[mulder01]

I think the difference is that the Abyss has a rigid frame so it's more adjustable than most cans.  Just comes down to how fussy you are.  You may get 95% out of them right away which is perfectly acceptable for an audition, and 100% a few weeks later, so I suppose it depends on your definition of optimal too.

 

[Yoga]

you can change the sound of any can by adjusting its position but to say that it's unlikely that anyone will achieve the optimal fit without weeks of experimentation is ridiculous imo. surely it can't be that hard and i doubt that the manufacturer designed it to be. when i tried it the sales guy told me to have the ear pads just touching your ears which i did. it was straightforward enough and the can sounded great.

 
If you don't own a pair, and hence have not had the time to try these tweaks yourself, your posts are simply conjecture. isquirrel's is from extended experience and critical listening.
 
P.S. I have found the same. Over the last few weeks I've managed to find the optimal placement. Treble can can tweaked by rotating the cans in a forward/backward 'V' too. I quite enjoy that flexibility, one can tweak per album.
 
After seeing some pics of people trying the Abyss at various meets, it's absolutely clear how poor some of the fitting is, which voids any semblance of accurate analysis.

 

[up late]

it would be conjecture if my opinion wasn't based on having auditioned the can

 

[mulder01]

I appreciate what you're saying, and like you, I thought they were great from the audition, but when you get your own pair home, you can get them just that little bit better.

 

[up late]

can't speak for anyone else but i'm confident that i achieved a good fit and spent some quality time with the abyss.

obviously you get to know gear better once you own it but the purpose of an audition is to help you make a decision about ownership. so no i won't get to know the abyss as well as you but whether you hear it "just that little bit better" than i did at audition is debatable.

 

[Yoga]

The debate isn't whether you got a good fit. You ridiculed isquirrel on a matter you have no experience of; prolonged critical listening.

 

[up late]

you've made that the subject of the debate which i don't buy into. my posts relate to fit based on my own experience actually.

 

[Joe Skubinski]

What we've learned to do for shows is extend the headband full out, and let people know as soon as they put them on they were designed to float on your head, not clamp. That sets them in the mood to listen to them just like any other headphone without worrying about fit. Suppose we should make a simple sign with this...

Eric (ran the Abyss exhibit at recent SoCal CanJam) sent me pictures of the Abyss set-ups and I noticed the Wells booth pair had to be extended out. At meets and shows this has to be checked regularly as people tend to try by force of habit to get a seal.

Speaking of SoCal, excellent crowd who understand what they hear, or want to hear, and great company I could feel all the way to New York.

Messed around with the Abyss getting the fit just right with a marathon 15 hour listening session yesterday. 

I have been a vocal critic of the Abyss, my experience so far with them is that the fit is absolutely critical and its just not possible to get that right unless you are able to play with them over a month or so. I went from thinking there's not much bottom end to literally an overwhelming amount of bass performance by incrementally moving the ear pads away from my ears. Its a weird feeling because they just hang on your head just brushing your face.

I highly doubt anyone at a show or even a store auction would get anyway close to getting a handle on the best fit for them and that would explain the disparity in the commentary about them. They are absolutely like a good pair of loudspeakers where placement is critical and that takes time in my experience.

 

[purrin]

What we've learned to do for shows is extend the headband full out, and let people know as soon as they put them on they were designed to float on your head, not clamp. That sets them in the mood to listen to them just like any other headphone without worrying about fit. Suppose we should make a simple sign with this...

Eric (ran the Abyss exhibit at recent SoCal CanJam) sent me pictures of the Abyss set-ups and I noticed the Wells booth pair had to be extended out. At meets and shows this has to be checked regularly as people tend to try by force of habit to get a seal.

 
Yup. I demonstrated to a few people how to pull / extend the headband full out before they listened. It's a "standard procedure" we take for granted that people who are not familiar with the headphone may not be aware.

 

[up late]

yep. thought it was pretty straightforward myself.

 

[AnakChan]

Guys, please drop this debate. It's off topic and unproductive to the thread. Enough has been said and it's time to move on please.

 

[mulder01]

Hey, it's purrin
Do you have any photos or info you could share on your Abyss mods?

 

[isquirrel]

  Hey, it's purrin
Do you have any photos or info you could share on your Abyss mods?

+1 on that, not going to even bother responding to the other post, this is supposed to be a community after all.

 

[Fririce0003]

Hey, it's purrin
Do you have any photos or info you could share on your Abyss mods?

Sorry, may seem like a bit of a silly question, but was this in regards to how I've adjusted my headband to fit?

 

[isquirrel]

Sorry, may seem like a bit of a silly question, but was this in regards to how I've adjusted my headband to fit?

Matt,

There were a couple of CanJam SoCal posts that mentioned that Purrin & or Marv had modded their Abyss. Mulder & I were wondering what they were?

That's all