ABYSS Headphones Diana DZ

I feel that metalheads don't get much love around these parts and the Diana DZ is incredible for that niche (and so much more). So, after enjoying these for about four months, I decided to write up a review myself. I will keep it short and focused.

This is my fourth Abyss headphone. I have had the pleasure of owning and listening to the 1266 TC, Diana TC, V2, and the DZ - and as highlighted above - this is my favorite Abyss headphones. Being a metalhead, my criteria for a headphone for “me” is something that can crush some Lamb of God, Pantera, Tool, Sepultura, Metallica, Opeth, while also funk it up with Cory Wong, RHCP, and Victor Wooten. So, this makes the LCD-4, OG HE-6, and Caldera some of my favorite headphones. The Diana DZ comfortably took the crown of being my favorite headphone from the other contenders for me.

Chain: Holo Red/Volumio Rivo Streamer (Qobuz mostly) -> Holo Spring 3 KTE DAC (NOS and also upsampled through HQPlayer via Roon) -> Cayin HA300 MK2 (with Elrog 300B-mo/EML Mesh 300B tubes)/Vioelectric V281 LE



Bass: The DZ digs deep and by that I mean from 20 Hz and above. I am not exactly a sucker for subbass rumble because my library is not exactly full of “Hans Zimmer” but when listening to Plini (thanks to Cameron/@GoldenSound for recommending the band), I do like my dose of subbass largeness. It has that in spades with the stock pads. But I like the bass ported hybrid pads more for the utmost midbass punch. The difference is significant if you like music that really call for acoustic drums. I played the drums through high school to college and I know what drums sound like in a jamming session versus in well recorded mixes. This does it! Chocolate chip trip (Tool) was quite the mesmerizing experience with the DZ. This does it better and bigger than the crazy awesome LCD-4. I am in no rush to sell the LCD-4 but the DZ does everything better in bass (and timbre) than any of the aforementioned headphones. The sticking question is, can it beat the 1266 TC? Well, that is a difficult proposition because of that gap between your ears and the 1266 pads which results in bass that is quite unparallel. But which would I take if I had to make a choice? The DZ, yes, the DZ because while it trades blows with the 1266’s bass, it does guitars better. It simply does. Which nicely segways us to the midrange.

Midrange: Aha! Abyss has finally “solved” midrange (in my experience) with sweet sweet timbre! This is the reason for me to pick the DZ over the 1266 in a subjective choice. The guitars sound more crunchy and the bite is amazing on Lamb of God’s self-titled and Omens album. The riffs of the likes of Grayscale, Laid to Rest, and Walk (Pantera) come out punchier than the LCD-4, 1266, and other TOTL sets I have had the chance of listening to (I don’t get review units sent to me – haha – so what I hear is from stuff I bought). So, yes, this is the best timbre in Abyss’ lineup and in all planars I have heard (a close second is the HE-6 OG with six screws).

Upper midrange: Okay, upper mids get a section of its own because this is where great headphones come to die when playing heavy metal. If this is done wrong, that is a no-go for metal libraries and can give a very hard time to your music. I was wary of this section but to my pleasant surprise, the DZ did something amazing here! No shout, no metallic tonality, and just enough crunch to keep things interesting without going overboard! Not dark at all (unlike the LCD-4), nor shouty (like 20+ sets), nor overly exaggerated! It is just right! Love the tuning of the DZ.

Treble: This extends all the way up to where my listening extends. I ran a sweep and I know I can hear up to 18Khz and it did extend well beyond that but cannot report that because I can’t listen as far as this headphone extends to. The DZ has good presence in the air region, which is why it has such a unique staging characteristic in my opinion. This is extremely tastefully done (I’m looking at you Beyers). Furthermore, it has wonderful treble presentation for folks who like “audiophile” music like Yosi Horikawa. There's none of that plasticky sizzle character here (connected to timbre) which is such a great win in my book, since many other planars are marred by that sizzle character. The tonality is a real triumph on the DZ and I think will serve as a trailblazer for future planars.

Soundstage: This sounds BIG! When I put it on for the first time, that was the first word that came to mind – this unassuming headphone sounds “GRAND”! It sounds extremely spacious with depth of the abyss (pun absolutely intended)!



Let’s wrap it up then. If you are looking for a headphone in the TOTL range in terms of resolution and detail retrieval, but you also love the raw kick of the bass drum as you headbang/toe-tap/nod-along (take your pick), the DZ should be in your shortlist. And, if you like the kind of music I like, ohh boy, will you be in for a treat!

