[dudlew]

So,
 
I am going to give you my brother's impression of the nighthawk...
 
My brother is a music lover. not a head-fi guy, but a hifi guy. In my estimation he has very good ears and i think he values a realistic and accurate sound with the details.
 
I gave him the headphone and went away. When I came back... oh its allright. but it seems like my ipod is straining to drive it. feels like it needs more power... so I said, oh.. I have my amp with me. (E11K) i will bring it for you. So I bought the amp up and left him with it. He dissappered for almost an hour going through his music collection. His words were..... I find them neutral and accurate, but just a touch dark. So I asked... You dont find them to have a slight niggling boost in the lower mids making them sound a bit nasal? ..... nope didnt find that at all. 
 
So there is my brother's opinion on the night hawk.
 
As for my own, I am waiting to get some replacement pads for the PM3 as I want to do a three way comparison and write up a full review. But suffice to say at present, I like these headphones. I still feel that there is a slight percieved boost making the lower mids upperbass region a bit nasally and boomy, but in all honesty it seems to be going away and its not with every track. I am beginning to think that it is the recording and not the headphone. I was listening on a ferry yesteday to some 21 Pilots and it sounded really good. even on that kind of noisy environment, the bass came through nice and strong and it sounded right. I had to relinquish them to my daughter to calm her nerves, as she was scared and needed a distraction though.
 
I give till end of January to have a review up on the nighthawks. By then I should have the new pads for the nighthawk the oppo and a custom cable from peterek. Lets see how it all goes
 
D

 

[MattTCG]

I wanted to take a moment to give big props to Skylar and AQ on taking care of a warranty issue for me. The problem resulted somewhat from my carelessness but they accommodated the problem anyway. I wish that more companies had this level of customer support and realized that by taking care of their customers they only build their reputation and increase loyalty for their products. 

 

[nmatheis]

Nighthawks is the official nmatheis Find Of The Year for 2016 in the headphone category!

 

[UNOE]

Has anyone tried adding cotton under the pad even amount all the way around between the cloth and pad to open up the sounds stage ?

 

[Airlight]

 

[EdwardPL]

I've had the Nighthawk Carbon since release and I'm shocked at the difference between them and the original NH.

In tone sweeps and music test the lowest octaves of the bass are not as present as the original NH. What I like about my old nogjtjawk is that the elevated bass gives a almost theatre like bass that really adds to the unique sound. I don't hear this with the Nighthawk Carbon. Texture and tone is similar in the bass. The other difference is that the original NH has a bit of treble tizz but for the most part it was smoothed over. The Carbon which uses the Boost pads seem to exaggerate the tizz making it more annoying. Vocals are a bit more present but I feel the fluidity is not as apparent as the classic NH.

I wanted to see if it was an inherent change or just the Boost pads but I actually hear changes with the Carbon inherently, less bloomy and less present in the sub bass.

I will say the AQ velours are much better than the HM5 pads..they control the leakage better so the bass doesn't roll off to poo like the HM5 pads. I think the AQ stock NH pads are more natural and better designed for the NH than the other two. I feel AQ is trying to make people happy with the inherent changes to the Carbon models but much prefer the slightly smoother smoother more bassy sound of the original NH.

 

[MattTCG]

I've had the Nighthawk Carbon since release and I'm shocked at the difference between them and the original NH.

In tone sweeps and music test the lowest octaves of the bass are not as present as the original NH. What I like about my old nogjtjawk is that the elevated bass gives a almost theatre like bass that really adds to the unique sound. I don't hear this with the Nighthawk Carbon. Texture and tone is similar in the bass. The other difference is that the original NH has a bit of treble tizz but for the most part it was smoothed over. The Carbon which uses the Boost pads seem to exaggerate the tizz making it more annoying. Vocals are a bit more present but I feel the fluidity is not as apparent as the classic NH.

I wanted to see if it was an inherent change or just the Boost pads but I actually hear changes with the Carbon inherently, less bloomy and less present in the sub bass.

I will say the AQ velours are much better than the HM5 pads..they control the leakage better so the bass doesn't roll off to poo like the HM5 pads. I think the AQ stock NH pads are more natural and better designed for the NH than the other two. I feel AQ is trying to make people happy with the inherent changes to the Carbon models but much prefer the slightly smoother smoother more bassy sound of the original NH.

 
Welcome to HF...nice first post. 

  So have you tried the new NH Carbon with the old pads to test if its just a pad difference causing the change? 

 

[EdwardPL]

I did yes. I was actually pretty shocked as I've heard that there wasn't any difference between Carbon models and the classics. Maybe that's what AQ mean by the Carbon is a more "mature" headphone. I do think the Carbons will appeal to the masses more. Personally I love the original unique NH tuning but it isn't exactly the most popular so it was smart to go this route. Imaging has improved with the Carbons as the classics can get a bit smeared which is also present on the square waves but personally I care more about timbre, tone than technical ability although the NH driver has always been capable sometimes it took some to training to hear past the elevated bass.

 

[Anatidae]

...The Carbon which uses the Boost pads...

 
Does the Carbon also come with the Ultrasuede pads?

 

[inthere]

   
Does the Carbon also come with the Ultrasuede pads?

 
yes

 

[EdwardPL]

It does yes. I actually find the AQ US pads to sound similar to the Boost pads but with a bit less mid bass.

 

[Anatidae]

Thanks guys.
 
@EdwardPL - I'm an original NH owner and I'm looking to buy one of the sets of pads when they're available. If I wanted to dial-in more upper mids and reduce the midbass slightly, which is the better option of the two in your view?

 

[EdwardPL]

I would say the Boost pads would be your best option for upper mid presence. The US pads didn't really boost the upper mids but more reduce the bloom and rise of the mid bass but sadly it reveals the slightly rough treble or treble tiz that the stock pads hides really well.

On the original NH the Boost pads still retain a bit too much mid bass so if you don't like that I would go for the US pads and accept the other trade offs. You are prob better off Eqing down the mid bass and adding a bit to the upper mids of that's the only traits you are looking for.

 

[Decommo]

Just got Brand New NH and initial sound is not too bad. I heard a lot that this one need at least 150 hrs burn in so I am starting to play classical music in continuous loop... Keen to see how much it improves on SQ.

One negative thing is that out of two cables, the thin cable is malfunctioning. Right side channel is not playing. I initially thought that it may be driver issue but it works fine with thicker cable so it is thinner cable issue..

 

[K P K]

...

One negative thing is that out of two cables, the thin cable is malfunctioning. Right side channel is not playing. I initially thought that it may be driver issue but it works fine with thicker cable so it is thinner cable issue..

 
So many post regarding cable issues of the "highend" cable (confirmed by my dealer), a malfunctioning adapter also came with my Carbon, now a report of a malfunction with the thin cable ... I'm sorry but I cannot understand these repeated quality issues

 

   
... so while I love these headphones, I trust almost nothing they say in their marketing material. 

 
Hmmm ...