[PJDubyaM]

Haha, I was wondering when the IEMs be "announced",

Not entirely sure that sending me a tweet counts as an announcement!

 

[Vigrith]

Not entirely sure that sending me a tweet counts as an announcement!

 
Exactly, hence the quotation marks! Still, point being Skylar's openly talked about them now so word should spread quick enough. 

 

[PJDubyaM]

Exactly, hence the quotation marks!

Haha, yep, fair enough!

 

[elnero]

   
Haha, I was wondering when the IEMs be "announced", when Skylar and I spoke a few months ago he said those were in the horizon for start of next year and I've been eagerly awaiting "official" word on them since. Glad to see AQ coming out with more of Skylar's work, after the success of the (admittedly) polarizing Nighthawks which I absolutely love it is most definitely deserved.
 
Not the biggest IEM fan personally but I'm looking forward to my local dealer receiving them as well as the Nightowls, I don't particularly need closed back headphones either as most my listening does not require sound isolation but I'm very curious to see how the sound signatures differ. 

 

 
I've been eagerly awaiting an official announcement as well. I love the NightHawks but I do tend to listen more with IEM's so these have me really excited.
 
I've been trying to find an IEM for more serious home listening for awhile now. The HEM2's are great for work but they're not quite to the level I'd like for more serious sessions. I adore the Cardas A8's but I'm going to have to let those go because they seem to aggravate my TMJ. I have an Oriveti Primacy on it's way to try but I'll be one of the first in line for an AQ IEM designed by Skylar, because if it follows the NightHawk's design philosophy of sound and comfort I expect I'm going to be a very happy man.

 

[nmatheis]

I've kind of fallen off of the IEM bandwagon for various reasons, but I'd consider getting a pair of AQ iems. And if AQ ever came up with some Nighthawk earbuds, I'd be all over them

Damn fine suggestion!

Not entirely sure that sending me a tweet counts as an announcement!

Well, it was publicly visible, so close enough

I've been eagerly awaiting an official announcement as well. I love the NightHawks but I do tend to listen more with IEM's so these have me really excited.

I've been trying to find an IEM for more serious home listening for awhile now. The HEM2's are great for work but they're not quite to the level I'd like for more serious sessions. I adore the Cardas A8's but I'm going to have to let those go because they seem to aggravate my TMJ. I have an Oriveti Primacy on it's way to try but I'll be one of the first in line for an AQ IEM designed by Skylar, because if it follows the NightHawk's design philosophy of sound and comfort I expect I'm going to be a very happy man.

I'm totally psyched to experience Skylar's take on IEM. I've heard all the IEM you mentioned, and while there are some similarities to Nighthawk's sound none of them really capture what I'm entranced by when I listen to Nighthawk. Here's to hoping SkylarGray can replicate the magic in IEM firm!

 

[Headphone4Life]

I was messing around with some cables and put my HD700 cable on the Nighthawk and I have to say it sounds good. I feel like the bass is cleaner with a bit more impact (its not at basshead levels or anything) and the mids come forward a tad so vocals sound better imo. The highs sound smooth but with a little less sparkle which some might not like since its already a warm hp. Soundstage, imaging and separation all seem to be the same as the stock cable. I thought it would sound the same as the stock one because I was never a big believer in cables changing the sound much, but now I have to say I am.

 

[jmills8]

I was messing around with some cables and put my HD700 cable on the Nighthawk and I have to say it sounds good. I feel like the bass is cleaner with a bit more impact (its not at basshead levels or anything) and the mids come forward a tad so vocals sound better imo. The highs sound smooth but with a little less sparkle which some might not like since its already a warm hp. Soundstage, imaging and separation all seem to be the same as the stock cable. I thought it would sound the same as the stock one because I was never a big believer in cables changing the sound much, but now I have to say I am.

Stock cable ?

 

[Soundizer]

Just for the record, from the price of Elear you can buy two Nighthawks. For the price of the HEX you get 2-3 Nighthawks. I do not even mention Utopia.

