K3cT
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2007
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I keep thinking that the pads can still be improved, to allow more air gap but without compromising mids.
Diana: the second release by Abyss Headphones!
- Thread starter Music Alchemist
- Start date
Enjoyed hearing the Diana V2 at Can Jam Chicago and I picked up a used one and it wasn't really on my radar I just went to my first Can Jam and heard a lot of headphones and really enjoyed the sound of these and they just really fit my preferences. I'm coming from ZMF Verite and what I love about those is the speed and warmth at the same time sounds nice together and these have that same thing going on and I've been listening for a few hours and enjoying them. They definitely soak up power but I like how they sound out of the Hugo 2 go. I like that the treble never seems to get edgy or too much but the detail and speed are there.
I've been really enjoying Bonobo through these
I've been really enjoying Bonobo through these
marcus2704
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
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I have a Diana TC with XI Audio stack, I am thinking about changing the stock cable, ideally with one which will not cause loss of any bass impact and perhaps tame the treble slightly. Suggestions welcome 
Melting735
100+ Head-Fier
I use a Lavricable grand. Reasonable price, light weight, decent sq, and connectors fits nicely in the sockets.I have a Diana TC with XI Audio stack, I am thinking about changing the stock cable, ideally with one which will not cause loss of any bass impact and perhaps tame the treble slightly. Suggestions welcome
marcus2704
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
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I was looking at that one earlier actually, seems to be at a nice price point but I am a little concerned about it being a silver cable in that I prefer a warmer sound. Do you feel it to be a notable improvement over the stock?
Melting735
100+ Head-Fier
I never AB them, but I quite satisfied lavicable sq. I feel the lower end made a positive move, and I didnt notice that the silver made it significantly less warm.
Or buy a Lokius from Schiiit and fine tune all the treble you want out of your cables for less than 300 bucks
After benchmarking a few, i ended up going for the SC cable, and it made me stop wondering which one would hold best value/tonality, it simply sounds great.
After benchmarking a few, i ended up going for the SC cable, and it made me stop wondering which one would hold best value/tonality, it simply sounds great.
soundlessdawn777
New Head-Fier
Hello my Abyss maniacs. Gather around and let me tell you a story. I wear an XL motorcycle helmet.. maybe even an XXL. My first Abyss purchase was the Diana V2. Loved/Love them.. Never heard anything that fast that had such a natural tambre. I have Hifiman Aryas if I want an unrealistically large soundstage with really tinny sounding treble.. by the imaging and speed and naturalness of the Abyss house sound is why they are the pinnicle for me. I used the V2's for 5 months.. ethused but not overwhelmed.. The comfort was meh and the way those overpriced pads fit was leaving part of the bottom part of the cups hanging a bit loose.. creating not the best seal. fast forward to a week ago.. I sold my V2's and bought a set of Diana TC's. Jesus god man.. it seems subtle at first but these really are perhaps the most balanced and intreaging headphones I've ever heard for realism and good tambre. I had an old Senheiser 700 Balanced cable that I very much liked with them at first but then I purchase a more pure Copper Silver mix cable off ebay for around $350 bucks. They brough weight and swagger to the set.. didn't even know they needed it. I've worked with that lovely European woman who makes magnetic headbands for these.. and I bought 2. A slimer design thats purple paisley leather and merino wool, the first of which I'm giving the guy who purchased the V2's from me as well as a slightly larger and even more pillowly Dark Green Merino wool magnetic pad. Funny thing was that when I tried the TC's on.. the regular headband was just fine.. even though they barely added any padding to the original band. It just works.. No more feeling that the cups are pulling down, direction of the pads is perfect for an XL large head and I can wear themn for hours without even using the pads. I may even buy the "snake oil" cable - beasue I'm curious just how perfect you can get these to sound. My Desktop set-up will make some of you Jelly. It is a JCAT XE USB PCI express USB card with its own linear power supply going into a Denafrips Gaia DDC - Into a Terminater 2 - and then the best in class Denafrips Preamp the Athena.. and finally into a Burson Soloist 3X Grand Touer. I am at a 9.8 out of 10 right now.. why not a 10? The guy I purchased these from had a Broadway 11 Amp which were made specifically tailored for Abyss even thoiugh my Burson has a lot more power on tap, and they just sound a little more awesome than my Burson Soloist can get them. Thing is, the 11's have no mic pre outs - and I listen to my Focal Wave 65 monitors much of the time when I'm not wearing the Abyss TC's. So basically I'm thinking of selling my Soloist for something like a Hypsos Oor Ferrum stack.. or whatever gels the absolute best with these cans and can also power a set of monitors. Can anyone give me an idea of where to start looking? The Burson with the 5a Supercharger was around 2700.. and I don't want to spend much more than that. Until I figure it out I'll stay just shy of perfection.. abnd that's mighty fine with me! Abyss is not Snakeoil.. if you want to obsess over measurtemnets then I don't think you've tried too many cans.. becasue when you let thre Dianas TC's compete at their best its a revolutionary headphone. Makes everything Hifiman has created besides the Susvara look like amatuer hour. These are End Game plus.
