[knowhatimean]

I knew there was something I forgot to ask .
 
Being on the other side of which type of pads I prefer (the Microsuede) I always forget to mention that I think that the sound works better for me using them is due to the fact the Earpads are the only remaining damping I've left on the heafphone. If the black open cell foam damping pads are left entirely in place there is a very real chance that the drivers will start to damp sooner than is really needed as now some of the musical energy is being dampened by the Earpads now.
 
So how could this lead to what you're listening to sounding more Bassy. With the added damping how long the other non bass notes being played will be heard have been shortened a bit .The bass notes will always continue to be the most prominent & easy to be heard notes regardless of how much you've reduced their 'Impact'. You have to have the right balance of damping to live sound coming from the headphones or you will effect how all the frequencies are being produced.
 
When you change the Earpads you now plan on using you also change the Voicing of the headphone. The Earpads change alone may change some of the sound for the better, you'll notice I said some. Depending on how particular about the sound you are you can stop here & accept what you're left with . Or easily comlete the new Voicing by changing the amount of damping inside of the Earcups.
 
There is not much doubt that you may have to take the 4 screws out of each Earcup & remove an equal amount of damping from each cup , reassemle the cups, place the earpads back on & take a listen to several different pieces of music to see what changes about the sound. There was a movie out called "Live, Die, Repeat", thats what you may have to do to get your ideal balance of sound After you've taken your time  & actually "ReVoiced" your headphones you are pretty much done.
 
Why do you think Skylar made these headphones so Modular. (& N o o o....You're not modding anything if you take your time & make sure everthing fits back the way it was should you decide to revert to the "New Out of Box" state of how they were)

 

[shurealltheway]

I just got the NO this evening. I've only had about 1/2 with them so I'll withhold my judgement until I've had a chance to burn them in. But let me offer a few preliminary comments:

1. The looks are great! I love the new Carbon color. 

2. I'm digging the ability to switch out the pads for an alternative tuning. Although I'm not sure which is my preference yet. 

3. What in the world is going on with the cable? :eek:  I love audioquest and Skylar is the man. Nothing but true respect here for them. BUT the cable is essentially a wasted effort IMO. It's too short for a desktop cable (4ft, barely reaches my amp) and WAY to thick to be used as a portable. I'll have to order a custom cable asap or find someone willing to sell me the old desktop cable. I have no explanation on what happened with the design of this cable. 

Man I couldn't agree more! I have a custom cable arriving Wednesday.

 

[shurealltheway]

I knew there was something I forgot to ask .

Being on the other side of which type of pads I prefer (the Microsuede) I always forget to mention that I think that the sound works better for me using them is due to the fact the Earpads are the only remaining damping I've left on the heafphone. If the black open cell foam damping pads are left entirely in place there is a very real chance that the drivers will start to damp sooner than is really needed as now some of the musical energy is being dampened by the Earpads now.

So how could this lead to what you're listening to sounding more Bassy. With the added damping how long the other non bass notes being played will be heard have been shortened a bit .The bass notes will always continue to be the most prominent & easy to be heard notes regardless of how much you've reduced their 'Impact'. You have to have the right balance of damping to live sound coming from the headphones or you will effect how all the frequencies are being produced.

When you change the Earpads you now plan on using you also change the Voicing of the headphone. The Earpads change alone may change some of the sound for the better, you'll notice I said some. Depending on how particular about the sound you are you can stop here & accept what you're left with . Or easily comlete the new Voicing by changing the amount of damping inside of the Earcups.

There is not much doubt that you may have to take the 4 screws out of each Earcup & remove an equal amount of damping from each cup , reassemle the cups, place the earpads back on & take a listen to several different pieces of music to see what changes about the sound. There was a movie out called "Live, Die, Repeat", thats what you may have to do to get your ideal balance of sound After you've taken your time  & actually "ReVoiced" your headphones you are pretty much done.

Why do you think Skylar made these headphones so Modular. (& N o o o....You're not modding anything if you take your time & make sure everthing fits back the way it was should you decide to revert to the "New Out of Box" state of how they were)

No way in hell am I doing that. To my ears, they're perfect with the Boost pads. These took 2 years of development to make. In no way, shape, or form do I believe I can improve upon them with my amateurish tinkering in a few days. If I felt the need to tamper that much, then I'd just assume they weren't the headphones for me and send them back.

