Nighthawk Speaker System No.1636

Nighthawk Speaker System No.1636

Third-generation flagship reference loudspeaker — bespoke and built to order in Picton, Ontario, Canada.

• Priced per pair
• Made to order — please contact for current lead time
• Designed and built directly by Troy Crowe
• Worldwide shipping available

Contact us to discuss a Nighthawk system

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Bring Your Music To Life

The Nighthawk No.1636 is the third generation of our flagship home high-fidelity loudspeaker concept. It was developed around a deceptively simple objective: to recreate the scale, immediacy, dimensionality, and emotional impact of live music while maintaining the tonal neutrality, spatial precision, and low coloration expected from a true reference loudspeaker.

Its design combines very high sensitivity, exceptionally low distortion, enormous dynamic capability, controlled directivity, active low-frequency amplification, and a proprietary solid-hardwood horn architecture. The result is a loudspeaker capable of effortless output and physical scale while remaining coherent and convincing at normal listening levels.

Nighthawk reflects our broader design philosophy: the emotional objective comes first, but the path toward achieving it is methodical engineering, extensive prototyping, acoustic measurement, and careful attention to how the loudspeaker interacts with both the listener and the room.

Form Follows Function

Nighthawk's distinctive hourglass form was not created as a styling exercise. Its proportions are dictated by the acoustic requirements of the system.

The narrower high-frequency horn provides broad horizontal coverage while allowing the high-frequency acoustic center to be positioned extremely close to the four flanking midrange drivers. Two midrange drivers are positioned above the horn and two below it, minimizing the physical spacing between the radiating elements.

This close acoustic-center spacing is fundamental to the Nighthawk's coherency. At typical listening distances of approximately 2–2.5 metres, the midrange and high-frequency sections integrate as a unified acoustic source rather than sounding like separate drivers occupying different locations on the baffle.

The result is unusually stable image placement, substantial soundstage depth, and the ability to reproduce both intimate recordings and large-scale music without collapsing the spatial presentation as level increases.

Wide Coverage Without Traditional Horn Coloration

Horn loudspeakers offer exceptional efficiency and dynamic capability, but poorly controlled horn geometry can also amplify reflections originating at the throat and mouth, creating the recognizable coloration sometimes associated with horn-loaded systems.

Our approach is different. The Nighthawk high-frequency horn uses our proprietary ES geometry, developed through years of simulation, CNC prototyping, acoustic measurement, and listening evaluation. The geometry is influenced by the work surrounding Jean-Michel Le Cléac'h horn theory as well as logarithmic and naturally occurring spiral forms.

The flare is generated parametrically in SolidWorks and transitions continuously through the mouth into large, smoothly radiused wraparound edges. Particular attention is given to eliminating abrupt geometric transitions that can create diffraction and reflections.

Rather than adopting the large constant-directivity horn structures commonly used in professional sound reinforcement, Nighthawk is optimized specifically for high-end home listening. Its high-frequency section is intentionally designed for relatively wide coverage, contributing to spaciousness and an enveloping presentation while preserving precise localization of the direct sound.

The objective is to retain the qualities that make horn loading compelling — sensitivity, speed, dynamic freedom, and low distortion — without imposing an obvious horn signature on the music.

A Dedicated Midrange System

Four 3-inch Scan-Speak midrange drivers are used in each loudspeaker, operating from approximately 200Hz through the 2.0kHz crossover region.

The four-driver arrangement provides substantial radiating area and output capability while allowing the individual drivers to operate well within their linear range. Their symmetrical placement immediately above and below the high-frequency horn is central to the system's acoustic integration and ability to maintain coherence through the crossover region.

The high-frequency section uses a 1.4-inch exit compression driver with a 3-inch voice coil, loaded by the proprietary solid-hardwood ES horn.

100dB Sensitivity & 16-Ohm Impedance

The passive horn section of Nighthawk was designed from the outset to work exceptionally well with high-quality amplification, including very low-powered tube amplifiers.

System sensitivity is approximately 100dB anechoic, while the midrange and high-frequency section presents a nominal 16-ohm impedance. This combination allows amplifiers operating at only a few watts per channel to achieve substantial playback levels while requiring very little power from the amplifier.

High sensitivity is not pursued simply for maximum volume. Reducing the amount of electrical and mechanical effort required from the drivers contributes directly to the effortless transient response and low distortion that define the Nighthawk presentation.

Active Low-Frequency Foundation

Below the 200Hz crossover point, Nighthawk transitions to a dedicated active low-frequency system. This allows the customer's main amplifier to concentrate exclusively on the highly efficient horn section while the considerably greater power requirements of deep bass are handled independently.

