[Venture Guy]

 
The Oppo HA-2SE amp was one of the best $300 I have spent in audio! I was a little worried about the Sabre DAC, and perhaps too much detail, but it has been everything I hoped it would be.

I haven't heard it, but people say it is a big step up from the 2. Next thing to consider would be a Silver Litz Type 2 cable from Ted at headphonelounge.com. I'm using one with my Pono and it is phenomenal! It is a big step up from the stock AQ Magic Cable.

 

[Venture Guy]

There is a pair of US pads available on the  Cables, Speakers, Tweaks, Accessories For Sale / Trade Forum...

 

[knowhatimean]

 

 

That all makes sense to me. I would say the Classics, even though slightly rolled off, have the best soundstage and instrument definition... A sort of 3D quality. Boost increase intensity. US sound the closest to the reference SS of the PMx2s. Like you, I could live with any of them. HA-2SE is a great DAC/Amp.

Nope, I would imagine a lot of you guys have it backwards in what you're calling 'rolled off' (If by the 'Classics' you are talking about Classical Music played with the acoustical instrumentation normally associated with it)
 
If you're liistening to acoustical music recorded to represent how the performance will sound if heard a 'breathing,dimensional space' the reason you're capturing the 'Soundstage' is because you have to respect the quiet sounds along with the loud sounds as they are progressively occurring at the same time. I'm wondering if what a lot of you are calling 'roll off' is the natural decrease of amplitude of note decay. To have a real SS the sound HAS to back off a bit & this may be specifically why a SS either works or it doesn't.(If you compensate the amplitude you change the balance of the spatial relationships of the players in that 'stage')
 
To be honest I'm way more bothered by any recorded Music that assumes it's OK to allow the quieter harmonics to be 'rolled over" by a prominent musical line of certain instruments for prolonged amounts of time (Though, there's not much of anything I find to be 'Musically' interesting in a lot of this music (notice how I used a small m) anyhow). I think a lot of you are blaming how your headphones sound for things that are deficient in the music being listened to
 
YMPDVBIAG
(Your Mileage Probably Does Vary But It's All Good)

 

[Venture Guy]

  Nope, I would imagine a lot of you guys have it backwards in what you're calling 'rolled off' (If by the 'Classics' you are talking about Classical Music played with the acoustical instrumentation normally associated with it)
 
If you're liistening to acoustical music recorded to represent how the performance will sound if heard a 'breathing,dimensional space' the reason you're capturing the 'Soundstage' is because you have to respect the quiet sounds along with the loud sounds as they are progressively occurring at the same time. I'm wondering if what a lot of you are calling 'roll off' is the natural decrease of amplitude of note decay. To have a real SS the sound HAS to back off a bit & this may be specifically why a SS either works or it doesn't.(If you compensate the amplitude you change the balance of the spatial relationships of the players in that 'stage')
 
To be honest I'm way more bothered by any recorded Music that assumes it's OK to allow the quieter harmonics to be 'rolled over" by a prominent musical line of certain instruments for prolonged amounts of time (Though, there's not much of anything I find to be 'Musically' interesting in a lot of this music (notice how I used a small m) anyhow). I think a lot of you are blaming how your headphones sound for things that are deficient in the music being listened to
 
YMPDVBIAG
(Your Mileage Probably Does Vary But It's All Good)

Well put! With the Classics there is a dip in the mids. It is a good thing... But is not the norm. This particular dip was engineered to make all the magic you describe happen! To my ears the Boost and US pads create a more conventional tuning. 

 

[nwavesailor]

Originally Posted by knowhatimean /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
(If by the 'Classics' you are talking about Classical Music played with the acoustical instrumentation normally associated with it)
 

I think folks have been referring to the NH OEM pads as the 'Classic' pads. Classic, boost, ultrasuede.
 
See post # 5710 from Venture Guy

 

[EdwardPL]

 
I'd like for Skylar to work on a summit-fi headphone that is a direct successor to the Nighthawk. Something that is as musical and natural as the HD800 is analytical and technical (never heard it mind you). I feel the NH justifies it's MSRP of $599, and I'd like for this successor to justify, say, a $1500 price tag? I'd save up for it. 

It's really not going to get any better than the NH unless they are going to be priced in the 2k + mark. The NH driver is as competitive and more so than many 2k headphones I've tried. Speaking about technicality only Audioquest could have easily priced the NH in the 1+ price point. If Audioquest are going to come up with a successor I personally think it's going to be a very expensive headphone unless Audioquest are as generous as they are with the NH. I think many get swept up with the NH's different tuning and completely forget about how capable they are.

 

[Venture Guy]

  It's really not going to get any better than the NH unless they are going to be priced in the 2k + mark. The NH driver is as competitive and more so than many 2k headphones I've tried. Speaking about technicality only Audioquest could have easily priced the NH in the 1+ price point. If Audioquest are going to come up with a successor I personally think it's going to be a very expensive headphone unless Audioquest are as generous as they are with the NH. I think many get swept up with the NH's different tuning and completely forget about how capable they are.

Nicely put! When are you getting your test rig back?

