[oghoter]

KaiFi wrote: I am generally treble-sensitive

I have some of this also. Even though my treble hearing is not as sharp as it was (I am 71), I remain sensitive to hard and harsh treble. So maybe we are in a group that likes the headphones since they match their listener preference. For me, this affects my main rig also - it is mostly tube-based, to get the most natural sound.

Maybe these headphones are a bit like a sweetened pill. You don't notice the distortion so much, compared to brighter and more analytical headphones. They 'mask' the troublesome treble. This is why the word 'comfortable' so often comes up, when people write about them - it is the sound also, not just how they sit on the head.

My impression, so far: the hawk open construction does give a plus, compared to the closed owl, although the owl may be better in other ways. Also, the better the amp and the music format and recording, the less I worry about anything missing, in the treble or elsewhere. Do I hear Jeff Beck live (Performing this week) missing some high notes or overtones on his guitar? No. I feel like I am into a great musical and sonic experience.

 

[HipHopScribe]

While we are at it: is it a point to run the owl / hawk with a balanced cable, from an amp that supports balanced output? Is this a big sonic benefit or is it more marginal?

My Audiotaylor Jade OTL amp has a kind of balanced output (needs 2 x big jack plugs) although it may require some tweaking / soldering to get the cable right. I made balanced cables for my former headphones, Sennheiser 600 and Akg701, and in both cases it was a plus, yet not enough to make me love them.

You'll get different opinions on this, but in my opinion there is no inherent audible benefit to running balanced, especially with highly efficient headphones that don't need a lot of power to drive. My one caveat to this is that there may be some amps that inherently sound a little different running balanced, depending on internal design, so there may be some instances where a particular amp sounds better balanced.

 

[oghoter]

HipHopScribe: in my opinion there is no inherent audible benefit to running balanced, especially with highly efficient headphones that don't need a lot of power to drive.

Very interesting. Its not like I miss balanced drive, subjectively, single ended drive seems already very good. I did read a review, however, that claimed great benefit of balanced drive, I think it was with the original hawks, in some audio journal, cant remember right now.

 

[oghoter]

Analyzing test results: why did the NightHawks come out better than the NightOwls, in yesterday's tests? I associate to speaker positioning. Let the speakers breathe. Give them space from the front and side walls. The NightHawks seemed to approach this ideal better. With the NightOwls, I heard more of a reverb sound, maybe the effect of a closed construction. Not sure about this, I need to test more. It would help explain the attention given to the right pads, for the NightOwls. In my theory, the NightHawk is more airy in the sense that it leaks more sound, and this is, mainly, a benefit for the sound quality. Or at least, no detriment. But I am ready to admit I am wrong...

 

[oghoter]

Testing B Dylan Lay lady lay, and The wicked messenger (Qobuz). This time I like the NightOwl better. Go figure. The drivers seem better tuned. They did improve the NightHawk. Sorry for inconclusive reports. They are both good.

 

[Not so fat head]

I'm sure I'm not the first to say this, but the Night Hawks are like a smooth glass of evening wine after a long day. Started listening to mine again, I have the original and carbon, after trying other headphones. I have a nice selection now.

 

[Devodonaldson]

I have time now for a little testing when at home before I leave. I select Steven Wilson, from his new album, Impossible tightrope, which should give these phones a fair chance to show their worth.
Test setup - ethernet cable to thinkpad pc, usb to Topping e30ii DAC, to Audiotailor Jade OTL tube amp, to headphones connected single ended to the Jade. The Nighthawk is a bit handicapped by a longer and thinner cable (the shorter and thicker owl cable sounds a slightly more forceful).
Result: surprising.
Maybe I actually like the sonic picture from the hawks better than the owls. Even if the owls sound more 'correct' and maybe measure more flat. I think this has to do with the larger space and ambience produced by the hawks. Maybe due to their open construction? The owls sound harder on my ears. More "there". Like more in my face speakers. The hawks seem softer, with more spatial perspective. Maybe I like them better.
One more test, now; Jeff Beck: Behind the veil, from his live Performing this week... album.
It sounds surprisingly much better from the Nighthawks than the Nightowls. To my ears. Even if the owls are better in some respects, the open hawk construction - or whatever it is - makes them sound less closed in. There is more of a feeling of being there, at the concert.
Just my preliminary impressions. Both are very good and resemble each other in many ways.

Sounds about right. I have had both for years and go back and forth at different times over which one I like better. On a good amp, the Hawk gets the nod due to the extra spaciousness and ease with which it plays the music. Laid back, but still there. Was listening to the hawk yesterday through my Shanling m8 balanced out to an xduoo mt-204 hybrid tube amp. OMG. The kids and highs came out and I kinda fell for this headphone all over again. It's been a keeper for me since 2017. To further separate the sound profile between my Hawk and Owl, I use the original hybrid pads(as broken down as they are now) on the Hawk, and the full pleather boost pads on the Owl. The Owl definitely sounds more headphoney overall now for sure, but still very spacious. I enjoy the bit of contrast between the two moreso now.

 

[Devodonaldson]

I am very late to this thread but what ever happened to Audioquest headphones? Did they totally leave the market? I listened to Night Owls once at a hifi shop running off a very expensive amp. I was impressed. Couldn't afford them at the time because I was in my 20's and broke(er). But they were decent.

They only had one employee that did the headphones. He left the company, so Audioquest got out of the headphone game.

 

[Not so fat head]

So geht es mir auch. Ist wie in einen bequemen Sessel fallen und gesund werden.

“That's how I feel too. It's like falling into a comfortable chair and getting better.”

 

[kennyb123]

I have not tested much, but my experience is that the owls dont leak so much sound. So the basic problem on flights may be noise, sound leaking the other way. But this can be correlated. If I sit on a plane with much background noise, I will turn up the volume, and the passenger next to me may be bothered. Since, at this larger volume, even the closed-back owl does send out sound to the environment. Sounds familiar! I generally don't bring high class listening devices into low class - much noise - listening situations.

I have flown quite a few miles with my Owls. Not a single complaint about sound leakage from other passengers despite having to play them louder.. I did receive many complaints from coworkers when using them in our open space of cubicles, even at lower sound levels. Trumpets seemed to be the worst offender.

 

[yrstruly]

Bit late to the game but any decent cable upgrade suggestions for the Owls...?

 

[oghoter]

I am looking for balanced cable to my Owls since my Audiotailor Jade amp supports this, but with a rather special (two big jacks) connection from the phones.

 

[gazzington]

I wish they still made these headphones. Still most the comfortable set ever

 

[oghoter]

Good to hear! These days I am testing different DACs (Teac NT-505, Topping e30ii) with the Nightowl, and they are certainly good and 'sharp' enough to show differences. Especially, the benefit of pure / native DSD. This is really jaw-dropping compared to PCM (or DSD downsampled to PCM). In this mode the volume control on the DAC is bypassed, which also helps the sound. With the best material, these phones give the best of both worlds: comfortable, musical and smooth, as well as quite analytical and precise.

 

[oghoter]

I can now recommend running the Nightowl and Nighthawk balanced, if you have a preamp that can do it. Today, I got a balanced cable that fits the owl and hawk, with two big jacks that plug into my headphone amp Audiotailor Jade, for balanced (or 'pseudo balanced') operation. No doubt about it - this makes the birds fly higher. Maybe, the benefit is even larger with the hawk compared to owl. And a bit better with my DSD vinyl rips, compared to Qobuz hires streaming. First impression.