Sajid I can say the Nirvana is special. I find the synergy with the Utopias exceptional. I think the sound with the Abyss needs a little description... the music you listen too being the factor that influences the outcome. As you know the 1266 with rock, electronic, or even classical can be magical with solid state. But for longer listening times the Nirvana “tames” the Abyss beautifully, resulting is less fatigue… and sometimes a bit more toe tapping. But what really goes well with the Nirvana/1266 combo is guitar, vocals, most jazz. To my ears that just goes to that special place… the power of the Nirvana is more than adequate for the Abyss. I bought the Nirvana to try it for a while but it is staying, my preferred amp for most listening. By comparison, the Abyss using the tt2‘s amp is thin, less musical, and much less engaging. Bass is just in a different place and that much better with the Auris. Solid state amps that shine with the abyss include the Sparkos Aries… hard to beat.
I can say don’t rate the Nirvana with stock tubes. Neil at the valve store in Melbourne, Australia, recommended a GE long plate 8514 input tube, an ex US military tube from the 1970s - it has been a spectacular upgrade. Sparkle and extension to the upper treble, and control and depth to the bass - it was significant 15-20 percent better to my ears. Sadly the price of these has gone up over the last months… I also added Sophia EL34 tubes for the power tube replacement and it gave an additional 3-5 percent improvement, mainly in the bass clarity, although much less noticeable than the input tube improvement.
love to hear how you go,
Tony
