SomeGuyDude
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AudioQuest NightHawk Impressions and Discussion Thread
- Thread starter ghostchili
- Start date
grizzlybeast
My name is grizzlybeast and I'm an audioholic.
^Thanks for letting me check these out BTW I really appreciate it!!!
So I have @SomeGuyDude's Nighthawks here.
Quick impressions before a full comparison to the Vali which seem to share alot of the same pros and cons.
Pros:
- Capable of being very clear with eq.
- Very clean and refined sound. This type of refinement is found usually at a much higher price. Much Much higher.
- Liguid like texture without extra decay
- Articulation/microdynamics and details are great
- Extremely well thought out build
- VERY comfortable
- Bass doesn't sound distorted and reaches very low and gives oodles of texture. EXCELLENT BASS quality. Playing a lot of my hip hop reveals this. Probably better bass quality than the Vali it seems so far just less responsive and slightly less weighty though deeper.
Cons:
- Most of the cons, if not all are tied to its frequency response. Some headphones have technical issues that hinder it but here it seems alll about balance.
- There is a very thick veil around the region responsible for playing muddiness 200-500hz. It makes it sound like there is negative sound pressure over the midrange, like its clouded
- There is also a lack of presence in the midrange proper as well as the upper mids that need to be aggressively boosted. I find the Air to be okay even though it could use a little more air its not as rolled of as the Vali on either end but the strong peak(edit, not strong but a little odd compared to the rest of the balance) in the treble, while not harsh gives a welcome respite from the cloudiness in the midrange.
- Its not really dynamic sounding. i could wish for a more aggressively punchy response but I see this has its place.
- Soundstage... ummm I think it is okay. I don't feel smothered but it could use some more space. My modded Pioneer has a bigger soundstage... by a lot.
So I have @SomeGuyDude's Nighthawks here.
Quick impressions before a full comparison to the Vali which seem to share alot of the same pros and cons.
Pros:
- Capable of being very clear with eq.
- Very clean and refined sound. This type of refinement is found usually at a much higher price. Much Much higher.
- Liguid like texture without extra decay
- Articulation/microdynamics and details are great
- Extremely well thought out build
- VERY comfortable
- Bass doesn't sound distorted and reaches very low and gives oodles of texture. EXCELLENT BASS quality. Playing a lot of my hip hop reveals this. Probably better bass quality than the Vali it seems so far just less responsive and slightly less weighty though deeper.
Cons:
- Most of the cons, if not all are tied to its frequency response. Some headphones have technical issues that hinder it but here it seems alll about balance.
- There is a very thick veil around the region responsible for playing muddiness 200-500hz. It makes it sound like there is negative sound pressure over the midrange, like its clouded
- There is also a lack of presence in the midrange proper as well as the upper mids that need to be aggressively boosted. I find the Air to be okay even though it could use a little more air its not as rolled of as the Vali on either end but the strong peak(edit, not strong but a little odd compared to the rest of the balance) in the treble, while not harsh gives a welcome respite from the cloudiness in the midrange.
- Its not really dynamic sounding. i could wish for a more aggressively punchy response but I see this has its place.
- Soundstage... ummm I think it is okay. I don't feel smothered but it could use some more space. My modded Pioneer has a bigger soundstage... by a lot.
djevoultion
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@grizzlybeast - Thank you for your review. I agree with your points. Would you mind sharing your EQ settings that you used to resolve some of the cons?
Jackson9696
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Great review! I would have to agree with most of your points.
Arcamera
1000+ Head-Fier
In terms of the dynamics/punchy factor, I was just hoping for something better than the HD650, and I got it. A great combo (hard to combine) of refined, yet still engaging. Or at least more so than numerous otherwise fine headphones in the ballpark.
grizzlybeast
My name is grizzlybeast and I'm an audioholic.
Well what I do have is as follows. However These eq programs, both native instruments, respond way different from each other, I could only imagine how other eq programs differ.
