[jsaliga]

Hi Ray,

Many thanks for the quick reply.  I'm very much looking forward to receiving my phono-preamp and I have no doubt that it will live up to your usual high quality standards.

--Jerome

[Ericus Rex]

OK.  We're not thinking the same thing.  Glad that was cleared up.

The battery is probably my biggest concern with mine.  It sounds great!  Don't get me wrong.  But I can't expect this battery to last 10+ years, regardless of what the battery manufacturer claims.

Just thinking out loud.

I didn't ask the question because I thought it might be a problem.  I already ordered a F-117 so if I was concerned about the battery I would have held up my order until I had an answer.  I merely asked a question.

--Jerome

[tomjtx]

Ok, I,m writing this on my new IPad !
Which also needs to be sent in for batt replacement 

I bet the iPad batt won't last as long as the Nighthawk batt.

Anyway, I am not too worried about it. I mean, how many designers respond so quickly on a forum they don't even have a circle on?
 Rays CS is incredible.

[Gopher]

Are the batteries particularly expensive?  Perhaps for $30 or so you could have peace of mind knowing you've got a standby.

[Ericus Rex]

Great idea Gopher!  I'll check into it.  The way batteries are advancing these days I shouldn't count on this exact one being available in a few years.  But who am I kidding!?  I'll be upgrading to Ray's next phono creation long before the batt goes kaput!

[jtsnead]

Ok I had to move the Nighthawk off my rack, I was getting
alot of noise when it was on the shelf above my cd player,
moved it under the TT and it picked up motor noise so I moved
off my rack and no longer have AC induced noise, still have low
level hiss but I think that is normal with a MC cartridge.

What do you guys think of me putting my VPI brick on top of it
to stable it the speaker stand I am using ( might put up a shelf
later), will this effect the sound?

It is on its second run cycle, it has really good imaging, I am liking
it alot

[toobluvr]

Damn!    My Vista Audio phono section still sounds better than the 'Hawk.     

Is this thing ever gonna come around?!

Is the Vista that good?!

Stay tuned folks, as this and more gets answered on the next installment of....."As the Record Turns"!       

[JakeJ]

Damn!    My Vista Audio phono section still sounds better than the 'Hawk.     

Is this thing ever gonna come around?!

Is the Vista that good?!

Stay tuned folks, as this and more gets answered on the next installment of....."As the Record Turns"!       

Well, the buzz is it takes a couple a' hundred hours.  On a scale of 1 to 10, where do the two fall?

[toobluvr]

Tough one to answer, Jake.   Since I have never owned what most would consider a SOTA phono section, it's hard for me assign a score.

I can say that I have been very satisfied with the Vista.  Based on all the buzz and how it was stacking up to very respected units, I was expecting the NH to smoke it.  Hasn't happened yet.   Even if the NH ends up surpassing it by just a slim margin I'll be happy to pay its 2X higher price tag for all the cartridge flexibility it offers.   But I sure don't want to give up sonics for that.

I had a buddy over today to listen to some recent amp additions.  Being local he is quite familiar with my system.  He has a very high end system including a superb analog rig.  We listened to vinyl for a solid three hours and he commented that my analog setup was sounding really excellent.  Both phono sections are on my rack and, because of all the buzz he had heard, assumed that the NH was doing duty the whole time when in fact the Vista was in use.  He was stunned at the quality of reproduction with the Vista.  I then switched over to the NH and he too preferred the Vista.

I'm hoping more burn in will bring it around.  It has already been powered on continuously for 3.5 solid days, and recharged once.  I have only actually run music through it for a few hours cause it is hard to do so when the Vista is sounding so good.   Why am I not hearing all the NH goodness like the rest of you guys?   

On a relative basis, if the Vista is a 10, the NH is a 6.

[JakeJ]

Tough one to answer, Jake.   Since I have never owned what most would consider a SOTA phono section, it's hard for me assign a score.

Understood.  Since "state-of-the-art" is relative only to one's personal experiences it's a tough one for any audiophile to answer.  The system I have today is SOTA for me as it continually amazed me with the amount of information it pulls from various media and renders it in a way no system I have had before ever has.  My plan is to attend RMAF this year and get some idea of where my system is in the audio landscape.
 

I can say that I have been very satisfied with the Vista.  Based on all the buzz and how it was stacking up to very respected units, I was expecting the NH to smoke it.  Hasn't happened yet.   Even if the NH ends up surpassing it by just a slim margin I'll be happy to pay its 2X higher price tag for all the cartridge flexibility it offers.   But I sure don't want to give up sonics for that.

