lmao, didnt take long for you to change your mind 
3 Likes
I was thinking about something with a different sound but I donât know if I wanna go for these or ESS 422h. The ESS 422h got a amt driver, so itâs hard to say.
So, i had a longer listening session with my headphones today. I compared the nighthawk carbon, the fidelio X2 and the tygr r 300 with each other. The nighthawk is definitly the superior headphone, bit i still donât get used to the laid back midrange. I can hear that all the detail is there, but i still prefer the vocals a little bit more up front. So, is there any way to give the mids of the nighthawk more presence? Would maybe a pad swap to the brainwavz hybrid pads (or other pads) useful? Right now i am using the micro suede pads and the geshelli archel 2.5 amp (running balanced vie the ifi zen dac).
I definitly would sell my old X2, because the nighthawks make most tonal categegories better, but i still prefer most music on the X2 over the nighthawk, because of the presenter midrange.
I got these headphones a few days ago. Definitely has something different going on with the presentation, but so far I wouldnât call it speaker-like. Not a bad headphone at all for the price, good comfort and design with a pleasing warm signature. I think I have just been spoiled by headphones of a higher tierâŠ
5 Likes
I donât know what to say man, honestly I think you are the only person in the world who finds their midrange recessed. Donât really know whatâs going on there. They are fairly forward. Maybe itâs something to do with the presentation?
I agree with you here jose, I definitely donât find their mids recessed. I did think the mids sounded weird at first though due to treble.
1 Like
@Jose_G @Falenkor
imo, I think with the bass on these, the mids come off as kinda chill, not aggressive,or like @keppes said, relaxed. With its wide Sound stage the bass really stands out and can overshadow other frequencies, and imo without a long enough brain burn in, it can appear overly muddy, but once used to, seperation mixes well with that wide soundstage. Something like the 6xx, that has a more aggressive mid range and rolled off bass, i would def say the hawks have a more relaxed mid range comparatively.
1 Like
Maybe i am just used to the uneven treble presentation of the X2. Iâve used the X2 for 4-5 years now. Iâll definitly give the nighthawks more play time in the next weeks. Maybe my brain just needs some time to adapt the sound signature
1 Like
I think they are very warm â lower mids might be crowding your perception of the rest of the mids and some treble.
They are definitely their own thing!
1 Like
Hmm, I definitely didnât get that. Just the dark treble honestly. I mean, yeah itâs real bassy but I wouldnât say over emphasized or bleeding into the mids. The low mids are definitely noticeable as is the drop off in the upper mids leading to the more dark tuned treble. It definitely takes some burn in as well as mental burn in to get used to and I most definitely wouldnât consider the nighthawks to be aggressive even more so as someone coming from typically listening to a Beyerdynamic
wait x2 or x2hr? X2 was originally a bright headphone so this would be like the opposite and x2hr while warm had itâs treble still somewhat raised giving some brighter characteristics. These are very warm with dark characteristics that can make someone whos not used to the sound feel there is a veil or the sound is more pushed back than it is. It has a very unique presentation and if you have experience with audeze like an lcd-2 you can get a similar characteristic out of the treble same as the T1 third generation. I would definitely recommend giving them some time⊠and if not maybe that particular signature just isnât right for you which is fine.
Imo the bass is pretty emphasized compared to the mids and highs, and at first listen, the bass can come off as bleeding, or just too much , muddy, a lot of people have said thisâŠ
That being said, once burned in, itâs not so bad, which is what i was pointing out for @keppes
Wasnât @keppes wondering how to boost this more, so that mids arenât so rolled off/relaxed??? He was hoping to have the vocals more forward too, and that the details where still there in the mids. Maybe the lyr3 could help this. @M0N
I was pointing out the 6xx as an example of mids being more aggressive/forward than the roll off mids of the hawks.
Oh, I get all that was just voicing my own thoughts on it for the most part.
Maybe I am just used to a lot of bass or something, then again my copy was used so perhaps lack of burn in or something. Dunno, just wasnât my first experience with it. Granted I will admit its a very warm sounding headphone.
I believe so, and yeah a change in equipment could definitely impact that. I usually just use the Asgard + Bifrost 2 when I listen to my hawks. Then again if someone is looking for a mid centric headphone I wouldnât particularly say the hawks are a good match for the person in particular. I would definitely sooner tell them to try something like the Sennheisers as their vocality and mids is amazing.
Wasnât really disagreeing with you there. If anything were in agreement on that.
1 Like
How do the NH sound on ifi audio nano?
I do own the X2. So, i think, i just need some time to adapt the sound signature of the hawks. Interesting enough, that i didnât had this problem with other headphones yet. So, i think this could be a hint for the special or âuniqueâ sound characteristic of the hawks. So i take this as a part of the listening experience with the nighthawk carbon.
1 Like
Yeah, I would say give it a couple weeks. All else fails well you can cross off this particular kind of signature. It has a good resale value so you should be alright.
1 Like
Just bought some night hawks gonna join the gang soon 
12 Likes
I want to join the nighthawk gang as well! Is there a sound difference between the original nighthawks and the carbon?
Others can and will chime in⊠Original Hawks are pretty different in the way they sound and the Carbon is a somewhat calmed down version with different pads I believe. I have the originals
2 Likes
The OG Nighthawks donât come with the suede pads which are now unavailable to purchase on their own
I think thatâs a big selling feature for the carbons on the used market as theyâre the preferred pads for the majority of NH owners (at least on this forum)
Brainwavz suedes were pretty close sound wise to the stock suedes of the carbons.
2 Likes