[citadel]

Quote:

The last portion of Tyll's review was subjective comparisons to the best of the best headphone set-ups and there was a bit of a time constraint. While I would have loved to have a LAu sent his way, the one and only preproduction unit available at the time was unfortunately on a Fed Ex truck headed toward a meet. Tyll was using the EF-6 and I felt he could use some contrast. The Burson Conductor has a tonal balance that better matches the AB-1266, has the power to drive them, and was available to ship to Tyll for the next day, so it was done.

Thanks for the explanation Joe.

 

[VisceriousZERO]

Quote:

The last portion of Tyll's review was subjective comparisons to the best of the best headphone set-ups and there was a bit of a time constraint. While I would have loved to have a LAu sent his way, the one and only preproduction unit available at the time was unfortunately on a Fed Ex truck headed toward a meet. Tyll was using the EF-6 and I felt he could use some contrast. The Burson Conductor has a tonal balance that better matches the AB-1266, has the power to drive them, and was available to ship to Tyll for the next day, so it was done.

 
I hear my Abyss will get to me next week along with an LAu, so I'll be able to try it, unfortunately I don't have a proper DAC so I'll have to see how it goes. Can't wait!

 

[13713]

Quote:

 
I hear my Abyss will get to me next week along with an LAu, so I'll be able to try it, unfortunately I don't have a proper DAC so I'll have to see how it goes. Can't wait!

I can't wait to hear your review on the setup once you have given it a good test drive. There are a lot of people that like the Abyss and even more that seem to want to see it fail but I am curious to give it a listen hopefully at a meet sometime soon. 

 

[business_jj]

I just had a chance to listen to Abyss AB-1266 seriously today,,

Sources are Weiss MAN301 + Weiss MEDEA+
Dynamic amp is Bryston BHA-1
Electrostatic amp is STAX SRM-007tII

Headphones; Sennheiser HD800, Fostex TH900, Audeze LCD3, Beyerdynamic T1, Abyss AB-1266 and STAX SR-009
 
If you think SR-009 is worth buying as $5,250 then AB-1266 is also worth buying as well. IMHO, AB-1266 is on par with SR-009 in term of overall sound quality and even better in some area such as sound stage and details. But I still prefer mid and smoothness of 009 as well as comfortable. 

Comparing to other dynamic/planar magnetic headphone is like day and night. Abyss is far better than all of them in every segment.
 
Note that you need good enough power headphone amp for driving Abyss otherwise the sound quality will be awful. I initially paired it with Cary HH-1 hybrid amp which I think it's the most matched for HD800 for amp in this price range but it was completely failed with Abyss. Then I switched to Bryston BHA-1 and it was much better but even with Bryston you need to pair it in fully balanced mode because when I connected to Bryston using RCA input, sound quality drop down like 30% compared to XLR input. Bass was not controlled at all, mid was very grainy, focus and instrument separation are also not as good as XLR input.

P.S. This Abyss AB-1266 was burn in only less than 50 hours.

 

[zachchen1996]

I just had a chance to listen to Abyss AB-1266 seriously today,,


Sources are Weiss MAN301 + Weiss MEDEA+

Dynamic amp is Bryston BHA-1

Electrostatic amp is STAX SRM-007tII


Headphones; Sennheiser HD800, Fostex TH900, Audeze LCD3, Beyerdynamic T1, Abyss AB-1266 and STAX SR-009

If you think SR-009 is worth buying as $5,250 then AB-1266 is also worth buying as well. IMHO, AB-1266 is on par with SR-009 in term of overall sound quality and even better in some area such as sound stage and details. But I still prefer mid and smoothness of 009 as well as comfortable. 


Comparing to other dynamic/planar magnetic headphone is like day and night. Abyss is far better than all of them in every segment.

Note that you need good enough power headphone amp for driving Abyss otherwise the sound quality will be awful. I initially paired it with Cary HH-1 hybrid amp which I think it's the most matched for HD800 for amp in this price range but it was completely failed with Abyss. Then I switched to Bryston BHA-1 and it was much better but even with Bryston you need to pair it in fully balanced mode because when I connected to Bryston using RCA input, sound quality drop down like 30% compared to XLR input. Bass was not controlled at all, mid was very grainy, focus and instrument separation are also not as good as XLR input.


P.S. This Abyss AB-1266 was burn in only less than 50 hours.

