[silkytoad]

I have the TT2 and the 1266 Phi (not TC). Without knowing your DAC and being a little bit familiar with the Violectric house sound I would say this combination is very fast, very detailed, spacious and airy, not soft at all. The bass of the 1266 is phenomenal! Very muscular, defined and prominent but not overbearing. The great thing about the 1266 is that you can dial in the amount and tightness to your liking. While I like bass and treble of this combo, I find the mids to be a bit on the lean and dry side. The JPS Superconductor cable will probably help but $$$. When needed, I use a Norne silver/copper fusion cable which costs a bit of resolution and speed but gives a nice midrange.

One thing to note is that the 1266 benefited greatly from connecting it to the rear XLR sockets (more power) in terms of improved speed, tightness and staging. From what I read in the headfonics review I suppose it’s similar with the Diana Phi (they paired it with a 100W Chord TToby).

I’m waiting to travel to be able to pick up a new TT2 and a Diana Phi waiting in my office. I purchased a corpse cable adapter for the rear dual XLR to 4 pin XLR. I then have a 4 pin XLR cable hooked to my Diana’s. Anything to consider before using the Diana Phi’s plugged to the back of the TT2 to avoid a costly mistake? Did you find a significant difference between balanced on the back vs SE on the front? Do you feel happy on how the TT2 drives your 1266 by itself? Thank you!

 

[pstickne]

There are barely any comfortable high end headphones though

That’s not a solid argument defense/position to hold.. even if true

 

[Naugrim]

Thank you for your response nicooo. As much as I like the 1266, I'm starting to lean towards the DPhi for every day use. Even with the non-DMS pads, they're very wearable for long periods of time on my desktop (they're on loan as mentioned above). The TT2 seems like a great all-in-one solution for my DPhis and LS50 Wireless speakers in nearfield on my desktop. I liked your suggestion about using the 3-pin XLR on the rear for the headphones. I have some silver and copper cables from Moon-Audio that I might re-purpose for this. I'm glad to hear your experience with the bass! I've heard the same thing elsewhere.

 

[Naugrim]

I’m waiting to travel to be able to pick up a new TT2 and a Diana Phi waiting in my office. I purchased a corpse cable adapter for the rear dual XLR to 4 pin XLR. I then have a 4 pin XLR cable hooked to my Diana’s. Anything to consider before using the Diana Phi’s plugged to the back of the TT2 to avoid a costly mistake? Did you find a significant difference between balanced on the back vs SE on the front? Do you feel happy on how the TT2 drives your 1266 by itself? Thank you!

I'd be very curious to see what you think!

 

[GPD1]

Hello, First post here ... Just bought the Diana Phi( standard version) . Gave consideration to the DMS modified pads but after checking with Abyss they suggested that unlikely that most listeners would need it . I found initially the fit felt a little weird as the pads don't exactly clamp onto the ear and i i could feel a lack of padding in the top part of the headphone . However after 2 hours of use not finding this to be issue at all ie they feel comfortable . Sound quality thus far i would describe as dynamic . Does anyone believe that the headphones need to be run in ?

 

[seamon]

Does anyone believe that the headphones need to be run in ?

Depends on who you ask. Subjectivists swear there is night and day difference pre and post burn in. Objectivists will make fun of you if you mention the B word.
I don't see much point in the debate - just listen to it for long enough(1 week) and let it play continuous for a week while not listening. You can decide after a week if you like them or not.

 

[seamon]

Thank you for your response nicooo. As much as I like the 1266, I'm starting to lean towards the DPhi for every day use. Even with the non-DMS pads, they're very wearable for long periods of time on my desktop (they're on loan as mentioned above). The TT2 seems like a great all-in-one solution for my DPhis and LS50 Wireless speakers in nearfield on my desktop. I liked your suggestion about using the 3-pin XLR on the rear for the headphones. I have some silver and copper cables from Moon-Audio that I might re-purpose for this. I'm glad to hear your experience with the bass! I've heard the same thing elsewhere.

Ohhh the 2x3pin XLR on the Hugo TT2 looks to be pretty hot at 18W 8ohms and 1.15W at 300ohms. Be careful

 

[ufospls2]

Thank you for your response nicooo. As much as I like the 1266, I'm starting to lean towards the DPhi for every day use. Even with the non-DMS pads, they're very wearable for long periods of time on my desktop (they're on loan as mentioned above). The TT2 seems like a great all-in-one solution for my DPhis and LS50 Wireless speakers in nearfield on my desktop. I liked your suggestion about using the 3-pin XLR on the rear for the headphones. I have some silver and copper cables from Moon-Audio that I might re-purpose for this. I'm glad to hear your experience with the bass! I've heard the same thing elsewhere.

Start on low gain, make sure the volume is all the way down. Experiment from there. I used the Diana Phi from the XLR's on the TT2 with great success.

