[Joong]

Hello fellow NightBirders!
...
Later, I looked thru my packaging/accessories & saw the thin cable that originally came with the Hawks, which I had completely forgotten about.
I never really liked the cable, but figured I might as well try it out. I honestly didn’t expect to hear a difference, but let me tell you, the change in sound was jaw-dropping!

It shouldn't be surprising.
Nightbirds open whole new possibilities in the night.

 

[FastAndClean]

My phones were all planar once, and after I got Fidelio X2 I began to change some of them to dynamic phones.
Especially with NH/NO there are no reason / attraction that hold me on Planar side so that I sold all planars.

You're gonna regret it!

 

[Joong]

You're gonna regret it!

Yes I regret that I sold He-6 for 700 USD.
If sold it now, then I can get way more money.
But If I didn't sell it, then I would spend lots of money to satisfy it with ridiculously high power amp with high uncertainty that amp really yields good SQ.
It would make me crazy.

 

[FastAndClean]

Yes I regret that I sold He-6 for 700 USD.
If sold it now, then I can get way more money.
But If I didn't sell it, then I would spend lots of money to satisfy it with ridiculously high power amp with high uncertainty that amp really yields good SQ.
It would make me crazy.

i feel you, i myself played the amp game and is stressful, i quitted, now i am waiting clear and transparent amp that drives everything but the most demanding planars and thats it

 

[393699]

You should take a look at the Audio-GD C-2 (2017 Edition) headphone amp. It is completely neutral in its sound signature. It is clean, transparent, detailed, and has a slightly holographic presentation in the soundstaging. Everything in the music is presented just as it should be. I use it to drive my Amiron Home and Nightowl. It is an awesome headphone amp. It has tons of power as well. You can check it out at their site. Look at the power output on this puppy. It will power any headphone you want.

25 ohm: 9900MW
40 ohm: 8000MW
100 ohm: 3500MW
300 ohm: 1200MW
600 ohm: 600MW

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphoneamp/C22015/C22015EN.htm

 

[NoelAustin]

Does this leak sound? How would the NO be in an office setting??

Has anyone compared with the zmf Ori?

I use my NO at my office job, out of a Sony Walkman. Classical music at high volume. Co-workers cannot hear it unless they are two feet away.

 

[Brahmsian]

I've got some big open planars myself (check my profile) and I think the NO sounds remarkably open for a closed-back. More so than the LCD-2F, not that that is much of a bar. Give them another shot.

A little perplexed by your statement that the closedbacked 50 mm NO sounds more open than the openbacked 106 mm LCD-2. I have a modded M1060 that also has a 106 mm driver, and it makes the musical instruments on my HE-400i and HE-560 sound small in comparison. On the M1060, things start approaching lifesized. Since the M1060 is kind of an LCD knockoff, I always figured the latter was everything the former is, only better.

 

[phthora]

A little perplexed by your statement that the closedbacked 50 mm NO sounds more open than the openbacked 106 mm LCD-2. I have a modded M1060 that also has a 106 mm driver, and it makes the musical instruments on my HE-400i and HE-560 sound small in comparison. On the M1060, things start approaching lifesized. Since the M1060 is kind of an LCD knockoff, I always figured the latter was everything the former is, only better.

I'm a little perplexed why you think the openness of sound has anything to do with driver size. Or, for that matter, that the 560 sounds "small" while the M1060 sounds "lifesized." I don't understand what those terms are supposed to mean, nor how they relate to openness.

To me, open-sounding means that there is greater separation of instruments and the perception of empty acoustic space between them, rather than the sound sounding like it is reflecting off of something and filling in the gaps. If you mean something else by that term, please clarify.

 

[Brahmsian]

please clarify.

By size I mean perceived size of the instruments and singers. On my 560, the sounds seem to be coming from miniature instruments and singers, while on the M1060 the sounds seem to be coming from instruments and people that are more lifesized. I find this to be pretty straightforward.

 

[phthora]

By size I mean perceived size of the instruments and singers. On my 560, the sounds seem to be coming from miniature instruments and singers, while on the M1060 the sounds seem to be coming from instruments and people that are more lifesized. I find this to be pretty straightforward.

I've just never heard "open" explained that way. What I meant about the NO compared to the LCD-2 is that the damping on the NO seems to result in less reflected sound than the open-back LCD. You can hear better the space between instruments, they seem to exist out in the world instead of coming from a few inches from your head or from a large room that you are in (like the LCD).

