[Jackson9696]

The nighthawks are definitely end game dark headphones IMO now I just need to find a pair of brighter phones to compliment them. I would prefer for my complimentary headphones to be easy to drive.
Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Whitigir]

The nighthawks are definitely end game dark headphones IMO now I just need to find a pair of brighter phones to compliment them. I would prefer for my complimentary headphones to be easy to drive.
Anyone have any suggestions?

MDR sa5000

 

[Jackson9696]

MDR sa5000

Thanks for the recommendation! I've heard a lot of good thinks about them, but I cant seem to find a pair for sale anywhere. Do you think they are better than the hd700? I owned the hd700 and was very impressed by them.

 

[SearchOfSub]

Just a quick question, anyone know any good amps for the Nighthawk under £1000 (around $1500) with balanced outs and xlr pre outs for active monitors as well? I already know of the Oppo ha1 and Schiit Mjolnir but was wondering if there were any others

I think schitt ragnorak. got pretty good reviews from users I think but never heard one myself.

 

[Krutsch]

The nighthawks are definitely end game dark headphones IMO now I just need to find a pair of brighter phones to compliment them. I would prefer for my complimentary headphones to be easy to drive.
Anyone have any suggestions?

Grado RS2e

 

[Jackson9696]

Grado RS2e

Would you choose those over something like the gs1000i or ps500e? The ps500e should be arriving tomorrow but I don't think they will necessarily compliment them.

 

[Krutsch]

Would you choose those over something like the gs1000i or ps500e? The ps500e should be arriving tomorrow but I don't think they will necessarily compliment them.

I'm not sure... I have really liked the GS1K when I've listened to them, a couple of times, but not enough to replace my RS2i. I listened to the ps500e only once, briefly, and I can't really recall the sound.
 
To be honest, I think the Grados all have a similar signature and the RS2e hits a value sweet-spot, but that's my opinion.

 

[Jackson9696]

I'm not sure... I have really liked the GS1K when I've listened to them, a couple of times, but not enough to replace my RS2i. I listened to the ps500e only once, briefly, and I can't really recall the sound.

To be honest, I think the Grados all have a similar signature and the RS2e hits a value sweet-spot, but that's my opinion.

Thanks for your information! I'll keep my eyes open for a pair of rs2e's and maybe a pair of gs1000's. I actually offered to trade my nighthawks in the first week of receiving them for a pair of gs1000i's and the guy agreed but in the end I backed out because the nighthawk was sounding better and better to my ears.
Anyways, the midforward vivid sound of a good grado sounds like a perfect compliment!

 

[SearchOfSub]

I swapped out cables for NH from the primary one to the secondary thinner one and sound changed a little bit. Thinner cable make NH less musical and vocals on midrange get muted and is not pushed through as well as the primary cable. But, it pronounces micro details more giving NH impression of sounding more detailed.

 

[Hachiko270296]

Yesterday I compared the Nighthawk to the LCD-2 2013.

I wanted to compare the bass mainly but ended up switching between them for a while.

I started with the Audeze. Bass went down to 20hz no problem. Bass was more textured, more defined. NH was extended but I didn't think it went down to 20hz. The mid bass of the NH is very overtaking. I thought the NH had more of a for show bass where as the LCD had a more accurate bass. If the song had impact, you'd get impact. The NH always had exaggerated bass. I found the NH really good for rap and EDM where the LCD was more of an all around headphone when it comes to lows.

Both have their purpose I liked them both but for different reasons.

The mids are totally opposite. Like the HD650 the LCD-2 has linear mids with warmness to voices that feels engaging. I can hear more into the singers voice, more detail. The Nighthawks mids are difficult. The lower mids have some weight more the uppers are recessed so voices sound like they are more distant. I can't hear the texture of s voice very well and I can't really enjoy the song if it's vocal centric. I personally can't understand how anyone can enjoy it for vocal.

The treble went to the NH. It was more extended, not as well controlled as the LCD-2 but I felt the NH gave more treble information. Air is about the same, both are stuffy. Soundstage depth Audeze, width probably similar. Imaging Audeze hands down. NH image decent though considering it's sound.

I felt the LCD-2 was a more musical headphone the Nighthawk is too congested to be musical for me. If some consider big bass to be musical then that's different but for me I need to hear everything for it to be musical.

I also compared the NH to the Z7. I didn't like the Z7 at all, it was harsh sounding and had a bass roll off that was too obvious. They have a similar curve but the Nighthawk did everything better than the Z7.

 

[FastAndClean]

It's funny but after couple of days with NH the bass is not big  like it was in the beginning, i get used to it and now sound perfectly balanced to me with other frequencies, upper mids take a seat back but actually i like it, that makes them lush and sweet sounding, different than upper mid forward cans.

 

[SearchOfSub]

It's funny but after couple of days with NH the bass is not big  like it was in the beginning, i get used to it and now sound perfectly balanced to me with other frequencies, upper mids take a seat back but actually i like it, that makes them lush and sweet sounding, different than upper mid forward cans.

For me the whole problem is when people are comparing headphones, they are analyzing and testing for its merits and weaknesses. So it's pretty much given on a testing, and on amission to analyzing headphones HD-800 won't be too bad. Itfact, it will do pretty good because you are sectoring and parting off sounds to compare.Its when you take it home you will find that it's pretty much useless for music since the rythem and flow is on the bottom of most audiophille heasphones. That is why you hear people say, HD800 has no "soul", sterile, analytical etc. But if you sector off the hd800 part by part and get down to its "detail" and judge the headphone per - department basis, it's actually pretty good. But the most important thing to music, which is being able to bring "emotion" to the table and it's superb rythem and pace, timing in music, and delivering the music in ONE piece as a whole, the NH is one of the best. NH is the opposite of HD800.

IMO, LCD-2 is too thick and not as airy as NH. Not to mention comfort is so much better on the NH.

Its like comparing an IPAD. I bought an IPAD Pro, try to use it when laying down and kicking back on the bed or sofa, and the result is a return back to the store I purchased it from. I went back to using an ancient Ipad mini even though the newer Ipad pro had so much bigger screen real estate. All in the name of "comfort". Same thing with headphones, it is a mobile device and also can be stationary but uses part of your body, which is why comfort is important as well. I mean, I would rather sit and kick back on my $100.00 sofa with comfy cushions than sit on a decorated chair that is worth $5,000.00.

 

[FastAndClean]

 But the most important thing to music, which is being able to bring "emotion" to the table and it's superb rythem and pace, timing in music, and delivering the music in ONE piece as a whole, the NH is one of the best. NH is the opposite of HD800.

 

Exactly

 

[SearchOfSub]

NH sounds damn good straight from ipad mini2 right now. Plenty of volume since NH easy to drive.

 

[SearchOfSub]

I realize after using Audioquest gear recently like the Nighthawks and the Dragonfly v1.2, Audioquest the company is really good at delivering emotion and "soul" of the music... Although NH straight from the ipad mini2 sound good enough, the emotion is not as much there when dragonfly is out of the mix.

I also felt this way in comparison with Micromega Mydac + Schiit Valhalla 2, and Arcam irdac + Matrix Mstage etc.

It just can't beat the musicality and the soul Dragonfly brings to the table.

IMO, dragonfly and NH is great combo.