[_gamma_]

Hi Fred, it's a good news, I'm happy for you!!

Please Fred, how many hours of burn in needed to yours Abyss before improve?

 

[draytonklammer]

Been listening all night to the Phi.
It's a worthy upgrade, that's for sure.

 

[fredfung28]

Hi Fred, it's a good news, I'm happy for you!!

Please Fred, how many hours of burn in needed to yours Abyss before improve?

I think the point is to use normal volume to run in it. I use normal volume to run in for 150-200hrs to get this result. I’m really getting my adaptors right now, so I could now how well the abyss improve from the lite cable to dhc prion 4s.
And actually the silbilant is actually still occurring but in a less annoying way. I hope the change of cable can solve the problem.

Also, about spikes, stillpoint ultra ss is really a good spike for wanting a better imaging, clarity and bass, and it doesn’t have coloration.

However if you want warmer sound, I tried to put the ultra base under the dac, that makes a warm sound and even completely cancelled the sibilant problem. However I found out that it gives up the transparency in exchange for this.. so I decided to put the ultra base to source, that makes everything more balance, having less sibilant but increased the transparency.

 

[draytonklammer]

So far the only thing I've noticed is the slightly lesser bass quantity (which is not a bad thing, I think it sounds better honestly, but still has that Abyss bass that no other headphones have -- it's more accurate too! bass instrumental parts of music haven't ever sounded this realistic before) and then the one thing that bugs me, the only con about the upgrade is that I feel some very low bass notes aren't hit with as much force (they almost sound like they don't exist or the driver doesn't flex bass might quite as much in that range) in comparison to the original. Curious if that'll change as I use them or if the more U shaped sound of the original emphasized them a bit more than the more neutral sound of the Phi. So outside of losing that little bit of extra feeling in the very bottom of the bass response, the overall improvement across the board and especially in the mids/treble make it something I honestly barely even notice.

It's like the micro details of my Utopia were thrown into the vast sound stage of the Abyss (which I prefer to the HD 800's sound stage) with the lush, silky mids of the LCD-4 and the bass of the Abyss itself. Honestly this is my TOTL.

The Susvara didn't really capture the same energy IMO, the 009 just doesn't work for me (although only tried on a couple of amps, neither of which was the BHSE or KGSS, (can't ever remember the name of it)) the LCD-4 lacks a lot of treble for me and the bass doesn't stack up against the more refined Phi. The Utopia used to be my go to for a close, micro detail filled experience, but honestly I feel as though I am now getting those details in a more natural/true to the recording way with the Phi. As for my oldest owned headphones (from memory, the LCD-3/LCD-X/HD800/HD800S/HD650/DT990/T1/K712/LCD-XC) they don't even fall into the same league for me. They all are fantastic headphones, but they are not the in the same league as the previously mentioned TOTL headphones.

FYI my setup is a Schiit Yggy (gen 5 USB) fed into a Simaudio Moon Neo 430HA(D)
I am using the stock cable although I do have a silver cable I am considering trying with the Phi.
High end power cables, USB cable, XLR interconnects, etc. (high end for me, like hundreds each instead of the thousands I know some people spend)

That being said, the Phi is impressive. I can't wait to give it more listening time tonight.
It is an overall improvement upon the original, which alone I felt was more impressive than the TOTL headphones of today (minus the HE-1, but to be fair it's 10% of the price give or take) -- I honestly think this setup with the Phi is a worthy competitor to something like the HE-1. I think the Utopia, LCD-4, Susvara, and 009 do a GREAT job. They all have fantastic strengths. That being said, I think the Phi is the most natural, fun, impressive headphone I have listened to.

Hoping to expand this in a separate post when I get more listening time.
I might actually try out a full review.

 

[Beolab]

The low end needs to be EQ:ed slightly to get the full greatness with a high end bass filter box or through a computer, then the magic will surround you

 

[draytonklammer]

The low end needs to be EQ:ed slightly to get the full greatness with a high end bass filter box or through a computer, then the magic will surround you

What do you use for your EQ?

 

[Beolab]

I am evaluating a bass filter box right now, but i cant give you the brand name at the moment.

There is not to many bass filter boxes on the market that doesent do any harm to the rest of the signal unfortenatly , besides computer based EQ’s in HQplayer , Roon, Amarra, and the rest, but i do not use a computer for my listening just the dCS Network Bridge streamer.

 

[mulder01]

surely dcs can build you a custom dac with built in bass boost?

 

[draytonklammer]

Yeah, honestly, excuse my language, but what the hell did you do to the Abyss Joe?

I knew it would sound better and your description specifically states it is more transparent, but holy crap!
This is better than I could have imagined. I also found that refitting it slightly brought back more of the deep rumbling bass whilst keeping everything I love about the Phi upgrade.

I think this will end up being the first headphone I try to actually review.

I appreciate the upgrade, this is truly impressive.

Merry Christmas to me.

 

[matthewhypolite]

It's like the micro details of my Utopia were thrown into the vast sound stage of the Abyss (which I prefer to the HD 800's sound stage) with the lush, silky mids of the LCD-4 and the bass of the Abyss itself. Honestly this is my TOTL.

What a description.
I'll have mines soon enough.

 

[Joe Skubinski]

 

[Leotis]

Got Phi!

 

[MacedonianHero]

Well, after several weeks with the Abyss-Phi (I will be writing up a full review for Headphone.Guru), I was so thoroughly impressed with the improvements, I made them my selection for my "2017 Writers' Choice Award":

http://headphone.guru/headphone-gurus-2017-products-of-the-year-and-writers-choice-awards/

Congrats to Joe and the team for putting together such a magical pair of headphones that give me such a "speaker-like" presentation, that I smile every time I put them on.

 

[matthewhypolite]

My Abyss has just been fedexed off today:

Now we wait.....

 

[draytonklammer]

My Abyss has just been fedexed off today:

Now we wait.....

Exactly how I felt when I sent mine out.
But man... The beast that comes back.