"Surpass" is, I think, going to be tough.  At best I feel it may equal the Vista and better it in a few areas.  I did follow the release of the Vista Phono-1 and was very tempted but the lack of user adjustability was the deal-killer for me due to having three cartridges in my harem and always on the lookout for more.
 

I had a buddy over today to listen to some recent amp additions.  Being local he is quite familiar with my system.  He has a very high end system including a superb analog rig.  We listened to vinyl for a solid three hours and he commented that my analog setup was sounding really excellent.  Both phono sections are on my rack and, because of all the buzz he had heard, assumed that the NH was doing duty the whole time when in fact the Vista was in use.  He was stunned at the quality of reproduction with the Vista.  I then switched over to the NH and he too preferred the Vista.

I'm hoping more burn in will bring it around.  It has already been powered on continuously for 3.5 solid days, and recharged once.  I have only actually run music through it for a few hours cause it is hard to do so when the Vista is sounding so good.   Why am I not hearing all the NH goodness like the rest of you guys?   

Patience, grasshopper, patience.
 

On a relative basis, if the Vista is a 10, the NH is a 6.

See?  That wasn't so hard now was it?  It will be interesting to hear your opinion in four or five days.  I'm hoping I get to do lots of listening over my days off.
 
BR,
JakeJ

[DARTH AUDIO]

Tough one to answer, Jake.   Since I have never owned what most would consider a SOTA phono section, it's hard for me assign a score.

I can say that I have been very satisfied with the Vista.  Based on all the buzz and how it was stacking up to very respected units, I was expecting the NH to smoke it.  Hasn't happened yet.   Even if the NH ends up surpassing it by just a slim margin I'll be happy to pay its 2X higher price tag for all the cartridge flexibility it offers.   But I sure don't want to give up sonics for that.

I had a buddy over today to listen to some recent amp additions.  Being local he is quite familiar with my system.  He has a very high end system including a superb analog rig.  We listened to vinyl for a solid three hours and he commented that my analog setup was sounding really excellent.  Both phono sections are on my rack and, because of all the buzz he had heard, assumed that the NH was doing duty the whole time when in fact the Vista was in use.  He was stunned at the quality of reproduction with the Vista.  I then switched over to the NH and he too preferred the Vista.

I'm hoping more burn in will bring it around.  It has already been powered on continuously for 3.5 solid days, and recharged once.  I have only actually run music through it for a few hours cause it is hard to do so when the Vista is sounding so good.   Why am I not hearing all the NH goodness like the rest of you guys?   

On a relative basis, if the Vista is a 10, the NH is a 6.

My unit didn't sound right till after 3 recharges and some 50 hours of listening. Give it time to break-in..

[jsaliga]

I still don't get the "break-in" thing with solid state devices.  Transducers I understand and have heard it myself (speakers and phono cartridges), so yes.  Tubes, a little.  But I have never heard this phenomenon on any solid state device and I have owned a lot of them.  My experience has been if I didn't like the sound out of the box then things weren't very different a few hundred hours later.  But that's just me.

John, it might just be that you don't much care for the Nighthawk.

Mine will be here today, but I won't be able to try it for about another week as I am waiting on new speakers from Audiokinesis.

--Jerome

[toobluvr]

My unit didn't sound right till after 3 recharges and some 50 hours of listening. Give it time to break-in..

WOW!   Are you saying you went through 3 recharge cycles without listening, and then 50 hrs of listening?!   

That's a long time.  I needed a recharge after 2 days, so 3 cycles with constant on is 6 days, and then 50 hrs of listening is another say 15 days (listening for about 3 hrs per day).  21 days total.    YOWZA!!   

[toobluvr]

Mine will be here today, but I won't be able to try it for about another week as I am waiting on new speakers from Audiokinesis.

Maybe a blessing in disguise, Jerome.   If info from the vets is reliable, just power on and run thru a few charge / discharge cycles to accomplish bulk of burn-in.   

Then again, with your new speakers changing like chameleons for several hundred hours,  any NH changes probably won't be obvious.  I don't envy you that.....speaker and cable burn-in are the worst!

Enjoy the speaks and be sure to report in on them!   

[Sonny]

I still don't get the "break-in" thing with solid state devices.  Transducers I understand and have heard it myself (speakers and phono cartridges), so yes.  Tubes, a little.  But I have never heard this phenomenon on any solid state device and I have owned a lot of them.  My experience has been if I didn't like the sound out of the box then things weren't very different a few hundred hours later.  But that's just me.