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obzilla
1000+ Head-Fier
Not many other bikers into high end headfi. 
my dude.
my dude.
Spawn300Z
1000+ Head-Fier
I ride bikes. Have the Ducati X-Diavel and just prurchased a new Goldwing DCT. What do you rideNot many other bikers into high end headfi.
Attachments
obzilla
1000+ Head-Fier
The beautiful part about the Burson is that you can roll OP amps to alter the sound signature to something you prefer, i think with the Grand tourer the popular route is
994s at the input buffer stage
Sparkos labs SS22590's at Voltage Gain
Burson V6 Vivids at volume control
With this its supposed to make the amp a little more dynamic and bring some more presence in the bass/lower mids without losing sound stage/clarity.
Anyways they go into more detail in the Soloist Forums, you should check it out! the line to the forum is https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bur...-amp-pre-amp-w-sub-out-10w-xlr.959796/page-90
TheMiddleSky
Headphoneus Supremus
Burson GT is really hard to beat for the price, I don't think any ss amp with lower price will beat it. Ferrum Hypsos/Oor may become your solution for slight more expensive if you prefer something fuller in midrange, sweeter tone, a little more transparent, but in expense of narrower soundstage and less "energetic" impact/bite.
The ideal pairing would be Formula S.
If you willing to wait, ultrasonic oblivion is one of the best amp I ever heard with Diana TC (Along with woo audio wa33 and riviera aic10).
mahesvara
100+ Head-Fier
I got a bunch of new toys lately ... so thought about writing up my impressions for them altogether. The new toys are (in order of acquisition)
Until my friend Jack Wu of Woo Audio asked if I wanted to listen to the demo LINA DAC that dCS sent out to him way ahead of release. Naturally I said yes. I plugged the LINA in between my Sony HAP Z1ES and Woo Audio WA33 Elite edition with JPS internal wiring and started listening on my Abyss 1266 Phi TC. About an hour later, I told Jack I wanted to buy the LINA DAC from him when he got stock from dCS. In short order, the Bartók departed my home and I never missed it.
The difference between Bartók and LINA DAC is stark. The LINA is a massive upgrade over the Bartók in every way. The LINA expands the space of the Bartók and reveals new details and somehow manages to do all that in a smaller chassis and a lower price point. It's no exaggeration from me that nobody who has heard the LINA would ever consider the Bartók. To my ears, while it has insane resolution and precise imaging and expansive stage, the Bartók's tonality is a bit wonky in that it sometimes can sound dry and cold even when it feeds a freaking tube amp. The LINA makes everything that is the Bartók better and yields a warmer and more fluid and far far smoother presentation of music. It shocked me how good the LINA DAC was.
The PSVANE tubes are now packaged up and stored in my tube storage space ... and I doubt I would ever miss them.
To all who own the Abyss 1266 Phi TC and think the midrange is recessed, the TA tubes would correct some of that problem for you.
Well ... unless on hot days. On these days (or those I want to listen to something that doesn't always grab my attention), I switch to my Diana v2 and Sony DMP-Z1.
