[Venture Guy]

  Being a fan of the Audeze pads I would say the NH / NO pads could be a little thicker (which is why using the "fast foam" will be the better choice .
 
I think AQ went with the thinner pads & memory foam so as to be more attractive to the portable audio crowd ! (A lot of them seem to be a bit self conscious of how sporting more robust headphone proportions will appear; the NH / NO earpads strike me as being a bit conservatively sized ; & then it struck me why they decided to go that way) (& it had little to do with headphone performance)

So, same size as stock? News Flash! Just got an email from Vesper and handmade to whatever spec you want is $62!!! 

 

[Riley Beale]

  I too live in a very rural area, so no meets or stores to try things are out. I have found the best way to try items is to buy from a online store with a very good return policy.
Reading comments on here is fine, however you cannot judge headphones by them. I know it sounds cliche, everyone's ears are different ! Then throw in different amps, dacs and other gear used, you just cannot go by what others hear and say, you have to try gear.

Thanks!  I don't really life to return stuff especially online.  It is a big hassle to repackage it and go to the city about an hour away to send it back.  I currently only have really limited gear.  No DACs, no amps, only my computer and my laptop and a Fiio X5.
 
Thank you
 
Riley

 

[Riley Beale]

I am not looking for Open Cans at the moment.  I currently have the V-Moda M100 and don't like the much too present bass and colored sound.  However I do enjoy the treble and openess better than anything else I have at the moment.  I would just like less color bass and the mids a little more linear, but not offensively boosted nor recessed.  Also the warmth isn't terrible, just a wee bit less would be nice to give me some more air and detail.
 
Thank you
 
Riley

 

[knowhatimean]

 

  Being a fan of the Audeze pads I would say the NH / NO pads could be a little thicker (which is why using the "fast foam" will be the better choice .
 
I think AQ went with the thinner pads & memory foam so as to be more attractive to the portable audio crowd ! (A lot of them seem to be a bit self conscious of how sporting more robust headphone proportions will appear; the NH / NO earpads strike me as being a bit conservatively sized ; & then it struck me why they decided to go that way) (& it had little to do with headphone performance)

So, same size as stock? News Flash! Just got an email from Vesper and handmade to whatever spec you want is $62!!! 

I don't believe so. They would still be a bit "puny"
 
I just ended up paying $69 to B & H Photo for the Audeze Replacement LCD Microsuede pads / next day delivered. (BHP is in NY & I'm in NJ; so I'm guessing that was the reason I was able to get them so quick.)

 

[nwavesailor]

Thanks for your detailed assessment. I have used the Brainwavz velour pads on MH & felt that they are an improvement over the hybrid pads. They are thicker & I think that is a big factor in the way they sound. I feel that the NH sound benefits from the larger "room" in several ways. The instruments have a bit more separation & the mid bass hump is less intrusive.

kev

Thanks, kev!
 
Has anyone else had a positive experience using the Brainwavz angled velour, hybrid or protein leather pads on the NH or NO? When nmatheis did his YouTube NH pad comparison a few moths ago, he didn't care for the BW pads at all.
I had the protein leather BW angled pads on a pair of HM 400S and found them to be a nice improvement over the other HM pads I tried.
 
I have been using the AQ Protein leather (boost) and microsuede (US, ultrasuede) pads on the NH for some time and enjoy both versions.

 

[bugeyed]

 
Thanks, kev!
 
Has anyone else had a positive experience using the Brainwavz angled velour, hybrid or protein leather pads on the NH or NO? When nmatheis did his YouTube NH pad comparison a few moths ago, he didn't care for the BW pads at all.
I had the protein leather BW angled pads on a pair of HM 400S and found them to be a nice improvement over the other HM pads I tried.
 
I have been using the AQ Protein leather (boost) and microsuede (US, ultrasuede) pads on the NH for some time and enjoy both versions.

Hey, Yeah, I liked the BW angled velour pads on NH quite a bit. I described the difference as follows. " When listening to female vocals like Jennifer Warnes, I felt that the bass was masking her voice to the point that I didn't enjoy the presentation. With the addition of the BW angled velour pads, it was like Warnes stepped out from behind the bass player & took her place up front. I have been listening to the NH with the BW pads for several months & have just swapped them for the AQ MS pads & like them so far. I have yet to switch back to the BW pads or try the Boost pads on NH. Just not in the mood to experiment right now. I think that the NH do benefit from the extra space provided by the BW pads because if I compress the BW pads I can start to hear the presentation that I didn't like with the stock hybrid pads. Main thing I don't like the BW velour pads is they are lint, fuzz, hair magnets! They are also pretty rough looking when compared to other offerings. 
 
kev

 

[nwavesailor]

  Hey, Yeah, I liked the BW angled velour pads on NH quite a bit. I described the difference as follows. " When listening to female vocals like Jennifer Warnes, I felt that the bass was masking her voice to the point that I didn't enjoy the presentation. With the addition of the BW angled velour pads, it was like Warnes stepped out from behind the bass player & took her place up front. I have been listening to the NH with the BW pads for several months & have just swapped them for the AQ MS pads & like them so far. I have yet to switch back to the BW pads or try the Boost pads on NH. Just not in the mood to experiment right now. I think that the NH do benefit from the extra space provided by the BW pads because if I compress the BW pads I can start to hear the presentation that I didn't like with the stock hybrid pads. Main thing I don't like the BW velour pads is they are lint, fuzz, hair magnets! They are also pretty rough looking when compared to other offerings. 
 
kev

Thanks for the additional details, kev.
 
