New Abyss AB-1266 v2 incoming....

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Thenewerguy009, Mar 28, 2017.

  1. Cradon

    Cradon Acquaintance

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    Does anyone else at times find themselves missing some of the micro details of the HD800 with these mega expensive headphones? Must be my old ears, maybe my amp isn’t expensive enough.
     
  2. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    Hd800sdr out resolves them all.. abyss has fairly mediocre resolution in the mids, even the phi is a let down. It has amazing bass, layering and staging but otherwise loses to the hd800 for plankton..

    The 009, susvara and LCD 4 also aren't on the same level for detail as hd800. The Utopia is close but has other tonality issues. IMO OFC
     
  3. Cradon

    Cradon Acquaintance

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    Darn... can’t believe I’m back to the HD800SDR again. Hey, maybe the new paint and pads will fix that.
     
  4. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    Already done.
     
  5. Cradon

    Cradon Acquaintance

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    Your a bad influence Daddy Warbucks.

    Have any of you guys heard these with the Simaudio Moon 600i, or the Benchmark AHB-2? What amps push the most resolving and realistic sound outa the Phi’s?
     
  6. TomNC

    TomNC Friend

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    [​IMG]

    My version of the headband suspension mod. Enough for getting rid of the hot spot on top of my scalp. Still look for some nice leather band to replace the stock one for greater comfort and some means of adjustment.
     
  7. nachocheese70

    nachocheese70 Facebook Friend

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    I would be very interested in your review on the new pads. I’m expecting it to be more along the line of “different” (some areas improved at the expense of others) rather than an across the board improvements. Like the Dekoni aftermarket pads for HD800 for example. But I would happy to be wrong in this case :p
     
  8. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    I'm enjoying all the downvotes and lack of discussion in here. Feels like headfi.
     
  9. m17xr2b

    m17xr2b Friend

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    I had the original with the 600i for a while. Resolving is not a characteristic for the Abyss however you take it. Impactful yes.
     
  10. spartacus

    spartacus New

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    abyss phi not resolving?seriously?
     
  11. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    Wrong...
    Been there, done that.
    No HD800 mod out-resolve this mod.
    :cool:

    But there will never be an HD800 with planar type bass,
    So I moved on.
     
  12. truthseeker

    truthseeker New

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    I just got my Phi a couple of days ago and so far so good, using my Hugo2 to drive them. What's everyone's thoughts on a good headphone amp to drive the Phi's? I'm looking for something under $4-5K, hopefully well under. Sorry if this has already been discussed at length.
     
  13. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    Just get a First Watt, banana-XLR adapter, and a nice tube pre and call it quits.
     
  14. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    I thought I was in the 800 thread lol.
    The downvotes are meant to say they care.
    Why else would I get so many?
    :p

    Read further back to clear out of context impression.
    It is resolving but just not best.
     
    Last edited: Oct 17, 2018
  15. BenjaminBore

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    Abyss 1266 (OG) - First Impressions with the Brute
    sucks-o-meter
    • Micro-dynamics suck gigantic donkey-bongos
    • Artificial vocals suck hairy hobbit foot
    • Timbre, and upper tonality suck so f'ing bad it feels like rubbing your asshole on the fine side of a, lightly salted, cheese grater.
    • In these respects even a HD650 wipes the floor with it, let alone the Utopia.
    • Utopia sounds like you’re listening to the music, the Abyss sounds like you’re listening to a recording of a recording.
    • These statements may sound excessive, but this headphone retailed for £5,000.

    Saving graces
    It is literally the only headphone that can present a tactile dynamic sound with well extended slammin’ bass whilst simultaneously possessing a very large open soundstage, something I have been chasing for years. Imaging and speed are great, and the treble is good for a planar.

    Summary
    I like them with metal/rock for their imaging and separation of instruments together with their low end grunt, and for what is easily the best action/adventure cinema experience you can get from a headphone. EQ improves some of it’s presentational issues, and I’m sure soft mods will too.

    The best in the business for when you need cinematic bombast. For almost everything else; look elsewhere.
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2019
  16. m17xr2b

    m17xr2b Friend

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    I have to say the phi with CC pads addresses most of your complaints. I agree with your assessment but the OG Abyss does scale a bit with a speaker amp and it's not worth it IMO.

    How do you find the fit? If I moved just an inch I'd loose the sweetspot and had to start all over again. Plus it has the most un-ergonomic cable I've ever tried.

