paradoxper
Headphoneus Supremus
The HEDD are similar to the 009 in the vein of being more reference-y, not colored fun. However, different as they're far from ethereal and more dynamic and engaging.Thanks a lot for the comparison. In the meantime I did get to hear the HEDDs for an hour, not in my home system, but with an ADI-2FS and a DIY hybrid amp very similar to mine. These comments are very preliminary therefore. But they struck me as different from the 009s, though yes in a complementary way. If they sound like any electrostats I'm familiar with it might be the 007, but their sound is gutsier without being coarse. I'm not sure if they are more dynamic than the 007s or 009s well-driven (again, I have DIY amps which I have not been able to compare with the Carbon etc.), it has more to do with saturation/density (do these metaphors mean anything to other people?). I'm talking about timbre mostly, or timbre + dynamics. The bass and lower mids provide a solid foundation, seemingly more even in terms of FR than the 009s, and probably one that's also more balanced than the 007s with their mid-bass hump. But at all frequencies they make music sound present and accounted for, not polite, not held back or "greyed-out" in the slightest. I value that. And the resolution, though maybe not quite at the level of the 009 or 007 (that comparison and the question of image solidity will have to wait) is certainly good enough considering what else the phones do. Based on a limited listen to the Abyss TC at a dealer's I'd have to say I prefer the HEDD (though maybe I didn't find the best off-ear adjustment of the Abyss).
But generally I agree. Where the HEDD is slightly behind in some technical areas aforementioned, they clearly make up in dynamics, presence and enjoyment.
Importantly for me, the technical traits aren't missing key elements. And this bridge is enough I have decided to sell my other headphones in favor of keeping just the HEDD.
My issue with the Abyss is performance inconsistencies due to fitment. Aside from that, they can also be dynamic, engaging, big/full sounding.