of four days. I used a variety of songs from different genres: Mainly vocal-heavy country/bluegrass/folk music and orchestral movie scores. Some hip-hop and rock. Also a few electronic and operatic pop songs. I directly compared the Nighthawk to the other headphones I have laying around here: My HD600, an original 7-bump AKG K701 and the Sony MDR-Z7. I do however have listening experience with a lot of other headphones (check my profile etc.).


    TL: DR: Comfort very good; build quality very good; amazingly distortion- and grain-free sound; very smooth and organic; nice amount of details; non-aggressive, a little subdued treble; very good bass extension; disappointing bass quantity and punchiness; somewhat recessed mids that frustratingly always seem a little too distant and get drowned out by the other frequencies easily; small soundstage; lack of energy and toe-tap-factor.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2015
  19. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Nice review! Agreed on many points. The super recessed mids and horribly small soundstage is what killed it for me. I honestly couldn't listen for more than a few minutes without going crazy and feeling like I was suffocating. :)
     
  20. Poleepkwa

    Poleepkwa Friend

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    Good review Koloth! Think I will stick to the X2 for the fun stuff and the HD650 for the serious sessions... considering those 2 together cost as much as the Nighthawk.
     

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