Review: AudioQuest NightOwl Carbon – Clarity

Amplification

RHA’s DacAmp L1 is incredibly powerful and with only 2 on the dial, the NightOwl already plays very loud. The sound quality is good with a good stage and detail level and an “in control” delivery. The bass and mids are full bodied while treble is soft and easygoing. The combination is good and there’s nothing bad to say about it but it for some reason doesn’t sound very engaging, especially compared to the Fiio A5 amplifier where the sound just is more energetic. On the A5 (no bass boost) you get a more spacious sound (in the mids) with a more musical delivery. Detail, precision, depth and layering might be technically better on the L1, but the Fiio A5 makes the NightOwl a joy to listen to where the L1, to me, seems a bit too lean for the NightOwl. The A5’s mids are very musical and a little warmer and this suits the NightOwl better than the more sterile presentation of the RHA L1. Bass on the A5 is good and I don’t need the bass boost at all for the NightOwl to sound great. Recommended.

With the ALO Audio Continental V5 the NightOwl really shines. It’s dead silent and the tube’s richness is something the NightOwl really loves. The CV5 amplifier has more than enough power and it makes the NightOwl deliver the music in a non-fatiguing, very rich and (not overly) smooth way. This combination is very musical, with realistic voices, great mids, addictive bass and smooth treble. Sound stage width and depth are good with nice layering and the CV5-NightOwl combination simply is awesome. With the Chord Electronics Mojo driving the NightOwl, the first thing you notice is the great depth, good layering and the excellent bass. The Mojo’s delivery is musical and unforced with a very good level of detail, a nicely full bodied bass, rich and layered mids and energetic bass. Mojo and I don’t always get along but this combination is sublime. I still don’t like the Mojo & NightHawk combo as I found it to exaggerate with the bass, but with the NightOwl it’s heavenly.

With my beloved Chord Electronics Hugo and the NightOwl you get a wider and deeper sound stage with better layering. Bass isn’t as tight as on the Mojo and it sounds bigger and less in control. In return you get a more spacious sound with a more relaxed presentation. I think this is the first time I’m saying this, but the Mojo makes the NightOwl sound better than the Hugo does. And that’s mostly because of the Hugo’s impact on bass.

I haven’t found a single headphone that doesn’t sound great on the Auris HA2-SE. The Auris delivers the perfect mix between detail and musicality and it does so effortlessly. Bass has the perfect body and is always under control, the very rich mids get the tube lushness and have excellent depth and layering. Treble is smooth yet energetic and detailed. The sound stage is wide and deep, the sound always clean and the pace is always good. It’s my favorite desktop sized tube amp for the NightOwl. On the Cayin HA-1A MKII the NightOwl doesn’t sound as clean and precise as on the Auris and the focus here is on bass and mids. Bass isn’t necessarily too big but it’s rather loose and tends to flow a little more into the mids. It’s a slower sounding amplifier but a very musical one for that matter with a lot of tube warmth and body. Layering and depth is very good, just like the spacious presentation. Treble is energetic and precise and all of this results in a typical warmer smooth tube sound. You either like it or you don’t.

The Violectric V281 is a very dynamic amplifier and its sound stage, detail level, pace, precision and cleanness are among the best. The V281 in Single Ended mode makes the NightOwl sound clear, fast and tight. The V281 drives the NightOwl with authority but you get an easy to like, non-fatiguing, and very musical sound as we’re used to from the V281. You get tight and powerful fast bass that goes very low when needed. The mids have so much detail and it’s presented with the perfect amount of air. This by far still is my favorite solid state desktop amp and it makes the NightOwl sound very balanced and clean. This also is the amplifier I liked the NightHawk best with and it actually is one of Skylar’s favorite amps, no wonder the combination sounds good.

Conclusion

If you’ve read the previous +3.500 words, I think it’s no surprise anymore that I like the AudioQuest NightOwl. I even like it more than I like the NightHawk and I think a whole lot of people (will) feel the same. Good sound from a closed headphone that sounds like an open one: isn’t that what we all want in the end?

With the NightOwl you get the latest technology, qualitative sound and great design all in one. And all of that for a very fair price. Good job, Skylar, and good job, AudioQuest.

 

3.9/5 - (110 votes)
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedin

Lieven is living in Europe and he's the leader of the gang. He's running Headfonia as a side project next to his full time day job in Digital Marketing & Consultancy. He's a big fan of tube amps and custom inear monitors and has published hundreds of product reviews over the years.

19 Comments

  • Reply February 14, 2017

    NightPhotographer

    When both T90 and NightOwl are properly ampped, which one has better base and sound stage?

    Cheers

    • Reply February 14, 2017

      Lieven

      The Bass quantity will always be bigger in the Owl while it technically will be superior in the T90. The sound stage will be for the T90 but the body is there with the Owl. Very different and complementary headphones.

  • Reply February 16, 2017

    Concerned reader

    Just a note: “qualitative” does not mean “high quality.” The meaning is closer to “quantifiable” or “numerically-based.”

