[mks100]

 
Nice!
 
What tube are you using in the Vali 2 amp?

Stock.  I owned it previously and had some bad luck with a 6922 EH that I neglected to seat properly.  Nearly cost me a pair of Grados (and my hearing).  I'm a little gun shy.  The nice thing about the Vali 2 is I can always experiment down the road once my courage returns.  That being said it makes a significant difference over the Red alone, particularly with the HE-400i.

 

[frogmeat69]

To anyone with new pads, are they less stinky than the original? Why are my pads stinky? Anybody have this problem? Been leaving them in the open air since purchasing them, and they still have a funky smell. Just glad they go over my ears and not my nose!

 

[inthere]

  To anyone with new pads, are they less stinky than the original? Why are my pads stinky? Anybody have this problem? Been leaving them in the open air since purchasing them, and they still have a funky smell. Just glad they go over my ears and not my nose!

LOL, a lot of people LOVE that smell (including me and my kids) I'll quote Skylar earlier in the thread:
 

Originally Posted by SkylarGray /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Xarq,
 
I'm really glad you're enjoying NightHawk, and thanks for the feedback. I can help clear up some confusion.
 
First, the smell is not the earpads, it is the natural aroma of liquid wood, a completely natural material.
Most people really like the smell (myself included). Of course, there will always be those who don’t care for it.

Fortunately for those who don't like it, the smell diminishes fairly rapidly over time as long as they are out of the case.
After a few days the smell diminishes by about half.
After 1–2 weeks, another half, and after 2–4 weeks, it should be mostly unnoticeable.
If one directly sniffs the inside of the earpad area after 2 weeks or more, there will be a faint aroma of liquid wood—which will have then matured to a more vanilla aroma (after all, one of the “top-secret” ingredients in liquid wood is vanilla bean extract).
 
Second, NightHawk is a sustainable, responsibly manufactured, and fully RoHS-compliant product; therefore, there are no plasticizers or harmful chemicals used (including PVC). I am extremely passionate about eliminating harmful materials in the manufacture of our products, and I believe NightHawk is the most sustainably produced headphone ever made. You can read more about our sustainability efforts here.
 
Third, our pads are made from eggshell membrane-derived proteins, so it's a more natural material than regular synthetic leather. This particular leather was specifically developed to more closely resemble human skin, which means improved comfort. Further, this eggshell leather is much more durable than genuine leather. We made the decision to use eggshell leather so that the pads wouldn't wear out as fast as genuine leather and would require no maintenance. You can read more about NightHawk's ergonomic design here.
 
Fourth, if you still want to make your own pads, the stock pads can be easily taken off the retaining frame and swapped out.
 

 

[knowhatimean]

 

 
Nice!
 
What tube are you using in the Vali 2 amp?

Stock.  I owned it previously and had some bad luck with a 6922 EH that I neglected to seat properly.  Nearly cost me a pair of Grados (and my hearing).  I'm a little gun shy.  The nice thing about the Vali 2 is I can always experiment down the road once my courage returns.  That being said it makes a significant difference over the Red alone, particularly with the HE-400i.

One suggestion to anyone using one of the Schiit tube amp. Go over to the 'Tubemonger' website and purchase some (I can't remember their full name but I think they're called) 'Socket Savers' ceramic tube sockets & place them on top of the existing tube sockets. These sockets are silicone filled I believe & are great at killing tube microphonics . Though this tube problem was pretty rare to encounter I stopped encountering any tube socket quirkiness after I started using these bases .
 
One of the benefits of using these bases is that they'll raise the height of whatever tubes placed in them about a 1/4" higher than the tubes would sit normally in the original socket. I liked using these quite a bit & if you search here & other places you'll find their use is pretty popular. ( I really like these , but found out I was'nt that much of a fan of the Schiit Amps after some time & moved on to different types of amplification) (One more tip for newbies is to avoid putting your fingers on your tubes glass as much as possible you will create heat spots on them)

 

[frogmeat69]

 
LOL, a lot of people LOVE that smell (including me and my kids) I'll quote Skylar earlier in the thread:
 

Haha, must have missed Skylar's post on that, thanks for the reply!! Seems I am one who doesn't care for the aroma of liquid wood, but love the sound of it, lol.  Guess I will have to let them hang on a stand to air out, thought leaving the case open would do it.

 

[bugeyed]

  One suggestion to anyone using one of the Schiit tube amp. Go over to the 'Tubemonger' website and purchase some (I can't remember their full name but I think they're called) 'Socket Savers' ceramic tube sockets & place them on top of the existing tube sockets. These sockets are silicone filled I believe & are great at killing tube microphonics . Though this tube problem was pretty rare to encounter I stopped encountering any tube socket quirkiness after I started using these bases .
 
