[jonathanvaljean]

Quote:

This thread needs a review of the Abyss phones..

 
After reading Steve Guttenberg's review, I, too, would love to see what David thinks about them.  As one who respects Steve's opinions, I am very excited about these headphones!  Here are a couple of quotes from his review:  
 
"The AB-1266's dynamic range capabilities radically advance the state of the art, the [size=15.333333015441895px]$5,200 Stax SR 009 headphone may be the equal of the AB-1266's transparency and sound staging, but the SR 009's dynamic kicks and bass oomph aren't remotely in the AB-1266's league."[/size]
 
"The Abyss AB-1266 is the most expensive headphone I've ever tested, but it outruns the competition in every way I evaluate headphone sound."
 
What excites me the most is that these have planar magnetic drivers, and, as such, I suspect that my Violectric V200 will be able to drive them.  (They can handle the HE-6, so here's to hoping.)  If these are even better than the Stax SR 009, I may very well have to spring for a pair!  Look ma, no electrostatic amp required!  

 
Quote:

5Hz whoa.  'Dual high-performance balanced headphone cables custom made by JPS Labs' - nice

 
Double whoa!!!

 

[meyner]

i just wish the Abyss looked a bit more pleasing. To me it looks abyssmally ugly (just personal opinion)

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

Quote:

This thread needs a review of the Abyss phones..

5Hz whoa.  'Dual high-performance balanced headphone cables custom made by JPS Labs' - nice

Yup because we can definitely hear that low of a frequency. Just as we can hear 28 kHz.

 

[DavidMahler]

Unfortunately, I don't any longer have 5000 to spend on a headphone unless I sell one of my pairs

 

[Silent One]

 I'll just have to start writing Grant Letters to industry donors...

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

 I'll just have to start writing Grant Letters to industry donors...

Haha

 

[DavidMahler]

I meant to share this with you all yesterday, in honor of Mahler's birthday (which was in fact yesterday).  Because of the tinnitus, I've not been able to listen to music as much.  I started painting.....and specifically, I've been painting my favorite musicians as a way to keep with the music while giving my ears a rest.  It's been helpful for me too as a way of sticking with music.

Since my user name is DavidMahler, I thought this was a fitting inclusion here 
 

 

[Silent One]

 Wonderful David! The Arts can serve really well as therapy.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

i did not like abyss when i heard them. they where good but sounded kinda bland, like something was missing. anyways, i think they're overpriced. stax are really nice though.

 

[Silent One]

DSG, what do you feel were their best & worst attributes? Yeah, I understand it was under show conditions. What tracks were you jammin' to by the way?

 

[jonathanvaljean]

Quote:

i just wish the Abyss looked a bit more pleasing. To me it looks abyssmally ugly (just personal opinion)

Ha, ha!  Yes, it's probably not going to win any beauty pageants...  Further, they are heavy!  (660 grams without the cable...)  Even so, if the the consensus view ultimately is that they best the Stax SR-009, I will certainly seek out a pair to audition.  
 
Quote:

 Wonderful David! The Arts can serve really well as therapy.

 
Ditto!  Outstanding work there, David!  Wow!  
 
Quote:

Unfortunately, I don't any longer have 5000 to spend on a headphone unless I sell one of my pairs

 
Goodbye, Qualia... 

  (Just kidding, of course, but it would be fantastic if someone in NYC would allow you to audition their pair before too long.)  
 

DSG, what do you feel were their best & worst attributes? Yeah, I understand it was under show conditions. What tracks were you jammin' to by the way?
 

 
Yes. Please tell us more, DSG!  

 

[214324]

Any chance of looking at the Sony MDR-MA900? I've heard some people say it's comparable to the HD600/650. I do want one myself. 

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

DSG, what do you feel were their best & worst attributes? Yeah, I understand it was under show conditions. What tracks were you jammin' to by the way?

 
very transparent, good depth and full sounding, they had that ortho flavor to them as well. but they didn't have anything special in the sound, it was really neutralish i guess, not that its a bad thing, just it wasn't presented very good imo. didn't have that smoothness of the LCD-2/3 or its epic bass. it did not have the air of a hifiman either. it was way different from the stax, wasn't as revealing in details nor as good in imaging/soundstage. it felt kinda 2D, the sound signature combined with that narrow soundstage took alot away from it. i guess it just didn't wow me as much as a headphone of that price should, while it was technically better than most dynamic flagships  and the audeze's, i felt like it wasn't really enough to be worth their asking price.
 
it was at the meet, so of course i didn't get to listen to it a whole lot, but i think i had a decent listen (i listened to them quite early before anyone was really there). i might be a little off on my description, but thats what i remember. and i didn't listen to them as long as the stax or the really nice HE-500 off the really nice Allnic HPA5000 amp (my favorite setup there, i couldn't believe how good the he-500 scaled up)
 
oh and the music, umm there was the aerosmith sacd, abraxas, diana krall, alison krauss, and interestingly, disturbed's asylum cd. mostly was high res stuff (sacd and 24/192) i've never heard of though.

 

[jonathanvaljean]

Dubstep Girl,
 
Thanks very much for your review of the Abyss.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading your impressions!
 
J 

 

[ska-YJ]

can extend to 100+ battle