NightHawk: The First Mass Produced Headphone Component From Sculpteo

AudioQuest and Sculpteo have teamed up to bring us the first mass produced headphones containing a 3D printed component.

NightHawk, designed by Skylar Gray, is AudioQuest first headphone. You may know them for their high quality cables and analog connectors, but soon this California-based company will be making waves in the headphone industry. Skylar Gray explains:

When we decided to build NightHawk, we knew it had to be something special; it had to have a real reason to exist because no one needs another set of ordinary headphones. We worked from the ground up, reexamining everything that headphones should be, while never losing sight of our ultimate goal: to celebrate the truly unique, singularly moving experience of listening to music through high-quality headphones. With NightHawk, and with all of our future headphone designs, I want to share that experience with as many people as possible, constantly challenging and reestablishing the limits to which quality, innovation, and sustainability can be achieved at affordable prices.

NightHawk headphones owe several of its design features to the work of nature, including a biocellulose diaphragm which more and more high end headphone companies are utilizing, and a biomimetic grille inspired by the structure of butterfly wings. Instead of refracting light waves in the case of the butterfly wing, the lattice work of the diamond cubic diffusion grille (3D printed) will reflect unwanted frequencies that results in song distortion.

The ear cups are purportedly made of a revolutionary new material known as “liquid wood”. It’s a lignin-based substance composed of 100% renewable raw materials that can be injection molded like plastic, but is much more sustainable, while introducing superior acoustic properties and giving each headphone a unique appearance.

Every aspect of NightHawk took into consideration the sustainability, ergonomics, and sound quality while attaining a very aesthetically pleasing design. It’s no wonder why the NightHawk headphones won two CES 2015 awards. AudioQuest Founder and CEO William E. Low added:

We are delighted to have been named 2015 CES Innovation Awards Honoree (Headphones) and 2015 Best of Innovation Winner (Eco-Design and Sustainable Technology) and we’re looking forward to bringing to market more exciting headphone products in the years to come.

Via Sculpteo

Fabbaloo correspondent & 3D Printing enthusiast Mike Difronzo – Founder WiZE 3D