Test Equipment​

• Abyss Diana DZ
  • Stock cable 6.35mm
• Chord Hugo TT2
  • @ 768 kHz
  • High-gain
  • ddHiFi Nyx USB cable
• MacBook Pro M3 Max
  • Apple Music 24-bit Lossless
• Meze Elite Tungsten
  • Meze Silver Plated Premium upgrade cable 3.5mm
• Focal Utopia ‘22
  • Lavricable Grand 6.35mm

Sound Quality​

Overall Impressions/Notes​

• The DZ are much more direct-sounding than Elite, and trade blows with the Utopia in tonality and detail/sparkle.
• The DZ is more analytical and has increased clarity compared to the Diana MR and Elite. Not quite on Utopia level, but very close.
• Timbre is fantastic: listening to guitar strings and strings in general is very addicting.
• DZ is 10-20% harder to drive than Elite and seemingly 2x harder than the Utopia. For reference, with the DZ: I had to increase volume to -5H on my TT2 in high gain compared to -15H for the Elite for comparable volume
• Elite sounds musical by itself, but when comparing back-to-back with the DZ, the Elite starts sounding mid-bass “boomy”. The DZ remains crisp across the entire FR.
• DZ has a huge soundstage especially compared to the Utopia and especially to the Diana MR. It’s comparable to the Elite, if not even 10-20% larger. Haven’t heard the, 800S but the DZ seems to be comparable based on others impressions and indirect comparisons.

Song Impressions​

1. Time— Pink Floyd
   • The Meze and DZ trade blows for the surreal out-of-head experience of the ticking clocks in the intro. The DZ remains sharp and concise while the Elite rounds off the edge for a more musical, but muted note. The Utopia, although technically fantastic, falls in third place.
2. Gomenasai— Kelela
   • The Utopia wins here hands down, with its dynamism of going from low bass to high sparkle within milliseconds. No doubt the Utopia is the king of going from 0 to 100 very quickly. That being said, the DZ comes a close second, and Elite lags behind as the slowest sounding of the bunch, trying hard to keep up.
3. Slow Ready— Goose
   • Honestly this one could be a wash depending on whether you care more for the drums, vocals, or the guitar riffs. The Utopia focuses on the guitar riffs, the Elite seems to gravitate towards the vocals, while the DZ brings the drums a bit to the center. I’d say the DZ is the more neutral and least opinionated of the bunch here.
4. Playing God— Polyphia
   • The Utopia wins first place here technically, due to the sheer speed, however the DZ was the more enjoyable listening experience due to excellent placement of sound around you, where the Utopia sounded a bit like you were stuck in a box.
5. Válgame Dios— Niña Pastori
   • This song is where the Elite’s (relatively) soft musicality shines, while the DZ adds a natural, almost Susvara-like feeling to the water splashes and the Utopia over-compensates with clarity.
6. Look What You Made Me Do— Taylor Swift
   • The Utopia falls flat here, showing deficiency in the sub-bass notes mid-song. The Elite slams hard, albeit slightly sloppily, while the DZ slams 80% as hard in the sub-bass, but extremely precisely and recovers instantly from the sub-bass slams for a natural mids/voice tonality.
7. Put Your Lights On (feat. Everlast)— Santana
   • Utopia wins here just literally bringing the vocals right into your ear, due to the intimate nature of the song, but the DZ takes a very close second, opting to have the voice further away from your ears and doing the guitar better than the Utopia. Elite affects the music in a way that changes the emotions in a less-than-ideal way.

Total Scores for Song Impressions​

Diana DZ: 17
Utopia '22: 13
Elite: 12

Subjective Scores across the FR Curve​

Scores by themselves mean nothing, so here they are relative to my impressions of my other current headphones.

I’m also not a machine and probably not as trained of an ear as many professional reviewers out there, but I’d have to say what makes sense for me is to split my impressions across 5 “sectors” of the frequency response. I plan to use this scoring system going forward for my reviews.

Please note: these are personal preferences, opinions, and not some sort of standard/repeatable measurement.

• Sub-bass
  • Diana DZ: 8/10
  • Utopia ‘22: 5/10
  • Elite: 9/10
• Bass/low-mids
  • Diana DZ: 8/10
  • Utopia ‘22: 5/10
  • Elite: 9/10
• Mids/Vocals
  • Diana DZ: 9.5/10
  • Utopia ‘22: 10/10
  • Elite: 7/10
• High mids/low treble
  • Diana DZ: 9.5/10
  • Utopia ‘22: 10/10
  • Elite: 6/10
• Upper treble/sparkle/micro-detail
  • Diana DZ: 9/10
  • Utopia ‘22: 10/10
  • Elite: 6/10

Total Scores for FR Impressions​

Diana DZ: 44
Utopia '22: 40
Elite: 37

Build, Comfort, & Accessories​

• The new headband design is infinitely more comfortable. The clamping force is slightly harder since the stiff headband seems otherwise identical to Diana MR/TC but the added comfort strap decreases the head space, so you have to expand the headphone adjusts a bit more than usual.
• Hybrid leather/suede earpads are very soft and comfortable, but quite "hot" to my ears
• The Purple Abalone is gorgeous in-person, with a very striking, almost holographic look. Pictures don’t do it justice. The colors shift in the light.
• Packaging, accessories are otherwise identical to the other Diana's, and honestly kind of cheap for such an expensive headphone. Other headphones in the price range have aluminum suitcases, leather boxes, etc. The DZ comes in a cardboard box, with a headphone case inside, and headphones wrapped in plastic.

Final Takeaways​

The Diana DZ is a fantastic all-rounder and is a completely different headphone from the Diana MR, which I felt was many steps behind my Utopia. In summary, I’d describe the Diana DZ as somewhat of an 800S soundstage with close to Utopia mids/upper treble, but with better bass, all in a very compact form factor. Seriously considering this for my next daily.