AudioQuest, the company best known for its high-performance audio/video cables, officially introduced its first set of headphones, NightHawk, at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, held January 6-9, in Las Vegas. Named 2015 CES Innovation Honoree (Headphones) and Best of Innova-tion Winner (Eco-Design and Sustainable Technologies), NightHawk is an around-the-ear semi-open headphone designed and engineered by Skylar Gray.
In creating NightHawk, Gray worked passionately to bring purposeful and intelligent in-novation to the mature art of headphone design. No single element was taken for grant-ed. As such, NightHawk exhibits many groundbreaking components, including sophisti-cated earcups developed in collaboration with the German firm TECNARO, using ARBOFORM®, or "Liquid Wood."
Liquid Wood is made from 100% renewable raw materials. Its principal component is lignin-a byproduct in the cellulose pulping and papermaking process-whose annual production exceeds 50 million tons. Whereas the production (and disposal) of plastic is known to present environmental hazards, the production of ARBOFORM® has minimal impact on the ecosystem. Lignin is combined with natural fibers, natural resins and wax-es, and treated in such a way that it can be injection molded. While injection molding is commonly accomplished with plastics or synthetic polymers, Liquid Wood is a natural material; thus, every NightHawk earcup is one of a kind, exhibiting subtle variations in color, pattern, and surface finish that further enhance NightHawk's overall beauty.
Moreover, compared to ordinary plastic or wood, Liquid Wood has far superior acoustic properties and provides a seemingly endless array of geometric possibilities. In NightHawk, Liquid Wood is used to shape the earcups to more closely resemble the human ear, thereby providing a more complete and comfortable fit, reducing stress on the lis-tener's head and ears.
Said Gray: "ARBOFORM® is a key element to NightHawk's performance and a driving force in the excitement surrounding its release. AudioQuest looks forward to incorporat-ing ARBOFORM® in many more products, as we strive to achieve high performance, outstanding value, and natural beauty through responsible, sustainable engineering."
AudioQuest NightHawk headphones will be available beginning March/April 2015, with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $599/€599/£499 (EU and UK, VAT included).
For more information on NightHawk, visit http://nighthawk.audioquest.com. For more information on ARBOFORM®, visit http://www.tecnaro.de.
In creating NightHawk, Gray worked passionately to bring purposeful and intelligent in-novation to the mature art of headphone design. No single element was taken for grant-ed. As such, NightHawk exhibits many groundbreaking components, including sophisti-cated earcups developed in collaboration with the German firm TECNARO, using ARBOFORM®, or "Liquid Wood."
Liquid Wood is made from 100% renewable raw materials. Its principal component is lignin-a byproduct in the cellulose pulping and papermaking process-whose annual production exceeds 50 million tons. Whereas the production (and disposal) of plastic is known to present environmental hazards, the production of ARBOFORM® has minimal impact on the ecosystem. Lignin is combined with natural fibers, natural resins and wax-es, and treated in such a way that it can be injection molded. While injection molding is commonly accomplished with plastics or synthetic polymers, Liquid Wood is a natural material; thus, every NightHawk earcup is one of a kind, exhibiting subtle variations in color, pattern, and surface finish that further enhance NightHawk's overall beauty.
Moreover, compared to ordinary plastic or wood, Liquid Wood has far superior acoustic properties and provides a seemingly endless array of geometric possibilities. In NightHawk, Liquid Wood is used to shape the earcups to more closely resemble the human ear, thereby providing a more complete and comfortable fit, reducing stress on the lis-tener's head and ears.
Said Gray: "ARBOFORM® is a key element to NightHawk's performance and a driving force in the excitement surrounding its release. AudioQuest looks forward to incorporat-ing ARBOFORM® in many more products, as we strive to achieve high performance, outstanding value, and natural beauty through responsible, sustainable engineering."
AudioQuest NightHawk headphones will be available beginning March/April 2015, with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $599/€599/£499 (EU and UK, VAT included).
For more information on NightHawk, visit http://nighthawk.audioquest.com. For more information on ARBOFORM®, visit http://www.tecnaro.de.