    • Reply February 16, 2017

      Dale thorn

      Given the overall word-munching in the review, it kinda fits…

    • Reply August 3, 2019

      Less Concerned Reader

      Neither does it mean “low quality”, nor anything in between. But it is about qualities. ie. subjective assessment. In CONTRAST to “quantitative”, which is objective measurement.

  • Reply February 21, 2017

    lossendae

    Have you tried the Shure 1540 ? If so how would it compare agains the NightOwl ?

    Cheers

  • Reply February 28, 2017

    Johnny

    The Microphone that come with the Nightowl, can it be used with PC? If it does, is it “always-on” or it is push to talk?

    • Reply February 28, 2017

      Lieven

      I actually broke my cable, so I can’t test it atm. sorry

  • Reply March 8, 2017

    Eric

    Thank you for an interesting review.

    I’m wondering: How well does the headphone isolate? I need a headphone that I can use in a crowed environment without me disturbing the outside world and vice versa. How is the isolation compared to the Beyerdynamic DT1770 pro?

    • Reply March 8, 2017

      Lieven

      Pretty well actually. They both do. Yesterday I gave the Owl to a colleague and I scared the hell out of him as he didn’t hear me come in and say hi. Same for the Beyer

  • Reply March 11, 2017

    marco

    creative aurvana live costs 45euros and are way better than this piece of shit.i can’t believe i jumped again on the hype train.

    • Reply March 12, 2017

      dale thorn

      My CAL had a huge bass hump and an equally deep recess at 5 khz – awful, simply awful. So it’s a disappointment to hear that the NightOwl is tuned badly also, like the NightHawk I paid $600 for. That Skylar Gray guy who designs those for AudioQuest must have ears like a bat.

  • Reply March 12, 2017

    marco

    voices are like they are covered with a veil, it’s like earing them over a wall or something. they remind me senn hd650 bad amped.
    aurvana is better hands down. the funny thing is that i bought these because they have the same cellulose driver but i thought that would be better because of the higher cost…………… disappointed…

  • Reply September 21, 2017

    Ryan Teo

    Do you think this is compatible with the creative x7 ltd edition? Thanksss!

  • Reply May 26, 2018

    dale thorn

    I just bought this at the new $400 USD price. I expect it to be better than the NightHawk, i.e. really, really good.

  • Reply June 1, 2018

    dale thorn

    Well, the NightOwl doesn’t seem to have the bass emphasis of the NightHawk, but it does have the NightHawk’s suckout in the lower treble, i.e. around 2-4 khz or so. The response gets better toward the high treble, even above 10 khz (with a peak at 9 khz, which is extremely common). I’m hoping I can have a very simple EQ job in trimming that 9 khz peak and boosting the lower treble a bit, without having to touch the bass. I’ve found most headphones that have too much bass sound better with the bass reduced a little, than headphones with not enough bass where I have to boost the bass.

    I’m using the installed pleather pads rather than the velour/fabric pads. The advantage of pleather for me is they wear less and don’t absorb sweat like the fabric pads, but people say the fabric pads are cooler in warm weather. How long that cooler feature lasts when sweat gets absorbed a lot is doubtful.

    Anyway, my bottom line is what I remember of the NightHawk – with a simple EQ it had a nice warm and musical sound with a decent amount of detail, which is about the best I could expect for the price. The quality of the NightOwl shows, especially in the close balance of left-right drivers at different frequencies.

    • Reply June 1, 2018

      dale thorn

      Turns out the NightOwl has a fairly weak bass, while the NightHawk had some emphasis in the upper bass/lower mids. The biggest problem with the NightHawk was the lower-treble recess, not the small bass emphasis, so with the NightOwl they made the bass worse (weak) and didn’t address the treble at all. Then again, Focal’s flagships suffer the same low-treble recess, and they cost a lot more.

  • Reply October 11, 2018

    Omar Hodges

    Audioquest obviously recognized the problem with the Nighthawk and produced these. After all, the Nighthawk only came out 4-5 years ago. Hopefully the included cable is sturdier this time around – the one included with the Nighthawk went kaput four months after I purchased it. Not good, especially for a company that specializes in cables. A few years later the headband broke.

  • Reply February 28, 2019

    josh

    I feel like Audioquest listened to the consumer and fixed all the things people didn’t like about the Nighthawk. I’ve had my NH for a few years now and just got the Nightowl about a week ago and I love them.

    Compared to the NH the Nightowl has a more controlled bass but still has that thump I love about the NH. The best part to me is the more forward midrange now which give them a more musical sound and vocals are more engaging which is great. The treble has better extension with a bit more sparkle up top and no longer has the veil over them like on the NH. Soundstage and imaging are really good for a closed hp and the 3D presentation just adds to the overall size as well.

    Now I’m glad I chose these over the Fostex TH-X00 I was thinking of getting but the Nightowl is more my speed and has lower distortion than most headphones.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.