[plakat]

Yes... and he's actively trying to talk me into getting an Abyss... resistance is futile I guess
 
@Nomax let us know how things are going... your first comment on the combination was promising...

 

[mulder01]

If it helps, I can vouch for the Abyss too

 

[Kiats]

If it helps, I can vouch for the Abyss too

+1. Fantastic can!

 

[Nomax]

Member PLAKAT will translate later my IMPRESSIONS about this DREAM TEAM because my english is not good enough

Regards NOMAX

 

[plakat]

Thanks to both @Kiats and @mulder01 -- you're no good to my wallet
 

Member PLAKAT will translate later my IMPRESSIONS about this DREAM TEAM because my english is not good enough

Regards NOMAX

 
I'll be happy to help out as good as I can. Just PM me and I'll have a look / translate as soon as possible.

 

[NinjaHamster]

Did anyone ever find out more about that garish "custom paint" Abyss they did - ie. how much it cost, whether it was for a rapper or a drug dealer etc ?

 

[Butler]

Did anyone ever find out more about that garish "custom paint" Abyss they did - ie. how much it cost, whether it was for a rapper or a drug dealer etc ?

You can't criticize the manufacture's rather laughable reasoning for why it costs so much or your post will get deleted.
Just like the ones who posted in this thread that brought to light the incident where he was caught rebranding and selling low grade cable as high grade cable.

Abyss is a sponsor after all.

I have no idea how people can justify buying these or find their "Hot Topic meets Walmart" aesthetic attractive.

 

[mulder01]

You can't criticize the manufacture's rather laughable reasoning for why it costs so much or your post will get deleted.
Just like the ones who posted in this thread that brought to light the incident where he was caught rebranding and selling low grade cable as high grade cable.

Abyss is a sponsor after all.

I have no idea how people can justify buying these or find their "Hot Topic meets Walmart" aesthetic attractive.

 
He was referring to the purple and gold custom build with the snakeskin leather, (see recent images) not the Abyss in general.  
 
Now that I have a pair, I can see why it's designed the way it is - the idea is to have the ear pads only slightly touching your head, and with a traditional sprung headband setup you can't get that.  You need a rigid frame to hold the drivers in the right position out from your head, but also have it adjustable and supported vertically.  Admittedly I'm not a big fan of the headband, but had a think about what you could do to achieve the same effect and there's really no easy way to do it.
 
As far as the cost is concerned, when I was looking for high end headphones, I got to listen to a whole heap of different cans from different manufacturers and found the Abyss to be significantly better than everything else as far as sound quality is concerned.  Obviously the price reflects that, and the law of diminishing returns kicks in at the summit of any product range, but if I went for a lesser headphone, I would always be wondering what I was missing out on and probably work my way through a bunch of other flagships and wind up spending the same amount of money anyway.  I went straight for the top and bought an Abyss and Violectric amp which cost me AU$8k.  Which is a lot more than I ever planned on spending I admit, but if you add up the cost of all the gear you own and have owned, I'd say you've spent a similar amount of money and will continue to spend more as the years go by, so at the end of the day, you've forked out just as much as I have.  Plenty of people go out and buy something like a HD800 or LCD3 then spend easily $5k or more on amps and tweaks over the years to try and get the most out of them, end up spending more than they would on an Abyss, and end up with a system that still doesn't sound as good.  On the other hand, you have people that have an income of $300k a year, so to spend a weeks pay on something you love isn't unreasonable at all.  
 
As far as cables go, all expensive cables are just cheap cable rebranded to look fancy anyway... (IMO)

 

[plakat]

@mulder01 that has some truth to it (both the main body of your argument as well as the statement regarding cables
 
The only objection I'd have with going straight to the top is that in my opinion I've learned a lot along the way: I can now appreciate the better gear I purchased over the last few years more. To me hearing is something that must be trained. That training may well change perception as well as preferences -- I don't know whether I would have liked the K812 or the T1 when starting out.
 
But I can understand your stance. And from a financial perspective its the smart thing to do.
 
So, given that I already own a V281... I guess the only step left is the Abyss...

 

[mulder01]

Yeah I agree with you to a point.  
 
I actually did have a pair of Ultrasone's which I sold a while ago which is what got me interested in high end headphones.
 
