[mopps]

   
How long did you play music or pink/brown noise through the NightHawks before really giving them a listen? Right out of the box I was certain that I would be returning mine, so much so that for the first two weeks I left the paperwork, cloths and the free month Tidal in their package unopened. AudioQuest says they need 150 hours and I went way over that, it was easy for me because I had a head cold, so I simply left them playing without listening to them. I literally kept track (wrote it down) of how long I'd run music/pink/brown noise through them each day...so no guessing. 
 
This is the site I used for pink and brown noise: https://simplynoise.com  I'd put the Nighthawks on just long enough to make sure that I wasn't playing it too loud.
After a LONG burn-in they were far more open sounding to my ears and have been very impressive ever since. 
 
If you've already run your in for a very long time it may be that the NightHawks just aren't for you, no can is going to be perfect for everyone and all that matters is how well one works for you in your setup. 
Good luck! 

Thanks KLJTech.The ‚odd’ NightHawk on Sennheiser HDVA was a demo model at the local hi-fi dealer and probably got plenty of running time. The other NightHawk (ordered afterwards nonetheless) was virgin and sounded magnificent out of my little Schiit rig from day one and the very first note.
So I bet on a mismatch of amp and headphones in the former case.

 

[KLJTech]

 
Thanks KLJTech.The ‚odd’ NightHawk on Sennheiser HDVA was a demo model at the local hi-fi dealer and probably got plenty of running time. The other NightHawk (ordered afterwards nonetheless) was virgin and sounded magnificent on my little Schiit rig from day one and the very first note.
So I bet on a mismatch of amp and headphones in the former case.

 
I think you're probably correct, the NightHawks sound outstanding on both my Asgard 2 and Bryston BHA-1. 

 

[inthere]

Does Nighthawk get good volume with just dragonfly?

 
 
 I wouldn't say *good* volume but *good enough*. Enough level for normal people but I like it loud so not quite enough for me.

 

[JMCIII]

All I can say is the Dragonfly offers more than enough volume for me to listen to while I'm at my computer. But that shouldn't come as a surprise as the two are both AudioQuest products. But then, I don't "try" to listen overly loudly, as I want my hearing to last...... lol.

 

[SkylarGray]

  My consideration (and question @SkylarGray): Are there different versions of the NightHawk circulating with slightly different tunings?
Otherwise the NightHawk seems to be very amp picky IME, e. g. needs very low impedance and some juice to shine and to control and balance bass and mids.

 
All NightHawks have the same tuning, and we have tight QC for driver matching and conformity with our golden curve.
 
Because NH has a low, flat impedance curve and very linear performance with regard to dynamics and output level, a wider range of amplification pairings is possible. However, I do highly recommend amps with output impedances of 3 ohms or less. In my experience, NH works best with clean, linear, "transparent" amps, and these tend to be solid-state. I have tested some amps that have higher distortion than NightHawk, especially in the midrange, which potentially means that the characteristics of the amp are more dominant than those of the headphone. For this reason, I tend to favor SS over tube with NH, but there are always exceptions. Ultimately, what sounds best to you is best.
 
An amp with a 50 ohm output impedance will be a poor match for NightHawk, and it sounds like that's what you experienced with the HDVA 600. 
 
 
 
My personal favorite pairings at the moment are the Chord Hugo [$$$], Violectric HPA V100 [$$], and AudioQuest DragonFly [$]. But I just received a Moon Neo 430HA [$$$$] and Violectric V281 [$$$], and I expect these should both be stellar, albeit quite pricey.

 

[SearchOfSub]

I could only imagine how good and musical the pairing would be between the Hugo and the Nighthawks. If I remember correctly, the designer of Hugo - Rob Watts called the Nighthawks "lovely headphones" sometime back over on Hugo's thread - so I take it there will surely be good synergy between the two equipment. - Music is music.

 

[piaudio]

I think Aune X1s with 10ohm output would be a mismatch for Nighthawk?

 

[SkylarGray]

I think Aune X1s with 10ohm output would be a mismatch for Nighthawk?

That might be pushing the limits of what pairs well with NightHawk.
 
But remember, output impedance is just a number. It cannot definitively tell one how something will sound in the way that listening sessions* can.
 
 
*note that I chose the word "sessions." I believe listening evaluation is best done in multiple sessions, on different days, over a period of time. I don't find brief A/B'ing to be as valuable.

 

[piaudio]

  That might be pushing the limits of what pairs well with NightHawk.
 
But remember, output impedance is just a number. It cannot definitively tell one how something will sound in the way that listening sessions* can.
 
 
*note that I chose the word "sessions." I believe listening evaluation is best done in multiple sessions, on different days, over a period of time. I don't find brief A/B'ing to be as valuable.

 
 
Great advice, A/B'ing do often create confusion to the listeners as well.
 
Just wonder, is there any difference when burn-in for 200 hours with either 2 cables come with NightHawk?
 