 

[arielelf]

I have had the Nightowls for about three weeks now and have well over 200 hours on them. I will tell you what I hear. I am in no way an expert and not even an audiophile, I just want the best music experience I can afford. 
 
I LOVE the way these things are made and how they look and feel. Everything about them is incredibly well made. Even the cumbersome thick cord is cool. They are also super comfortable. 
 
The sound. Well the sound confuses me. I know that I am supposed to listen and "let my brain rewire itself" in order to acclimate to the Audioquest house sound, but it is giving me some trouble. I will say, right off the bat, that if you listen there is a lot of audio information there, lots of details, but certain frequencies sound very strange to me. Vocals in particular have a strange sound to them, almost as if there was a towel or piece of mylar over the microphone. It is like a muffled buzzing sound to the vocals and I can't figure out what is causing this effect, but I find it very distracting and not so nice sounding. Also the voices seem a little too distant.
 
I am treble intolerant and was excited to try these since the Nighthawks were lauded for being relaxed. They are indeed very relaxed, and all of the sound details are audible if you are listening in a quite room, however I feel that this very subtle sound signature becomes very hard to hear once you bring these out into the world, which is how I had intended to use them, as my commuting headphones. Once I'm on the subway I feel I am loosing a TON of audio information. I personally would not suggest these to anyone looking to use them in fairly loud environments, but that is just my opinion. 
 
Lastly I feel that these are anemic in the sub-bass frequencies, which, to me, is a big let down. I feel that I am missing a lot of the sub-bass atmosphere to a lot of my music. I don't know if I am just a basshead, but I miss the richness that the sub bass provides. There seems to be plenty of mid-bass however. 
 
I just think that there is a lot of overflowing praise being given to these headphones and I wanted to give my opinion. I'm sure that I will be in the minority on a lot of my views, but if I were looking for new commuter headphones I would want to read this.

 

[Bighappy]

I just got the NO this evening. I've only had about 1/2 with them so I'll withhold my judgement until I've had a chance to burn them in. But let me offer a few preliminary comments:

1. The looks are great! I love the new Carbon color. 

2. I'm digging the ability to switch out the pads for an alternative tuning. Although I'm not sure which is my preference yet. 

3. What in the world is going on with the cable? :eek:  I love audioquest and Skylar is the man. Nothing but true respect here for them. BUT the cable is essentially a wasted effort IMO. It's too short for a desktop cable (4ft, barely reaches my amp) and WAY to thick to be used as a portable. I'll have to order a custom cable asap or find someone willing to sell me the old desktop cable. I have no explanation on what happened with the design of this cable. 

Unfortunately. I have to agree with the cable. I was really excited about it until I used it. Plus the button doesn't work so that doesn't help Other than the cable. AWESOME CANS!!!

 

[knowhatimean]

 

I knew there was something I forgot to ask .

Being on the other side of which type of pads I prefer (the Microsuede) I always forget to mention that I think that the sound works better for me using them is due to the fact the Earpads are the only remaining damping I've left on the heafphone. If the black open cell foam damping pads are left entirely in place there is a very real chance that the drivers will start to damp sooner than is really needed as now some of the musical energy is being dampened by the Earpads now.

So how could this lead to what you're listening to sounding more Bassy. With the added damping how long the other non bass notes being played will be heard have been shortened a bit .The bass notes will always continue to be the most prominent & easy to be heard notes regardless of how much you've reduced their 'Impact'. You have to have the right balance of damping to live sound coming from the headphones or you will effect how all the frequencies are being produced.

When you change the Earpads you now plan on using you also change the Voicing of the headphone. The Earpads change alone may change some of the sound for the better, you'll notice I said some. Depending on how particular about the sound you are you can stop here & accept what you're left with . Or easily comlete the new Voicing by changing the amount of damping inside of the Earcups.

There is not much doubt that you may have to take the 4 screws out of each Earcup & remove an equal amount of damping from each cup , reassemle the cups, place the earpads back on & take a listen to several different pieces of music to see what changes about the sound. There was a movie out called "Live, Die, Repeat", thats what you may have to do to get your ideal balance of sound After you've taken your time  & actually "ReVoiced" your headphones you are pretty much done.

