In late 2016, and in (part) response to customer demand, AudioQuest introduced the NightOwl Carbon, a closed-back variant of the subsequently revised NightHawk, now dubbed NightHawk Carbon.
#Audioquest nightowl carbon extension cord driver
The earcups’ wood burl finish (think: luxury car dashboards) and a slightly elevated mid-bass did little to disabuse us of the notion that the NightHawk might be our Fathers’ headphones.Ĭould it be that Skylar Gray, a mere 34 years old, had overplayed his hand? Follow-up question: does it matter when the design objective of lower distortion from a dynamic driver headphone was apparently achieved? As Gray saw it, our ear-brains need time to acclimatise to an absence of low-level high frequency distortion.ĭespite obvious talents with macro dynamic drama, tonal colour saturation and low frequency handling, the NightHawk’s treble politeness led some commentators – myself included – to interpret them as better suited to the more discerning (possibly mature) listener: someone prepared to ignore this headphone’s absence of first-listen titillation in favour of deeper, long-game satisfaction. Is that not what we want from a headphone: for it to step aside and let the music speak for itself? To get there however, the NightHawk demanded patience. Elsewhere, NightHawk were seemingly devoid of personality. Tonal mass was also thicker than average.
The NightHawk offered up the least nervy presentation I’ve to date from ANY headphone. Was this the sound of lower distortion, conspicuous through an absence of lower treble razzmatazz? According to Gray, yes. Compared to the Sennheiser HD800’s chilled spritely fizz and down the bone x-ray vision, the NighHawk’s presentation proved to be far plusher. This in turn begat a disarmingly smooth treble response and slight mid-bass bump for a richness not heard from the likes of Sennheiser’s HD650 or OPPO’s portable-friendly PM-3. By focussing on the proper pistonic motion of a dynamic driver housed in a semi-open earcup, Gray would lower distortion, notably at 3kHz and above. The high-end headphone sector isn’t immune to Gray’s critical assessment: the ‘fizzy’ treble that I hear in pair of AKG K-702 is, according to our man from California, an example of aural MSG – an unnatural additive that gives music an edgy presence.ĪudioQuest’s NightHawk (US$599) illustrated how Gray’s additive-free thinking might translate to real-world results. In other words, headphone transducer distortion has become normalised. Prolonged exposure to artificial sweeteners makes adapting to a new, more healthy ways of eating exponentially more challenging.Īccording to the Director of AudioQuest’s ‘Ear-Speaker Division’, Skylar Gray, we as headphone listeners have been exposed to upper-frequency distortion for so long now that we have become accustomed to its artificial sense of aural excitement. From the high fructose corn syrup used by cookie companies as a sweetener to the MSG used by fast food joints to boost their dishes’ flavour, the flavour enhancements are artificial.
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