Thoughts on the Audioquest Nightowl
Apr 29, 2018 at 5:13 PM Post #31 of 48
Thought I would put my 1 cent worth (Canadian currency) in here. I am thinking of getting the Nightowl and auditioned them in Toronto. They played them with a sony dap and it sounded bad. The bass was muddy. I then attached them to my Iphone 6s through Onkyo HF player and to my surprise the bass tightened up. They had good separation of instruments and the vocals were superb. Going to wait for my Hiby to be delivered and try them again. Has anyone else noticed a big difference in sound when using different sources?
Source is very important. I like them much better with my Dragonfly Red only instead of using the DFR as Dac and arcam rHead as Amp which results in a too warm sound. The Dragonfly Red is a wonderful pairing though!
 
May 8, 2018 at 8:24 AM Post #33 of 48
@philmarcus8 I'm not sure what you meant when you quoted me without adding any comment or question of your own. Anyway, if you had a question or comment by all means let me know. Cheers.
 
May 8, 2018 at 11:34 AM Post #34 of 48
@philmarcus8 I'm not sure what you meant when you quoted me without adding any comment or question of your own. Anyway, if you had a question or comment by all means let me know. Cheers.
Sorry about the confusion. I'm new and navigating is a little awkward for me night now. Anyway, I have had the Nightowl for about a month. First, break-in for the recommended 150 hours is unfortunately true. This is a must.
Second, I would like to share a discovery I made purely by accident. I had bought a leather headband for another headphone, and when it didn't fit I tried it on my Nightowl. It was more comfortable (slightly) but the big surprise was that the headphone sounded radically better! Much more spacious, more solid, better bass,better imaging, etc.. This didn't make any sense to me so I removed the add-on headband cover and the Nightowl lost the improvement I had gained. Did this repeatedly until I could rule out auditory hallucination or wishful thinking. I recommend trying this as the ZMF Pilot Band from zmfheadphones.com is about $30 US., pricey but not too bad for the result I got. The Pilot Band fits the Nightowl without any trouble. It uses Velcro and wraps around the flexible headband of the Nightowl. It's a little tricky to find this item on the ZMF site. Just click on Ear Pads and then scroll down to Headbands. Now the hard part: why does this item work it's magic? Perhaps it dampens some spurious vibrations. I don't really know. But I think it's a terrific tweak. At first I doubted my sanity as this phenomenon makes little sense. But one thing I can say for sure. I love the Nightowl now. It sounds beautiful. Good luck and if you try this let me know. Also, the headband fits other headphones so it's a handy item, PS: there are two options: cow leather, and sheepskin. The cow leather is stiffer and does a better job at dampening the theoretical vibrations, I believe.
 
May 8, 2018 at 12:14 PM Post #35 of 48
Second, I would like to share a discovery I made purely by accident. I had bought a leather headband for another headphone, and when it didn't fit I tried it on my Nightowl. It was more comfortable (slightly) but the big surprise was that the headphone sounded radically better! Much more spacious, more solid, better bass,better imaging, etc.. This didn't make any sense to me so I removed the add-on headband cover and the Nightowl lost the improvement I had gained. Did this repeatedly until I could rule out auditory hallucination or wishful thinking. I recommend trying this as the ZMF Pilot Band from zmfheadphones.com is about $30 US., pricey but not too bad for the result I got. The Pilot Band fits the Nightowl without any trouble. It uses Velcro and wraps around the flexible headband of the Nightowl. It's a little tricky to find this item on the ZMF site. Just click on Ear Pads and then scroll down to Headbands. Now the hard part: why does this item work it's magic? Perhaps it dampens some spurious vibrations. I don't really know. But I think it's a terrific tweak. At first I doubted my sanity as this phenomenon makes little sense. But one thing I can say for sure. I love the Nightowl now. It sounds beautiful. Good luck and if you try this let me know. Also, the headband fits other headphones so it's a handy item, PS: there are two options: cow leather, and sheepskin. The cow leather is stiffer and does a better job at dampening the theoretical vibrations, I believe.

I am more than just a little bit skeptical of a headband modification that improves sound quality. If it involved a change in earpads, that would be believable. Despite my skepticism, I am open to the possibility.
 
May 8, 2018 at 12:21 PM Post #36 of 48
PS: there are two options: cow leather, and sheepskin. The cow leather is stiffer and does a better job at dampening the theoretical vibrations, I believe.

The ZMF pilot pad is offered in two cover materials: protein and lambskin. Please confirm that the former is the cow leather.
 
