[volly]

Hi guys, the Nighthawks arrived today unexpectedly so great auto xmas present. I'll share some of my first impressions after two hours of listening.
The packaging is one of the best that I've seen in any price category. Amazing attention to detail with a gorgeous carrying case and a top notch presentantion.






These are really well built and probably the most confortable headphones I've ever tried (and I've tried a few). Plus they look beautiful.
I'm a bit concerned about the suspension system, it looks a bit fragile but Im not planning to taking them outside so I think they will be fine.

First listening session was on my phone with the Ibasso dc dongle and, man, I was fairly impressed since the begining.

Some reviews made me think that the sound was going to be extremely dark and warm, but althought the sound is warm they have good clarity that make them sound thick and lush but refined at the same time. If I have to use one word to describe them It would be pleasing. These are a pleasure to listen. The bass got the right amount of punch for my liking, mids are present and not recessed and the highs are rich without any sibilance or sharp edges.

The only bad thing is the cable. It's pure filth, not because of the sound but for other reasons. It's extremely short, that ruberized material is vile and the 3,5 jack got a weird shape and won't stop moving once it's connected. No big deal cause I got a decent silver plated that fits it.

I still need to try them with other more powerful sources that I own and try some eq, but out of the box they are a clear win for 300 euros. I'm digging the sound signature and can't wait to pick them again tonight. I don't need the 150 burn in hours because Iove them already.

Merry Christmas @Tano

Your post hit me right in the feels...Good to see another bird has come home to roost!

 

[Tano]

Merry Christmas @Tano

Your post hit me right in the feels...Good to see another bird has come home to roost!

Haha, merry Christmas man. Now I see why the Nighthawks got such passionate fans.
Btw just put them on, gonna try the microsuede pads now and see how they behave.

 

[vodkadebugger]

I give my NHCs a very weird EQ curve. I'm an insane basshead, so I boosted the subbass regions, took away some dB between 200 and 500ish Hz, and gave a boost to 1-3kHz (make it closer in line with the HD600). These headphones EQ great, and to my ear, they sound absolutely sublime (they seem a bit hollow without EQ but still very nice). Also I've not heard such power handling from any headphone, including summit fi planars I tried (all that bass and I lose no microdetails in the mids and highs). I'm thinking of ordering another pair as backup

 

[Tano]

I give my NHCs a very weird EQ curve. I'm an insane basshead, so I boosted the subbass regions, took away some dB between 200 and 500ish Hz, and gave a boost to 1-3kHz (make it closer in line with the HD600). These headphones EQ great, and to my ear, they sound absolutely sublime (they seem a bit hollow without EQ but still very nice). Also I've not heard such power handling from any headphone, including summit fi planars I tried (all that bass and I lose no microdetails in the mids and highs). I'm thinking of ordering another pair as backup

That's nice, I was playing with APO last night and they really respond very well to EQ. I find the bass full bodied and powerfull without any EQ.
I tried the Autoeq parametric for the Nighthawk and they became much clearer, but the bass was taken away and wasn't fun at all, so I kept that Eq but with the bass at default and works like a charm.

 

[Quasimodosbelfry]

I love my NHCs to death but the earpads are peeling now. Can anyone help me out and direct me to where I can get replacements? Thanks.

 

[vodkadebugger]

That's nice, I was playing with APO last night and they really respond very well to EQ. I find the bass full bodied and powerfull without any EQ.
I tried the Autoeq parametric for the Nighthawk and they became much clearer, but the bass was taken away and wasn't fun at all, so I kept that Eq but with the bass at default and works like a charm.

The bass is "full bodied" without EQ but I wouldn't call it powerful. But, alas, each has their own preference to bass, I just happen to be a complete bass addict. These with EQ are simply the first hifi headphones I'd label "basshead certified". Head shaking, brain shattering bass without any loss of detail in the mids and highs. Audiophile headphones are pretty much never tuned for bassheads, and headphones that are usually sound depressing because everything outside bass is a muffled garbled mess.