- dCS LINA DAC
- Abyss Headphones Diana TC (It's the one to the left in the middle photo. The one to its right is my other favorite headphones, Diana v2)
- Takatsuki 2A3 tubes (matched quad)
dCS LINA DAC
I don't remember seeing people actually making a comparison between the DAC performance of the LINA system and the Bartók. In most of the reviews I've seen, I've seen people comparing the LINA amp+DAC with the Bartók DAC+amp model. I'm not too familiar with the headphone amp output of the all-in-one Bartók model except for the one time I heard it at a CanJam and wasn't terribly impressed. However, the Bartók DAC was so good I never hesistated purchasing it after listening to a demo unit once in my own home. Never thought I'd ever need another DAC.Until my friend Jack Wu of Woo Audio asked if I wanted to listen to the demo LINA DAC that dCS sent out to him way ahead of release. Naturally I said yes. I plugged the LINA in between my Sony HAP Z1ES and Woo Audio WA33 Elite edition with JPS internal wiring and started listening on my Abyss 1266 Phi TC. About an hour later, I told Jack I wanted to buy the LINA DAC from him when he got stock from dCS. In short order, the Bartók departed my home and I never missed it.
The difference between Bartók and LINA DAC is stark. The LINA is a massive upgrade over the Bartók in every way. The LINA expands the space of the Bartók and reveals new details and somehow manages to do all that in a smaller chassis and a lower price point. It's no exaggeration from me that nobody who has heard the LINA would ever consider the Bartók. To my ears, while it has insane resolution and precise imaging and expansive stage, the Bartók's tonality is a bit wonky in that it sometimes can sound dry and cold even when it feeds a freaking tube amp. The LINA makes everything that is the Bartók better and yields a warmer and more fluid and far far smoother presentation of music. It shocked me how good the LINA DAC was.
Takatsuki 2A3 Quad Tubes
The Takatsuki 2A3 tubes are new releases from Takatsuki, also sold to me by Woo Audio. Jack sent demo units to me to try out because he knew I loved the Takatsuki 274B Rectifier on my WA33 amp. Before the Takatsuki 2A3, I use PSVANE WR2A3 tubes, which produce a smooth, warm, musical presentation in an expansive sound stage. Similar to how I reacted to the LINA DAC, I instantly fell in love with the Takatsuki tubes. These tubes offer even more warmth than PSVANE ones, are ultra smooth, and yield much more impactful sound at the expense of sound stage. I'd compare the sound stage and image of the PSVANE tubes as a scroll in the distance. With the Takatsuki tubes, the scroll is brought closer to my head, wraps toward the back of my head, and all the pictures on the scroll gain shape and weight in an amazingly holographic presentation. Compared to the Takatsuki tubes, the sound of the PSVANE tubes is fuzzy, like a mirage in the distance.The PSVANE tubes are now packaged up and stored in my tube storage space ... and I doubt I would ever miss them.
To all who own the Abyss 1266 Phi TC and think the midrange is recessed, the TA tubes would correct some of that problem for you.
Diana TC
I got the Diana TC shortly before I did the Takatsuki tubes also as a demo unit. I was a little bit torn on whether I'd buy a third Abyss headphones but as my brain adjusted itself from being too familiar with the 1266 and as the Takatsuki tubes arrived, I quickly realized that I prefer the Diana TC over the 1266 Phi TC by a wide margin:- Diana TC's tonality is far more balanced than 1266. Its midrange is not recessed. It's lush and addictive.
- Its sound stage is more intimate but more holographic than 1266's. The 1266's depth is unrivaled, but Diana TC's is no slouch.
- Each note of the music coming from Diana TC has more weight and impact than 1266. The 1266 can sound a bit distant at times.
- Female vocals sound more natural and sweeter on Diana TC than 1266.
- Diana TC rivals 1266 in terms of resolution
- I can wear Diana TC all day
Well ... unless on hot days. On these days (or those I want to listen to something that doesn't always grab my attention), I switch to my Diana v2 and Sony DMP-Z1.
