Interesting. I find the Owls much darker sounding than the 400i / 400s. I also find the treble on the 400s to be quite a bit brighter than that of the Owls, at times bordering on fatiguing. The 400 sounded much more forward, especially in the mids compared to the Owls, which sound distant in comparison. What are you using as your source?
I'm running roon on my PC. My DAC is a Benchmark DAC1 and Schiit Vali 2. I switch between the headphone outs on the Benchmark and Vali 2, but honestly don't often hear much of a difference.
I sure have. Have not listened a ton yet. They are so new looking, feeling, and smelling that I doubt they were even broken in properly. So I'm working on that for now.
My initial thoughts so far:
Comfort is very good. But the head band does put more pressure on top of my head compared to the HE400i. Clamp pressure is minimal.
Sound is signature is warmer and bass impact is more generous compared to the HE400i. More mid bass thickness.
Treble sounds brighter and more fatiguing than the hifiman, but I wonder if that it just needs some longer break in.
Pretty wide sound stage for a closed back. Does not quite meet the hifiman, but shouldn't be able to match an open design.
I will check back in once I've had them run for another 100 hours or so.
I have been reading conflicting comments on the pleather vs. microsuede pads. After these headphones break in I'm going to do some pad switching and share my comments.
Interesting. I find the Owls much darker sounding than the 400i / 400s. I also find the treble on the 400s to be quite a bit brighter than that of the Owls, at times bordering on fatiguing. The 400 sounded much more forward, especially in the mids compared to the Owls, which sound distant in comparison. What are you using as your source?
I have been reading conflicting comments on the pleather vs. microsuede pads. After these headphones break in I'm going to do some pad switching and share my comments.
Out of those two, I like the MS more, because they keep the natural treble of the headphone. Negative side is they lose some of the low end oomph That's why certain individuals, such as myself made sure to purchase hybrid pads while they were still available, so we could have a tuning closer to the original vision of Skyler like with the original wood Nighthawk. The Owl is more forward with a greater treble presence than the hawk, but the hybrid pads make it just good. Best pads for ether headphone
Out of those two, I like the MS more, because they keep the natural treble of the headphone. Negative side is they lose some of the low end oomph That's why certain individuals, such as myself made sure to purchase hybrid pads while they were still available, so we could have a tuning closer to the original vision of Skyler like with the original wood Nighthawk. The Owl is more forward with a greater treble presence than the hawk, but the hybrid pads make it just good. Best pads for ether headphone
QUOTE="CaptainFantastic, post: 15108375, member: 502161"]Are you sure they still have them in stock? When was the last time you ordered? In Europe Audioquest said these are gone forever.[/QUOTE]
I ordered them in March 2019 from Audioquest USA.
I finally have these dialed in! I've been going back and forth between the pleather and suede pads for close to 5 hours now. I definitely prefer the suede. The pleather kinda suck. They kill the capabilities of these cans imo. I feel that the suede pads somehow make the headphones more dynamic and energetic, and also provide more space and breathing room. Color me impressed.
The problem for me was between 125 Hz, and 1 KHz. Listening to hard rock, this region sounded slightly distorted to me. Male vocals sounded forceful and harsh. Guitars also sounded harsh and distorted. There was a hollow, screeching character that was driving me bonkers. So I kept fiddling around with the EQ, and I finally nailed it. Or maybe I finally hit my 150 hour mark haha. Who knows. I'm just happy that I'm fully content and pleased with them now. Here's my EQ settings for anyone who may be interested.
31.5 / +2
63 / - 1
125 / - 2
250 / - 3
500 / - 3
1000 / - 3
2000 / 0
4000 / - 1
8000 / - 2
16,000 / +2
Interesting. I find the Owls much darker sounding than the 400i / 400s. I also find the treble on the 400s to be quite a bit brighter than that of the Owls, at times bordering on fatiguing. The 400 sounded much more forward, especially in the mids compared to the Owls, which sound distant in comparison. What are you using as your source?
Man does a couple weeks make a difference with these headphones once they are broken in some more. The owls have smoothed out considerably. When I switch to the the HE400i i notice considerably more clarity and air in the treble. While I'm not usually a treble fan, the Owls are adding a thin blanket over certain aspects of airy live recordings. Cymbals and the air of the kick drum especially. I do feel this can bring vocals more into focus, but for an instrumental recording by a band like Mogwai I am missing the air in the recording. This in fact does make the HE400i brighter overall and more fatiguing. And besides having a narrower soundstage and overall stereo separation (not really fair for a closed back vs open headphone) that's really the only area where the Owl is deficient in my opinion. The HE400i to me is the more neutral sounding headphone for sure, but lacks the sub-bass punch of the Owl.
Since these headphones complement each other I'm definitely going to keep both for now.
Now that sounds a lot more like the Owls. I struggled with these same things. Finally, just recently, I feel like I have them dialed in, and they're staying put. My recommendation - Use the suede pads, and dial down the EQ between 125 Hz and 1 KHz. That blanket effect is now not nearly as bad. Kicks and snares sound more like they should, and vocals no longer have that dry, hollow effect. I think I posted my exact EQ not long ago. Worth a shot, and easy enough to switch back. I wouldn't keep these cans without EQ... Nope
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