Hi, It depends which Country you are in for price variation comparisons.

In the U.K. the Nighthawks are £499 everywhere and Elear are £800 every where. The new Edition X v2 is £1300. Pricing is flat.

May I ask if you are referring to USA prices?

 

[betula]

Hi, It depends which Country you are in for price variation comparisons.

In the U.K. the Nighthawks are £499 everywhere and Elear are £800 every where. The new Edition X v2 is £1300. Pricing is flat.

May I ask if you are referring to USA prices?

I am referring to UK prices I found online.

Yes, NH is usually £499, but some online stores selling them for £449, or even £399 occasionally. Not to mention, a slightly used pair can easily be found around £300. (Like my pair with only 20 hrs in it.)

Elear is indeed £800 everywhere, but it is still a very new headphone.

I was checking HEX V1 prices, but even HEX V2 can easily be found for £1099 online.
 

 

[Headphone4Life]

Stock cable ?

Yes its the stock HD700 cable. After using it for a few days now I quite like the signature it give the NH.

I also hooked them up to my Hifiman HM-601LE and thought they sounded great. I never used them with the 601LE because it has quite the warm signature so I thought the NH would be to warm and dark, but that's not the case. Compared to my X5II the 601LE gives the NH an over all larger sound and the mids sound very good, gone is the hollow distant sound the mids sometimes had. I feel the soundstage has a bit more depth to it as well compared to the X5II.

 

[inthere]

5 people including me have compared Nighthawk with Focal Utopia on a GS-X mk2 and Cayin iDAC 6 and all 5 preferred the Nighthawk. 
 
This is a Nighthawk with about 250 hours burn in though as opposed only like 60 hours for the Utopia. The Utopia sounds a bit thin on the GS-X, while it seems the GS-X and the Nighthawk are made for each other. The Utopia fills out when I put it on the Feliks Audio Elise but seems to lose some soundstage. The Nighthawk sounds terrible on the Elise.

 

[Badas]

  5 people including me have compared Nighthawk with Focal Utopia on a GS-X mk2 and Cayin iDAC 6 and all 5 preferred the Nighthawk. 
 
This is a Nighthawk with about 250 hours burn in though as opposed only like 60 hours for the Utopia. The Utopia sounds a bit thin on the GS-X, while it seems the GS-X and the Nighthawk are made for each other. The Utopia fills out when I put it on the Feliks Audio Elise but seems to lose some soundstage. The Nighthawk sounds terrible on the Elise.

That statement almost makes me want to buy another pair. I already have two. One being used and one spare. So I would have a spare of the spare.

NightHawks just seem perfectly tuned for my ears. There really isn't anything I would change. Comfort, soundstage is perfect. Holographics and treble is class leading. Damn they are good.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

5 people including me have compared Nighthawk with Focal Utopia on a GS-X mk2 and Cayin iDAC 6 and all 5 preferred the Nighthawk. 

This is a Nighthawk with about 250 hours burn in though as opposed only like 60 hours for the Utopia. The Utopia sounds a bit thin on the GS-X, while it seems the GS-X and the Nighthawk are made for each other. The Utopia fills out when I put it on the Feliks Audio Elise but seems to lose some soundstage. The Nighthawk sounds terrible on the Elise.

This illustrates the importance of synergy. So it goes from terrible to amazing when shifting from Elise to GSX. On paper, it would seem the NH/GSX pairing is a match made in heaven, corroborated by your findings.

How do you compare the Utopia/Elise vs the Nighthawk/GSX?

 

[JezR]

I would love to hear the Utopias sometime but on the Nighthawks that I have in my possession, coupled with Chord Mojo, listening to Yello Toy I can't imagine how it will sound better, I'm not chasing anymore...........for a while

 

[Badas]

A mate has the Utopia coming. So I will be able to give it a listen.
 
He uses the Bricasti DAC (bloody expensive thing) and the Violectric V281. So it should be a great listen.