[simorag]

I have a question for those more technically proficient than I am....I have owned all versions of the abyss 1266 and have owned tons of different amps as well as listening to numerous others including speaker amps...many of the amps were far more powerful than the 2.3 w that the formula s/powerman puts into the abyss yet I have heard nothing that sounds as good as this combo...with the formula s/powerman the abyss has a huge soundstage, is incredible detailed,has the grunt and bass response that makes this headphone special...again, it only puts out 2.3w into the abyss...why ,at least to my ears does this combo work so well given the relatively modest power rating?....

First of all, you just need 0.7W to get the AB-1266 to 115dB SPL, so 2.3W - in the context of driving the Abyss - already give you plenty of headroom for handling peaks and allow such amp to work in its comfort zone distortion-wise etc.

The only advantage of very powerful amps is that typically at low power they all function in class A, so you have the convenience of a class A amp without the heat and power consumption from a higher powered class A amp. But then I would go with low-power pure class A like the Formula S or my AIC-10.
Also, an amp designed to say 100W nominal will unlikely measure best at a fraction of a W (like 0.1-0.2W, which is what is needed during 70-80% or our listening time) unless it has loads of negative feedback, with all the negatives implied.

Moreover (stating the obvious here), especially for headphones, quality is dramatically more important than quantity, and your statement below (which I totally agree on):

the powerman is a must

is a confirmation. The Powerman does not change the power rating of the Formula S, yet it improves it in all possible ways. The striking thing is that not only it sounds smoother, more refined, but also more dynamic and ... powerful, most likely as a result of the blacker background and better (i.e. with less distortion) instantaneous current / voltage peaks handling allowed by the improved power supply.

As for combos sounding better than the Formula S / Powerman on the Abyss, I have heard several of them, at lower (2A3 tube amps) or much higher (up to 200W speaker amps) power rating. Not saying that these amps were objectively better - only more aligned to my preferences perhaps - and in most cases the pricing was significantly higher, so the FS/PM is sure a solid no-problem choice for the Abyss.

If one is not scared / annoyed to mess with 2nd hand speaker amps (space occupation, heat, need from adapters, additional care in use), offerings from Pass Labs (e.g. XA25), Luxman (e.g. 590AX-II), Accuphase (E650) are achievable at a similar cost of a new XI Audio stack and I preferred any of the above to the FS/PM.

 

[mammal]

While I still have Viva Egoista 845 at home, which I consider a pinnacle of transparency, I wanted to hear how Rossini Master Clock into Bartok further improves 1266, and if it is worth the asking price to me (at 9k EUR). I can already say that for most of my listening being digitally produced EDM, I hear no difference whatsoever. For other type of music (recorded or at least partially) I hear very subtle differences that I would most likely fail a blind ABX test. My brain is telling me that those differences are a bit of airier presentation and maybe a tiny bit wider soundstage. Maybe I need more time to adjust to really pick up what a clock does, but this reminds me my earlier testing with Chord MScaler, which after 2 weeks of using I did pick up differences, but so subtle it was not really the price to me either. People on dCS forums swear by these clocks, so much so that they call it an absolute requirement for Rossini DAC, perhaps Bartok is not capable of utilising it properly, even though some dCS folks I spoke to say they it can. I am starting to think my brain/ears are less sensitive to timing issues, and I more pick up on the frequency response (hence silver/copper cable I can blind ABX).

 

[Articnoise]

I have a question for those more technically proficient than I am....I have owned all versions of the abyss 1266 and have owned tons of different amps as well as listening to numerous others including speaker amps...many of the amps were far more powerful than the 2.3 w that the formula s/powerman puts into the abyss yet I have heard nothing that sounds as good as this combo...with the formula s/powerman the abyss has a huge soundstage, is incredible detailed,has the grunt and bass response that makes this headphone special...again, it only puts out 2.3w into the abyss...why ,at least to my ears does this combo work so well given the relatively modest power rating?....

There are a few basic things you need to understand to sort this out. I will not go through them all. An important aspect is however that the amount of amplification is directly limited by the type and number of transistors that the solid state amplification has. A amp cannot deliver more power than the transistors can handel. For tube amps, it is the tubes them-self that is limiting the output power.