 

[YtseJamer]

Yes in my opinion the NightHawk are already a summit-fi headphones.  (BTW I hate the term summit-fi)
 
I have owned many expensive headphones and to my ears the NightHawk are every bit as good or better than most of them.  (LCD-2/LCD-X/LCD-3/HE-560/HE-500/PM-1/etc)

 

[Selbi]

Day three, still feeling like the NH aren't getting much better. Still sound plastic to me. Currently at 50h with all overnight burn-in I could manage.

I've ordered a Schiit Fulla 2, because my Fiio was getting annoying anyway. Maybe that was the bottleneck. I refuse to believe headphones that have a MSRP of 699$ sound worse than my Fidelio X2.

 

[Level5]

Day three, still feeling like the NH aren't getting much better. Still sound plastic to me. Currently at 50h with all overnight burn-in I could manage.

I've ordered a Schiit Fulla 2, because my Fiio was getting annoying anyway. Maybe that was the bottleneck. I refuse to believe headphones that have a MSRP of 699$ sound worse than my Fidelio X2.

 
Don't force yourself to like it and everybody's ears are different in the way they prefer the sounds. I went through 2-3 NH before getting used to its "unique" sounds signature, but only after trying a bunch of other headphones and upgrading to a superior amp/dac (Audio-gd NFB-11), that I found out that this "niche" hp is just weird and different enough to own. The NH didn't blow me away and it didn't click right away either unlike the Nightowl which at first listen, sounds like a "burned in" pair of NH with wider soundstage. 

 

[Amrit-R]

Selbi

What kind of music do you like? I have the Nighthawk Carbon for a few days now, but only managed two hours of listening, directly from an iPad Mini. But I was positively astonished with for example Tool, Lateralus (the song) and Dire Straits, Money for Nothing.

 

[kman1211]

   
Don't force yourself to like it and everybody's ears are different in the way they prefer the sounds. I went through 2-3 NH before getting used to its "unique" sounds signature, but only after trying a bunch of other headphones and upgrading to a superior amp/dac (Audio-gd NFB-11), that I found out that this "niche" hp is just weird and different enough to own. The NH didn't blow me away and it didn't click right away either unlike the Nightowl which at first listen, sounds like a "burned in" pair of NH with wider soundstage. 

True, one shouldn't force themselves to like a headphone more. Honestly whatever headphone your reach for the most out of your headphone stable, is probably the best one for you. System differences obviously play a difference too. While I like the Nighthawks, over the past year I've slowly grown to like them less. Maybe the US pads will help revitalize them for me. But for now I'm reaching for my DT 1990 and especially my vintage DT 480 - 25 ohm(DT 48 drivers in DT 100 housing) more as I find them more musicality engaging.
 
Interestingly the Hawks remind me more of a vintage headphone tuning but with more bass and a smoother FR response and less issues such as glare, resonance, etc. The vocals are pretty much how they should be and reminds me a lot of what I've heard in some of the better vintage headphones, a natural clarity with a black background.

 

[betula]

Day three, still feeling like the NH aren't getting much better. Still sound plastic to me. Currently at 50h with all overnight burn-in I could manage.

I've ordered a Schiit Fulla 2, because my Fiio was getting annoying anyway. Maybe that was the bottleneck. I refuse to believe headphones that have a MSRP of 699$ sound worse than my Fidelio X2.

Whether you like a headphone or not depends on many things (experience, amp/DAC, taste). I also sold my first Nighthawk. Then after trying many other headphones and upgrading my audio gear gave NH another chance, as my treble sensitivity forced me to find a smooth sounding headphone. Love came only with my second Nighthawk. One year after I sold the first one.

 

[Gaikotsu]

  Wow, it's nice to see comments from someone else in this thread that actually understands his Audio Components & what they are probably doing..
 
I think your "Clean Power" comment might just be a bit "too advanced" of a concept (unfortunately) for many in this thread. (If you're having a problem differentiating "detail" from "clarity" you have some vastly more basic "mysteries" to discover I suppose)

Yeah, I had to do some research after xRELICx's comment.  Turns out the headphone output is measured quite differently than a receiver's output. From an electronics perspective I had thought that "volts" were stationary and never change because it essentially is what powers the device and then wattage, amperage, etc.  Headphones apparently aren't rated in this way.  So he is right. The 2.1 from the DragonFly should be far more than enough to drive the NightHawks (and one would figure because they are made by the same company.)

For my birthday I bought the Nobsound NS-08E headphone amp.  I am going to see how it compares, though to be truthful...it isn't going to be 100% fair. If I go out of the device to the Amp to the headphones I lose the benefit of the DAC.  If I go out of the DAC to the amp, then I am doubling the push/drive since the DAC is also an amp.

 

[knowhatimean]

 

Originally Posted by knowhatimean /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
(If by the 'Classics' you are talking about Classical Music played with the acoustical instrumentation normally associated with it)
 

I think folks have been referring to the NH OEM pads as the 'Classic' pads. Classic, boost, ultrasuede.
 
See post # 5710 from Venture Guy

Oops!!... As Popeye would have said "A ka ka ka...Well blow me down. I F@*)ed up agains"
 
(I guess it's obvious , I do love my Orchestral Music; Ah well, I suppose hearing how people hear sound from a different perspective never hurts)