I've been finding a direct shipping to Singapore, as far as I emailed to AQ and haven't get any replied.

 

[kman1211]

   
All NightHawks have the same tuning, and we have tight QC for driver matching and conformity with our golden curve.
 
Because NH has a low, flat impedance curve and very linear performance with regard to dynamics and output level, a wider range of amplification pairings is possible. However, I do highly recommend amps with output impedances of 3 ohms or less. In my experience, NH works best with clean, linear, "transparent" amps, and these tend to be solid-state. I have tested some amps that have higher distortion than NightHawk, especially in the midrange, which potentially means that the characteristics of the amp are more dominant than those of the headphone. For this reason, I tend to favor SS over tube with NH, but there are always exceptions. Ultimately, what sounds best to you is best.
 
An amp with a 50 ohm output impedance will be a poor match for NightHawk, and it sounds like that's what you experienced with the HDVA 600. 
 
 
 
My personal favorite pairings at the moment are the Chord Hugo [$$$], Violectric HPA V100 [$$], and AudioQuest DragonFly [$]. But I just received a Moon Neo 430HA [$$$$] and Violectric V281 [$$$], and I expect these should both be stellar, albeit quite pricey.

Having heard two Nighthawks side by side recently I found them to sound the same.
 
I have found the Nighthawk to be exceptionally picky with the tubes on my Lyr 2, definitely sounds like varying tunings and distortion levels on the tubes though I have found some of my tubes pair exceptionally well with the NH. One thing I have definitely realized spending a lot of time with the Nighthawk is what distortion truly sounds like, I had hints of it before but never to the same degree. It's also confirmed without a doubt to me that different cables do sound different. I found tubes definitely make ideal pairings for the NH harder due to different sounding tubes alone, but being a fan of the tube presentation I'm willing to spend some time finding good pairings. I haven't heard a lot of SS amps with the Nighthawk but loved them on the Violetric V200 and V281.

 

[SearchOfSub]

Can anyone tell me why AQ Nrg 3 power cable is making a difference to sound connected to my monitor? I understand direct connection to amps/dacs etc makes difference in sound but to my monitor? Maybe it's upping the whole chain including monitor?

 

[SkylarGray]

   
 
Great advice, A/B'ing do often create confusion to the listeners as well.
 
Just wonder, is there any difference when burn-in for 200 hours with either 2 cables come with NightHawk?
 
I've been finding a direct shipping to Singapore, as far as I emailed to AQ and haven't get any replied.

 
Our distributor in Singapore is SKM. They should be able to help you.
http://www.skmtsg.com/
 
There won't be any difference whether burn-in is accomplished with either cable.
For listening, however, I do recommend the higher-quality cable (with silver-plated plugs & "aq" logos on it).

 

[kman1211]

Can anyone tell me why AQ Nrg 3 power cable is making a difference to sound connected to my monitor? I understand direct connection to amps/dacs etc makes difference in sound but to my monitor? Maybe it's upping my whole chain including minitor?

I found adding an audiophile power cable to my monitor effects the color reproduction as well, things seem more fleshed out, more in focus, and richer. Not sure on the reasons why but it's definitely something I noticed. I've been tinkering with computers for years, I found the smallest things can affect the sound quality, video quality, etc with a computer. I found over time a lot of fickle behaviors in computers are related to power. How differences in cleanness of power changes the color of monitors and tvs and how it helps make computers run more stable, it shouldn't be a surprise it improves audio as well. I can't really use an Nvidia graphics cards on my main computer for example because the color reproduction doesn't seem right after using AMD/ATI graphics cards, I've always been oddly anal about color reproduction not just audio reproduction.

 

[SearchOfSub]

Our distributor in Singapore is SKM. They should be able to help you.
http://www.skmtsg.com/

There won't be any difference whether burn-in is accomplished with either cable.
For listening, however, I do recommend the higher-quality cable (with silver-plated plugs & "aq" logos on it).

hello there skylar,would there be any silver headphone cables for NH in production from Audioquest? I would love to purchase about an 8FT one if available - if not, any plans for it? Thank you,

 

[SearchOfSub]

I found adding an audiophile power cable to my monitor effects the color reproduction as well, things seem more fleshed out, more in focus, and richer. Not sure on the reasons why but it's definitely something I noticed. I've been tinkering with computers for years, I found the smallest things can affect the sound quality, video quality, etc with a computer. I found over time a lot of fickle behaviors in computers are related to power. How differences in cleanness of power changes the color of monitors and tvs and how it helps make computers run more stable, it shouldn't be a surprise it improves audio as well. I can't really use an Nvidia graphics cards on my main computer for example because the color reproduction doesn't seem right after using AMD/ATI graphics cards, I've always been oddly anal about color reproduction not just audio reproduction.

I also notice the lag input and response time is considerably down. I might as well just use this one on the monitor.