[Jackson9696]

Yeah the upper bass I'm a bit iffy on. I'm noticing what sounds like some bloom on tracks and I'm not sure what I think about that. Would different pads help the situation out?

In my experience burn in definetly tames the upper bass to a degree.

 

[ChookJones1987]

The Brainwavz Velour pads really help as they let the drivers breathe. I still hear some congestion which is the limitation to the closed/semi closed design. The big upper bass on a semi open U shaped headphone just doesn't work too well. I do have to say they are the most unique tuning in a headphone and it seems many don't like it but some do. I think Audioquest are not experienced enough as a company and produced one weird headphone. I personally enjoy it but it's faults are really bothersome and I accept it as a second headphone..if this was my only headphone, I would get tired of it quickly!

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I agree they're weird, but I think all the weirdness is good so far.
 
For one, they have the best ear-cup suspension system I have ever seen. It's literally impossible NOT to have them sit properly on the head. I agree with a few reviewers have said it was like Gray just threw out the book on how to make headphones and started from the ground up. Aside from being speakers on a headband there is nothing like these in others I've seen or heard.
 
Keep in mind, Audioquest may be new to headphones, but Skylar Gray is not. Dude was working at Westone for a while and if you look around you can see plenty of articles singing his praises for his work in the industry.
 
EDIT: Currently listening to Dvorak's "From the New World". Oh... oh my. This is lovely.

 

[zzzmonster]

The Brainwavz Velour pads really help as they let the drivers breathe. I still hear some congestion which is the limitation to the closed/semi closed design. The big upper bass on a semi open U shaped headphone just doesn't work too well. I do have to say they are the most unique tuning in a headphone and it seems many don't like it but some do. I think Audioquest are not experienced enough as a company and produced one weird headphone. I personally enjoy it but it's faults are really bothersome and I accept it as a second headphone..if this was my only headphone, I would get tired of it quickly!

 


I dunno about you, but I feel that there is no 1 headphone that can do it all

The reason is the source.

Music mastered before the late 80s are mastered differently compared to now, every person needs at least 2 headphones if they listen to music from 60s to present. Nighthawk (IMHO) is a very good headphone for modern day music but not too good for music before late 80s

 

[SomeGuyDude]

 

The Brainwavz Velour pads really help as they let the drivers breathe. I still hear some congestion which is the limitation to the closed/semi closed design. The big upper bass on a semi open U shaped headphone just doesn't work too well. I do have to say they are the most unique tuning in a headphone and it seems many don't like it but some do. I think Audioquest are not experienced enough as a company and produced one weird headphone. I personally enjoy it but it's faults are really bothersome and I accept it as a second headphone..if this was my only headphone, I would get tired of it quickly!

 


I dunno about you, but I feel that there is no 1 headphone that can do it all

The reason is the source.

Music mastered before the late 80s are mastered differently compared to now, every person needs at least 2 headphones if they listen to music from 60s to present. Nighthawk (IMHO) is a very good headphone for modern day music but not too good for music before late 80s

 
Depends on how you like your music, I'd wager. I don't think there's any magical line in the sand where before XXXX year it sounds one way and after XXXX it sounds another.

 

[zzzmonster]

True, but something to substantiate, before 80s, high powered amplifiers are not yet created, people are using horn loudspeakers. The power response from horn is differs from typical modern speakers. Horns have better dispersion of treble, music in that era were mastered with a lower treble. Modern loudspeakers typically have rolled off treble, as a result modern music source have more treble

 

[inthere]

Love music from the 60's and 70's on my Nighthawk, Heart, Led Zep, Beatles, Blood Swe*at & Tears, War, Chicago, Isaac Hayes,  Curtis Mayfield, Carly Simon, CSNY-all awesome. Also love music from the 90's. 
 
Also the NH is not U-shaped. TH600 is, but not the Nighthawk. And I'm not hearing "distant" recessed vocals either, they sure sound intimate to me and others too, that was discussed earlier in this thread. Maybe it's the amplification, but I really think it's listening volume. 

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Testing out older recordings as well (Boz Scaggs, David Bowie) and if it were true what was said above, these would sound ridiculously soft on the Nighthawks but the opposite seems to be true. They're bell clear.

 

[zzzmonster]

Testing out older recordings as well (Boz Scaggs, David Bowie) and if it were true what was said above, these would sound ridiculously soft on the Nighthawks but the opposite seems to be true. They're bell clear.

 


I did not say they are not clear, I just say they did not sound so good.

