![]() They sounded like truly their own instrument, not bound by the confines of the song at all. ![]() Midnight City’s intro sounded really good, particularly because of how much air the synths had to them. The chaos of the song is well set by a very dynamic treble. The effortless placement, articulation, and decay of the treble-bound instruments in In One Ear really impress me. I’ve not heard a pair of headphones that can quite do what the NightOwl can do. Treble: Songs used: In One Ear, Midnight City, Outlands, Satisfy It sounds like a very gentle U-shaped sound signature, though that would be dismissing much of what I assume is very careful tuning choices. Moreover, the NightOwl is incredibly natural-sounding with no hint of artificial bass or treble boosting. ![]() The detail retrieval, instrumental separation, and 3D-placement is head-and-shoulders above anything I’ve previously tested. There’s truly something special going on here. However, as you spend more time with it and give your ears a chance to actually listen to them you begin to nod to yourself in appreciation. It lacks that essential “wow” factor that one might expect from something so expensive. The NightOwl sounds rather unimpressive at first. My Sherwood AD230B seems to pick mortal enemies almost at random these days. I also refrained from using my full-sized amp in this review as the NightOwl hissed horribly when using it. The NightOwl was demanding in terms of power, so I could not use some of my lower-amperage setups well, such as my Nexus 6P. PC optical out -> HiFiMe SPDIF 9018 Sabre DAC 3.5mm out -> earphones Hidizs AP100 3.5mm out -> FiiO A5 3.5mm out -> earphones Source: The NightOwl Carbon was powered like so: The mids should be slightly less pronounced than the treble, but still ahead of the bass. My ideal sound signature would be an extended sub-bass with a leveled, but textured, mid-bass. Therefore, I find it necessary for you to read and understand what I take a natural liking to and how that might affect my rating of a product. Preference and Bias: Before reading a review, it is worth mentioning that there is no way for a reviewer to objectively pass judgment on the enjoy-ability of a product: such a thing is inherently subjective. These words reflect my true, unaltered, opinion about the product. I am not affiliated with AudioQuest beyond this review. It retails for $699 at these official AudioQuest retailers.ĭisclaimer: This unit was provided to me as a loaner for review purposes. You can find the official NightOwl Carbon page on AudioQuest’s website here. As one might imagine, this attitude has been channeled well into developing some very special headphones including one of AudioQuest’s newest offerings, the NightOwl Carbon, the headphone I’m reviewing today. About four or five of them were taking a break to engage in their regular ping-pong tournaments, their laughter and ping-pong-ball smashes echoing off the high-vaulted ceiling as they competed. As I toured through the warehouse section of the building I could tell that AudioQuest’s employees really enjoyed working there. From their hand-assembled cables to their headphone development rooms, I found it all to have an air of quality to it. I took a tour of AudioQuest’s headquarters in Irvine a couple months back and was pretty impressed with their setup. AudioQuest NightOwl Carbon Review: A Dose of Reality
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