Cary Audio release Nighthawk Headphone Amp May 21st - 1200 USD - Page 4

It's also very untrue that Cary is jumping on the headphone bandwagon. Their 300 SEI was one of the very first serious headphone amps. I bought one in 1994 and Dennis Had, who was visiting a local dealer, actually cary'd it out to my car and put it in the trunk.

 

Do you still have the 300 SEI in comparison?  If so, how does the new kid stacks up to the reference?

No, I sold that amp over 12 years ago because it just produced way too much heat for the arrangement my gear had to be in at the time. I would say for a darker headphone like the LCD-2, that 300 SEI may be too warm because it was very tubey sounding. I bet the current version would beat most other amps though. I think there are better 300B tubes available now too.

I can say that I prefer the Nighthawk to the Melos SHA Gold I later bought from the same dealer and still have. That could simply be because the Melos is so old now though.

 

I heard the Melos Sha Gold Ref (highest version) and thought that it sounded pretty darn good.  Is the volume on your amp a stepped attenuator or just an Alp Blue Velvet?  Would you like to share pictures of the innards of the amp?  Thanks!

 

If you re-read my post you will understand that I'm a big fan of Cary and only wish that they provide a little more features for the asking price. I never doubt the sound of any Cary equipment as I know that they only release quality products.  I just think a little more features will make the unit appeal to more buyers including myself.

I wouldn't be surprised if, because the vast majority of Cary customers own speaker rigs, that this is really just an accessory for those people to use headphones late in the evening or at night with their main equipment. That is possibly why it is very simple feature-wise.

 

Bingo. That's exactly what I thought when I first saw this thing.

 

Not that the above comment is necessarily any indicator of quality, per se. 

Reminds me of the Accuphase C-3800 preamp. At US$20,000, I doubt if anyone would use it solely as a headphone amp, but trying it only with the LCD-2 Rev 1 and fed with signal from the Esoteric K-01, the experience was one of the most unforgettable ones I have had with headphones. Very few speaker amps have their headphone out specifically designed but not as an after thought, and the Accuphase C-3800 was one of the them - the only other two I can think of happens to be the Leben CS300XS, and the Cary SLi 80 Signature. It is therefore not unreasonable to think that the Nighthawk may actually be up to something. While a high price does not mean quality in some cases, it is quite unreasonable to dismiss it simply because of its price. 

Edited by googleli - 9/3/12 at 9:00am

Just got this today.  Yay!!!  It is BiG!

 

 

 

We would love to hear your impression on it!  

I'm excited to see how it compares to the Lehmann Audio Black Cube Linear, Musical Fidelity M1 HPA & Beyerdynamic A1 in my collection.

Since it seems like you and I are the only ones on Head Fi who own this amp, I would love to hear what you think of it. I owned a black cube linear a few years ago and was using the M1 HPA when I got the Nighthawk. IMO it's a definite step up from those amps. I've been really enjoying it.
Edited by donlin - 9/28/12 at 6:24am

I am burning it in right now, but I did give it a listen for a moment.  I agree that it is a step up form the M1.  The M1 makes a lot of hiss compared to other amps in my collection.  The NH (nighthawk) has very good definition and stereo separation.  Also, it does not generate any heat at all.  Mine have been on for over 24 hrs.