One of the benefits of using these bases is that they'll raise the height of whatever tubes placed in them about a 1/4" higher than the tubes would sit normally in the original socket. I liked using these quite a bit & if you search here & other places you'll find their use is pretty popular. ( I really like these , but found out I was'nt that much of a fan of the Schiit Amps after some time & moved on to different types of amplification) (One more tip for newbies is to avoid putting your fingers on your tubes glass as much as possible you will create heat spots on them)

Thanks for the info. BTW the new 9-pin Socket Savers look to be about an inch tall. 
kev

 

[nwavesailor]

  Stock.  I owned it previously and had some bad luck with a 6922 EH that I neglected to seat properly.  Nearly cost me a pair of Grados (and my hearing).  I'm a little gun shy.  The nice thing about the Vali 2 is I can always experiment down the road once my courage returns.  That being said it makes a significant difference over the Red alone, particularly with the HE-400i.

When I owned the Val 2 I went off the DEEP end rolling tubes!
 
 
 

 

[SearchOfSub]

I just got in a nice balanced cable with XLR termination and 2.5mm balanced and 3.5mm single-ended adapters for my from Nighthawks from Lee at VE. The first source I tested was M1s through 2.5mm balanced output. Holy Shazbots does this sound fantastic! Very dynamic and soundstage is increased. A big thumbs up!!!

I got the cable because I'll hopefully test out Aune's new balanced dac/amp soon.

Anyway, if anyone's looking for a balanced cable, you can get one at a reasonable price from Lee at VE.

I've also read the Nighthawks/NightOwl sound better than the HD800+10K setup with a balanced connection to Ponos player. (balanced connection)

 

[mks100]

  One suggestion to anyone using one of the Schiit tube amp. Go over to the 'Tubemonger' website and purchase some (I can't remember their full name but I think they're called) 'Socket Savers' ceramic tube sockets & place them on top of the existing tube sockets. These sockets are silicone filled I believe & are great at killing tube microphonics . Though this tube problem was pretty rare to encounter I stopped encountering any tube socket quirkiness after I started using these bases .
 
One of the benefits of using these bases is that they'll raise the height of whatever tubes placed in them about a 1/4" higher than the tubes would sit normally in the original socket. I liked using these quite a bit & if you search here & other places you'll find their use is pretty popular. ( I really like these , but found out I was'nt that much of a fan of the Schiit Amps after some time & moved on to different types of amplification) (One more tip for newbies is to avoid putting your fingers on your tubes glass as much as possible you will create heat spots on them)

Thank you for the suggestion.  I was looking at Cary and Generic Socket Savers on Amazon but they have received poor feedback.  I assume it's this one?
http://www.tubemonger.com/NOVIB_Socket_Saver_1960s_NOS_British_McMurdo_B9A_p/novib-mcmurdo.htm

 

[x RELIC x]

I'm actually not entirely sure the unique smell is actually from the liquid wood ear cups. A few weeks ago I took the Nighthawk on a trip to my hometown and I re-used the foam spacers that came with the Nighthawk to protect the cups from the yolk. Surprise, surprise, I opened the case and put them on and the smell was back, lol. I like the smell by the way. So, either the liquid wood smell embedded in to the foam, or the foam smell attached to the ear cups.

 

[Level5]

I've also read the Nighthawks/NightOwl sound better than the HD800+10K setup with a balanced connection to Ponos player. (balanced connection)

 
YMMV 
 
I own the HD800 and when properly driven, its soundstage alone nothing compares... NOTHING! 

 

[SHAMuuu]

   
YMMV 
 
I own the HD800 and when properly driven, its soundstage alone nothing compares... NOTHING! 

Soundstage to the moon...... and back
 

 

 

[Venture Guy]

I've also read the Nighthawks/NightOwl sound better than the HD800+10K setup with a balanced connection to Ponos player. (balanced connection)

I'm running NHs with Classic pads and a Silver Litz Type 2 connected to a Pono in balanced mode. Soundstage and instrument separation is pretty much spectacular to my ears  

 

[Krutsch]

  Just placed my order for the Boost & Ultrasuede Pads as well as the new Cable.  Should be here by Friday/Saturday.  Will share my impressions once they arrive.  Repurchased the NightHawk Wood when it dropped to $349.99.  They will be sharing time with my new HE-400i w/ HM5 Angled Sheepskin Pads through my JitterBug/DragonFly Red/Vali 2 rig.  Along with the release of Tidal's MQA update and the DragonFly's pending MQA update, I should be set for some time.  I also purchased a pair of QC35s for Travel.  It's been a very good Holiday Season!

 
May I ask: from were did you order?

 

[lugnut]

  I'm running NHs with Classic pads and a Silver Litz Type 2 connected to a Pono in balanced mode. Soundstage and instrument separation is pretty much spectacular to my ears  

I am running the NH's original pads = are these called Classics, type 6 copper balanced cable into Matrix HPA-3B balanced headphone amp, balanced
xlr cables into Emotiva ERC-3 balanced CD Player.  Soundstage & Separation is also great with Bass that hits very hard,no bloat ! Much improved over
non-balanced performance.