[ultrabike]

Quote:

 
Please try to understand "compared to"  
 
If you have not heard the HE-6 how do you know what you would describe the HE-500s as being in comparisons to the HE-6?  Yes, I owned both at the same time and compared them with each other "many of times".
 
This is classic.  Taking what I said and leaving out the "compared to" 

 
LOL! Take it easy mang. I understand what you are saying. Dunno, perhaps relative to the HE-6 the HE-500 is a little less refined in the bass area. Just saying to my ears the HE-500 was not the epitome of muddy bassness.
 
If you have bass fidelity as one of your priorities I think you'll like the Abyss. So far the cleanest presentation of bass on a non-bass-impotent phone to my ears.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
LOL! Take it easy mang. I understand what you are saying. Dunno, perhaps relative to the HE-6 the HE-500 is a little less refined in the bass area. Just saying to my ears the HE-500 was not the epitome of muddy bassness.
 
If you have bass fidelity as one of your priorities I think you'll like the Abyss. So far the cleanest presentation of bass on a non-bass-impotent phone.

 
No harm.  I was just saying it was in comparisons 

 

[purrin]

Quote:

Sorry but the bass of the 009 is not believable in any way. It is deficient and definitely not neutral. It lacks what the record calls for, and I find that to be a glaring weakness.

 
I call it limp [redacted] bass. Sorry I couldn't resist the 12 year old inside me.

 

[arnaud]

Quote:

 
I call it limp [redacted] bass. Sorry I couldn't resist the 12 year old inside me.

 BASS 

 

[ultrabike]

Quote:

 BASS 

NO BASS

 

[Anthony1]

Copyright infringement alert
 
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 BASS 

Agreed. When the recording calls for it, they rumble with the best bass quality and overall presentation that I've ever heard. They don't have the LCD-3's bass heft, but certainly more than the HD800s. 

 

[dukeskd]

^Quality is great, as is everything with the 009 but the bass does not have the required quantity.

 

[citadel]

Please try to understand "compared to"  

If you have not heard the HE-6 how do you know what you would describe the HE-500s as being in comparisons to the HE-6?  Yes, I owned both at the same time and compared them with each other "many of times".

I have both and the abyss. The abyss has more air than all of the hifimans.

 

[MacedonianHero]

^Quality is great, as is everything with the 009 but the bass does not have the required quantity.

Absolutely it does...and this is coming from a proud LCD-3 owner. It's got more "quantity" than the HD800s or T1s and anymore would not be neutral. Have a look at both the frequency response (basically flat down to 10Hz) and fantastic 30Hz square wave responses. The CSD plot is tight and with very low distortion. To my ears and on my rig (though I am expecting an improvement when my KGSSHV arrives) this is the best bass I've heard yet from headphones.

 

[ultrabike]

Quote:

Absolutely it does...and this is coming from a proud LCD-3 owner. It's got more "quantity" than the HD800s or T1s and anymore would not be neutral. Have a look at both the frequency response (basically flat down to 10Hz) and fantastic 30Hz square wave responses. The CSD plot is tight and with very low distortion. To my ears and on my rig (though I am expecting an improvement when my KGSSHV arrives) this is the best bass I've heard yet from headphones.

 
Well, it is all relative I guess. According to Arnaud's very own measurements, the 009 does lack bass relative to the 007:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/498292/my-diy-electrostatic-headphones/435#post_8607847
http://www.head-fi.org/t/223263/the-stax-thread-new/21915#post_9372268
 
If you compare the FR of the HD800 to the 009 from IF:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSR009SZ91278afterburnin.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD800.pdf
 
The HD800 has more energy bellow 200 Hz (bass region) relative to the rest of the spectrum vs.the 009. And the 009 30 Hz square waves don't look LCD fantastic to me.

 

[dukeskd]

To be honest, 007 has the best bass I heard from a stat and it does not have the roll-off that 009 gets when entering the sub-bass region. Because of this roll-off, 009 cannot be heralded as the best headphone because it has its own flaws. Another thing of note, HD800 to me have a lot more sub-bass and bass than the 009 but less mid-bass.
 
From the impressions here, Abyss seems to have even better quality bass than the LCD-3 which is interesting. For me personally the most important factors in a headphone is long term comfort and general design, and in these 2 factors Abyss has some improving + R&Ding to do as it seems most of the efforts of the designers was with the drivers.

 

[dukeskd]

PS: I don't care about graphs, I use my ears. You can get the general idea from the graphs and other data but final conclusion is with your own ears.

 

[ultrabike]

Quote:

PS: I don't care about graphs, I use my ears. You can get the general idea from the graphs and other data but final conclusion is with your own ears.

 
LOL! I also use my ears, and to my ears the bass of the Abyss is pretty good. The balance is good, but to me it is not without slight issues in the mids and highs. Those issues are not horrible though, and this is not a piercing bright headphone. It's a good headphone at a not so good price IMO... That said, I don't like the price of the higher end Stax line up either, but depending on your commitment to your audio priorities, and wallet thickness, I guess this may not be an issue. 
 
It is not uncomfortable, lighter than most orthos, but heavier than stats and dynamics. The fit may take a little time to get used though, and their aesthetics might grab attention for all the wrong reasons.

 

[n3rdling]

It seems there's been a trend since the LCD2/square wave revolution for people to think more bass/bass impact = bettar.  To me the Audeze headphones have a ton of impact but it ends up masking so much articulation.  I much prefer the bass levels and impact from the 007/009/HD800.  Actually, I think these 3 headphones and the Abyss probably have the best bass out there taking everything into account.