UnknownOperator
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This is very true. Size up and give them a try.
Nightjar Acoustics Lounge
- Thread starter Chang
- Start date
I'm late to the party but LET'S GO!!!
Has anyone used the Bifrost Bold? A man would like to know more about it. 
Tanalasta
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A meet up with NightJar Acoustic's Chang
I first discovered NightJar acoustics serendipitously listening to a rather unique looking IEM that was passed onto me by a fellow friend and audiophile. That IEM was Storm. I knew nothing about it. Once tips were dialled in, it was instantly recognisable it was something special. Sonically and technically excellent, well balanced and exceptionally tuned. Safe yet engaging enough you could either enjoy it or be totally lost in the music. I have since discovered Storm scales magnificently!
On a recent holiday to Singapore, my mate asked "why don't you catch up with Chang"? So I messaged him a few weeks before ... and we did.
A thank you to Chang for taking the time out of his busy schedule to meet me with a full range of goodies to listen to ... whilst ordering Hawker food in a hotel lobby.
Conflict of Interest Disclaimer:
None. I personally own a Nightjar Cable that I paid asking price for. I was very grateful Chang agreed to meet up with a relative unknown.
What was a "one hour" meeting away from family ended up being a several hour chat about all things technical. Chang is ˆvery passionate about what he does. I learnt an amazing amount of information on everything from IEM design, the technology and intent behind Storm. Before moving onto cable design, manufacture and materials and then listening to some of his IEM's (Singularity, Duality prototype and Storm). He even lent me his PB5 amplifier as my SP3000 was grossly inadequate. My fault. I knew my DAP would flag for review at Airport security (and it did) so I packed light.
Listening Impressions and a brief review of the Nightjar Sovereign
From the product webpage:
The culmination of two years of R&D after the Mira. Sovereign is powered by a blend of OCC copper conductors from the top Taiwanese foundries. Featuring a meticulously designed geometry, specifically designed to harness the organic and transparent nature of the best OCC conductors, and then carefully integrated with a calibrated quantity of silver to mitigate the few remaining weaknesses of top-tier copper. Experience huge soundstaging, extreme resolution, and uncapped dynamics, all tied seamlessly together with an organic and transparent tonal presentation. Sovereign takes the grand presentation of the original Mira 4-wire to the next level in a far more compact form factor. Why choose between comfort and sound quality when you can have both? Unleash your chain with the effortless fluidity of Sovereign.
Conductor: 7N OCC Copper for signal, Copper & Pure Silver mix for ground
Geometry: Multi-Gauge Shielded Litz
Sleeve: Ultrasoft PVC
True Gauge: 22.0 AWG
Resistance (Including Connectors): 0.07Ω
Solder: Custom Silver Blend
Pins: AEC Tellurium Copper
Jack: Furutech Rhodium-Plated Pure Copper
Default length: 1.2m (Inquire for other lengths)
Basically, Chang took the well regarded Mira which was the cable for Storm, and somehow made it more ergonomic and sonically better. I heard quite a few things on my trip to Singapore, Eletech and Zeppelin. And few things impressed me more than the Nightjar Sovereign. Chang's pursuit of tuning perfection involves No Compromises. That sonorous, musical timbre that is the "X" factor which is universally well liked. Think Empyrean ; Oriolus Isabellae ... there's a timbre that Nightjar achieves with this cable that I have rarely heard in others and perhaps it's greatest strength.
The Sovereign is technically excellent. As it should be. It is a flagship cable. Staging, detail and technicality are all at the top tier. There is a very subtle bass/mid-bass lift. But more importantly, the quality of the tuning extends across the frequency range with no flaws. That's not easy. The Sovereign I feel is underrated. It appears Watercoolers at summit-fi go straight to the Sovereign Symphony but in my opinion, The Sovereign will pair and improve almost all IEM's. It was absolutely magical with MEST III. And I would consider it tonally a "safe" flagship choice with most ; and a serious alternative to those considering PWA or other flagship cables.
The Sovereign Symphony takes it a step further. Chang made it clear that the Symphony are for source/IEM pairings that are capable of realising their potential. Without it, the sheer scale can sound full, rich but congested and the Sovereign would be the better choice. You would want a decent source/amp that opens up the soundstage.