I thought stax amps such as the SRM-007tII were generally known to be insufficient in bringing out the best in the 009? And that the ones that are "worthy of the 009" are the LL, BHSE, etc. ? Tyll, in his electrostatic amp comparison article also said that the stax amps were not enough to bring out the best in the 009. Also, the 009 can be bought on price japan for 3,400$ which would make the 009 $2100 cheaper than the abyss.

 

[citadel]

In Australia, the Stax sr-009 is actually more expensive than the Abyss by $300 (it was $1200 more at the time I paid for my Abyss, I would have also had to invest in an amp, another $2000 at least). I have no idea why. We get screwed here with a lot of tech gadgets. Also, from memory, the Stax website said something warranty issues if bought from non authorised dealers.

Personally, I would take the risk if others have had good experiences from ordering overseas. Also, with such a high end product, I'm assuming warranty claims would be minimal.

 

[jackskelly]

Quote:

In Australia, the Stax sr-009 is actually more expensive than the Abyss by $300 (it was $1200 more at the time I paid for my Abyss, I would have also had to invest in an amp, another $2000 at least). I have no idea why. We get screwed here with a lot of tech gadgets. Also, from memory, the Stax website said something warranty issues if bought from non authorised dealers.

Personally, I would take the risk if others have had good experiences from ordering overseas. Also, with such a high end product, I'm assuming warranty claims would be minimal.

 
I'm very interested in hearing/owning the Abyss, but I really can't right now, having recently bought an SR-009 and BHSE on order. My wallet is still recovering. By what it seems from the initial impressions, the Abyss might be better for more bass-heavy, modern music, while the SR-009 is better for acoustic music. I still need to hear the Orpheus system...

 

[Audio Jester]

I'm very interested in hearing/owning the Abyss, but I really can't right now, having recently bought an SR-009 and BHSE on order. My wallet is still recovering. By what it seems from the initial impressions, the Abyss might be better for more bass-heavy, modern music, while the SR-009 is better for acoustic music. I still need to hear the Orpheus system...

Know how you feel, I am in the same position. For the moment my 009 is an expensive ornament. Lol.

 

[business_jj]

Quote:

I thought stax amps such as the SRM-007tII were generally known to be insufficient in bringing out the best in the 009? And that the ones that are "worthy of the 009" are the LL, BHSE, etc. ? Tyll, in his electrostatic amp comparison article also said that the stax amps were not enough to bring out the best in the 009. Also, the 009 can be bought on price japan for 3,400$ which would make the 009 $2100 cheaper than the abyss.

This SRM-007tII is quite special because I bypassed fuse and upgraded tubes. I compared this one to Woo WES max upgraded and I didn't feel it was lack of the power at all. It was even better in bass response and mid but narrow soundstage and less refinements.

Anyway, I have been considering to get LLMK2 soon. Also want to get LAu for Abyss but it's quite too expensive for me by now.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

I just had a chance to listen to Abyss AB-1266 seriously today,,

Sources are Weiss MAN301 + Weiss MEDEA+
Dynamic amp is Bryston BHA-1
Electrostatic amp is STAX SRM-007tII

Headphones; Sennheiser HD800, Fostex TH900, Audeze LCD3, Beyerdynamic T1, Abyss AB-1266 and STAX SR-009
 
If you think SR-009 is worth buying as $5,250 then AB-1266 is also worth buying as well. IMHO, AB-1266 is on par with SR-009 in term of overall sound quality and even better in some area such as sound stage and details. But I still prefer mid and smoothness of 009 as well as comfortable. 

Comparing to other dynamic/planar magnetic headphone is like day and night. Abyss is far better than all of them in every segment.
 
Note that you need good enough power headphone amp for driving Abyss otherwise the sound quality will be awful. I initially paired it with Cary HH-1 hybrid amp which I think it's the most matched for HD800 for amp in this price range but it was completely failed with Abyss. Then I switched to Bryston BHA-1 and it was much better but even with Bryston you need to pair it in fully balanced mode because when I connected to Bryston using RCA input, sound quality drop down like 30% compared to XLR input. Bass was not controlled at all, mid was very grainy, focus and instrument separation are also not as good as XLR input.

P.S. This Abyss AB-1266 was burn in only less than 50 hours.

 
That's very interesting about the BHA-1.  While I like it very much with both LCDs.  The BHA-1 with the HE-6 was a no go for me.  This is telling me the AB does not scale as high as the HE-6.  Again, I would like to hear both on a amp that's considered good for the HE-6.  

