[grizzlybeast]

That would be an interesting road Docta... 
LCD3 to the NH... I dont think the Eikon will dissapoint. 

 

[nmatheis]

What are the differences?

Same great build quality and ergonomics but with a more focused sound, tighter bass, and increased upper mid presence. Personally, I preferred Nighthawk's more laid back sound which I found very pleasing and natural, but I think you (and many others) would prefer Nightowl. They definitely have a less controversial sound signature. When I gave them a listen at RMAF, Tyll snuck up behind me and set down for a listen. He then sat down next to me at the OBravo booth. I asked him what he thought of Nightowl. He told me he liked them quite a bit better than Nighthawk. I told him we would have to agree to disagree, but I'm open minded and would be interested in giving Nightowl another listen, perhaps using a bit of EQ to nudge them closer to Nighthawk's sound signature.

 

[SkylarGray]

  Any impressions on sound isolation? I'm looking for a great sounding set of cans that I can use for the plane. Was wondering if impressions could be had in regard to that here, or if Skylar could say anything on the subject.

NightOwl is extremely good with isolation, despite what one of our representatives may have said.
 
I did a study during development comparing the isolation of NightOwl against several other very popular, well-respected closed and open headphones at a variety of price points from $200 up to several thousand $$$$. NightOwl outperformed everything—even some noise-cancelling headphones.
 
Here's a chart from that study showing only a few closed-back headphones. It's really not fair to compare NightOwl against open-back headphones, so I removed those from the chart. The noise source was a 20Hz to 20kHz white noise signal at 100dBSPL. This chart shows how much the noise was attenuated 

 
 
In general, headphones do not do a great job isolating from low frequencies. In my study, the noise source was played through a small, full-range speaker that does not really put out much below 100Hz. Also, the peaks (particularly at 6kHz) are due to positioning of the speaker in my iso chamber and interaction with the enclosed volume and my Kemar HATS. Regardless of the test environment limitations, NightOwl does a better job all around than anything I have compared against.
 
Another way to look at these tests is with an RMS signal meter. Here are the measurements of each. It breaks down like this (obviously more attenuation is better):

Headphone	Attenuation (dB)
NightOwl Carbon	26.1
$300 Closed-Back	20.9
$300 ANC (on)	21.1
>$1000 Closed-Back	17.8

 
Needless to say, you can expect excellent isolation performance from NightOwl.

 

[gikigill]

Would the Nightowl be quiet enough for public transport usage? Mostly mid to low volume.

I don't want to share my music with the entire coach, as selfish as that might sound

 

[nmatheis]

Nice post SkylarGray. As a scientist, I appreciate the data-driven approach

 

[MattTCG]

When are the new headphones available at retailers? 

 

[Beagle]

^Yes that too. But the range I am speaking of is from 250 - 550 hz. Somewhere in that area and the upper mids are sucked out. A dark headphone is fine, a bright hp is fine, a muddy headphone is fine. They all have thier respective crouds and work well for certain songs.

I like a lot about the NH.

It has wonderful bass quality and extension with good control. The textures are pure and liquid. The background is black. It has good inner detail. Very resolving and scales like madd. Good micro dynamics. The midrange is not shouty, the treble is not bright. The treble actually has some extension. Awesome comfort, ergonomics, and build.

But it has the middle-upper midrange sucked out, and the mudd frequencies boosted.

I just say its a shame because a headphone that does so much right has a strong handicap.

 
You do realize that if they were to "fix" the "handicap", it is possible that the "so much right" would go out the window?

 

[SearchOfSub]

You do realize that if they were to "fix" the "handicap", it is possible that the "so much right" would go out the window?

edit.

 

[grizzlybeast]

 

^Yes that too. But the range I am speaking of is from 250 - 550 hz. Somewhere in that area and the upper mids are sucked out. A dark headphone is fine, a bright hp is fine, a muddy headphone is fine. They all have thier respective crouds and work well for certain songs.

I like a lot about the NH.

It has wonderful bass quality and extension with good control. The textures are pure and liquid. The background is black. It has good inner detail. Very resolving and scales like madd. Good micro dynamics. The midrange is not shouty, the treble is not bright. The treble actually has some extension. Awesome comfort, ergonomics, and build.

But it has the middle-upper midrange sucked out, and the mudd frequencies boosted.

I just say its a shame because a headphone that does so much right has a strong handicap.

 
You do realize that if they were to "fix" the "handicap", it is possible that the "so much right" would go out the window?

No I don't realize that.  I also have reasonable reasons to doubt it. 

 

[Beagle]

  No I don't realize that.  I also have reasonable reasons to doubt it. 

Which are...?

 

[John2e]

What are the differences / advantage to the new night owl over the old?
How do these compare to the T5-P ?
 
very interested 

 

[nmatheis]

What are the differences / advantage to the new night owl over the old?
How do these compare to the T5-P ?

very interested 

Old Nightowl???

 

[SearchOfSub]

I suspect he means old Nighthawks. From what I gather it boosted treble and tightened up bass. Also come with velour pads which is always a plus from leather pads.

 

[nmatheis]

I suspect he means old Nighthawks. From what I gather it boosted treble and tightened up bass. Also come with velour pads which is always a plus from leather pads.

Gotcha. Thought mayhaps he'd heard an earlier version of Nighthowl...

 

[John2e]

Sorry for the confusion there are a pair of audio quest headphones on amazon for 30% off they are the nighthawks.   I am interested in the closed back iteration.. night owl which I assume are just released now .  From the comments it seemed they lacked treble.  Good to hear the newer models rectify this.