[ufospls2]

Does anyone have experience with the Wells Audio Enigma paired with the Abyss? 

 

[knopi]

  .....
 
What I was thinking so far would be the 
 
-Simaudio Moon Neo 430HA for the amp
-Mytek Brooklyn for the DAC. 
 
I guess I'd like to look at $4000ish  for the amp and $2000-3000 for the DAC. Or the other way around if there is a DAC suggestion that is really good, and an amp that is a bit cheaper. That is in Canadian funds, so please keep that in mind if you are in the U.S.
 
Thanks for reading, and thanks for the help.

 
Almost no info here on headfi about Brooklyn maybe only two photos from Canjam London . Unfortunately I will not help you much because I do not have headphones at this moment. But I am using Brooklyn as dac/pre with active speaker and sound is powerfull dynamic energetic so in my opinion Brooklyn have quite solid preamp and from videos on Mytek website hp ouput deliver maybe 6 watts to low impendence. Overall it is solid piece for the money though I did not compare it with anything so hard to tell how it scale..  
Maybe you could try very popular dac here Yggdrasil seems to have a lot of fans. And as regards hp amp can not help, I think important will be find good synergy. 430HA seems to be very good.. 
Would like to try AB-1266 myself one day if I will go back to headphones. 
Good luck

 

[Xecuter]

 
Im currently also exploring the WA5-Le, on the LAu/Abyss atm. Any experience with WA5 vs LAu? and what tubes do you recommend for the WA5 when paired with abyss.

I compared Lau with wa5 a very long time ago. However I'm still confident that the wa5 was better with abyss then the LaU was. It boils down to a matter of synergy at this level.
As far as power tubes: 300b tubes I've heard with wa5 with the Takatsuki 300B which was VERY good, I've also heard the  EML 300b which was a close second, I would avoid the Sophia princess as they are a bit too flabby.
 
Avoid KR audio for now, their quality has dropped significantly in the last few years.
the wa5 was really dependent on tubes, I always warn people that they need to spend big on tubes with wa5..
 
If you are after a SET amp look for the eddie current studio jnr, it will be announced soon. Considering Woo's BOM, the eddie current and DNA stuff is a bargain.

 

[Joe Skubinski]

On the subject of tubes, we've been working with KR Audio this year on updated versions of their tubes with improved materials. These will be exclusive to the US market. We will have these new High Performance KR Audio HP tubes at Rocky Mountain Audiofest in our Suite 6000 on the Woo amps.

http://www.TheEvolutionOfSound.com/kr-audio/

 

[Xecuter]

Wow! This is very exciting! I will be first in line to order a Quad!
Thanks Joe! To see Dr. Krons lifetime of work crumble due to a drop in quality was heart breaking.I'm very glad you guys have stepped in!

 

[acantor]

Has anyone tried the Abyss with a speaker amp (I might have missed a previous post)?
Certainly works for other hard to drive headphones like HE6 and HEK, but perhaps too much for the Abyss.
Thanks!

 

[Cortazar]

i have heard my abyss with eddie current 445 and bryston and it was ok (i have owned both of them), but with a very good tube amplifier they become a wings! At the moment i hear them with ayon crossfire (30Watt) and i like it most of the time better then my stax 009 and seenheiser HE90. The dynamic, detail and scene, well they do not have a weak point. The rest of the system is vivaldi DAC, upsampler, clock and auralic aries.
Pawel

 

[Beolab]

i have heard my abyss with eddie current 445 and bryston and it was ok (i have owned both of them), but with a very good tube amplifier they become a wings! At the moment i hear them with ayon crossfire (30Watt) and i like it most of the time better then my stax 009 and seenheiser HE90. The dynamic, detail and scene, well they do not have a weak point. The rest of the system is vivaldi DAC, upsampler, clock and auralic aries.
Pawel

I have only tested out with the SimAudio Moon 600i speaker amp, if we speaking of High End speaker amps.

The Abyss will only get benefit of the amps first 1-5 watts, it does not draw any more power than that, but it is great to have an amp that does deliver that kind of power with a great A current power reserve so you get the effortless feel and visceral effect.

