[Level5]

  I am thinking of getting some bio-cell driver headphones, and have been looking at the original NH for a while.  I haven't had a chance to audition them, but my son did, and says that his T50RP sounds as good if not better.  So I am confused by this, just wondering if that could be, or did the NH that he heard need to be burned in?  They were at a Magnolia shop in Best Buy.
But then figured maybe the Panasonic or CAL might be good.  Not sure, but I know those are both really low end.

I've owned the T50RP mk3 and in their stock form its not very good. First I had to replace the garbage stock pads and then you have to have a beefy amp to power that thing. Sound wise its dark with good vocal clarity and has that speedy "planar" bass, but very prone to sibilance, while the NH have smooth controlled bass, warm, very low distortion and unlike other headphones, it's very pleasing to listen to since its not "soulless", it brings a bit of "emotion" to the music.
 
I do prefer the Nightowl now because it has the same traits of the NH but they're a bit more engaging to listen to compared to the NH which is slightly laid back. 
 
The NH will require 100-200hrs of burn/brain in to unleash its full potential, while the Nightowl sounds like its already passed the burn in period when I first listened to them.

 

[betula]

I been to a few canjams and been to other store locally that has a lot of cans (cloth and metal), plus Best Buy. I go to these places listen to some cans often. I currently own nighthawks they sound much better after about 5 hours of listening, in this case brain burn in. The cans at these stores and can jam had more hours than mine. But mine are now past 100 hours. I did notice a difference from burn too but they were not a whole lot different. But really brain burn in on these are something.
With that said NH were never impressive to me with a quick listen. But after being wrong about many others with the quick listen I realized most these just need more time. I'm rethinking now how effective canjam or in store additions really are. I need a few hours in quiet envorment to really get a good impression.
The feel size and look of a product is good for auditions but not so much sound. Anyone who has done a lot auditioning outside of home or work probably understand what I'm trying to say.
So this probably doesn't help you much. I'm just pointing out Best Buy listen probably doesn't tell you much about what you will end up liking or not liking about the sound. But I'm sure you can at least experience how comfortable they are.

Agreed. It is true for almost any headphone, and particularly true for the NH.

 

[EdwardPL]

 
 
I thought this was interesting, NH in green and EMU Purple heart. The NH always seem to measure poorly but there's just something about that bassy, resolving sound I just love. 

 

[mks100]

http://www.audioquest.com/perch-headphone-stand/

 

[Piperman]

I had also been looking at the Fostex TH610, still on the fence and since there are none of either of those around me, can't test them out.  I also read about the Focal Listen, not necessarily looking for commuter cans, but seems that they have a great sound signature.  I don't know. I do know that I wanted to get a pair with some drivers that were similar to speaker cones, just something about the warmth and smoothness of the sound.  I have Beyer DT 1990, Audeze EL-8s and some NAD HP50s.

 

[MattTCG]

  http://www.audioquest.com/perch-headphone-stand/

 
The stand looks quite nice. I'd buy one, depending on the price. Anyone know what this cost?

 

[KLJTech]

  http://www.audioquest.com/perch-headphone-stand/

 
I like that one a lot and if I didn't already have the Woo Audio stand that is "kind of" (in the way that it allows the headphones to hang/rest) similar I'd grab one of these. 

 

[betula]

  I had also been looking at the Fostex TH610, still on the fence and since there are none of either of those around me, can't test them out.  I also read about the Focal Listen, not necessarily looking for commuter cans, but seems that they have a great sound signature.  I don't know. I do know that I wanted to get a pair with some drivers that were similar to speaker cones, just something about the warmth and smoothness of the sound.  I have Beyer DT 1990, Audeze EL-8s and some NAD HP50s.

NightHawk is warm and smooth, and a class above the NAD or the Focal Listen. The Fostex has narrower soundstage and stronger treble. If you are looking for warm and smooth sound that has some speaker characteristics, NightHawk is your headphone, without a doubt.

 

[Piperman]

 
NightHawk is warm and smooth, and a class above the NAD or the Focal Listen. The Fostex has narrower soundstage and stronger treble. If you are looking for warm and smooth sound that has some speaker characteristics, NightHawk is your headphone, without a doubt.

That sounds good, unfortunately I can't go for the Carbon right now, but with the lower price on the "wood" I think that might be the way to go.

 

[RCBinTN]

   
I like that one a lot and if I didn't already have the Woo Audio stand that is "kind of" (in the way that it allows the headphones to hang/rest) similar I'd grab one of these. 

 
Looks like a nice design and high enough that the cables aren't too sharply bent at the bottom.  I too have the Woo stands, which are great, but the height of the Woo is adjustable and, if not careful, the height can be too low for some HP's.  Just my observation FWIW.

 

[KLJTech]

   
Looks like a nice design and high enough that the cables aren't too sharply bent at the bottom.  I too have the Woo stands, which are great, but the height of the Woo is adjustable and, if not careful, the height can be too low for some HP's.  Just my observation FWIW.

 
I like that it's adjustable, I just checked and I have mine set where the headband rest is 12" above the top of the metal base which gives me right at 5" of space below the earcups of the NightHwak's. That allows the cable more than enough room so that I never need to worry about a sharp bend in the cable. I need to see how the AudioQuest stand is, never know when you may need another one. 

 

[nmatheis]

Eager to try out the new stand. My one and only headphone stand is really cool, a metal one a fellow headfi'er made. I do need another stand, though. And what better stand for my Nighthawks than this!

 

[nmatheis]

Regarding Emu (and Fostex) headphones. I tried out the upper tier Fostex and all of the Emu headphones at RMAF. They all shared a trait I just couldn't live with, which is hot / tizzy treble. The kind that would make me turn the volume down just when I'm getting into the groove. I know some people like it and think it's a sign of more detail or that they sound more exciting. I just find that kind of sound fatiguing. Just my two cents...

 

[Piperman]

I had heard that about them.  I thought the 610 was supposed to be better, but maybe not.
That's not good then, I had heard that even the Denon D5000 was a bit of a V or U shape, so that isn't surprising I guess.

 

[nmatheis]

Yeah, heard a headfi buddy's Lawton-modded Denons which also had the same treble issue. Not my cup of tea, either.