A gorgeous leather case accompanies the Symphony. The leather is as nice as my partner's Hermes handbag. Packaging and boxes are not yet available. One less thing to fit into storage.
Fully shielded. The quality of the cable and connectors are immediately imminent.
This is a heavy, thick cable. And if you are a spectacles user, the cable takes significant space around your ear. It's comfortable but I recommend desktop listening. I have no difficult with comfort at my desk.
From the product information page
An experimental project that was never meant to exist, brought to completion on the insistence of multiple community members. Please consider carefully whether or not the heft of this cable is suitable for your use case. Also note that certain chains and IEMs will not be able to translate the image size and scale presented by the Symphony, and the bottleneck can be heard as congestion. In general, if you are unsure, we suggest you opt for the regular Sovereign instead. However, for those crazy and adventurous enough, Symphony stages like nothing else if the chain can support it. Both physically and sonically massive, experience an extreme level of granularity and gradation in every domain: dynamics, transparency, scale, timbral precision, and layering. Collectively coming together to form an uncompromised symphony of grandeur, emotionality, and effortless technique.
Conductor: 7N OCC Copper for signal, Copper & Pure Silver mix for ground
Geometry: Multi-Gauge Shielded Litz
Sleeve: Ultrasoft PVC
True Gauge: 19.0 AWG
Resistance (Including Connectors): 0.04Ω
Solder: Custom Silver Blend
Pins: AEC Tellurium Copper
Jack: Furutech Rhodium-Plated Pure Copper
Default length: 1.2m (Inquire for other lengths)
Impressions with Oriolus Trailii
The stock Trailii cable is a Cardas Clear Light ; PWA 1960's based cable. Stereotypical copper tuning, slightly warm and complements well to the bird.
My usual chain is SP3000 -> Orphy shielded or Ode to Laura IC -> MK 475 -> Trialii with the Symphony.
Chang's description above is spot on. The product description for Symphony accurately conveys exactly what you hear. None of this AI generated marketing on many other audio/chi-fi product pages.
Immediately, Symphony improves the scale and weight of the presentation. Imagine sitting in an intimate, acoustically excellent concert hall. Or adding a top tier upscaler to your chain. The Symphony is exactly how I would describe it. Every instrument is precisely placed. You could lose yourself in the tuning and coherency. Or close your eyes and pick up out every detail and exactly where it is. That sparkle of a triangle or xylophone in the corner? You'll hear it. Technically excellent. And I've heard some nice things (my state concert hall is acclaimed for exceptional acoustics). There is a richness but musicality to the sound that stands out.
Listening to C-Pop and Jackie Cheung and I would rate this right up there with Susvara or my LCD-5 (with Mitch Barnett filter). The musicality and mids are superb as is the vocal presentation. There's a fullness in the low-mids that is ever so engaging. Literally, imagine being in the concert hall or acoustically treated listening room.
Similar to Sovereign, there is a bass/sub-bass lift to dynamics and impact which improves one of the minor weakness of Trailii. Reasonably well textured. BA bass in the Trailii is not going to be close to the DD bass of other flagship IEM's and the BA fast decay persists. The richness is predominantly mid-bass and low mids where it just sings.
Staging is 10/10. Technicalities I have not heard better (other than Storm) in an IEM. Holographic with depth and precision. Wide, but with weight and depth. There's no sense of empty space (cf to say the Sennheiser HD800).
Moving onto Hans Zimmer and Orchestral and soundtrack are superb. Trance is not the bird's strength. Bright is not how I would describe this pairing at all.
No peaks or sibilance to the treble.
Storm release edition may allow for a subsidised Sovereign or Symphony cable upgrade. I would recommend it. I missed the boat on the Storm LE.
Symphony - it is the epitome Chang's pursuit of what he wanted in a cable ... and I have no doubt he spent years making it happen. It would pair well with any summit-fi where you wanted rich, warm mids and bass intertwined with technical excellence.
Different connectors are available on request and I'm exploring whether I may pursue a future cable with a modular connection.
This is as close to a well driven Susvara like orchestral presentation as I'm going to get in an IEM set-up. And Storm was even better than Trailii. If you are at summit-fi and want to extract that extra potential, I recommend next time you're in Singapore - to seriously audition the Sovereign and Symphony + Storm. It is a significant step up from my PWA stock cable. It does scale with a top of the line source.
