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Greetings mate and Welcome aboard! Stuart Charles here, HomeStudioBasics.com helping YOU make sound decisions, so..
Before we get into the Audioquest NightHawk Review, grab a snack, sit back and relax because…
You’ve come to the right place!!
What I will bring you in this review
- Specs/Pricing
- Introduction
- Build & Comfort
- Sound
- Pros & Cons
- Video Review
- Amp/DAC requirements
- Thoughts from Stu’s Notepad
- Consensus/Conclusion
- Final Word
Now without further ado, let’s get rolling!!
AudioQuest NightHawk
Specifications
- Price/Availability: Check Amazon! | Check eBay!
- Type: Closed back. Closed back vs. Open back headphones.
- Impedance: 25 Ohm.
- Sensitivity: 99 dB SPL/mW.
- Chord Length: 2.40m
- 1/4″ adapter: Yes
- Drivers: 50mm. What is a Headphone Driver?
- Volume Control: No
- Noise Cancelling: No
- Bluetooth: No
- Mic for taking calls: No
- iPhone control: No
- Lightning Control: No
- Android Connector: No
Introduction
I got a chance to demo the AudioQuest Nighthawk at my local Audio Advice, but my overall consensus isn’t an overwhelmingly positive one.
Let’s get into the specifics.
Build Quality
On a positive note, the build quality here is just as good as the NightOwl and continues in the same vein.
We’ve got plush protein leather padding, a hammock-style headband that is simply fabulous, and that same liquid wood material that feels durable in your hands.
The liquid wood I’m referring to has been combined with renewable materials such as plant fiber, lignin, various resins and waxes that have been heated, liquefied, and injection molded.
When you put these in your hands, you’ll definitely feel the difference over those cheaply made dog-food headphones they sell in drug stores.
Heck, even the majority of mid-fi headphones aren’t made this well.
The padding is plush, the headband isn’t intrusive, and the Hawk also isn’t overly bulky even though it is larger than most headphones.
I would feel pretty comfortable dropping these and could see them lasting a long time with proper care.
Comfort
Comfort here is phenomenal. I didn’t have to adjust or take them off once, as the Hawk is the type of headphone that you could theoretically wear all day and all night with minimal adjustment.
Clamping force is perfect as well, as both the Hawk and Owl were some of the most memorable headphones I’ve ever worn in terms of comfort.
In fact, the Owl still holds a place in my most comfortable headphones of all-time list, and for good reason.
It’s a bit redundant to have both on there as they’re essentially the same, but it should be noted that they really do stand out from 99% of other products.
Sound
The sound is where they fall short of the Owl in my opinion.
Bass
With the Owl, the bass thumped but didn’t seem muddy or overblown to me, but it’s been many years since I listened to it (2017 to be exact).
The Hawk’s bass is heavier, but it has less clarity and more pure slam. This sounds good in theory, but it just doesn’t measure up.
Here we have way too much mid-bass and a ridiculous neverending shelf that reaches across the galaxy basically.
In other words, it’s sloppy mud and gets in the way of the mid-range which, as it turns out, can go nowhere except off a cliff.
Wonderful.
After a while of listening, you can also pick up on the unnatural character the bass gives off as there are some strange bumps and dips below 100Hz that I can’t quite reconcile.
What’s odd is that the NightOwl’s actually have a similar bass shelf but to me, they didn’t sound too needle-like or unnaturally punchy. They sounded more natural and articulate. Go figure.
I really have no idea why this is, but it was my own personal experience so take it with a grain of salt.
The Hawk’s bass, to me, sounded like complete dog shit.
The NightOwl’s mid-bass dips slightly more in the mud/bloat regions of 200-300Hz, so this may have something to do with why it didn’t sound nearly as bad/muddy, what have you.
Mid-Range
The mid-range on the Hawk is also subdued, and dare I say strained. It definitely drops off quite considerably, and at times feels lost in the mix.
A lot of this has to do with the bass shelf which tends to get in the way of what the mids are trying to do.
Not much more to say here. Vocals and instruments lack presence, but there’s also a weird spike at 5kHz that sounds off as well.
Treble
As with the Owl, the treble here is pretty good and I never felt as if it got out of line or Sibilant.
Do keep in mind it’s somewhat more relaxed, and you’ll very rarely if ever get any bite or sizzle. I think this is mostly a good thing, but as Metal571 said, it’s kind of grainy and way too smoothed over.
In other words, there’s poor extension and very little sparkle.
To sum up, the NightHawk is plenty warm and pretty clean, but in a very unnatural way.
Something about its signature just doesn’t feel right, and it fails to strike any of the right chords with me.
I would classify the sound as brittle, with lots of boom but little clarity. Oh well.
Pros
- Extremely comfortable. Keeps in the vein of the NightOwl.
- Durable and good construction. I would be okay dropping these.
- Hammock headband. Extremely convenient.
Cons
- Mid-bass. The bass kind of jabs at you at times, and doesn’t feel articulate or natural.