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May 8, 2018 at 1:20 PM Post #37 of 48
I’ve got a lamb skin pilot pad and have been trying it this morning. Only thing I’ve noticed is the earcups rest higher up on my head/ears, no sound difference. Perhaps there was not a good seal for @philmarcus8 before adding the pilot pad?
 
May 8, 2018 at 1:45 PM Post #38 of 48
The ZMF pilot pad is offered in two cover materials: protein and lambskin. Please confirm that the former is the cow leather.
The ZMF pilot pad is offered in two cover materials: protein and lambskin. Please confirm that the former is the cow leather.
Perhaps ZMF discontinued the cow leather, but lambskin is thicker than pleather so it's a good bet. Head size may play a part in the damping effect.I have a smaller head.
 
May 8, 2018 at 1:52 PM Post #39 of 48
Perhaps ZMF discontinued the cow leather, but lambskin is thicker than pleather so it's a good bet. Head size may play a part in the damping effect.I have a smaller head.

Thank you. I have a relatively small head as well.
 
May 8, 2018 at 6:01 PM Post #40 of 48
Just trying to see from those who own the Nightowl, or who have had some decent time hearing them what they think of it. Reviews are generally quite positive, but I'm curious to hear from some head-fi members what they think.

I've had the original NH Wood with the hybrid pads for about 3 years - Fine headphones with a dark signature and no fatigue, you can use them for several hours. I mostly listen classical and jazz. Last year I bought the ultrasuede pads. IMO the difference is subtle: the sub-bass are a bit clearer with the hybrid pads. For example, the bass continuo in a Bach cantata chorus is a bit more audible with the hybrid that with the ultrasuede. Other than that, not much difference except for the comfort (ultrasuede are more comfortable in hot weather).
 
May 9, 2018 at 9:35 PM Post #41 of 48
Just trying to see from those who own the Nightowl, or who have had some decent time hearing them what they think of it. Reviews are generally quite positive, but I'm curious to hear from some head-fi members what they think.
I like them a lot. They have a flavor, but a very musical one.
 
May 9, 2018 at 9:50 PM Post #42 of 48
I like them a lot. They have a flavor, but a very musical one.
I couldn't agree more. At first when I owned them, I knew I enjoyed them, but the source of the flavor was hard to identify, and knowing they had a very distinct sound made me a little reticent to enjoy them. For many years my audio- belief system was that if I allowed myself to enjoy very noticeably coloured signatures, I might get "hooked" on the colouration and stop enjoying signatures that were different. Over time I have learned that while this may be the case in the short-term while I'm engaging with a new sound signature, over the long haul I still respond to different sound signatures and can enjoy many different presentation styles. So knowing this I came to, like you, really enjoy the Nightowl and it's distinctive and highly musical presentation.
 
May 10, 2018 at 2:47 AM Post #43 of 48
I couldn't agree more. At first when I owned them, I knew I enjoyed them, but the source of the flavor was hard to identify, and knowing they had a very distinct sound made me a little reticent to enjoy them. For many years my audio- belief system was that if I allowed myself to enjoy very noticeably coloured signatures, I might get "hooked" on the colouration and stop enjoying signatures that were different. Over time I have learned that while this may be the case in the short-term while I'm engaging with a new sound signature, over the long haul I still respond to different sound signatures and can enjoy many different presentation styles. So knowing this I came to, like you, really enjoy the Nightowl and it's distinctive and highly musical presentation.

If you are tired of the four foot cable and don't mind a tighter, more neutral signature, try the Moon Audio Blue Dragon. I bought a ten foot one for $255. It's a lot more practical, has great imaging and soundstage and looks beautiful. I believe they have a two week return policy. Best copper cable I've ever tried. It takes about fifty hours to burn in. Worth every penny.
 
May 10, 2018 at 6:11 AM Post #44 of 48
If you are tired of the four foot cable and don't mind a tighter, more neutral signature, try the Moon Audio Blue Dragon. I bought a ten foot one for $255. It's a lot more practical, has great imaging and soundstage and looks beautiful. I believe they have a two week return policy. Best copper cable I've ever tried. It takes about fifty hours to burn in. Worth every penny.

I couldn't agree more. I am currently using the said Blue Dragon cables with my Nighthawks(original wood circa 2015).
 
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May 10, 2018 at 8:27 AM Post #45 of 48
If you are tired of the four foot cable and don't mind a tighter, more neutral signature, try the Moon Audio Blue Dragon. I bought a ten foot one for $255. It's a lot more practical, has great imaging and soundstage and looks beautiful. I believe they have a two week return policy. Best copper cable I've ever tried. It takes about fifty hours to burn in. Worth every penny.
Thanks, but sold mine a while ago. Cheers.
 

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