Attachments
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TheMiddleSky
Headphoneus Supremus
I got a bunch of new toys lately ... so thought about writing up my impressions for them altogether. The new toys are (in order of acquisition)
Disclaimer: I paid for all of them with my own funds and received no incentive to say nice things about them
- dCS LINA DAC
- Abyss Headphones Diana TC (It's the one to the left in the middle photo. The one to its right is my other favorite headphones, Diana v2)
- Takatsuki 2A3 tubes (matched quad)
dCS LINA DAC
I don't remember seeing people actually making a comparison between the DAC performance of the LINA system and the Bartók. In most of the reviews I've seen, I've seen people comparing the LINA amp+DAC with the Bartók DAC+amp model. I'm not too familiar with the headphone amp output of the all-in-one Bartók model except for the one time I heard it at a CanJam and wasn't terribly impressed. However, the Bartók DAC was so good I never hesistated purchasing it after listening to a demo unit once in my own home. Never thought I'd ever need another DAC.
Until my friend Jack Wu of Woo Audio asked if I wanted to listen to the demo LINA DAC that dCS sent out to him way ahead of release. Naturally I said yes. I plugged the LINA in between my Sony HAP Z1ES and Woo Audio WA33 Elite edition with JPS internal wiring and started listening on my Abyss 1266 Phi TC. About an hour later, I told Jack I wanted to buy the LINA DAC from him when he got stock from dCS. In short order, the Bartók departed my home and I never missed it.
The difference between Bartók and LINA DAC is stark. The LINA is a massive upgrade over the Bartók in every way. The LINA expands the space of the Bartók and reveals new details and somehow manages to do all that in a smaller chassis and a lower price point. It's no exaggeration from me that nobody who has heard the LINA would ever consider the Bartók. To my ears, while it has insane resolution and precise imaging and expansive stage, the Bartók's tonality is a bit wonky in that it sometimes can sound dry and cold even when it feeds a freaking tube amp. The LINA makes everything that is the Bartók better and yields a warmer and more fluid and far far smoother presentation of music. It shocked me how good the LINA DAC was.
Takatsuki 2A3 Quad Tubes
The Takatsuki 2A3 tubes are new releases from Takatsuki, also sold to me by Woo Audio. Jack sent demo units to me to try out because he knew I loved the Takatsuki 274B Rectifier on my WA33 amp. Before the Takatsuki 2A3, I use PSVANE WR2A3 tubes, which produce a smooth, warm, musical presentation in an expansive sound stage. Similar to how I reacted to the LINA DAC, I instantly fell in love with the Takatsuki tubes. These tubes offer even more warmth than PSVANE ones, are ultra smooth, and yield much more impactful sound at the expense of sound stage. I'd compare the sound stage and image of the PSVANE tubes as a scroll in the distance. With the Takatsuki tubes, the scroll is brought closer to my head, wraps toward the back of my head, and all the pictures on the scroll gain shape and weight in an amazingly holographic presentation. Compared to the Takatsuki tubes, the sound of the PSVANE tubes is fuzzy, like a mirage in the distance.
The PSVANE tubes are now packaged up and stored in my tube storage space ... and I doubt I would ever miss them.
To all who own the Abyss 1266 Phi TC and think the midrange is recessed, the TA tubes would correct some of that problem for you.
Diana TC
I got the Diana TC shortly before I did the Takatsuki tubes also as a demo unit. I was a little bit torn on whether I'd buy a third Abyss headphones but as my brain adjusted itself from being too familiar with the 1266 and as the Takatsuki tubes arrived, I quickly realized that I prefer the Diana TC over the 1266 Phi TC by a wide margin:
1266 Phi TC has a lot more slam on the low end and the sheer width and depth of its sound stage are unrivaled. However, Diana TC's presentation of the music is a lot more compelling than 1266. I decided to keep the 1266 in case my brain wants to hear a different sound on some day, but Diana TC has become my daily driver.
- Diana TC's tonality is far more balanced than 1266. Its midrange is not recessed. It's lush and addictive.
- Its sound stage is more intimate but more holographic than 1266's. The 1266's depth is unrivaled, but Diana TC's is no slouch.
- Each note of the music coming from Diana TC has more weight and impact than 1266. The 1266 can sound a bit distant at times.
- Female vocals sound more natural and sweeter on Diana TC than 1266.
- Diana TC rivals 1266 in terms of resolution
- I can wear Diana TC all day
Well ... unless on hot days. On these days (or those I want to listen to something that doesn't always grab my attention), I switch to my Diana v2 and Sony DMP-Z1.
Thanks for such nice impression man! Lina DAC definitely pick my curiosity a lot (much less for the amp and clocking though).
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