Why do you think Skylar made these headphones so Modular. (& N o o o....You're not modding anything if you take your time & make sure everthing fits back the way it was should you decide to revert to the "New Out of Box" state of how they were)

No way in hell am I doing that. To my ears, they're perfect with the Boost pads. These took 2 years of development to make. In no way, shape, or form do I believe I can improve upon them with my amateurish tinkering in a few days. If I felt the need to tamper that much, then I'd just assume they weren't the headphones for me and send them back.

Well, I have to disagree that there is anything amateurish in SIMPLY Voicing the headphones.If you don't feel comfortable doing it leave it be.
 
As I've said it's not Rocket Science. I'm using over $12K in equipment & my NH fit completely inline with the level of this playback setup !
 
"Amateurish" ??????? Cut me some slack !!!!!! Tamper ??????? It's called making selective thought out subjective adjustments. Did you honestly think about your response before you offered it ? We all have different comfort levels in this hobby !!!! Is it reasonable to assume that where your comfort level is ,is the only approach that is the correct one ( Would this be because of your extensive knowledge of all technical things in this Hobby ??????) So 2 whole years of development means they accounted for every subjective sound preferences that anyone could possibly want. The world isn't as black & white as you see it. Extending some personal effort isn't as much of a stretch out of someone's comfort zone as it appears to be for yourself.
 
Needless to say,I would have not posted "my rant" had you simply declined my suggested advice as "Out of your comfort zone" & left it as that. In case you weren't aware of it before, most people tend to get a little aggravated when then term Amateurish is thrown their way when they've suggested something for consideration to someone else.
 
"No thanks , I'm good" would have sufficed ! (& I remained completely civil, though I was very strongly inclined not to do so) ( Take this as you want)

 

[shurealltheway]

Well, I have to disagree that there is anything amateurish in SIMPLY Voicing the headphones.If you don't feel comfortable doing it leave it be.

As I've said it's not Rocket Science. I'm using over $12K in equipment & my NH fit completely inline with the level of this playback setup !

"Amateurish" ??????? Cut me some slack !!!!!! Tamper ??????? It's called making selective thought out subjective adjustments. Did you honestly think about your response before you offered it ? We all have different comfort levels in this hobby !!!! Is it reasonable to assume that where your comfort level is ,is the only approach that is the correct one ( Would this be because of your extensive knowledge of all technical things in this Hobby ??????) So 2 whole years of development means they accounted for every subjective sound preferences that anyone could possibly want. The world isn't as black & white as you see it. Extending some personal effort isn't as much of a stretch out of someone's comfort zone as it appears to be for yourself.

Needless to say,I would have not posted "my rant" had you simply declined my suggested advice as "Out of your comfort zone" & left it as that. In case you weren't aware of it before, most people tend to get a little aggravated when then term Amateurish is thrown their way when they've suggested something for consideration to someone else.

"No thanks , I'm good" would have sufficed !

You need to go back and re-read what I wrote. It's not all about you. I said I don't think I <---- look at that word there. I can't improve them. MY amateurish tinkering. Do you see who the subject was now? It was me. Not you. You can do whatever you want to your purchases. Why would I care what you do with your headphones?

 

[joeq70]

  I have had the Nightowls for about three weeks now and have well over 200 hours on them. I will tell you what I hear. I am in no way an expert and not even an audiophile, I just want the best music experience I can afford. 
 
I LOVE the way these things are made and how they look and feel. Everything about them is incredibly well made. Even the cumbersome thick cord is cool. They are also super comfortable. 
 
The sound. Well the sound confuses me. I know that I am supposed to listen and "let my brain rewire itself" in order to acclimate to the Audioquest house sound, but it is giving me some trouble. I will say, right off the bat, that if you listen there is a lot of audio information there, lots of details, but certain frequencies sound very strange to me. Vocals in particular have a strange sound to them, almost as if there was a towel or piece of mylar over the microphone. It is like a muffled buzzing sound to the vocals and I can't figure out what is causing this effect, but I find it very distracting and not so nice sounding. Also the voices seem a little too distant.
 