I’m waiting to travel to be able to pick up a new TT2 and a Diana Phi waiting in my office. I purchased a corpse cable adapter for the rear dual XLR to 4 pin XLR. I then have a 4 pin XLR cable hooked to my Diana’s. Anything to consider before using the Diana Phi’s plugged to the back of the TT2 to avoid a costly mistake? Did you find a significant difference between balanced on the back vs SE on the front? Do you feel happy on how the TT2 drives your 1266 by itself? Thank you!

see above

 

[nicooo]

I’m waiting to travel to be able to pick up a new TT2 and a Diana Phi waiting in my office. I purchased a corpse cable adapter for the rear dual XLR to 4 pin XLR. I then have a 4 pin XLR cable hooked to my Diana’s. Anything to consider before using the Diana Phi’s plugged to the back of the TT2 to avoid a costly mistake? Did you find a significant difference between balanced on the back vs SE on the front? Do you feel happy on how the TT2 drives your 1266 by itself? Thank you!

Since I recabled the stock 4 pin cable to 2x3 pin myself I was quite anxious at first. But as ufopls2 wrote above, start with low gain, low volume and go from there. Right now, I use high gain with volume between 12H to 24H depending on mood and recording. Unfortunately, my TT2 is being repaired right now since it wouldn't turn on properly anymore (search the TT2 thread for similar experiences from others).

Since I resoldered the cable I wasn't able to go back to SE anymore but as I wrote before, everything snapped even more into place with improved dynamics, speed and spaciousness so that I felt no desire to go back. Mind you, I was coming from a Meze Empyrean which felt just slow and unrefined in comparison, lacking clarity especially in the bass region. The TT2 + 1266 Phi just kicked all doors open.

 

[nicooo]

Thank you for your response nicooo. As much as I like the 1266, I'm starting to lean towards the DPhi for every day use. Even with the non-DMS pads, they're very wearable for long periods of time on my desktop (they're on loan as mentioned above). The TT2 seems like a great all-in-one solution for my DPhis and LS50 Wireless speakers in nearfield on my desktop. I liked your suggestion about using the 3-pin XLR on the rear for the headphones. I have some silver and copper cables from Moon-Audio that I might re-purpose for this. I'm glad to hear your experience with the bass! I've heard the same thing elsewhere.

People seem to be divided when it comes to comfort of the 1266. I added four Dekoni nuggets to the headband and now I find them extremely comfy (even more than the Diana V2). Of course you can't move around a lot because of the loose fit. The upside of that is that I hardly get hot ears in this wheather. This really bothers me with the Diana V2 since its drivers start making a crinkling noise once my ears become warm and there's moisture buildup on the drivers (see page 140 of this thread).

 

[Naugrim]

Since I recabled the stock 4 pin cable to 2x3 pin myself I was quite anxious at first. But as ufopls2 wrote above, start with low gain, low volume and go from there. Right now, I use high gain with volume between 12H to 24H depending on mood and recording. Unfortunately, my TT2 is being repaired right now since it wouldn't turn on properly anymore (search the TT2 thread for similar experiences from others).

Since I resoldered the cable I wasn't able to go back to SE anymore but as I wrote before, everything snapped even more into place with improved dynamics, speed and spaciousness so that I felt no desire to go back. Mind you, I was coming from a Meze Empyrean which felt just slow and unrefined in comparison, lacking clarity especially in the bass region. The TT2 + 1266 Phi just kicked all doors open.

I'm really impressed with the quality of the bass on both the DPhi and the 1266 TC - so punchy. I listened to the Empyrean and felt that that the bass lacked "oomph". I'm running it on a Vitriolic 281 and I'm not missing anything in terms of impact. My main, if any, complaint is that I'm not getting a great sense of space. It's there, but pretty small. Even on the 1266. Maybe that's my DAC.

 

[silversurfer616]

I'm really impressed with the quality of the bass on both the DPhi and the 1266 TC - so punchy. I listened to the Empyrean and felt that that the bass lacked "oomph". I'm running it on a Vitriolic 281 and I'm not missing anything in terms of impact. My main, if any, complaint is that I'm not getting a great sense of space. It's there, but pretty small. Even on the 1266. Maybe that's my DAC.

If you watch the new Abyss video it’s all about space and soundstage with Abyss headphones, so something must be wrong somewhere in your chain.
Had that *inner smile* when I read about your Vitriolic 281....I do think those Violectric need more of that occasionally.

 

[Naugrim]

 

[Photo]

Maybe that's my DAC.

Probably, the higher you go in audio the more the DAC becomes important, I would say more important than the Amp imo.

I am running my Phi with a Lampizator DAC and boyyy does it sound big now. Everything has it's own place, and sound stage opened up. Before that I was using the Bifrost 2 and it was punchy like you said, but no depth or anything.

 

[yagislav]

OMG.. this solved my comfort issue when wearing glasses \\ Best 10 bucks spent! and I can remove anytime as it wont damage the headband

Which headband cushion is this?

Btw, does anybody know which headband cushion DMS uses on his Diana's in the youtube videos?

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08CZF275D/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A2OPUAQVSPCTA3&psc=1 is this what most people are using?