I've never experienced hearing things like miniature instruments and singers from any of the headphones mentioned. I may still not be understanding exactly what you mean. The sound from my 560 sounds plenty large and encompassing, but I get that from decent IEMs too. The LCD 2 and X have an especially large sense of sound, in that regard, but they are the exception. I'm not sure that is related at all to driver size or type, since I also get that massive feel from my Shure 846. If I had to describe it, I would probably consider it something like richness or fullness of sound, rather than size. For example, the Stax I've heard sounded extremely open, but not rich, full, or massive compared to other 'phones I'm familiar with, nor would I count that as a bad thing either way.

 

[Brahmsian]

I've just never heard "open" explained that way. What I meant about the NO compared to the LCD-2 is that the damping on the NO seems to result in less reflected sound than the open-back LCD. You can hear better the space between instruments, they seem to exist out in the world instead of coming from a few inches from your head or from a large room that you are in (like the LCD).

I've never experienced hearing things like miniature instruments and singers from any of the headphones mentioned. I may still not be understanding exactly what you mean. The sound from my 560 sounds plenty large and encompassing, but I get that from decent IEMs too. The LCD 2 and X have an especially large sense of sound, in that regard, but they are the exception. I'm not sure that is related at all to driver size or type, since I also get that massive feel from my Shure 846.

You convinced me to give the NO another go. Then again I’m always up for listening to new headphones.

I’m curious about NH, too. I’ve heard it described as having a distinctive sound signaure (even if not to everybody’s liking). If it’s a dark, warm sound, I might like that for some rock and pop, but not for classical.

Maybe try the size thing as an exercise. Focus on how big or small the singers and instruments seem to you relative to other headphones/speakers. It’s also not quite the same thing as how far away something seems. In normal life, the farther something is the smaller it will seem, but in headphones things often sound like they are right in your head, so it’s hard to give much of a sense of distance beyond your body.

LCD has “an especially large sense of sound, but they are the exception.” That’s exactly what I think about the 1060. It is exceptional in how large it makes things sound, how big the soundscape is in general (of course, not anywhere near as floor speakers). Maybe, as you say, it has nothing to do with how big the drivers are. But then how does driver size affect the sound?

But we are probably in danger of taking the thread way off course.

 

[phthora]

You convinced me to give the NO another go. Then again I’m always up for listening to new headphones.

I’m curious about NH, too. I’ve heard it described as having a distinctive sound signaure (even if not to everybody’s liking). If it’s a dark, warm sound, I might like that for some rock and pop, but not for classical.

I'm curious about the NH myself. Personally, anything darker than the NO seems like it would stray too far from neutral for my liking. But, I'm still so tempted! I've been trying out what I understand to be a close IEM approximation of the NH sound (the Macaw GT600s) and it's growing on me.

Maybe try the size thing as an exercise. Focus on how big or small the singers and instruments seem to you relative to other headphones/speakers. It’s also not quite the same thing as how far away something seems. In normal life, the farther something is the smaller it will seem, but in headphones things often sound like they are right in your head, so it’s hard to give much of a sense of distance beyond your body.

I certainly will! Many of these sound descriptions are highly figurative anyway and I'm not sure I can even articulate what I mean by 'open.' I feel like I'm conflating openness with soundstage, when they aren't quite the same things to me. Maybe size is a better way to think about the same phenomena. I do understand this size thing in some real-life situations, like hearing soft, but distant thunder, for example.

LCD has “an especially large sense of sound, but they are the exception.” That’s exactly what I think about the 1060. It is exceptional in how large it makes things sound, how big the soundscape is in general (of course, not anywhere near as floor speakers). Maybe, as you say, it has nothing to do with how big the drivers are. But then how does driver size affect the sound?

That is a damn good question. I always thought that the increased driver size of planars helps to partially overcome the lack of visceral impact that they have compared to dynamic drivers. Makes it so more air is pummeling your head. Who knows if that is right though? Seems like there is always an exception. ZMF Oris are supposed to hit like a ton of bricks, and they are simply well-tuned T50RP drivers (which are not nearly as large as LCD drivers). Other theories are that larger diaphragms lower distortion or that they allow for greater driver extrusion and macro-dynamics or that the greater surface area allows for greater magnetic flux density and control. But, again, who knows? Could be some combination of all of those or just a marketable number to put on the box. I just trust my ears and when I can't do that, I trust the ears of certain reliable reviewers and Head-Fi'ers.

 

[BuddhaBruce]

Has anyone compared the Ori and the night owl? I own the Ori currently but was looking for a more portable can for work

 

[Colors]

NO sounds so spacious because the distortion is so low. Darn good separation and black background. No bleed.

6XX is really spacious too. Open back though...

 

[Joong]

Listen to this wonderful Yuja Wang, and NightOwl....amazing....all these discussions seem simply so insignificant to her.
With Nightowl you are invited to her play tonight.
So beautiful, masterful, and at the same time so cute.