• 12-inch bass-reflex low-frequency system
• 1,000 watts per channel of Hypex NCore Class-D amplification
• Integrated DSP
• Room-correction capability
• Low-frequency extension to approximately 26Hz

Separating the bass amplification from the passive horn section makes it possible to combine the tonal character and simplicity of low-powered amplification through the critical midrange and high frequencies with authoritative, controlled deep-bass reproduction.

Designed for Scale, Coherency & Space

• Extreme coherency through closely spaced acoustic centers and carefully integrated crossover regions
• Very high dynamic capability without requiring the drivers to operate near their limits
• Very low distortion at both normal and elevated playback levels
• High sensitivity for compatibility with exceptionally low-powered amplification
• Wide, controlled high-frequency coverage for a spacious and immersive presentation
• Soundstage depth and stable imaging rather than an artificially forward presentation
• Natural timbre and convincing reproduction of voices and acoustic instruments
• Large-scale physical presence capable of reproducing the size and energy of live music

Machined From Solid Hardwood

The Nighthawk horn assembly is manufactured entirely in-house and represents one of the most complex components we produce.

Rather than machining the horn as a simple two-piece structure, the assembly consists of four individual solid-hardwood petals: upper, lower, and two side sections. Each petal contains complex three-dimensional curvature on both sides.

The first surface is CNC machined before precision locating holes are created. The workpiece is then removed, flipped, and registered onto dowel locations in a dedicated fixture so that the reverse side can be machined in exact relationship to the first.

Specialized fixtures are required to support and elevate each component while providing CNC access to its compound geometry. Across the four horn petals, this represents at least eight individual machining setups before assembly, hand finishing, and subsequent operations are considered.

This manufacturing process is extremely labour intensive, but it allows us to produce horn geometries from solid hardwood that would be difficult to achieve using conventional loudspeaker construction methods.

Structure & Materials

• Proprietary CNC-machined solid-hardwood hourglass ES horn
• 24mm Baltic birch plywood low-frequency enclosure
• Solid walnut side panels
• 45mm solid-walnut base plinth
• Powder-coated structural steel support
• Custom cast-aluminum support legs manufactured by OK Foundry
• Durable black powder-coated metal finish
• ISOAcoustics GAIA I isolation feet integrated into the base

Bespoke, Made to Order

Nighthawk is not a mass-produced loudspeaker. Each pair is built to order in our Picton, Ontario workshop and the customer works directly with the designer and builder throughout the process.

Before a build begins, we discuss the customer's listening habits, musical preferences, amplification, room, listening distance, and the qualities they value most when listening to music. This information becomes part of the design and setup process rather than treating every installation as an identical application.

Customers receive updates as their loudspeakers progress through production, including photographs and video from the workshop.

For installations where it is appropriate, on-site setup can also be arranged. Final positioning, DSP integration, low-frequency alignment, acoustic measurement, and listening evaluation allow the completed loudspeaker to be optimized as a system within the customer's actual room.

Specifications

• Frequency Response: 26Hz–30kHz
• System Sensitivity: 100dB anechoic
• Horn Section: approximately 200Hz–20kHz
• Nominal Impedance: 16 ohms
• Crossover Frequencies: 200Hz and 2.0kHz
• Low-Frequency Driver: 12-inch bass-reflex system
• Low-Frequency Amplification: 1,000W per channel Hypex NCore
• Low-Frequency Processing: integrated DSP and room-correction capability
• Midrange: four Scan-Speak drivers per loudspeaker
• High Frequency: 1.4-inch exit compression driver with 3-inch voice coil
• HF Horn: proprietary full-ES-curvature CNC-machined solid-hardwood horn
• Enclosure: 24mm Baltic birch plywood
• Exterior Hardwood: solid walnut side panels and 45mm solid-walnut base plinth
• Isolation: ISOAcoustics GAIA I
• Weight: approximately 300 lb per loudspeaker

Designed & Built in Canada

Nighthawk Speaker System No.1636 is designed, engineered, CNC machined, assembled, measured, and finished by Joseph Crowe Custom Audio Products in Picton, Ontario, Canada.

Our production model is intentionally small. We build a limited number of loudspeakers rather than scaling production, allowing the person who designed the system to remain directly involved in its manufacture and in the relationship with its owner.

For current production availability, finishes, shipping, installation, or to discuss whether Nighthawk is appropriate for your room and amplification, please contact Troy Crowe directly.

Contact Joseph Crowe Custom Audio Products

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Independent Owner Discussion — What’s Best Forum

A recently delivered Nighthawk owner has shared his system, installation experience, and listening impressions independently on What’s Best Forum.

Read the independent Nighthawk owner discussion on What’s Best Forum →

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Owner Review

Adam — June 27, 2025