The Moon delivers pure Class A drive up to 5 watts actually and thats why it is a perfect combo for the Abyss, and very fluid and smooth with great timbre and transparency.

The sound are like the Moon 430 Neo, but with much better dynamic reserve , control , smoothness and fluidity, it is on another level.

I can highly recommend it if you want the Rolls Royce of amps that suits the Abyss the best. Have tested my Abyss with many Tube amps and SS amps and this is my and Yoga:s favourite.

 

[Cortazar]

I am not 100% sure but 30Watt of my ayon is for 8 Ohm, abyss has 46Ohm so it is about 5,5 Watt that they get from crossfire. I have also tried abyss with my air tight atm-300 and found it less dynamic then ayon. I do not have any experiences with ss amplifier though. Here is a picture of my system at the moment. It is strange for me but for the first time from a long time i do not have any need to change anything in it (well ok maybe a new power cord or so )


greetings pawel

 

[Beolab]

I am not 100% sure but 30Watt of my ayon is for 8 Ohm, abyss has 46Ohm so it is about 5,5 Watt that they get from crossfire. I have also tried abyss with my air tight atm-300 and found it less dynamic then ayon. I do not have any experiences with ss amplifier though. Here is a picture of my system at the moment. It is strange for me but for the first time from a long time i do not have any need to change anything in it (well ok maybe a new power cord or so )




greetings pawel

That is a very nice setup you got there, and i have not heard your amp, but 5,5 watts with great A current power in reserve is always good to have with great "headroom" if the music is dynamic with fast transients, so my estimation is that you got a suffent amp for your headphones.

Maybe you could try to experiment with diffrent headphone cables and source interconnects just to tune it for your taste.

Is it something you are not fully satisfyed with in your sound today?

Feel free to PM me.

/Fredrik

 

[Mystel]

Managed to snag a used pair of these for a great price. All i can say is wow. I guess i never did audition them properly in the past.

 

[Xecuter]

  Managed to snag a used pair of these for a great price. All i can say is wow. I guess i never did audition them properly in the past.

 
Most people never get close to abyss potential in an audio show or at a meet. Even 6 months after buying this thing wows me!
 
As far as the power requirements of Abyss I have to disagree with some here, Abyss is not that hard to drive. It is however, tricky to get perfect synergy.

 

[Kiats]

Agreed. The Abyss requires patience and experimenting with the adjustables. But more than amply rewards. Truly a magnificent beast of a can!

 

[Beolab]

Most people never get close to abyss potential in an audio show or at a meet. Even 6 months after buying this thing wows me!

As far as the power requirements of Abyss I have to disagree with some here, Abyss is not that hard to drive. It is however, tricky to get perfect synergy.

It is not so hard to drive the Abyss at all, i can drive them with a Chord Mojo 0,768 watt on battery drive up to a pretty high level, it is no problem, but when you got more Amapare current drive capabillity in the amp on tap, the control and calmness are tremendous, and the the Abyss starts to breath on a diffrent level.

Yes it is far from just buy a power hungry amp, it is much more hard to make the synergy to be perfect, that is correct.
I have tried out about 10 amps untill i find the right amp that sutiated for my likings.

Been trough and a few more:
HeadTrip Sold
Woo WA5 Sold
Audio GD Sold
Moon 430 Neo Sold
AudioValve Solaris (only on loan)
Cavalli Crimson Sold
Pass Lab INT-30 (only on loan)
Auralic Taurus MkII ( Only on loan)
Pathos Aurium ( 1.1 watt = couldn't drive the Abyss because of to low Ampere Current drive probably but, had a very fast transparent sound on low vol. )

And it was the speaker amp SimAudio Moon 600i that won by a great margin, even thug i just use 1-5 watts of 27 watts @ 46 ohm
( 2x250 in 4 ohms)

Its not about the spec figure just, it is the synergy.

 

[ufospls2]

I have only tested out with the SimAudio Moon 600i speaker amp, if we speaking of High End speaker amps.

