New and very excited owner of Abyss Diana TCs. I have a question for long time owners. Likely many of you have gone through comparisons with other headphones and many amps. I’m hoping to lean into some of that collective knowledge.
Currently my primary amps are a Naim Unity Atom HE and a Woo Audio WA7 firefly Mk.3. I purchased the firefly because Woo features the Diana on its site paired with the TCs, so I figured it would be a good match.
For my existing collection of headphones I only need to adjust the volume knob between 5 - 10 degrees to get approximately the same sound level. My headphones include: some old school AKG k702s, Meze 99 classics, HiFiMan Sundara, Sennheiser 800 HD S, Focal Radiance and Audeze LCD XCs.
However on both the Atom HE and the Fireflies I need to push the volume at least 45 degrees before coming close to the same decibel level.
Sadly in the case of the Woo Fireflies it means running at 4-5 o’clock and essentially running out of volume knob. I am confident this isn’t a source issue (11-12 o’clock is max I need for all the other headphones I own.
That lead in and context given to ask a few questions:
- is that to be expected?
- Are the Diana TCs just really more challenging to drive?
- or so I possibly have an issue with my Diana’s?
The Naim and Woo are well respected hifi, if not summit fi. Woo and Abyss goes so far as to recommend the pairing of Fireflies and Diana.
But that combo just does not play at an acceptable volume level compared to a wide array of other headphones on the same amp. It’s a bummer to see what feels like a disingenuous marketing claim. The WA7 Mk.3 Fireflies sound lovely but only if you like listening at rather low volume levels.
So as much as I enjoy the sound of the amp, if this is expected behavior I will likely need to move off of either the Diana or the Woo. So last question becomes:
What recommended watt output should I look for in an amp? Any recommendations on amps with the ability to really take control of and drive the Diana’s that aren’t in Blue Hawaii cost territory?
Thanks!