Impressions of Storm, Singularity and Duality Prototype to follow ... only so much I can write in one evening.
I first discovered NightJar acoustics serendipitously listening to a rather unique looking IEM that was passed onto me by a fellow friend and audiophile. That IEM was Storm. I knew nothing about it. Once tips were dialled in, it was instantly recognisable it was something special. Sonically and technically excellent, well balanced and exceptionally tuned. Safe yet engaging enough you could either enjoy it or be totally lost in the music. I have since discovered Storm scales magnificently!
On a recent holiday to Singapore, my mate asked "why don't you catch up with Chang"? So I messaged him a few weeks before ... and we did.
A thank you to Chang for taking the time out of his busy schedule to meet me with a full range of goodies to listen to ... whilst ordering Hawker food in a hotel lobby.
Conflict of Interest Disclaimer:
None. I personally own a Nightjar Cable that I paid asking price for. I was very grateful Chang agreed to meet up with a relative unknown.
What was a "one hour" meeting away from family ended up being a several hour chat about all things technical. Chang is ˆvery passionate about what he does. I learnt an amazing amount of information on everything from IEM design, the technology and intent behind Storm. Before moving onto cable design, manufacture and materials and then listening to some of his IEM's (Singularity, Duality prototype and Storm). He even lent me his PB5 amplifier as my SP3000 was grossly inadequate. My fault. I knew my DAP would flag for review at Airport security (and it did) so I packed light.
Listening Impressions and a brief review of the Nightjar Sovereign
From the product webpage:
The culmination of two years of R&D after the Mira. Sovereign is powered by a blend of OCC copper conductors from the top Taiwanese foundries. Featuring a meticulously designed geometry, specifically designed to harness the organic and transparent nature of the best OCC conductors, and then carefully integrated with a calibrated quantity of silver to mitigate the few remaining weaknesses of top-tier copper. Experience huge soundstaging, extreme resolution, and uncapped dynamics, all tied seamlessly together with an organic and transparent tonal presentation. Sovereign takes the grand presentation of the original Mira 4-wire to the next level in a far more compact form factor. Why choose between comfort and sound quality when you can have both? Unleash your chain with the effortless fluidity of Sovereign.
Conductor: 7N OCC Copper for signal, Copper & Pure Silver mix for ground
Geometry: Multi-Gauge Shielded Litz
Sleeve: Ultrasoft PVC
True Gauge: 22.0 AWG
Resistance (Including Connectors): 0.07Ω
Solder: Custom Silver Blend
Pins: AEC Tellurium Copper
Jack: Furutech Rhodium-Plated Pure Copper
Default length: 1.2m (Inquire for other lengths)
Basically, Chang took the well regarded Mira which was the cable for Storm, and somehow made it more ergonomic and sonically better. I heard quite a few things on my trip to Singapore, Eletech and Zeppelin. And few things impressed me more than the Nightjar Sovereign. Chang's pursuit of tuning perfection involves No Compromises. That sonorous, musical timbre that is the "X" factor which is universally well liked. Think Empyrean ; Oriolus Isabellae ... there's a timbre that Nightjar achieves with this cable that I have rarely heard in others and perhaps it's greatest strength.
The Sovereign is technically excellent. As it should be. It is a flagship cable. Staging, detail and technicality are all at the top tier. There is a very subtle bass/mid-bass lift. But more importantly, the quality of the tuning extends across the frequency range with no flaws. That's not easy. The Sovereign I feel is underrated. It appears Watercoolers at summit-fi go straight to the Sovereign Symphony but in my opinion, The Sovereign will pair and improve almost all IEM's. It was absolutely magical with MEST III. And I would consider it tonally a "safe" flagship choice with most ; and a serious alternative to those considering PWA or other flagship cables.
The Sovereign Symphony takes it a step further. Chang made it clear that the Symphony are for source/IEM pairings that are capable of realising their potential. Without it, the sheer scale can sound full, rich but congested and the Sovereign would be the better choice. You would want a decent source/amp that opens up the soundstage.
A gorgeous leather case accompanies the Symphony. The leather is as nice as my partner's Hermes handbag. Packaging and boxes are not yet available. One less thing to fit into storage.
