The JPS Labs: Abyss AB-1266 Impressions Thread
Apr 27, 2016 at 11:02 PM Post #4,081 of 22,267
Yeah, the Abyss is surprisingly easy to drive. If you decide to sell your WA234, please PM me.
 
Apr 28, 2016 at 3:07 AM Post #4,082 of 22,267
  This may surprise some people but I am getting a better sound out of the Abyss using the DAVE directly than I am out of my Woo 234's, I have tried a number of different tubes and haven't finished yet with experimenting but thats how its looking. The DAVE and Abyss are a magical combination.

 
That's unreal.  Is that Dave + stock Abyss cable vs WA234 + DHC cable too?  
 
  Yeah, the Abyss is surprisingly easy to drive. If you decide to sell your WA234, please PM me.

 
Are you sure you want to do that....
 
Apr 28, 2016 at 3:10 AM Post #4,083 of 22,267
Haha, I liked the wa234. If I can get it locally and 2nd hand what's the harm :)
Can always sell it later :wink:
 
Apr 28, 2016 at 4:54 AM Post #4,084 of 22,267
Have to agree that Abyss directly out from the Dave is really superb. Haven't tried the Woo 234, but the best I've heard previously is Abyss coupled with Viva Egoista 845 which for me is of reference quality. Directly out from Dave, I maybe losing a tiny bit of lushness and euphoria of the 845 tubes, but gained a bit more transparency and extension, just a slightly different interpretation. The first 50 hours of running in Dave, Abyss and HEK sounded somewhat thin and congested off the HP output, but after about 200 to 300 hours, the sound opened up and offers an excellent musical presentation. Power wise,  Dave is really generous, when driving the Abyss even with music recorded at low levels, +3dB is more than adequate for me.
 
Apr 28, 2016 at 11:48 AM Post #4,086 of 22,267
Hello here,
Quote:
To clarify, I like how intimate and how well presented the mids on the LCD-4 are. They lull me to them.

I think that's the biggest point versus the ABYSS. I would say that if you are a singer in a renowned choir, you would buy the LCD4 because of its wonderful mediums.
Due to its spectacular opening the ABYSS has not such a great presentation of mediums.
 
Apr 28, 2016 at 10:27 PM Post #4,087 of 22,267
High End Munich Germany show next week, 'Diana' will be dressed in white with blue chiffon.

She is the world's thinnest planar magnetic headphone.

Exhibit Halle 4, U08/V07
 
ABYSS Headphones We engineer, machine, and build our headphones from scratch in New York, USA. Stay updated on ABYSS Headphones at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.facebook.com/AbyssHeadphones https://twitter.com/AbyssHeadphones https://www.instagram.com/abyssheadphones/ https://abyss-headphones.com/ info@Abyss-Headphones.com
Apr 28, 2016 at 11:14 PM Post #4,088 of 22,267
High End Munich Germany show next week, 'Diana' will be dressed in white with blue chiffon.

She is the world's thinnest planar magnetic headphone.

Exhibit Halle 4, U08/V07


Very nice, Joe. I hope there'll be reports and pictures. For the rest of us who are not able to make it up to Munich. :)
 
Apr 29, 2016 at 3:55 PM Post #4,089 of 22,267
I know this is the Abyss thread - but I've got to say the more I keep hearing about the Dave the harder it is to ignore. I must try and see if I can source one for a home audition in Sydney. 
 
Apr 30, 2016 at 8:41 PM Post #4,091 of 22,267
Heard the Abyss through the Chord Hugo today compared to the idsd Micro and I thought the pairing was pretty bad to be honest. The ifi really manhandled it. The owner of the Hugo seemed to hold the same opinion.


Manhandle it in a good way i assume, so you taught the Ifi Micro where the clear winner then?

I have them both on display in our shop, and the Ifi puts out about 1.4 watts in turbo mode , whereas the Hugo just about 0,5 watts in 46 Ohms. But there is a but, the sound of the Hugo are more vivid with greater timing , depht and ultra fine detail.
 
Apr 30, 2016 at 10:37 PM Post #4,092 of 22,267
  Heard the Abyss through the Chord Hugo today compared to the idsd Micro and I thought the pairing was pretty bad to be honest. The ifi really manhandled it. The owner of the Hugo seemed to hold the same opinion.

 
Manhandle it in a good way i assume, so you taught the Ifi Micro where the clear winner then?

I have them both on display in our shop, and the Ifi puts out about 1.4 watts in turbo mode , whereas the Hugo just about 0,5 watts in 46 Ohms. But there is a but, the sound of the Hugo are more vivid with greater timing , depht and ultra fine detail.

 
And there in lies the rub gents. The only Chord product I've had a chance to hear was the Hugo TT and while it was a great DAC by way of detail retrieval I found the sound stage a little narrow and therefore separation not quite as pronounced as competitors at the same price point. Don't get me wrong it was a solid DAC - it just wasn't the second coming I had been anticipating given the excitement that surrounded it. However, by all accounts the Dave is a completely different beast (as it should given it's price relative to the Hugo TT) i.e. it possess the classic Chord house sound while taking everything up several notches by way of musicality and technical delivery. My only experience with iFi's stable of products was via the Stereo 50 and while it certainly had enough power I was a little under-whelmed by all those subtle nuances we (audiophiles) like to think we're hearing: texture, extension, separation etc...etc... 
 
May 1, 2016 at 4:37 AM Post #4,093 of 22,267
Manhandle it in a good way i assume, so you taught the Ifi Micro where the clear winner then?

I have them both on display in our shop, and the Ifi puts out about 1.4 watts in turbo mode , whereas the Hugo just about 0,5 watts in 46 Ohms. But there is a but, the sound of the Hugo are more vivid with greater timing , depht and ultra fine detail.
Yeah a very good way and yes the clear winner. I genuinely found the synergy with the Hugo to be completely unsatisfying. Shrill, sharp, edgy, bright and just very unpleasant. Used the same 3 songs and did not alter the positioning of the Abyss during the test. Out of the 3 songs the Hugo sounded its strongest (not by much) with the electronic based song but the other two that were a vocal based song and classical were pretty horrific.
 
May 1, 2016 at 4:48 AM Post #4,094 of 22,267
Also when I was at the shop, there were two customers auditioning headphones, and both had put the Abyss on for about 5 minutes and took it straight off. When I asked them how they found it and they told me this, I took them individually into the spare room I was using to listen to the Stax models, hooked up the Abyss to my Ifi, gave them a quick lesson in how it should be fit, put on some of my best showcase songs, and watched their jaws drop.

The first guy was being that vocal in how impressed he was, the shop owner had to shut the two doors that were between us and the other auditioning room.
 
May 1, 2016 at 8:02 AM Post #4,095 of 22,267
Also when I was at the shop, there were two customers auditioning headphones, and both had put the Abyss on for about 5 minutes and took it straight off. When I asked them how they found it and they told me this, I took them individually into the spare room I was using to listen to the Stax models, hooked up the Abyss to my Ifi, gave them a quick lesson in how it should be fit, put on some of my best showcase songs, and watched their jaws drop.

The first guy was being that vocal in how impressed he was, the shop owner had to shut the two doors that were between us and the other auditioning room.

 
How would you say the Stax stacks up against the Abyss?
 

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