AudioQuest NightHawk Around-The-Ear Headphones NIGHTHAWK - Overview

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NightHawk is AudioQuests full-bore assault on both the state of the headphone art and on the limits to which quality innovation and sustainability can be achieved at an affordable cost. When we decided to build NightHawk we knew it had to be something special— it had to have a real reason to exist—because after all no one needs another ordinary headphone. To that end we started from the ground and worked our way up thoroughly questioning and reevaluating every aspect of headphone design gradually optimizing necessities while eliminating excess. During that process we considered many potential names. We knew that our first headphones had to have an appropriately special name—a name that conveyed power and freedom inspired ideas of physical and emotional transportation complemented the overall look and feel of the product and still left room for growth. After careful consideration NightHawk was chosen to lead what will be a complete family of headphones that match outstanding performance with extraordinary value.
Key Features:
• Patent-Pending Ergonomic Elements for Light Comfortable Fit
• Acoustically Superior Materials Including Sustainable Liquid Wood
• Biocellulose Pistonic Driver Patented Split-Gap Motor Dramatically Reduces Intermodulation Distortion
• 3D-Printed Biomimetic Sound-Diffusing Grille
• Headphone Cable Based on AudioQuests High-Performance Loudspeaker Cables
• High-Performance Direct-Silver Plated 3.5mm-to-1/4 Adaptor
Features:
• Innovative Materials: Beautiful Sustainable Liquid Wood
NightHawks earcups are made from a revolutionary new material known as Liquid Wood—actual wood that has been combined with reclaimed plant fiber heated liquefied and processed in such a way that it can be injection molded. Compared to ordinary plastic or wood however Liquid Wood has far superior acoustic properties and provides a seemingly endless array of geometric possibilities. In NightHawk we use Liquid Wood to shape our earcups to more closely resemble the human ear thereby providing a more complete and comfortable fit reducing stress on the listeners head and ears. And unlike typical plastic Liquid Wood is environmentally friendly—more than merely beautiful to behold it is also sustainable
• Driver Technology: Biocellulose Diaphragm & Split-Gap Motor
Most of todays headphones use diaphragms made from Mylar—an inexpensive lightweight and technologically mature plastic material. Unfortunately Mylar is inherently flimsy and brittle typically distorting as the audio signal reaches high frequencies of 6-10kHz and invariably causing listener fatigue. NightHawk takes a radically different approach. Inspired by the advanced drive-units used in todays high-performance loudspeakers NightHawks 50mm high-excursion driver has a biocellulose pistonic diaphragm and a compliant rubber surround. The biocellulose material is rigid and self-damping making it far more accurate and musically pleasing than Mylar. In addition NightHawks patented split-gap motor design dramatically reduces intermodulation distortion to provide a clean well-defined broadband response and a large naturally detailed representation of space. Your music sounds clean clear large and alive
• Anything But Ordinary: A Loudspeaker-Inspired Headphone Experience
Many of NightHawks design elements are successfully implemented in todays most innovative loudspeakers but have never been used in headphones. Much like the internal bracing of a beautiful loudspeaker cabinet NightHawks sophisticated earcup enclosure incorporates support beams that enhance structural integrity and minimize unwanted resonances and vibrations. An elastomeric coating is carefully applied to the enclosures internal surfaces to further reduce harmful vibrations while a damping material comprising a purposeful blend of wool and polyester enables an extraordinarily smooth natural frequency response for a deeply immersive and emotionally compelling listening experience. With NightHawk vibration-induced distortion is intelligently minimized allowing music to breathe freely
• Diamond Cubic Diffusion & 3D-Printing Technology
NightHawk is a semi-open headphone with a biomimetic grille inspired by the underlying structure of butterfly wings—a fascinating diamond cubic latticework that diffuses light to create iridescence. Visually beautiful technologically complex and built to a much larger scale in NightHawk the grilles intricate latticework diffuses sound and defeats the resonances that ultimately distort and damage our music. Far too complex to mold or machine NightHawks grille can only be created through 3D printing via an advanced form of additive manufacturing known as Selective Laser Sintering. NightHawk the first completely original production headphone to use a 3D-printed part represents beauty intelligence and responsible innovation