 

[x838nwy]

Reading all your impressions have been very informative. But if I may venture a suggestion; JPS should send someone with a Mal Valve head amp 3 to do a 009 vs abyss comparison as it apparently can drive both types of headphones. I don't know if it will have "enough" power to drive the abyss but at least we'd be getting what can be considered as the same sound signature from the amp. Otherwise we'd be comparing a 009+amp A and an abyss on amp B always and it will never end.

 

[purrin]

It's not as easy as getting the same sound signature by using a the "same" amp and comparing. The circuitry of the MV3 for the 'stat output is different from the dynamic driver output. The principle of driving 'stats is different from that of dynamic drivers. The reality of the situation is that if you are OCD enough, it really doesn't never end because there in fact are so many combinations.
 
The Mal Head Valve would be a poor match for the Abyss because it's a tube OTL (output Z is no less than 8 according to the specs.) I've heard the Abyss on a variety of amps and felt that it needs lower output Z and good power capacity to shine. This usually means solid-state. The only tube amp I've heard that drove the Abyss well was an EC prototype with doubled 45 tubes on the output.
 
Ultimately it's about synergy and personal preferences. Keeping in mind that I had a T2DIY, I still did not think the SR-009 was "worth it". And I've heard the SR-009 on a 323, 727, Aristaeus, BHSE, KGSS, KGSSHV, LL, and Electra.

 

[kiertijai]

Reading all your impressions have been very informative. But if I may venture a suggestion; JPS should send someone with a Mal Valve head amp 3 to do a 009 vs abyss comparison as it apparently can drive both types of headphones. I don't know if it will have "enough" power to drive the abyss but at least we'd be getting what can be considered as the same sound signature from the amp. Otherwise we'd be comparing a 009+amp A and an abyss on amp B always and it will never end
      I may have a chance to do that comparison   , hopefully in 2 weeks as Mal Valve Three will be here  with me.   There is at least one JPS Abyss here in Thailand.
       Purrin suggested that it might not be a good match but Dieter has tested and confirmed to me that it has more than enough power to do so, matching is another problem though.
       If not successful I will try the Abyss with  Balancing Act or EAR HP4 (using preamplifier with gain) or balanced beta 22 (using loopout function).  Hope that one of them can do a good job here
      SR009, HE90, SR Omega, O2 I,II   may be included.  I also have the HE90-Stax adapter specially made by Wiktor and I have confirmed with Dieter from Mal Valve
that it is safe to use with HE90 concerning the voltage bias.   The Malvalve three also have enough power to drive HE6 as well AKG K1000 so we will see.  I don't know it is a good
match for the dynamic headphones but will try with the MDR R10, Qualia, LCD3, Fostex TH900 
       Sorry , I don't think the Malvalve three can drive the takeT or the new Jecklin without their transformer or power supply and the Malvalve three does not have the speaker post.
However I can compare the Abyss with both takeT, new Jecklin Float (but not Stax, HE90)  using my  speaker amplifer (ZOTL ZH230).  It should be able to test in the same setup and at
the same time between takeT vs Abyss, new Jecklin with Abyss, but not all three at the same time or new Jecklin vs takeT
       DIY T2 is a good match for SR009 although the HE90 is better with this combo  but it is not a direct comparison with the same amplifier.  The DIY T2 in Thailand has HE90
and Stax socket.  HE90 with DIY T2 is not as good as the HE90 + Aristaeus (with Genelex B759 as drivers).

 

[purrin]

H Kiertijai - haven't seen you in a while!
 
I didn't like the Abyss from the ECBA, but I've never felt the ECBA was an optimal match for power hungry orthos in the first place. Good perhaps, but not optimal. Your best bet is the balanced beta 22. For the record, I do prefer the HE90 (from a DIY T2, the HEV90, or the Aristaeus) over the Abyss. Too bad Sennheiser doesn't make those anymore.

 

[kiertijai]

I didn't like the Abyss from the ECBA, but I've never felt the ECBA was an optimal match for power hungry orthos in the first place
     I think the same as you.  I think ECBA may have less driving power than the ZDT.  That's the reason why I have to use the
preamplifier which has 17dB gain but I don't know how much it will help.   I will try balanced beta 22 first.
 
For the record, I do prefer the HE90 (from a DIY T2, the HEV90, or the Aristaeus) over the Abyss  
      I hope so even we have to test that from the setup that may be optimal or similar for both  If the Abyss is better
it is not very good for  me  because my HE90 value will be lower while there may be more people getting
the Abyss which I don't own now and it will cost me another fortune to do that.  You can see that there may be some
bias here but I will try to be professional.