- Mid-range is lost and sounds weird.
Neutral
- Treble. I thought the treble was neither good nor bad. It kind of just is what it is. Not enough detail though for sure.
Video Review
Shoutout to my boy @Metal571! You can see my comment on the vid 🙂
In the past, Metal and I haven’t agreed on every single thing, but he’s bang on about these and I’d say our impressions on gear in general line up for the most part.
As a producer who mixes bass and understands how it’s supposed to sound, the Hawk, like so many other poor consumer products, completely destroys any semblance of a good response here.
What makes this NightHawk situation even worse is that these are super expensive headphones so there’s absolutely no excuse for it. You kind of expect sloppy bass in cheaper consumer-oriented products, but here? It’s a huge slap in the face to anyone who has a clue.
AudioQuest apparently loves slapping its customers in the face by drastically overpricing their subpar products, but that’s a topic for a different article. Hint: open the Cobalt article below in a separate tab for later.
One of the reasons I’m revisiting this article is because this issue has been coming up so frequently that it’s really starting to make my blood boil.
A few quick examples would be OneOdio’s A10, The Meze 99 Neo Bass Cannons from hell, and more recently Linsoul sent me the HarmonicDyne Black Hole which is aptly named.
It’s a Black Hole of neverending gobs of sloppy bass, and unfortunately, 99% of companies fall victim to this trap or just don’t give a shit because their customers are none the wiser.
Again, for the millionth time: This is NOT how you tune bass. I’m not going to get into it much here as I’ve talked about it ad nauseam, but if you’re interested, click any of those above links for some epic rants or have a gander at my How To EQ Bass article.
And Metal is exactly right; Do NOT, under any circumstance, boost anything past 150-200Hz. These areas should be CUT.
OK, I’m going to stop before I get upset lol. Just read the Black Hole article.
Amp/DAC requirements
At 25 Ohms Impedance and 99dB Sensitivity, these aren’t going to need an amp but can benefit from one I suppose.
I was using a NAIM DAC V-1 coupled with an Oppo Receiver, playing Chon’s “Homey.” I also used Spotify, and Youtube, with a variety of genres including Rock, Rap/Hip-Hop, Indie, Pop, etc.
In all honesty, I wouldn’t advise spending too much money on an Amp for these.
I think the most I’d ever purchase is something like a FiiO E10K, K3, or BTR3k/5 if you need something portable.
Anything more than that and you’re wasting money in my opinion.
Who benefits?
They will work with most genres. As mentioned above:
- Indie
- Classic Rock
- Pop
- Hip-Hop
- Rock
Thoughts from Stu’s notepad
- The chord is very long, but a bit thin for my tastes. It’s made of fabric, and I could see it fraying over time. Not exactly ideal in my opinion.
- The chord terminates in two 2.5mm plugs. I thought the construction of these was very solid. The tag end that plugs into your phone or other device terminates in the standard 3.5mm jack and comes with a 1/4″ adapter.
Closing Thoughts
Comfort and build are both excellent, but the NightHawk is horrifically tuned and dons an incredibly unnatural-sounding bass, no mid-range, and a treble that lacks sparkle.
In fact, the overall resolution of these is very poor and there’s a reason they came down so much in price over the years.
Now again, you may be wondering, “The NightOwl is essentially the same headphone. Why do you like it more?”
I think the main reason behind my preference is this: I had a good experience with the Owl and a bad one with the Hawk.
That is to say that I believe the Hawk was one of the worst headphones I’ve ever heard, and the bad experience will always stand out in my mind.
The one thing I’ll say is that even despite both having that crazy long bass shelf, the Hawk felt like someone was stabbing my ears with pins and needles while the Owl felt a bit smoother and less unnatural. Again, I don’t know why this was.
It sounded completely different to me and I enjoyed it because I thought it came across as still punchy but less in-your-face and artificial.
Again, I could be totally wrong about this and both headphones are trash, but my impressions are what they are. Also, keep in mind that I last heard a NightOwl in 2017, so if I listened to it today, I’d likely cringe. Or maybe not.
It’s also entirely possible that I just so happened to listen to the Owl with incredibly good source files, so that’s another point of consideration.
As of now, both have been discontinued (no surprise there) so if you’re looking for headphones with phenomenal low-end impact, clarity, and texture, definitely take a look at my article on the best headphones for hip-hop.
It goes into lots of great solutions and I think you’ll really find it helpful.
NEXT: THE BEST HEADPHONES FOR HIP-HOP
Well, that’s about it for today my friend! I hope you’ve enjoyed this Audioquest NightHawk review.
Questions? Comments? Requests? Did I miss the mark on something? Please let me know down below or Contact me!!
What do you think about these? Are they worth the investment? I would love to hear from you. Until next time…
All the best and God bless,
-Stu
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Audioquest NightHawk
Pros
- Built well
- Very comfortable
Cons
- Mid-Bass issue
- Mid-range issue
- Overall sound is wonky and needly
- Too pricey