Maybe we have different listening habits, I find the older music (deep purple, the who, ccr) lethargic; linkin park, motorhead, black keys sounds good, in fact the noisier the music, the better it is on the NH). Led Zep and Heart sounds ok.

The NH sound is almost the same as my speaker system (Nao Note)

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I find the older music (deep purple, the who, ccr) lethargic;

linkin park, motorhead, black keys sounds good

 
I want you to pause a review this a moment.

 

[zzzmonster]

 
I want you to pause a review this a moment.

 


The late 70s and early 80s are a mixed bag

Not sure if anyone agrees, but the NH sound signature is very similar to LCD2, but less overpowering bass and much lighter on the head, not sure why so many people rave about lcd2, but so polarizing for the NH.

 

[Dave74]

The NH with the stock pads are now my favourite HP for eighties pop/rock/country.  I love these for 80's groups like Foreigner, Heart, Vince Gill, ZZ Top, Nana Mouskouri.    These seem to excel when you want an intimate and rich sound for vocal performances/ballads.  
 
 I prefer the stock pads to the Brainwaves as I prefer the warmer sound of the stock pads.  I did order the hybrid pad and will try it when it comes in as I did like the comfort of the velour pad.

 

[inthere]

Nothing is a mixed bag for me on the Nighthawk, everything sounds great and natural, it's smooth non fatiguing musical bliss for me; it's like putting on a warm blanket and curling up in front of a fire. 
 
I find it amusing there are so many different opinions on headphones-the bashed thread is saying the Nighthawk doesn't have enough bass while here guys keep saying it has too much. Man i really hope Skylar doesn't cave into the pressure on the next headphone. This tuning is extremely important, and there are a lot of misconceptions about this headphone-a LOT for thought has been put into every aspect of it..........earlier in the thread a guy thought he was getting poisoned, this was Skylar's response:
 

  Xarq,
 
I'm really glad you're enjoying NightHawk, and thanks for the feedback. I can help clear up some confusion.
 
First, the smell is not the earpads, it is the natural aroma of liquid wood, a completely natural material.
Most people really like the smell (myself included). Of course, there will always be those who don’t care for it.

Fortunately for those who don't like it, the smell diminishes fairly rapidly over time as long as they are out of the case.
After a few days the smell diminishes by about half.
After 1–2 weeks, another half, and after 2–4 weeks, it should be mostly unnoticeable.
If one directly sniffs the inside of the earpad area after 2 weeks or more, there will be a faint aroma of liquid wood—which will have then matured to a more vanilla aroma (after all, one of the “top-secret” ingredients in liquid wood is vanilla bean extract).
 
Second, NightHawk is a sustainable, responsibly manufactured, and fully RoHS-compliant product; therefore, there are no plasticizers or harmful chemicals used (including PVC). I am extremely passionate about eliminating harmful materials in the manufacture of our products, and I believe NightHawk is the most sustainably produced headphone ever made. You can read more about our sustainability efforts here.
 
Third, our pads are made from eggshell membrane-derived proteins, so it's a more natural material than regular synthetic leather. This particular leather was specifically developed to more closely resemble human skin, which means improved comfort. Further, this eggshell leather is much more durable than genuine leather. We made the decision to use eggshell leather so that the pads wouldn't wear out as fast as genuine leather and would require no maintenance. You can read more about NightHawk's ergonomic design here.
 
Fourth, if you still want to make your own pads, the stock pads can be easily taken off the retaining frame and swapped out.
 

 

[SomeGuyDude]

It's a really uncommon thing, only pops up in VERY specific instances (Weezer's song El Scorcho, Dolven's album Navigating the Labyrinth). Far less often than recordings sounded a bit thin on the Audezes. That's why I'm not ready to make any declarations yet, plus this is the first time I have EVER been willing to consider "burn in" time. I still think it's all hokum, but in the interest of giving things a fair shot I'll reserve my full opinion until it's "ready".
 
Right now listening to Dyad's awesome album Who's Been Here Since I've Been Gone and it's just so lifelike it's uncanny. No bloat, no beef. It's funny that "liquid" and "woody" are the words I keep thinking of given the ear cup material.
 
Side note: I got a thing in the box for a free month of Tidal, but it says it expired in October? Has anyone gotten that to work?

 

[Massacare]

Subscribed!
Just bought a pair of nighthawk here. It sounds awesome with mojo. Smooth, very good imaging , transient, not much sneaky spikes. I can listen listen to this for hours due to their comfort and smoothness .