I am treble intolerant and was excited to try these since the Nighthawks were lauded for being relaxed. They are indeed very relaxed, and all of the sound details are audible if you are listening in a quite room, however I feel that this very subtle sound signature becomes very hard to hear once you bring these out into the world, which is how I had intended to use them, as my commuting headphones. Once I'm on the subway I feel I am loosing a TON of audio information. I personally would not suggest these to anyone looking to use them in fairly loud environments, but that is just my opinion. 
 
Lastly I feel that these are anemic in the sub-bass frequencies, which, to me, is a big let down. I feel that I am missing a lot of the sub-bass atmosphere to a lot of my music. I don't know if I am just a basshead, but I miss the richness that the sub bass provides. There seems to be plenty of mid-bass however. 
 
I just think that there is a lot of overflowing praise being given to these headphones and I wanted to give my opinion. I'm sure that I will be in the minority on a lot of my views, but if I were looking for new commuter headphones I would want to read this.

Just curious--are you using an amp?

 

[knowhatimean]

 

Well, I have to disagree that there is anything amateurish in SIMPLY Voicing the headphones.If you don't feel comfortable doing it leave it be.

As I've said it's not Rocket Science. I'm using over $12K in equipment & my NH fit completely inline with the level of this playback setup !

"Amateurish" ??????? Cut me some slack !!!!!! Tamper ??????? It's called making selective thought out subjective adjustments. Did you honestly think about your response before you offered it ? We all have different comfort levels in this hobby !!!! Is it reasonable to assume that where your comfort level is ,is the only approach that is the correct one ( Would this be because of your extensive knowledge of all technical things in this Hobby ??????) So 2 whole years of development means they accounted for every subjective sound preferences that anyone could possibly want. The world isn't as black & white as you see it. Extending some personal effort isn't as much of a stretch out of someone's comfort zone as it appears to be for yourself.

Needless to say,I would have not posted "my rant" had you simply declined my suggested advice as "Out of your comfort zone" & left it as that. In case you weren't aware of it before, most people tend to get a little aggravated when then term Amateurish is thrown their way when they've suggested something for consideration to someone else.

"No thanks , I'm good" would have sufficed !

You need to go back and re-read what I wrote. It's not all about you. I said I don't think I <---- look at that word there. I can't improve them. MY amateurish tinkering. Do you see who the subject was now? It was me. Not you. You can do whatever you want to your purchases. Why would I care what you do with your headphones?

That was a pretty slick 'redirect' you did there ! But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt !
 
Well , you might want to care what someone else is doing because we come here to share things ! (Skylar is a very talented designer, but I'm sure even he has preferences , every headphone ever made has to include some compromises in order to be usable with all music genres) (Some recorded music genres are by nature usually way more flawed than others)
 
I'll just have to yell at a few more kids to "Get off my lawn", tomorrow. (You weren't try to be slick, were you ? Seriously, nevermind)

 

[arielelf]

Yes I'm using an Audioquest Firefly Red which is as big as I would be willing to use on a portable commuting situation. Someone mentioned that the Firefly Red might be making the sub-bass response low but I don't feel like adding another $400.00 iphone sized amp to my pocket. 

 

[joeq70]

  Yes I'm using an Audioquest Firefly Red which is as big as I would be willing to use on a portable commuting situation. Someone mentioned that the Firefly Red might be making the sub-bass response low but I don't feel like adding another $400.00 iphone sized amp to my pocket. 

DFR has good bass. 

 

[MattTCG]

  DFR has good bass. 

 
Yep, the pairing between all the AQ headphones is exceptionally good. 

 

[YtseJamer]

   
Yep, the pairing between all the AQ headphones is exceptionally good. 

 
Same here, no bass issues with the DF Red and my NH.
 
@MattTCG, looking forward to hear your thoughts about the NightOwl vs the Aeon 

 

[MattTCG]

Working on a review with eventual comparisons. But I'll need a few weeks with NO to flesh out the sound before making those comparisons. 

 

[YtseJamer]

  Working on a review with eventual comparisons. But I'll need a few weeks with NO to flesh out the sound before making those comparisons. 

 
Cool