The Abyss will only get benefit of the amps first 1-5 watts, it does not draw any more power than that, but it is great to have an amp that does deliver that kind of power with a great A current power reserve so you get the effortless feel and visceral effect.

The Moon delivers pure Class A drive up to 5 watts actually and thats why it is a perfect combo for the Abyss, and very fluid and smooth with great timbre and transparency.

The sound are like the Moon 430 Neo, but with much better dynamic reserve , control , smoothness and fluidity, it is on another level.

I can highly recommend it if you want the Rolls Royce of amps that suits the Abyss the best. Have tested my Abyss with many Tube amps and SS amps and this is my and Yoga:s favourite.

 
I'm not sure why this is, perhaps you or Joe can explain/know why. If the Abyss only get benefit from the first 1-5 watts, how come they seem to LOVE extra power behind them/lots of headroom. I know my Taurus just isn't up to the job. In balanced mode there is a lot of clipping, and in SE mode, which is more powerful (4500mw @32 ohm) you can still tell it is struggling, and there is some distortion in the bass at high listening levels. When I tried it with the iFi ICAN pro, which does 14,000mw max output (If I remember correctly, not sure how much it does into 46 ohms) it was like listening to a different headphone. There was so much more authority, punch, and bass.
 
After hearing what the Abyss can do with more power behind it, I find it disappointing to listen to at home with my set up. On my system, the LCD-4 is probably the more impressive headphone, but I know that the Abyss, with power behind it, is a better listening experience. I can't wait to improve my set up and get an amplifier with more power that is better suited for the Abyss, as I know I haven't tapped into its potential fully yet. I used to think the Taurus was doing it justice, but it just isn't powerful enough for my needs. Live and learn, I've learned my lesson. I apologise to anyone in this thread that I've said you don't need gobs of power, and that you can use the Abyss with lesser amps. Well, you can definitely use it with lesser amps, and it is still a world class sounding headphone, its just that with that extra grunt and headroom behind it, it is more than world class, it is the best I have heard. 
 
Do you find now, after selling your HeadTrip, that you prefer the Moon 600i? I liked your analogy that the HeadTrip is like a V8 supercharged engine with lots of grunt, while the 600i is like a Rolls Royce, very fluid, smooth and transparent. 

  Managed to snag a used pair of these for a great price. All i can say is wow. I guess i never did audition them properly in the past.

Another member of the club! Congrats! 

 

   
Most people never get close to abyss potential in an audio show or at a meet. Even 6 months after buying this thing wows me!
 
As far as the power requirements of Abyss I have to disagree with some here, Abyss is not that hard to drive. It is however, tricky to get perfect synergy.

I used to feel that way, and I agree that synergy is important. However I disagree that the Abyss isn't that hard to drive. I used to think that it was not that hard to drive, but as I said above, after hearing it with power behind it, it was like a whole new headphone. The bass especially was just so mind blowing compared to how I had been hearing it at home. 
 
I use the Abyss sometimes straight out of my Mojo, and LH Labs GO2A, and it works well, just like it works well out of my Taurus, but I still can't get over how much better it sounded with more power behind it. The iFi ICAN Pro is an ok sounding amp, a bit sterile perhaps? I can only imagine what the Abyss sounds like out of something like the 600i, HeadTrip, Egoista etc..
 
I'm waiting for Can Jam at RMAF to see what products get unvailed, and also waiting for the Wells Audio Milo to see what the impressions are, but I can't wait to upgrade my set up to components more fitting for the Abyss. I'm fortunate enough to have TOTL headphones, and whilst I may not be able to afford TOTL source gear like some in this thread (no hate or jealousy here, if you can afford it, the Abyss deserve it,) I hope I can do a bit more justice to my headphones than I am currently. The Chord Hugo TT, or Mytek Brooklyn DAC, and Wells Audio Enigma are looking promising currently, but that may change as time goes on and I do more research. Sorry, I'm bored and rambling...
 
As with everything, your milage may vary, and you might find less power to be enough for the Abyss. Either way, I'm glad to hear it still wows you after 6 months