AudioQuest NightHawk Review – Initial Impressions

I initially heard about the AudioQuest NightHawk mid way through 2014 and as many are probably thinking…..great another company jumping on the headphone bandwagon. I certainly felt that way too until I heard that AudioQuest had specifically hired Skylar Gray to oversee the entire project from ground up and was made Director of AudioQuest’s new Ear Speaker Division. After speaking with AudioQuest it became clear that there wasn’t really going to be anything standard about the NightHawk headphones and everything was going to be purpose built for the job. This included the bicellulose diaphragm that was piston loaded and the use of 3D printing technology to create some of the parts.

You will have to bear with me on this and read the whole thing!

My excitement grew after the CES announcement of an almost ready NightHawk and I was looking forward to hearing them at our headroom™ Show, London in January 2015 as AudioQuest used the show to launch them in the UK.  I walked into their room at the show and sat down to have a listen for a while. The immediate impression was that they were not for me in the slightest. They lacked sparkle or any energy and appeared “dark” in presentation. A few people that had also heard them were arriving at the same conclusion with the presentation. I listened for a while longer but just didn’t get “it”. Everything “appeared” to be a bit dull and lifeless, when speaking with AudioQuest about it they pointed out that they will sound slightly different to other headphones due to their being very little intermodular distortion. This is certrainly something that other headphones do suffer from which can add undue character to the sound.

July 8th 2015 and I have been listening to the production NightHawk’s now for 2 days with approximately 8 hours behind them. What a difference there was from the headroom™ Show! Now I well and truly get “it”. These headphones are very different to anything I have heard from any other brand, Oppo, Audeze, Sennheiser none of them sound remotely like the NightHawk. The difference in sound reminds me of the first time i heard the Flare Audio R2Pro. The Flare range of earphones are exquisite and offer a very spectacular sound thats different from other earphones due to their pressure balanced design. Bearing in mind this pair of NightHawks are very, very new, I find that they enable me to listen to whats going on in the music rather than listen to the headphone. The overall sound is really enjoyable and every little nuance and detail is given to me without the need to listen hard for it. With other headphones such as the Oppo PM2 there is a smooth roll off making them sound fairly warm. With the NightHawk you don’t get what I would call roll off. Listening to Birds of the High Arctic – David Gray on the AK380 it is very easy to sound boomy on other headphones but this sounds exceptionally well presented. Instruments just stop dead and vocals are clear and offer amazing clarity without getting muddied with any leftover bass. The only way I can describe it is that you have all instruments appearing from a completely black background.

Having listened to a wide range of music on the NightHawk from FKA Twigs to J Cole and Bruce Hornsby to Sarah McLachlan through the AK380 and also using TIDAL on my Galaxy Note 4 they really do play anything with composure! One point to make is that I originally began using the NightHawk with the multi stranded cable supplied which has gold plated connectors. Once I had swapped this out for their Solid Perfect Surface Copper (PSC+) cable there was a relatively large difference that could be heard. The PSC+ was somewhat better and gave a much more precise presentation with a bigger and smoother character of sound with what appeared to be better bass response too. I strongly recommend this cable over the multi-stranded version.

Listening to the vocals on I Will Be Found – John Mayer with the NightHawk and the Audeze EL8 Open Back there is an astonishing difference with a quick A/B. The NightHawk is lush in comparison and the vocals are richer and have massively more dynamic range. The EL8 in comparison are relatively flat and John Mayers voice instantaneously sounds thin and squeeky when changing from the NightHawk.

These have to be one of the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn too. I would have no issue at all wearing these for 9 hours constantly at work. The earpads are soft and the clamping force is about right. There is hardly any weight at all felt across the top of the head with the elasticated headband and the unique patent-pending suspension also helps with comfort as the earcups conform to the shape of your head.

I will keep playing these headphones for a while and see if they change in nature at all. I will update this post if there is any significant alteration to the sonic signature.

For £499 the NightHawks are definate contenders and certainly deserve a listen in the price range. We have a demonstration pair available at our headroom™ Store alongside a raft of other headphones from Oppo, Audeze, Audio Technica, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic and more for comparison. I think i’m going to take them home now and have a listen with Hugo. 😀

Source:
High Resolution and CD Quality Music – Astell&Kern AK380
High Resolution and CD Quality Music + TIDAL Streaming (Extended Free Trial with every purchase of NightHawk’s)  – Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (Standard ROM)

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