I remember the first time I listened to AudioQuest Nighthawk in the Hong Kong Advanced Audiovisual Exhibition in August last year. Unfortunately, there was no weapon in the hand. Only the iPhone in the pocket could serve as a source. Fortunately, Nighthawk is not difficult to push. There is a good sound quality level.
When I was looking for a corner and corner, I couldn’t feel the sound of the Nighthawk’s sound, the treble was soft and smooth, and the sound field was naturally loose and not sullen, on the spot. I really want to take it home. But I thought that the editorial department had just started Pioneer SE Master-1, so I still hold back! After returning to Taiwan for a while, Nighthawk appeared in the editorial department.
But then again, AudioQuest has always been a high-end audio and video cable brand, how can it suddenly enter the field of headphones? It turns out that they are not "on the rise", and the development plan for headset products has been brewing for a long time.
Previously, AudioQuest President William E. Low visited Taiwan and said in an interview with the media that he had thought about launching a headset product more than 10 years ago. However, he did not succeed in recruiting the ideal talents in his mind at that time, and his headphones dreamed. He was put on hold for a while, until about three years ago, when he met Skylar Gray, who was originally working for Westone, and recruited him into the company, his headset plan ignited hope.
However, AudioQuest does not intend to "practice", and then hangs its own brand to sell, but decides that everything starts from scratch, it takes two years to complete the Nighthawk development, and then spend half a year preparing for sales. related business.
The Nighthawk is a semi-open earmuff earphone with a 50mm moving coil unit for each of the left and right channels. It is different from the Mylar diaphragm commonly used in general headphones. The Nighthawk uses bio-fiber material as the diaphragm material. The original factory pointed out that the biofibrous diaphragm has higher rigidity and damping characteristics, unlike the Mylar diaphragm, which is prone to basin splitting distortion in the frequency range of 6 kHz to 10 kHz.
In addition, most of the moving-coil headphone units have no overhang design, while the Nighthawk adds a hanging edge to the outer edge of the diaphragm. The appearance looks like a reduced version of the speaker cone unit. It also helps to reduce pot splitting distortion.
In the magnetic engine section, Nighthawk uses the patented Split-Gap Motor technology to emphasize the ability to significantly reduce intermodulation distortion. In addition, AudioQuest also noticed that the irregular air flow inside the earphone may cause nonlinear distortion of the unit, so the Balanced Equitangential Airflow technology is added to directly reduce the irregular vibration of the voice coil caused by air turbulence. , to achieve the purpose of reducing distortion.
From the perspective of appearance production, Nighthawk takes a low-key mature route, and the most striking thing is of course the wooden earmuffs. Speaking of this, you may be able to make Lenovo wood cutting, MDF+ skinning or plastic shell imitation wood grain, etc., no! These are not related to Nighthawk. The materials they use are very different. The original factory called it “Liquid Wood†liquid wood. The main components are logs and plant fibers. After high temperature addition and liquefaction, they become injection-molded materials, which are directly made from logs. The benefits of liquid wood are that the texture is more uniform, it is easier to create the shape you need, and it creates a unique texture. With this injection molding method, the original factory has a support structure inside the earmuffs, just like the beam in the speaker box, and then adding synthetic rubber as a damping coating to increase the structural strength and reduce the resonance effect.
The center of the earmuff has a circular mesh cover. When you look closely, you will find that it is not a flat metal iron mesh, but a three-dimensional structure. The original factory called Diamond Cubic Lattice diamond cube lattice is printed in 3D. A mesh cover made of technology. When the earphone unit is in motion, not only will sound waves be generated in the front, but also sound waves in the back. This three-dimensional structure net cover can break up the back wave generated by the unit to avoid direct reflection of sound waves and interfere with the sound quality.
There is a C-shaped metal frame on the outside of the mesh cover with four rubber cords to fix the earmuffs in the center position. When I saw it for the first time, I thought: "Wow! It’s like a slingshot on the cloth in the comic book One Piece!" But you should never use it as a slingshot and it will definitely break! In fact, this is a clever suspension design, just like the microphone suspension frame, which can reduce external vibration interference. Of course, it is impossible to achieve complete isolation. For example, if I try to tap the earphone holder with my finger, I can hear the sound of â€œç °, â€‹â€‹ç °â€, but not as loud as originally guessed.
Another advantage of this suspension system is that the angle of inclination is more free than the horizontal/vertical joints of the general earphones. It can be floated around the ear along the head shape of the user, and the wearing comfort is very high. And no longer have to worry about hearing the frictional noise from the joint position when the head is turned (because there is no joint!). But will the rubber cord used to suspend the earmuffs lose its elasticity or embrittlement for a while? This part has to wait for time to verify.
Let me remind you again that Audioquest is a professional audio and video wire manufacturer, so the emphasis on headphone wire is quite high. Nighthawk comes with two kinds of wires, one for household use, the wire is thicker, the design is more rigorous, and the other is thinner, which is convenient for users to carry out. The conductor uses Audioquest's best PSC+ (Solid Perfect-Surface Copper+) copper wire and uses the Double Star-Quad structure, which can be seen as a pair of mini version of the Castle Rock speaker cable. Moreover, the copper wire-plated terminal is used on the thicker household wire, and the 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter is also silver-plated, which is enough for fever!
Is there any difference between the sound of the two wires? Under the comparison, the intermediate frequency of the thick line sounds fuller, and the low-frequency sense is slightly more; while the thin line is biased by the high-frequency extension, it sounds clear and meticulous. For example, in Nils Lofgren's "Acoustic Live" album, the first track "You", the shape and graininess of the guitar plucking sounds strong and thick on the thick line, and the treble is a gentle and smooth character, suitable for long-term listening. Easy to get tired. The same track was changed to a thin line, and the treble immediately went up! It's a little more irritating, but it also becomes more lively and shiny, as if it contains a sense of air, and the subtle vibration of the steel string sounds richer when the strings are pulled.
The vocal thickness is moderate enough to resolve the level
Nighthawk's interpretation of vocal sound is moderate, and the analytical ability is also good. For example, the second track in Zhang Xueyou's "Wake Up Dreaming" album, Jacky Cheung's signature throat sounds a bit warmer on the Nighthawk, which sounds softer. Fortunately, the emotional silk that has been accumulated through various singing techniques such as biting and ventilating has not been erased.
Of course, if you want to hear more details, you can feel the resolution of the mid-range vocals immediately by changing to another thin line, but the sound shape and thickness will also be affected. It may not sound as rich as before, but also Will not be dry to the extent. As for the low-frequency part, Nighthawk does not have a particularly strong impact. After switching back to the thick line, the low-frequency sense is improved. It sounds fuller and faster, and there is no delay in the muddy water. It can be considered quite satisfactory.
Overall, Nighthawk's sound is warm and the sound field is loose. After repeated comparisons, I prefer to use its thick line. Although the high frequency performance is not as sharp as another thin line, it sounds more balanced and smooth. Good sense of solidity. When listening, the attention will not be particularly focused on which frequency band, and will not pay special attention to whether the resolution is very strong, but naturally let the smooth notes be carried out in the ear, completely comfortable and stress-free listening experience.
Every time I wear this pair of headphones, I don't feel that I am listening to the recording, not listening to the headphones, but listening to music. Have to say that Highthawk is really a good partner for music listening!
Average impedance: 25 ohms Sensitivity: 100dB SPL/mW
Maximum withstand power: 1.5 watts weight: 0.35kg
Reference price: 19,800 yuan
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