This is why the number of watts does not increase if you use a Powerman, although it has a larger and better power supply than the one in Formula S. The number of transistors has not changed at all after all and therefore it will measures the same amount of watts at the output. A larger and better power supply has many other benefits to the sound reproduction thou, that you can hear when you connect a Powerman (everything else being equal).

 

[cangle]

Formula S just arrived and I just turned it on to warm it up before I give it a listen. For those of you who own it do you just leave it on all the time? With the switch in the back it seems like that is what's intended.

 

[mammal]

Formula S just arrived and I just turned it on to warm it up before I give it a listen. For those of you who own it do you just leave it on all the time? With the switch in the back it seems like that is what's intended.

Abyss in one of their older videos said that the only amp they keep turning off when not in use is WA33, as it runs hot and one wants to preserve their tube life.

 

[MatW]

Formula S just arrived and I just turned it on to warm it up before I give it a listen. For those of you who own it do you just leave it on all the time? With the switch in the back it seems like that is what's intended.

I think quite a few leave it on. I switch it off after use.

 

[cangle]

I think quite a few leave it on. I switch it off after use.

How long do you find that it takes to warm up to produce the best sound? My unit seems to have reached a constant temperature based on how hot it feels to touch after an hour or so.

 

[MatW]

How long do you find that it takes to warm up to produce the best sound? My unit seems to have reached a constant temperature based on how hot it feels to touch after an hour or so.

It sounds pretty good to me from the start. Unlike my tube amp, which I feel needs about 15 minutes to warm up.

 

[jlbrach]

Formula S just arrived and I just turned it on to warm it up before I give it a listen. For those of you who own it do you just leave it on all the time? With the switch in the back it seems like that is what's intended.

I leave mine on all the time, it doesnt get hot and I have had zero issues

 

[cangle]

I leave mine on all the time, it doesnt get hot and I have had zero issues

The top of my unit gets warm to the touch but not uncomfortable to leave my hand there. The other surfaces of the amp are cool though. Is this about the same for you?

 

[jlbrach]

mine is barely warm,no issue at all

 

[DJJEZ]

Formula S just arrived and I just turned it on to warm it up before I give it a listen. For those of you who own it do you just leave it on all the time? With the switch in the back it seems like that is what's intended.

i keep mine on permantly as i use my headphone system daily plus its class A, they sound best after 45 mins to an hour of being warmed up from cold. i also keep my DAVE on permantly. this way everytime i go to listen everything is at peak performance

 

[jlbrach]

I do the same with both

 

[cangle]

I was starting to worry why just the Formula S I have is running warmer than others seems to say. Mostly because my last amp failed by getting very hot and started smoking. I'm guessing that the transformer in the Formula S only runs without the powerman lending to the extra heat with my unit. I suppose with the powerman under the Formula S then heat from the powerman would rise up and disperse through the fins on the amp. And the lack of a running transformer would cause the whole Formula S to run cooler than mine is at the moment.

I listened for two hours after it arrived today and I'm pretty happy so far. The only downside is maybe the size of the stage is a little smaller in width than my last amp although all other characteristics are an improvement. Similar to the last amp I had before it failed, the one that started smoking, the bass is more controlled but the Formula S seems to slam a bit harder. I get more of a center image with this amp and the holographic sound stage is there too. The vocals seem more forward too, almost intimate compared to the thin nature of the vocals out of the FA-12 that I had used before. I guess the word I would use would be cohesive or musical. I'm pretty much set on buying the powerman, but I sent an email to Abyss about it so will order once they get back to me. I'm looking forward to seeing how the two play together.

Also the build is very impressive, much more solid than any amp I have used before as there is no flex anywhere. Plus the form factor is nice and the volume wheel although not stepped is smooth with no audible channel imbalance. Even though the last amp I used did 16W, I feel like just with how the volume knob is implemented I'm getting more gain out of the Formula S.

 

[jlbrach]

based upon my experience where my formula s/powerman barely get warm at all and are both on 24/7 I would definitely look into it if it is running very hot..no question the combo punches well above its 6w rating