This IEM has +20 dB of subbass! Nightjar Duality First Impressions

Introduction

Over a year ago, I reviewed an IEM that aimed to be the best single dynamic driver basshead IEM in the market. That was the Nightjar Singularity. While it was a very good basshead IEM and one I would recommend, I did have a few nitpicks about it that ultimately prevented me from considering it a true basshead’s endgame. Well, even before I heard the Singularity, Nightjar had already been working on an ace up their sleeves: the Nightjar Duality. It ups the ante by using two dynamic drivers instead of one (hence Duality), features a tuning switch for a Balanced or Bass tuning mode, and costs an eye-watering $3,000.

I had a chance to listen to the Nightjar Duality a couple of times recently thanks to a local friend who owns one. As with impressions, take it with a grain of salt. Thoughts are more subject to change when not in a usual listening environment.

Build

The build quality of the Duality is confidence inspiring. It's made fully out of metal and has a very comfortable ergonomic design. I had no issues with the fit the entire time I demo’d it. I also like the abstract metallic dual circle faceplate compared to the original Singularity with its gold donut.

As mentioned, the Duality comes with a tuning switch. This switch is very, very well built. They're made of metal as well, with none of that plasticky dip switch nonsense that feels like it can snap at any moment found on a lot of other IEMs. They're also easy to operate with just my fingers unlike some that require special tools.

The Duality comes with a stock cable called the 4-wire Synthesis. However, the unit I have has the 2-wire Blue Hour cable upgrade. While I won’t comment on the cable’s sound, feel wise, it is extremely similar to the Singularity’s stock cable, but blue. Where it differs is that it has short ear guides right at the 2-pin connector. It helps direct the ear hooks but not force it. It's something you'd think many other cables already have, but to date I cannot think of another cable that's implemented this. It’s a much appreciated quality-of-life feature and overall, you can tell that the Duality is a truly premium product whose creator put thoughtful effort into both its quality and practicality.

Overall, the Duality is power hungry IEM. You can technically get it loud enough on some dongles (source arguments aside), but if you listen loud, you will need something like a desktop amp or the FiiO Q7 which I used for these impressions. To make it even more power hungry, the Duality also comes with an impedance adapter that adds a subtle amount of extra subbass. From what I understand, it’s a 5 Ohm adapter.

Fun fact: Nightjar first started as a cable company as a side-company while its creators worked on the Subtonic STORM.

Sound

The Duality features two main tunings: Balanced and Bass. If you add the 5 Ω impedance adapter (+5 Ω), you have four options in total. I would rank it as follows: Bass > Balanced (+5 Ω) >= Bass (+5 Ω) >> Balanced.

Using the stock Balanced mode, the overall tuning of the Duality is bassy with a forward midrange and complementary treble. Most of the bass presence in the Balanced mode is found in the subbass under 60 Hz, so it's actually less present in regular music than you might expect. I find myself turning up the volume to hear more of the bass quality. However, that starts to make the Duality’s vocals too shouty. As such, I wasn't a fan of this tuning. Thankfully, Bass mode which immediately fixes this problem. On Bass mode, the Duality becomes what it was built for: an absolute basshead monster.

Bass notes drop like bombs. Not the super defined, extremely articulate notes of an IEM like the Subtonic STORM, but more the sealed car subwoofer style. You do lose some texture because of that, but it's still a really fun experience. Notes hit hard without any of the pillowy-ness I complained about in the Singularity. It’s like a leading explosion of bass and then a mushroom cloud that settles during the length of the note. This is in contrast to an IEM like the Sennheiser IE 900’s which focuses on the body of the note and the deep texture of its trailing tones.

It’s a truly ludicrous amount of low end energy. +20 dB in the subbass according to the graph. Yet the most impressive thing about the Duality is that it never loses its ability to resolve the upper midrange or treble. It doesn't start to sound bloated or get that overly warm/saturated sound. This allows the Duality to most closely recreate what it feels like to have a proper bass drop in a track vs. merely sounding bassy. The first time it happens, it’s an experience. In other words, my music still sounds surprisingly coherent despite the Duality bringing bass to hilarious levels.

That said, the Duality is a little track sensitive. If you listen to something faster paced like rock or metal that isn't quite as nicely recorded, all that bass can start to consume the low-end. You still hear the notes of the kick, the toms, the bass guitar, but can be a bit blobby leading up to the middle midrange. For better mixed/mastered tracks, this isn't a problem. Nor is it an issue with pop-py or more digitally constructed songs. The Duality was made for music built around massive bass drops.

It's for this reason that I turn to the Balanced (+5 Ω) setting. Here, the little uplift of bass from the impedance adapter allows the Balanced tuning of the Duality to have that delicious bass presence while still maintaining a relatively more all-rounder tuning. Hence why I have it as my 2nd favorite tuning. It's what the original Balanced setting should've been and if the Duality only had this setting, it would still be an excellent IEM.

That said, the Bass setting is the whole raison d'etre of an IEM like this and thus that is my favorite, even if it is a marginal victory. As for the Bass (+5 Ω), honestly, it's perfectly fine as well. I find that it's a bit redundant however because the Bass setting has so much low-end energy already that it's like pouring a bucket over a waterfall. I still like it more than the Balanced setting however. I have nothing to note here other than it's fine, but not necessary for my tastes.

As for the other perceived technical qualities, the Duality is satisfactory. I didn’t get a sense that it sounded “lo-res” as is common with IEMs with this much bass. There’s a reasonable sense of depth and layering. Soundstage and imaging are good. Bass dynamics is exceptional. I credit much of this to the way the Duality’s treble is implemented. It does the critical job of ensuring that the upper harmonics aren’t lost so the Duality maintains a clarity and resolution to give music definition.

Image credit to Precogvision - look forward to his full review!

Conclusion

When I think about high-end IEMs, I want something that not only does something unique, but does it well. The first part is easy for a lot of boutique brands. The second is not. The Singularity was a good first attempt but left me wanting. The Duality accomplished it and more. I’m happy to say that it can easily be a basshead’s endgame IEM. Value wise, $3,000 is obviously not a trivial amount. In the crazy world of high-end IEMs, it’s easy to forget that the Duality is more expensive than most flagship products of yesterday. Yet perhaps my brain has been addled by bass but I don't think the Duality’s price tag is that outrageous considering the luxury IEM market of today and the fact that it provides a truly one-of-a-kind bass experience. It's not an IEM for those looking for their one and only. It's one that you get when you're already deep into the hobby and want the experience of what an extreme flavour IEM. But man, what a flavour.