[gleanfont]

How much is Eikon suedes today? I find it quite expensive before.

 

[jinxy245]

o_0 ?

What headphone do you have has thicker / more impactful midbass than Atticus? I am using Ori Suedes and directly compared Atticus to abyss TC and it absolutely put abyss to shame in terms of mid bass quantity and slam. When I went from atticus to abyss I was saying 'Wheres the bass?'. I do wonder if this is a chain issue maybe?

I am running Atticus with HE9 preamp into Pass X350.8 power amp. Its made the sound incredibly dynamic, impactful, 3d, detailed and rich. But even just off my HE9 directly the sound was not that far off in these aformentioned qualities.

Abyss is known for being something of a power hog, so that may well play a part, but Atticus can indeed slam given the right chain...sounds like you found a good one.

 

[smodtactical]

Abyss is known for being something of a power hog, so that may well play a part, but Atticus can indeed slam given the right chain...sounds like you found a good one.

Sorry not sure what you mean. Are you saying my chain was under powered for Abyss?

 

[jinxy245]

Sorry not sure what you mean. Are you saying my chain was under powered for Abyss?

That was my 1st thought yes...I really don't have any personal experience with the Abyss other than demos, but they are reportedly power hungry and really open up with extra power.

Looking back at your post, the Pass being a speaker amp should be just what you're looking for though so the other notorious aspect of the Abyss is the finicky ear-placement which can be tricky to dial in I'm told. Either way, the Abyss is known for it's bass response so your description points to something being off.

I assumed someone with more Abyss experience would chime in.

 

[Melting735]

I like my Eikon. There is really nothing to blame except being a little heavy in weight. Sound is pretty and is suitable for long listen session

 

[Pharmaboy]

I live on the edge of an abyss...does that qualify me?

Seriously, anyone running that big Pass speaker amp for headphones has WAY more than enough power for any headphone. True, the Abyss is a known power-hog planar (I heard it off a Milo SS amp w/10 WPC, which was totally fine)--but that big speaker amp really brings the juice for any headphone.

 

[smodtactical]

That was my 1st thought yes...I really don't have any personal experience with the Abyss other than demos, but they are reportedly power hungry and really open up with extra power.

Looking back at your post, the Pass being a speaker amp should be just what you're looking for though so the other notorious aspect of the Abyss is the finicky ear-placement which can be tricky to dial in I'm told. Either way, the Abyss is known for it's bass response so your description points to something being off.

I assumed someone with more Abyss experience would chime in.

My pass amp is 350 watts into 8 ohms and well over 50 watts into 42 ish ohms of the Abyss. Its a 130 lb monster... its enough for Abyss lol.

No my ear placement was fine. Just because it was outclassed in terms of mid bass output and impact doesn't mean Abyss bass was not present or something must have been wrong. Atticus is dynamic and closed... so its not exactly easy for an open planar headphone to compete with mid bass impact/slam. Abyss had much more sub bass and extension in general and does have great bass in its own right... especially compared to other open headphones. But Atticus overall bass impact completely dominates.

 

[matp86]

o_0 ?

What headphone do you have has thicker / more impactful midbass than Atticus? I am using Ori Suedes and directly compared Atticus to abyss TC and it absolutely put abyss to shame in terms of mid bass quantity and slam. When I went from atticus to abyss I was saying 'Wheres the bass?'. I do wonder if this is a chain issue maybe?

I am running Atticus with HE9 preamp into Pass X350.8 power amp. Its made the sound incredibly dynamic, impactful, 3d, detailed and rich. But even just off my HE9 directly the sound was not that far off in these aformentioned qualities.

I'm coming straight from using Denon AH-d7200's for a year so the Atticus is less punchy in my experience. I pulled out my Airist Heron 5 amp and it has greatly improved the overall sound and slam of the Atticus vs. the amp I previously mentioned on here (Denon DA-310 USB). I'll still be looking to get a BH Crack or Feliks Echo but the Heron 5 is actually a very good match for the Atticus.

 

[smodtactical]

I'm coming straight from using Denon AH-d7200's for a year so the Atticus is less punchy in my experience. I pulled out my Airist Heron 5 amp and it has greatly improved the overall sound and slam of the Atticus vs. the amp I previously mentioned on here (Denon DA-310 USB). I'll still be looking to get a BH Crack or Feliks Echo but the Heron 5 is actually a very good match for the Atticus.

Does it have a similar sound signature? Rich forward mid range, detailed smooth treble?

 

[jinxy245]

My pass amp is 350 watts into 8 ohms and well over 50 watts into 42 ish ohms of the Abyss. Its a 130 lb monster... its enough for Abyss lol.

No my ear placement was fine. Just because it was outclassed in terms of mid bass output and impact doesn't mean Abyss bass was not present or something must have been wrong. Atticus is dynamic and closed... so its not exactly easy for an open planar headphone to compete with mid bass impact/slam. Abyss had much more sub bass and extension in general and does have great bass in its own right... especially compared to other open headphones. But Atticus overall bass impact completely dominates.

Gotcha, I fell victim to your hyperbole..."where's the bass" had me scratching my head. Makes more sense to me now.

 

[smodtactical]

Gotcha, I fell victim to your hyperbole..."where's the bass" had me scratching my head. Makes more sense to em now.

Ya if you compare it to normal open headphones (susvara, hd800S, Arya) its great. But next to the dark closed Atticus? It doesn't have the same spl/impact.

 

[MrSushi]

Now I’m planning on upgrading from my nighthawks and I’m currently considering these or campfire audio cascades. I want something real dark and smooth. I listen to mainly prog rock and orchestral stuff. Willing to spend about 1k$ but preferably would like to keep it as low as possible. So these? Cascades? Any other suggestions? I wanted to get Sony z1rs so bad but sadly too pricey. Will use on a zen dac.

 

[kid vic]

Now I’m planning on upgrading from my nighthawks and I’m currently considering these or campfire audio cascades. I want something real dark and smooth. I listen to mainly prog rock and orchestral stuff. Willing to spend about 1k$ but preferably would like to keep it as low as possible. So these? Cascades? Any other suggestions? I wanted to get Sony z1rs so bad but sadly too pricey. Will use on a zen dac.

If you want something dark and smooth then go for the Atticus; also, you might be able to pick on up used in your price point. I have no experience with the Cascades so I won't comment there.

 

[smodtactical]

Is there any headpones out there with a similar sound signature to Atticus that are also closed?

 

[erics75]

Is there any headpones out there with a similar sound signature to Atticus that are also closed?

Nothing that comes close to the Atticus' overall performance, but from a strictly tone/timbre perspective the discontinued Audioquest NightOwl and Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 both have a somewhat similar dark signature with smooth treble and lots of midbass punch. Those are the only two I've heard that I'd associate with the Atticus' signature.

The Eikon isn't dramatically different from the Atticus imo. Yes they're different, but I find them more alike than different. Both are warm, punchy, musical headphones. The Eikon takes the dark, midbass forward Atticus and pushes down on the response curve. The midbass is lessened (though still potent), and both subbass and treble are extended. Imo it's a very valid alternative to the Atticus if you want a warmer more colored headphone.