I've been a lover of high end audio for a while (previously more so speakers) and can appreciate the Abyss on a certain level (much more than your regular non-audio lovers), but I know what you mean about some people having a lot more experience with their listening.  I can't, for example, listen to a pair of headphones, then listen to something else a week later and describe the differences in sound to you - I normally have to do a direct comparison between two or more things at the same time and switch back and forward between them.  One thing I noticed about the Abyss is I don't have to do a direct comparison because they are that much better.  
 
I've found since I've owned them that they are probably about as good as you need a pair of headphones to be - there is quite a low percentage of recordings that actually show what they are capable of.  I guess we're at a point where they reproduce everything so well, that you have gear that is better than what is in a lot of studios and any imperfections just flow right on through.  Having said that, I think there are much less forgiving headphones out there, but I think that this is the point where you don't need anything better because the limiting factor is the recording, not the headphone.  
 
In my opinion they are an especially good choice if you already have a v281, or a Mjolnir like Butler, because you don't need to buy any other gear, just the headphone, where as a 009 (the other popular choice in this price range) really needs a minimum of a $5k electrostat amp which most people don't just have sitting around...

 

[plakat]

  Yeah I agree with you to a point.  
 
I actually did have a pair of Ultrasone's which I sold a while ago which is what got me interested in high end headphones.
 
I've been a lover of high end audio for a while (previously more so speakers) and can appreciate the Abyss on a certain level (much more than your regular non-audio lovers), but I know what you mean about some people having a lot more experience with their listening.  I can't, for example, listen to a pair of headphones, then listen to something else a week later and describe the differences in sound to you - I normally have to do a direct comparison between two or more things at the same time and switch back and forward between them.  One thing I noticed about the Abyss is I don't have to do a direct comparison because they are that much better.  
 
I've found since I've owned them that they are probably about as good as you need a pair of headphones to be - there is quite a low percentage of recordings that actually show what they are capable of.  I guess we're at a point where they reproduce everything so well, that you have gear that is better than what is in a lot of studios and any imperfections just flow right on through.  Having said that, I think there are much less forgiving headphones out there, but I think that this is the point where you don't need anything better because the limiting factor is the recording, not the headphone.  
 
In my opinion they are an especially good choice if you already have a v281, or a Mjolnir like Butler, because you don't need to buy any other gear, just the headphone, where as a 009 (the other popular choice in this price range) really needs a minimum of a $5k electrostat amp which most people don't just have sitting around...

I did not want to give you the impression that I think you don't have enough experience to enjoy the Abyss, that was meant more as a general remark. Still I enjoyed my path including its (few) missteps, but I can understand getting the gear considerations out of the way and back to enjoying music without any worries whether it could be better.
 
Regarding sonic memory: research shows that its very short lived. I don't think I could give more than impressions after some time... I do remember the overall signature (aggressive, smooth, strong bass, piercing etc.) but the details are not exact enough to do any reliable comparison.
 
The Stax models never impressed me, maybe due to my musical preferences... So I think going forward will lead to the Abyss rather sooner than later. And yes: already having an amp that is capable of driving it is a definitive advantage vs. Stax.

 

[bmichels]

Now that I have received my Eddie Current EC445 tube amp I am looking fora TOL "Open Headphone" for it.  Indeed, I have so far only "closed headphone" (TH900 & ED5).  
 
So... I am looking for feedback about the combination "ABYSS + EddieCurent 445".
 
Good synergy ? Is the EC445 amp powerfull enough to get the most out of the ABYSS ? (I heard that SS amp are better to drive ABYSS )
 
thanks in advance

 

[Hun7er]

I answer you on another topic and I hope you know I'm joking.
 
The synergy will be excellent with your 445. 
I have an DNA Stratus 2x2A3 and EC 4x2A3 and they have enough enough...enough power. It's not only a question of power.
 
With SS amps maybe you win on bass slam and tightness but you lose on organic and texture and others stuff.

 

[bmichels]

  I answer you on another topic and I hope you know I'm joking.
 
The synergy will be excellent with your 445. 
I have an DNA Stratus 2x2A3 and EC 4x2A3 and they have enough enough...enough power. It's not only a question of power.
 
With SS amps maybe you win on bass slam and tightness but you lose on organic and texture.

 
 
thanks and...I vote for " organic and texture " rather than " bass slam and tightness ".    
 
Have you compared ABYSS with the HD800 that is supposed to be very good wit the 445 according to Craig ? Is the ABYSS really a step-up ?

 

[Hun7er]

Yes I compared them within 3-4 months and ended up with the Abyss. IMO the HD800 sounded rather sterile and have an unnatural spherical soundstage. But the Abyss it's not worth the french price.