I know I mentioned this before, but Stro Elliotās self titled album is great on hawks:
Some other great songs are:
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Would it be worth upgrading the Zen DAC or adding an amp, considering European options? If so, how far up the chain would I have to go to get a good improvement? Curious about the G111, RHNP or Rebel as amps mainly. Or maybe a Liquid Spark would be a good enough improvement? What kinds of improvements would these make?
I would probably consider upgrading the DAC later, possibly to something Soekris release or maybe an Ares or some other Bifrost alternative.
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What sort of bass songs are you looking for? Fast electronic? Rap and Hip Hop? Soundtrack?
No exeperience personally on those mentioned amps with the hawks. Iāve used the hip dac with the hawks however, and its fine. But I have noticed the hawks scale well with better amps. Iām thinking rnhp might perform the best of the amps you mentioned. I think warmer sounding amps are too much for the hawks since they are already pretty dark sounding. For my amps, the hawks sound incredible on the questyle 800i, which does lean a little warm, but much more refined than something like the asgard3. The rebel amp could be a good option too. Hopefully more people can chime in with their hawk and amp pairings!
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How well does the NH respond to equalization? It could just be my Hiby r3 pro does not equalize well, but I feel the NH is very transparent. Badly recorded tracks sound bad and with equalization sound worse.
Iām curious what someone with some experience with these would recommend for a great DAC and amp preferably for around or under $1000 total. Obviously the quality of the sound is most important, but as a designer by trade something that looks great on a desktop and/or a pair that is visually complementary definitely adds to the experience for me.
If it matters, Iām often listening to artists like:
- Steven Wilson
- Porcupine Tree
- Carpenters
- John Denver
- Jean-Michel Jarre
- Loreena McKennitt
- Kings of Convenience
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hey Mike, I donāt recognize any of thoseā¦so how about you redefine and share what your favorite genreās are?
Iām guessing you already have the NHC? what other headphones do you have?
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Heās got Modern Prog, seventies AM-wimp-rock, analog electronica, feminist-atmospheric, and ā¦ something or other else
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Oh yeahā¦ whispery Nordic Folk. How could I miss that.
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Been listening to my set since it arrived. Based on what Iāve read elsewhere, it seems like the sound profile is pretty polarizing: some love it, some seem to despise it.
However, Iām loving the unique sound. Have had it on my ears nonstop since Wednesday. Might be a honeymoon phase, but I find myself picking it up over my aryas and hd800s whenever I sit down at my desk. Really happy I found this thread, otherwise I wouldāve never known the nighthawk even existed lol.
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So for the artists you mentioned, I personally would not prefer the nighthawks for these types of music. I would instead enjoy them more on something like the dt880(600) or sundaras. Something not too dark, but still good details,good spatial recreation, and a more neutral sound sig. That being said, i love the hawks and listen to everything on them anyhow haha. As far as amp/dac i guess it would depend on what other headphones you have.
Gotta keep up good cult-leader appearances, after all! 
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You could offset the darkness by going with something like a lyr 3 + bifrost 2 stack perhaps (since that falls within the budget ish and is a stack lol)
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Oooo, that does sound interesting. The hawks sound awesome on the 800i too, less dark for sure. That amp makes the hawks really sweet. So there is still hope! Lol and on the hip dac, and the v20, just more muddy comparetively. I would imagine i will be pleased as far as impact with the g111? @M0N
I think it could be that these are just better at showing some details than other things you have heard. What sorts of music are you listening to? I think it can be fun to use EQ on these sometimes but often I find it to mess with their unique sound.
Old cantorial recordings. Think staticy recordings converted to flac from the 20s and 30s. Otherwise concert recordings from 70s 80s and 90s. And then a smattering of everything to pop and heavy metal (five finger death punch, Luke combs, Rammstein, Shinedown, Metallica, trace Adkins, etc.) Generally songs where the lyrics and music speak to me. I find adujting the base input helps for some old recordings, but on others the way distorts the sound reproduction
Ah, yeah very old recordings like that are going to be hard to make sound better, and I do think the Nighthawk are pretty good with details, and I think they do have a little peak in the upper treble, which might be accentuating the static or those little things in the recording.
Thanks for responding. Will explore newer music more actively and see how it sounds
Hmm, thanks for the suggestions. Looking at the CMA400i now, since the 600/800 arenāt really available. Seems to be pretty good. A bit confusing though, some say itās warm and musical, some say itās clinical.
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Not sure how the 400,600, are, but the 800 is pretty neutral with a touch of warmth. By clinical they may mean revealing or detailed, and less colored like some amps can be. Doesnāt have much slam and impact, but with the hawks, itās still there since those headphones already have that, but it just sweetens everything up more naturally and spacious. Very good seperation too
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