[ThanatosVI]

There won't be many of you to be fair

Which is why it makes me happy to see other head-fiers among the owners.

 

[unfitstew]

Which is why it makes me happy to see other head-fiers among the owners.

I don't know if mine was reserved since I had invoice that said something about reservation emailed to me without even asking them haha. Well I had emailed them earlier in week inquiring about when it would go up for sale.
I had waited until after I heard it 2-3 times at Canjam to make a decision.

 

[K3cT]

Are there any more comparisons between DNA Stellaris with the Envy? The AE should be similarly priced (or slightly more expensive) to the Stellaris Special too.

 

[alekc]

I think many people here disagree with you vehemently...my self included...I love my susvara on the envy but also love the abyss which sound wonderful

@jlbrach absolutely, and I respect both your and any other opinion on this subject, however I guess we can all agree on the topic that synergy is important and what puzzles me is why choose only one headphone which may not be the best option for Envy. At the same time I guess we can all agree that Envy is very versatile amp and can handle many different headphones (easy to drive IEM's excluded). I'm puzzled by headphone selection and not by the headphone itself. There are many different tastes and we all hear differently. I can understand why some people are looking for strong, almost artificial-like bass in headphones and Abbyss can deliver that - no question about it.

 

[ThanatosVI]

@jlbrach absolutely, and I respect both your and any other opinion on this subject, however I guess we can all agree on the topic that synergy is important and what puzzles me is why choose only one headphone which may not be the best option for Envy. At the same time I guess we can all agree that Envy is very versatile amp and can handle many different headphones (easy to drive IEM's excluded). I'm puzzled by headphone selection and not by the headphone itself. There are many different tastes and we all hear differently. I can understand why some people are looking for strong, almost artificial-like bass in headphones and Abbyss can deliver that - no question about it.

I don't understand though, how you came to the conclusion that the Envy and 1266TC don't have great synergy.

The weakest part of the 1266TC is the midrange which gets majorly Enhanced on a 300B tube amp like the Envy.

 

[Exekuhtor]

The Western Electric 300B's with the Envy are a match made in heaven for the 1266. I didn't really like putting it on that much besides the occasionally electronic tracks, but these new tubes have really made this headphone shine. To a lesser extent it's the same with my VO, it was good, but never as good as with an Echo MK2 (warm OTL amp).
On the other hand, the Elrog MO's are incredible with the Susvara and LCD-4 (and if you don't need nice vocals the 1266).
The Envy is extremely versatile, depending on what tubes you run it with.

 

[alekc]

I don't understand though, how you came to the conclusion that the Envy and 1266TC don't have great synergy.

The weakest part of the 1266TC is the midrange which gets majorly Enhanced on a 300B tube amp like the Envy.

@ThanatosVI that is my (limited) expirence with Abbys. IMHO the synergy with Niimbus is better, out of more expensive headphones I've tried while having access to Abbyss were: Focal Stelia, Focal Utopia 2022, T+A Solitaire P-SE, Crosszone CZ-1 (wish I had Susrava available too but it wasn't the case unfortunately) and 1266TC sounded worst to me out of all of those above.

 

[leftside]

@ThanatosVI that is my (limited) expirence with Abbys. IMHO the synergy with Niimbus is better, out of more expensive headphones I've tried while having access to Abbyss were: Focal Stelia, Focal Utopia 2022, T+A Solitaire P-SE, Crosszone CZ-1 (wish I had Susrava available too but it wasn't the case unfortunately) and 1266TC sounded worst to me out of all of those above.

Took me a week of adjusting the Abyss position properly before I went "aha". There is no comparison of the Abyss to the Stellia. I purely keep the Stellia around for mobile devices.

 

[jlbrach]

@jlbrach absolutely, and I respect both your and any other opinion on this subject, however I guess we can all agree on the topic that synergy is important and what puzzles me is why choose only one headphone which may not be the best option for Envy. At the same time I guess we can all agree that Envy is very versatile amp and can handle many different headphones (easy to drive IEM's excluded). I'm puzzled by headphone selection and not by the headphone itself. There are many different tastes and we all hear differently. I can understand why some people are looking for strong, almost artificial-like bass in headphones and Abbyss can deliver that - no question about it.

actually having listened to my 1266 through numerous amps over the years I find the envy with upgraded tubes present the 1266 better than anything else I have heard..I love the susvara with the envy as well and am hard pressed to declare best...it is my mood at the moment and my selection of music...to me the 1266 is a truly special HP once you get the fit sorted out...the bass is an obvious feature but it is also incredibly detailed and has a huge involving soundstage few HP's can match

 

[nwavesailor]

actually having listened to my 1266 through numerous amps over the years I find the envy with upgraded tubes present the 1266 better than anything else I have heard..I love the susvara with the envy as well and am hard pressed to declare best...it is my mood at the moment and my selection of music...to me the 1266 is a truly special HP once you get the fit sorted out...the bass is an obvious feature but it is also incredibly detailed and has a huge involving soundstage few HP's can match

I was on a list for a 1266 demo but don't feel confident enough to spring for one with the fitment issues. I'm pretty sure I'd love it!!!

 

[jlbrach]

it is worth the effort...

 

[dynamic headphones]

i said this on the holo may thread too when someone asked about a may 2, how much better can it really get? envy has been praised so much for being an amazing amp and personally i don't think there will be much to improve upon outside of some small things that would probably be perference related anyways.

 

[unfitstew]

i said this on the holo may thread too when someone asked about a may 2, how much better can it really get? envy has been praised so much for being an amazing amp and personally i don't think there will be much to improve upon outside of some small things that would probably be perference related anyways.

True. Well original Envy was too SS sounding for my tastes. The Envy AE being more warm and lush is a good improvement alone personally. But that is preference. Envy does get improved with tube rolling of course so there is that. But yeah it certainly isn't like a crazy upgrade but very few things past a certain point are. Especially in super high end it ends up being preference.

I don't like the Wa33 for that reason. If I want SS sound I would use a SS. But others may prefer it over warmer tube amps like Wa23 or Envy AE for that reason.

Either way there are so much good stuff to get/try whether that is Envy, Wa23, HA300mk2, AE, and many others.

Will the May 2 be a crazy upgrade? I don't know but it won't make the original May bad and if you really like what gear you have no reason to upgrade unless you try it and really like the difference it makes. I ordered the AE because it has more warmth and lushness like the Wa23 while having the powerful and dynamic sound of the Envy. Which is a combo I really liked.

But ultimately a person can get really great things across all pricepoints. FOMO sucks but we really should try to not get stressed about trying/having everything.

 

[Fegefeuer]

You could start with replacing that lousy ALPS.

 

[nwavesailor]

We all have a sound we prefer and we all also hear differently but I'm having a hard time understanding how anyone hears the Envy and thinks it's 'too SS' sounding.

I prefer clarity, detail and yes a bit more towards an analytical sound and not a warm romantic and rolled off sound but that's me and what I like.
With any Elrogs (EX, MO, TM) and some top shelf drivers I love my original Envy and do hear differences in all these tube options.

If the Envy sounded SS to me, and many folks here who own one, a lot of us would sell our Envy and just buy a SS amp but thta's not happening.