Fully shielded. The quality of the cable and connectors are immediately imminent.
This is a heavy, thick cable. And if you are a spectacles user, the cable takes significant space around your ear. It's comfortable but I recommend desktop listening. I have no difficult with comfort at my desk.
From the product information page
An experimental project that was never meant to exist, brought to completion on the insistence of multiple community members. Please consider carefully whether or not the heft of this cable is suitable for your use case. Also note that certain chains and IEMs will not be able to translate the image size and scale presented by the Symphony, and the bottleneck can be heard as congestion. In general, if you are unsure, we suggest you opt for the regular Sovereign instead. However, for those crazy and adventurous enough, Symphony stages like nothing else if the chain can support it. Both physically and sonically massive, experience an extreme level of granularity and gradation in every domain: dynamics, transparency, scale, timbral precision, and layering. Collectively coming together to form an uncompromised symphony of grandeur, emotionality, and effortless technique.
Conductor: 7N OCC Copper for signal, Copper & Pure Silver mix for ground
Geometry: Multi-Gauge Shielded Litz
Sleeve: Ultrasoft PVC
True Gauge: 19.0 AWG
Resistance (Including Connectors): 0.04Ω
Solder: Custom Silver Blend
Pins: AEC Tellurium Copper
Jack: Furutech Rhodium-Plated Pure Copper
Default length: 1.2m (Inquire for other lengths)
Impressions with Oriolus Trailii
The stock Trailii cable is a Cardas Clear Light ; PWA 1960's based cable. Stereotypical copper tuning, slightly warm and complements well to the bird.
My usual chain is SP3000 -> Orphy shielded or Ode to Laura IC -> MK 475 -> Trialii with the Symphony.
Chang's description above is spot on. The product description for Symphony accurately conveys exactly what you hear. None of this AI generated marketing on many other audio/chi-fi product pages.
Immediately, Symphony improves the scale and weight of the presentation. Imagine sitting in an intimate, acoustically excellent concert hall. Or adding a top tier upscaler to your chain. The Symphony is exactly how I would describe it. Every instrument is precisely placed. You could lose yourself in the tuning and coherency. Or close your eyes and pick up out every detail and exactly where it is. That sparkle of a triangle or xylophone in the corner? You'll hear it. Technically excellent. And I've heard some nice things (my state concert hall is acclaimed for exceptional acoustics). There is a richness but musicality to the sound that stands out.
Listening to C-Pop and Jackie Cheung and I would rate this right up there with Susvara or my LCD-5 (with Mitch Barnett filter). The musicality and mids are superb as is the vocal presentation. There's a fullness in the low-mids that is ever so engaging. Literally, imagine being in the concert hall or acoustically treated listening room.
Similar to Sovereign, there is a bass/sub-bass lift to dynamics and impact which improves one of the minor weakness of Trailii. Reasonably well textured. BA bass in the Trailii is not going to be close to the DD bass of other flagship IEM's and the BA fast decay persists. The richness is predominantly mid-bass and low mids where it just sings.
Staging is 10/10. Technicalities I have not heard better (other than Storm) in an IEM. Holographic with depth and precision. Wide, but with weight and depth. There's no sense of empty space (cf to say the Sennheiser HD800).
Moving onto Hans Zimmer and Orchestral and soundtrack are superb. Trance is not the bird's strength. Bright is not how I would describe this pairing at all.
No peaks or sibilance to the treble.
Storm release edition may allow for a subsidised Sovereign or Symphony cable upgrade. I would recommend it. I missed the boat on the Storm LE.
Symphony - it is the epitome Chang's pursuit of what he wanted in a cable ... and I have no doubt he spent years making it happen. It would pair well with any summit-fi where you wanted rich, warm mids and bass intertwined with technical excellence.
Different connectors are available on request and I'm exploring whether I may pursue a future cable with a modular connection.
This is as close to a well driven Susvara like orchestral presentation as I'm going to get in an IEM set-up. And Storm was even better than Trailii. If you are at summit-fi and want to extract that extra potential, I recommend next time you're in Singapore - to seriously audition the Sovereign and Symphony + Storm. It is a significant step up from my PWA stock cable. It does scale with a top of the line source.
Impressions of Storm, Singularity and Duality Prototype to follow ... only so much I can write in one evening.
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