These eqs work tons better than the Amarra SQ but dont work with Jriver so I need Sonaworks for Jriver Media Center. These do however work in Audirvana plus
Passive Eq
NI-Solid EQ
As a rule of thumb: Use a low Q (wide bandwidth) when boosting, and a high Q (a narrow spike) when cutting.
BASS:
I kinda like the bass as is
Lower Midrange:
Most important place to fix is around 300-500hz. A narrow spike there should cut some of the bleeding and muddiness out.
Midrange proper:
Very slight boost medium bandwidth around 800hz, this is just my preference and it doesn't work for all songs.
Upper Midrange:
Moderate boost around 1.5khz. Note the bandwidth type above in the picture. Another wide bandwidth boost at 5khz. Can get shouty on some songs so I had a tough time and am admittedly no EQ expert.
Treble:
Now this was even tougher. This definitely can't be attenuated with a wide bandwidth because toning it down with wide hump will squelch some of the vocal harmonics. A very narrow spike at 8khz and only a slight cut.
Upper Treble:
I actually find the Air fine. I can make a closed headphone sound open, it just wont happen. But I did a slight boost there as well as above.
NI - transient master.
The nighthawk is already tight and after more time I am thinking I don't need more macro dynamics like my first post. I am just a sucker for it but this helps a little but though I am not really sure how much of the fidelity is taking a hit.
Though I won't post it I am sure my Universal Audio plugins work even better. I will search through and see if those are nice.
These eqs work tons better than the Amarra SQ but dont work with Jriver so I need Sonaworks for Jriver Media Center. These do however work in Audirvana plus
Passive Eq
NI-Solid EQ
BASS:
I kinda like the bass as is
Lower Midrange:
Most important place to fix is around 300-500hz. A narrow spike there should cut some of the bleeding and muddiness out.
Midrange proper:
Very slight boost medium bandwidth around 800hz, this is just my preference and it doesn't work for all songs.
Upper Midrange:
Moderate boost around 1.5khz. Note the bandwidth type above in the picture. Another wide bandwidth boost at 5khz. Can get shouty on some songs so I had a tough time and am admittedly no EQ expert.
Treble:
Now this was even tougher. This definitely can't be attenuated with a wide bandwidth because toning it down with wide hump will squelch some of the vocal harmonics. A very narrow spike at 8khz and only a slight cut.
Upper Treble:
I actually find the Air fine. I can make a closed headphone sound open, it just wont happen. But I did a slight boost there as well as above.
NI - transient master.
The nighthawk is already tight and after more time I am thinking I don't need more macro dynamics like my first post. I am just a sucker for it but this helps a little but though I am not really sure how much of the fidelity is taking a hit.
Though I won't post it I am sure my Universal Audio plugins work even better. I will search through and see if those are nice.
Well it turns out I'm keeping the Nighthawks, things worked out so I don't have to sell them. Happy about it as I really didn't want to let them go.
SearchOfSub
Headphoneus Supremus
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Mine is long gone. Kinda miss them already but musicality is still better with Nighthawks than my LCD 2.2. Everything just flows as a whole, better. I might buy it back again later.
Heard the new closed back version of these (the Nightowl) at CanJam London yesterday. It's not the finished article yet so they don't have a release date, but the sound is surprisingly similar considering it is a fully closed back (the lattice had been replaced by a solid carbon fibre dome). Believe there are more details in the Canjam impressions thread, but they will be offering two different pads, a new more durable cable and an all black colour scheme. Fans of the Nighthawk will definitely like them, from the brief time I had to listen - previous haters may think the sound makes more sense now, coming from a closed back can too. Exciting times!
I understand that, the Hawks feel quite at home to me. The headphone really flows nicely and is such a comfortable listen for me.
grizzlybeast
My name is grizzlybeast and I'm an audioholic.
id take these over the LCD2.2Fs too
djevoultion
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