[mulder01]

more interested in how the new hifiman flagship will compare to the abyss

 
Had a bit of a read through the HE-1000 thread and while nobody is directly giving a price range, the members that claim to know the price told someone that it will be noticeably more than $2-2.5k, and to think more along the lines of Orpheus system pricing when paired with the new hifi man flagship amp.  Not sure if these members actually know the price or are just speculating, but the Orpheus seems to get mentioned a lot and they are demoing the HE-1000 next to it.  I'm assuming they're doing that to give people some sort of indication of the price bracket they're aiming for.  Having said that, I won't be surprised if they price the headphone by itself a little lower than the Abyss as a marketing technique, but probably not much lower by the sounds of it.  Anyone with their fingers crossed for a budget Abyss killer might end up disappointed.  No doubt some will prefer the sound though.

 

[Joe Skubinski]

Had a chance to audition the Abyss at the Can Jam in Denver.

Which of our set-ups did you listen to?

 

[up late]

Had a bit of a read through the HE-1000 thread and while nobody is directly giving a price range, the members that claim to know the price told someone that it will be noticeably more than $2-2.5k, and to think more along the lines of Orpheus system pricing when paired with the new hifi man flagship amp.  Not sure if these members actually know the price or are just speculating, but the Orpheus seems to get mentioned a lot and they are demoing the HE-1000 next to it.  I'm assuming they're doing that to give people some sort of indication of the price bracket they're aiming for.  Having said that, I won't be surprised if they price the headphone by itself a little lower than the Abyss as a marketing technique, but probably not much lower by the sounds of it.  Anyone with their fingers crossed for a budget Abyss killer might end up disappointed.  No doubt some will prefer the sound though.

i see this speculation here with every major new release. hifiman will reveal the price soon enough - watching with interest.

 

[dBel84]

I have yet to find anything that can be called an ABYSS killer
 
Quote:

   Anyone with their fingers crossed for a budget Abyss killer might end up disappointed.  

 

[Trance_Gott]

My Abyss arrived! Wow, what a soundstage and bass. I never hear anything better in this two disciplines. Now I'm searching for the issues in the treble region which Tyll describes. But I cannot hear anything problematic here.
Joe is it possible Tylls example sounds not the same as the current production? I read something about it. There seems Marv and MuppetFaces Abyss has different sound as Tylls Test example.
 

 

[ShanghaiT]

It surely does come down to personal taste.  I would rank the headphones you mentioned Abyss > LCD-X >LCD-3

Elrondo and ShanghaiT, what amp did you do your audition on?

It was a Burson amp ( conductor I believe )

At the end of the day I think it will come down to personal taste. For me, they are a step above the audeze line which I have recently heard on several occasions. However, they just are not game changers like the stax 009 are for me.

 

[bmichels]

  My Abyss arrived! Wow, what a soundstage and bass. I never hear anything better in this two disciplines. Now I'm searching for the issues in the treble region which Tyll describes. But I cannot hear anything problematic here.
 

 
I am happy that you enjoy your new toy

   
 
could you tell us what source and what Amp are you using to drive the ABYSS ?

 

[Trance_Gott]

Violectric V800 DAC with Auralic Taurus MKII

 

[mulder01]

I have yet to find anything that can be called an ABYSS killer

 
True, I don't think there is much room for improvement sonically.  They're more likely to be a different flavor of sound rather than a step above.

 

[Elrondo]

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, the current HiFiman HE-6 is very similar already to the Abyss, so my guess is that the new HE-1000 will also be a similarly tuned headphone. It will be fun to give it a listen!

 

[superfred21]

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, the current HiFiman HE-6 is very similar already to the Abyss, so my guess is that the new HE-1000 will also be a similarly tuned headphone. It will be fun to give it a listen!

I disagree on the similarity between the HE6  and  Abyss.
The Abyss offers superior soundstage, deeper bass and punchy,  the abyss seems a step higher on a number of criteria

 

[Elrondo]

I am happy to read you can hear these differences in the abyss vis a vi the he 6. I personally was unable to discern them. They both require very similar amplification and are obviously both planars. The build quality on the abyss seemed higher. The HiFiMan seems just great for bass, dynamics, detail and soundstage as well, both are very nice products, they just sound quite similar to me personally.

 

[negura]

I wish that was the case, and as mainly Stax gear person presently, I don't even own the Abyss. But every time I heard both HE-6s & Abyss, I thought the Abyss were at a whole different level than the HE-6s in speed, detail, articulation, soundstage...

 

[Elrondo]

Well, I must say I can hear a difference with the Stax at least. I do feel the Stax is at a higher level of sound quality than the various planars I have heard, though not in bass or dynamics, but rather in transparency, smoothness, and speed.

 

[deuter]

True, I don't think there is much room for improvement sonically.  They're more likely to be a different flavor of sound rather than a step above.

That's what they all say, the fact though is there's always room for improvement.
When I demoed the Abyss I found it decent, just not my cup of tea .
I really did enjoy the hd800 though.
Everyone's taste in musical reproduction is different.