    I still dream of the abyss bass sometimes.
     
  17. BenjaminBore

    BenjaminBore Friend

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    Nice to hear that from a good source, I had been reading similar but was sceptical. I may give the Phi CC a try.

    You know, I actually didn’t suffer too much. I found the ideal rotation with the pads on the second try. Though I do get some pressure from the pad, I’ve been finding at least some success adjusting position. But I’ve only had them a few days. Bass can become unequal if one side slips position and breaks the seal, though.

    EDIT: @m17xr2b what aspects specifically did you feel scaled from a speaker amp, and did you find the same with the Phi CC?
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2019
  18. m17xr2b

    m17xr2b Friend

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    I first owned the Abyss for 7 months, after 6 it developed a channel imbalanced and jps replaced the drivers under warranty.

    At the time I had Yggdrasil with usb->coax dongle, Stratus and Moon 600i(bought just for the abyss because someone from HF swore by it. Paid 3K). I also replaced the shitty cable with a norne zoetic, mostly for ergonomics and also to tame the treble a bit.

    I found the stock cable too zingy, metal sounding and the zoetic soften it up a bit without loosing its main character.

    Out of the Stratus which has 1.8W into 50ohm with mid to upper level tubes the bass was impressive, a tad soft, extended very low with more punch than any of my previous headphones.
    The 600i had an iron hand grip on bass control and focus, it extended as low as it had to, no softness of any kind with massive impact if requested. Subbass rumbled and growled, a true BWC contender. The difference wasn't subtle.

    Mids were more lush on the Stratus but otherwise the same. No suckout I noted at the time but that was large depended on fit.
    High end had rounded edges on the Stratus where the Moon had more sparkle when it could. I had issues with spikiness and had to eq on occasion to bring it down. It was very one note on both but I hadn't discovered the HD650 yet to know what a piece of shit that area was.
    Soundstage went to the speaker amp but not by much, imaging was the same on both.
    Dynamics went to the speaker amp easily and overall I always used the Moon 600i over the Stratus.

    Bought the Abyss again a year later once my system evolved as I desperately wanted to keep it.
    Chain was P5-> Lynx E22 on PC->Pavane/Stratus with best tubes/WA5 with best tubes/600i and got for it a DHC complement 4 cable.

    WA5 was a tad better than the Stratus with better dynamics and low end. Stratus still had lusher mids.
    600i was still ahead by a considerable margin for the same reasons as before, my treble spike was mostly gone.

    Compared to Stratus/HD650 it had better bass and that's it.
    Midrange was a joke by comparisons.
    Microdetails were non existing.
    Soundstage was a bit wider but the lack of spacial cues made it feel empty.
    Had to fiddle every 5 seconds to keep the fit.
    Emotional connection ultimately was lacking and sold it again with a clean conscience.
    Plannar wall was quite evident as a sort of disconnect between mids and high end.

    I heard the Abyss Phi CC at last can jam driven by XiFormula S. Not my songs but it had proper detail without any harshness or peaks, something I never heard on OG.
    More detail in midrange. Same soundstage width and depth.
    Bass felt leaner, slightly less punch but more focus and overall it sounded much more balanced than OG. The CC pads also fixed my fit issues. Still I wouldn't get it again just because I can't get in the mood with plannars and wouldn't give up dynamic driver resolution.

    Overall I rate the phi CC well above the LCD-4 and at the level of Susvara. Not sure if I can fault it in any major way, at least not from meet conditions and was impressed by what I heard.

    Canjam is in a few months, I'd say have a listen and check it out for yourself before committing.
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2019
  19. Thenewerguy009

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    I think the amp might be the bottleneck.
    I would agree with your everything you said about the Abyss 1266 Phi when I was plugging it into headamps, but when I plugged them directly to the taps of a power amp, it scaled much much better.


    I would put the Abyss in the same category as the Hifiman HE-6 for amping. even though you can get to listenable volume levels much easier on the Abyss.
     
  20. BenjaminBore

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    I just realised that I mentioned the bass quality of the LCD-2C as a strong point in the other thread, but didn’t for the Abyss (I hadn’t done any direct comparison with those two). The Abyss is extended and slams, but it’s quality didn’t stand out vs the LCD-2C and Utopia. Maybe it’s due to the power demand, of which I’ve also read the opposite statement on here re the need for a speaker amp as with the HE6. I’ll keep this in mind though, and try it out for myself if I keep them around
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2019

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