John, it might just be that you don't much care for the Nighthawk.

Mine will be here today, but I won't be able to try it for about another week as I am waiting on new speakers from Audiokinesis.

--Jerome

Jerome, I agree.  To some extent, there is "break in" but I would think after a few hours of current running through, solid components as caps/resistors/inductors or whatever, should be fully "charged" and well, ready to go.  I think break in is all about a getting "used" to the sound!  IMHO

Tuan

[DARTH AUDIO]

I still don't get the "break-in" thing with solid state devices.  Transducers I understand and have heard it myself (speakers and phono cartridges), so yes.  Tubes, a little.  But I have never heard this phenomenon on any solid state device and I have owned a lot of them.  My experience has been if I didn't like the sound out of the box then things weren't very different a few hundred hours later.  But that's just me.

John, it might just be that you don't much care for the Nighthawk.

Mine will be here today, but I won't be able to try it for about another week as I am waiting on new speakers from Audiokinesis.

--Jerome

Hey Miles, Relax!! If the guy who designed and built the unit tells me there is a break-in time, who are you to say he's wrong?? You don't even have the unit in your system to be able to make these statements. You should cancel your order because you won't like the unit right out of the box!! I have bought a lot of audio equipment over the last 30 some years and all of the equipment needed some time to settle in. Maybe it was my brain that needed to settle in as well. But the Nighthawk needs time to settle in. It was rough to listen to in the very beginning. After 3 weeks I can't stop playing vinyl!! That says it all.

[DARTH AUDIO]

WOW!   Are you saying you went through 3 recharge cycles without listening, and then 50 hrs of listening?!   

That's a long time.  I needed a recharge after 2 days, so 3 cycles with constant on is 6 days, and then 50 hrs of listening is another say 15 days (listening for about 3 hrs per day).  21 days total.    YOWZA!!   

I log a lot of time on my stereo!! Just on the weekends I can log about 20 hours of playing if not more. When I first hooked up the NightHawk I play a record without sound. I did this for a week straight. Pain in the butt, but it did help. Getting up every 20 minutes sucked, but the end result was a faster break-in time!! (I was also breaking in a new cartridge) The unit in my system is very smooth sounding, but it's ability to pull information out of the grooves still blows my mind!!

[toobluvr]

I think break in is all about a getting "used" to the sound!  IMHO

Tuan

I've heard this argument / logic / rationale / explanation many times.  I don't buy it.  Here's a very simple example of why......

Say I buy a used piece of gear,  fully burned in.  I use it in my system.  I don't like it.  A week later I still don't like it.  A month later I still don't like it.  Six months later (I'm stubborn) I still don't like it. 

Question:   why did I not get "used to it"?

If you have a bright pair of speakers that bother you, will they bother you less in six months....or a year...or two years?  If anything, they will bother you more.

The sonic signature either appeals to you or it doesn't.  I don't believe the brain adjusts to "bad sound" with the passage of time.  If it did, AG would not exist, right?

[jsaliga]

Hey Miles, Relax!! If the guy who designed and built the unit tells me there is a break-in time, who are you to say he's wrong??

You're joking, right?  I am fully capable judging things on my own without any prompting or guidance from other audiophiles.  I know Ray fairly well and have bought from him before.  I don't think he would have a problem with me deciding for myself what is and isn't appropriate.

You don't even have the unit in your system to be able to make these statements. You should cancel your order because you won't like the unit right out of the box!!

I don't need to have the Nighthawk in my system to make statements about my general experience with solid state equipment and burn-in.  I understand your enthusiasm for the Nighthawk but you would be well advised to let people form and express their own opinions without your feeling a need to post rebuttals -- lest you come off sounding like a shill for the product.  Not everyone is going to feel the same way you do and that doesn't reflect poorly on the Nighthawk or your listening tastes.

I have bought a lot of audio equipment over the last 30 some years and all of the equipment needed some time to settle in. Maybe it was my brain that needed to settle in as well. But the Nighthawk needs time to settle in. It was rough to listen to in the very beginning. After 3 weeks I can't stop playing vinyl!! That says it all.

Great.  Glad to hear you like the Nighthawk....but you aren't saying anything new that you haven't already said several times before.  I expect to the like the Nighthawk too, but it won't be the end of the world if I don't.

Lighten up a little.

--Jerome

[TheChairGuy]

Let's not ratchet up the fiery rhetoric to meet this one head-on, okay, fella's?

We were doin' pretty well....but I suspected we'd see some shrapnel once 'break-in' was mentioned 

Thanks, John / Facilitator