 

[kman1211]

The bass is "full bodied" without EQ but I wouldn't call it powerful. But, alas, each has their own preference to bass, I just happen to be a complete bass addict. These with EQ are simply the first hifi headphones I'd label "basshead certified". Head shaking, brain shattering bass without any loss of detail in the mids and highs. Audiophile headphones are pretty much never tuned for bassheads, and headphones that are usually sound depressing because everything outside bass is a muffled garbled mess.

I wouldn't call it powerful either, powerful bass among open-backs is the Beyerdynamic T1 Gen 3 which has much more powerful slam and impact and more overall bass presence than the Nighthawks. Haven't really eq'd the bass of the Nighthawk vs T1.3 though to compare in terms of what can handle more bass. Agreed most audiophile headphones aren't tuned for bass. Of what I've owned only had a couple headphones that excelled in terms of bass presence and body while also maintaining control and clarity of the mids and treble, those are the Hawks and the T1.3.

 

[Tano]

The bass is "full bodied" without EQ but I wouldn't call it powerful. But, alas, each has their own preference to bass, I just happen to be a complete bass addict. These with EQ are simply the first hifi headphones I'd label "basshead certified". Head shaking, brain shattering bass without any loss of detail in the mids and highs. Audiophile headphones are pretty much never tuned for bassheads, and headphones that are usually sound depressing because everything outside bass is a muffled garbled mess.

We all love some good bass, but there's not many headphones that can do powerfull bass without bleeding or sounding muddy.
I agree with you, the Nighthawks can shake your skull but keeping the other frequencies pretty clean.

Btw, talking about bass, Im waiting for the Klipsch heritage Hp3 to be delivered this monday. People say are pretty bassy but apparently they are do it really well. They better do it for what they cost lol.

 

[petitpierre]

hello ! i have read a lot of things about the nighthawk and i would like to know the ability of these headphones to reproduce all the harmonic richness of a string quartet or a vocal quartet ?

 

[alekc]

hello ! i have read a lot of things about the nighthawk and i would like to know the ability of these headphones to reproduce all the harmonic richness of a string quartet or a vocal quartet ?

First of all the question is does your DAC can pick apart such music to let your cans reproduce it? Secondly AQ cans have to be paired well to really perform IMHO (Chord Mojo is a great pair for example from my experience). Thirdly those may not be best match if you are thinking about classical music, but if you are about to listen to jazz or blues I would say those are really brilliant, especially considering current price tag.

 

[volly]

Now that you know the Nighthawk, look at the thought and polish that these birds received! Skylar helped put together a beautiful Headphone, you can see nothing is OEM! All is custom, except maybe the driver! Like a Niche Branded speaker, these headphones are unique in most ways! If you dig the sound signature, then these are Forever-Headphones!

When they were first released...they were quickly touted as being too expensive but only after owning and loving them for many years that I get why they were priced that way! If you bought these cheap then you got a great bargain, simple as that! A lot of people hate them but a lot of people love them, just the way the world works!

A very rare bird in the world of headphones!

 

[petitpierre]

i'm seriously thinking of buying the NHC that can be found for 249 euros in france
thanks

 

[kman1211]

Now that you know the Nighthawk, look at the thought and polish that these birds received! Skylar helped put together a beautiful Headphone, you can see nothing is OEM! All is custom, except maybe the driver! Like a Niche Branded speaker, these headphones are unique in most ways! If you dig the sound signature, then these are Forever-Headphones!

When they were first released...they were quickly touted as being too expensive but only after owning and loving them for many years that I get why they were priced that way! If you bought these cheap then you got a great bargain, simple as that! A lot of people hate them but a lot of people love them, just the way the world works!

A very rare bird in the world of headphones!

The driver membrane is possibly the only thing OEM, which is likely made by Fostex. But the capsule, magnet, motor assembly, etc. are all unique essentially making the driver as a whole unique. Yeah many sadly didn’t get them when they came out and after owning them I feel they were appropriately priced and since they tend to sell around $250 now they’re one of the best deals in headphones out there and my pair isn’t going anywhere.

 

[Tano]

i'm seriously thinking of buying the NHC that can be found for 249 euros in france
thanks

Don't even think about it, I paid 300 for mine and feel that they are a steal for that much.

 

[dakanao]

Why do some people report “tizzy” treble quality with these? Highly interested to buy one, but the comments about the treble quality put me off..