1. Abyss 1266 have become my favorite of the four headphones I own. I'm still planning to write a detailed review at some point; I'll get around to it. But for now, I can definitely say I choose the Abyss more often than any of my other TOTL headphones. 3. Maybe I'll make a post about this too...

I think what you're asking is "does the frequency response potentially change at high volumes?" The answer is yes, though it's not as bad as your post implies. While the frequency response is given at 100 V output, that doesn't mean it's going to look like crap at 105 V. Having said that...

I think because of it's darker sound signature, it has to be played louder to have the same perceived volume.

Well, with some quick calculations we can see that the Stax SRM-353x, for example, can provide 400 V RMS of maximum output. The sensitivity of the SR-007, the most difficult of the current Stax lineup to drive, is 100 dB / 100 V at 1 kHz. That means the 400 V output of the SRM-353x can drive to...

E-stat headphones and speakers are capacitive loads, which means their impedance decreases as frequency increases. Imagine there is a positive charge on one stator, and a negative charge on the other during the positive peak of a sine wave. Now, in order to reproduce the full swing of the wave...

f This is a rather controversial topic. Some people say that you shouldn't bother with the SR-009 if you can't get a $5,000 third-party amp to go with it. Then there are some who say that even a Stax D10 driving an SR-007 is adequate unless you like to listen really loud. From a technical...

After much consideration I decided to buy the Abyss 1266 Phi TC. Once it arrives I will post a comparison of my four TOTL headphones.

Well, I have the amp set to "a bit louder than I would ever want it," then I use the DAC volume to lower it a bit further depending on the song. So on average I have my source set 3 - 5 dB less than the full 4V.

My Jot R doesn't get hot either, although I only have the volume set to 11 o'clock or so.

Whenever I see an audio product with reviews that look like this: "Really improves the sound a whole lot" "Holy crap! What a difference!" "Bigger soundstage, more bass, less sibilance, more refinement, better midrange, higher detail.." "Meh...didn't make much of a difference." Then the fourth...

That's good to an extent, but you can also go too far with it. "I don't like the L300 soundstage; it's too small." "Really? You must not be hearing it right. Try getting a better DAC." "I upgraded the DAC, still don't like it." "That can't be right. Have you tried running it through tubes?"...

Well so far I'm down to the Abyss 1266 or the LCD-4, leaning toward the Abyss. Thanks for all of the responses everyone. :)

I don't think that would sound as bad as you think. Utopia is easy to drive. Yeah, I agree it's strange he gave three value stars to the Utopia.

Well yeah, but I unfortunately don't have the budget to buy every planar in existence and decide which is best, so I need some way to narrow it down before buying. What is the purpose of this forum if not for people to talk about what they like?

To be fair, adding something like a Carbon would have increased the price of the combo to almost twice the most expensive item on the list.