I have been using the microsuede more than the 'boost' pads and still find them to be my go-to pair, at least for now. From the feedback of NH and NO owners, it appears that more seem to prefer the 'boost' so I'm a bit of an oddball I suppose. It's good to hear that at least one other member likes the AQ microsuede pads!
 
I do have a new pair of the protein leather angled Brainwavz pads that I may try at some point.

 

[JMCIII]

I have been getting many requests for information about noise isolation with NightOwl.


 


So I wanted to share a study I performed during development that shows what level of performance to expect compared to other closed-back headphones at various price points.


 


This test was done inside my semi-anechoic iso chamber with a KEMAR HATS. I used a full-range speaker to play pink noise at 90dBSPL. The SPL was measured at the eardrum and calibrated to a flat response with no headphones on KEMAR. I then measured the new response at the eardrum when various headphones were worn on my good buddy KEMAR.


 


This chart shows attenuation vs frequency. Zero dB is no attenuation. Negative numbers are better.


 





 


 


NightOwl had the best noise attenuation of any headphones I tested in this case.


 


There might be other passive, closed-back headphones out there that can best NightOwl's noise atten performance, but I suspect NOwl is at least among the best on the market in this respect.


 


 


Aside: NightHawk actually has near-closed-back performance in this study, which is interesting for a semi-open headphone.

 



Skylar, toss that into the mix with their sonic attributes and I can't wait to take them flying when my wife and I head home to the Philippines this spring. Should make that 14+ hour flight much more tolerable.......

 

[sabloke]

I am sure that PM-3 isolate better than the Owls. Have not tested scientifically, only riding a bus to work. I was surprised to see there's not that much difference though.

 

[JMCIII]

I'm highly surprised that there hasn't been more replies to this thread, especially with sonic impressions. I am in the process of reviewing the NightOwls for The Audio Beat. But I am excited by what I've heard thus far. And I look forward to comparing them to the original NightHawk's that I found to be the best headphones I've ever heard.
 
 
 

 

[Venture Guy]

  I'm highly surprised that there hasn't been more replies to this thread, especially with sonic impressions. I am in the process of reviewing the NightOwls for The Audio Beat. But I am excited by what I've heard thus far. And I look forward to comparing them to the original NightHawk's that I found to be the best headphones I've ever heard.
 
 
 
 

Which pads do you like better?

 

[JMCIII]

Haven't played with the pads as I like the leather (or fake leather) pads they had on them when they arrived. But I'll probably change them for the review just to be able to speak about it.

 

[knowhatimean]

  I'm highly surprised that there hasn't been more replies to this thread, especially with sonic impressions. I am in the process of reviewing the NightOwls for The Audio Beat. But I am excited by what I've heard thus far. And I look forward to comparing them to the original NightHawk's that I found to be the best headphones I've ever heard.
 
 
 
 

It's kind of surprising that haven't come to the realization that a huge portion of Head-fiers are predominately Planar Magnetic "happy" !!!.
 
I'm finding that I think the NightOwl (with about 200 hrs of playtime on them ) are much better then my original NH (with several hundred hrs on them) at producing inner detail with completely appropriate Soundstaging capabilities for the Acoustic music (95% Orchestral) that I listen to. You'll notice I've said appropriate SS for Acoustic music, I could care less for how they work for music that I don't care to listen to (I'm completely happy with my Curmudgeon like Subjectiveness; It's my Hobby, golly, gosh, darnnit) Darnnit is not really a word so forget using the spelling bot on it.....Darnnit!)
 
My Sennheiser HD800*( which were collecting dust from the time I started listening to my NH ) have really disappeared from my "mindseye" into a vague sense of obscurity  "What are these Star Trek looking headphones, Mr Scott")
 
*(Or as I like to call the HD800 " The Hearing Challenged Classical Music Listener's Reference Headphone "

 

[MASS HYSTERIA]

  I'm highly surprised that there hasn't been more replies to this thread, especially with sonic impressions. I am in the process of reviewing the NightOwls for The Audio Beat. But I am excited by what I've heard thus far. And I look forward to comparing them to the original NightHawk's that I found to be the best headphones I've ever heard.
 
 
 
 

Looking forward to your review , . . i'm a NightHawk owner and going off the encouraging reviews of the NightOwl so far , thinkin i may buy an ex-demo pair (of Owls) later this year / early next.

 

[Venture Guy]

  Haven't played with the pads as I like the leather (or fake leather) pads they had on them when they arrived. But I'll probably change them for the review just to be able to speak about it.

Looking forward. I liked the review of the NH on your site. One of the few that grokked the subtlety of the NH tuning. One request... Please put the NH pads, the Hybrid pads, on your NOs and compare that to NH w/Hybrid pads. Skylar says the NH and NO have virtually the same sonics. The thing that I think has thrown many a reviewer for a loop is the fact that the NO ships only with Pleather and Microsuede pads... so they incorrectly think that the tuning has changed. No, just the pads. NH or NO with Hybrid pads is the most amazing tuning of any can I have heard... they sound similar to speakers in a room, not in-your-face near field monitors, which is what most in the Head-Fi world consider proper tuning.