[llamaluv]

Velcro strip cable mod. Should only be attempted by those with advanced arts-and-crafts skills.

 

[vortrex]

Funny, I thought about doing the same thing.

 

[matthewhypolite]

So any owners with the Phi & new pads who also owned the original V1 versions, would you ever consider going back or would just be happy being stuck with just the V1?

Is the gulf so big, you wouldn't even consider it going back?

I would never consider going back. Please dont speak of such things again

 

[matthewhypolite]

Mini Abyss Phi CC review:

The Phi CC Takes everything about the Phi and refines it and polished it. The music sounds a bit more natural and there's a bit more detail retrieval and resolution, the cans, are just….better. And that coming from the Phi is very difficult to accomplish.

They seem to bring more refinement to an already great can. The new earpads seem to make the music cleaner and as a result I'm noticing that bit more of detail retrieval and resolution. There is definitely more space, and the bass is a bit more detailed and refined. Basically makes everything better lol. O, and they are more comfortable.

If you've already dished out $4500+ on the Phi, the extra for CC pads are a new brainer imo. Overall i think they offer more improvement to the sound than a cable upgrade, which can cost anywhere from 3-7 times the cost of the new pads. TLDR go get the pads, and if you're in the market for a new Abyss, might as well go straight CC.

I'm glad these upgrade options were made available to owners, from the headbands, original earpad replacements, phi upgrade, cable upgrades and now earpad upgrades.

Always a path available to me to upgrade as they iterate on the headphones and never felt like my investment was gutted by a future headphone release 6 months later

Now that I've gotten to know the Abyss Phi CC for a while, i can now say this:

The Abyss Phi CC destroys the Utopia.

The thing so good, I had to cross the 10 barrier when i placed the Phi CC on my review chart.

I don’t even know what's happening, if I should adjust all my ratings taking into account the performance of the CC being the pinnacle of what I've heard so far, all I know is, these things sound GOOD!, and at this point I'm not quite sure how to represent that with numbers on a chart. I'll have to have think about it, but I think where my thoughts are on the chart says it all.

Truly amazing headphone.

 

[x RELIC x]

the extra for CC pads are a NEW brainer imo.

Please tell me that was a clever pun, and not just a typo.

 

[FLTWS]

Mini Abyss Phi CC review:

The Phi CC Takes everything about the Phi and refines it and polished it. The music sounds a bit more natural and there's a bit more detail retrieval and resolution, the cans, are just….better. And that coming from the Phi is very difficult to accomplish.

They seem to bring more refinement to an already great can. The new earpads seem to make the music cleaner and as a result I'm noticing that bit more of detail retrieval and resolution. There is definitely more space, and the bass is a bit more detailed and refined. Basically makes everything better lol. O, and they are more comfortable.

If you've already dished out $4500+ on the Phi, the extra for CC pads are a new brainer imo. Overall i think they offer more improvement to the sound than a cable upgrade, which can cost anywhere from 3-7 times the cost of the new pads. TLDR go get the pads, and if you're in the market for a new Abyss, might as well go straight CC.

I'm glad these upgrade options were made available to owners, from the headbands, original earpad replacements, phi upgrade, cable upgrades and now earpad upgrades.

Always a path available to me to upgrade as they iterate on the headphones and never felt like my investment was gutted by a future headphone release 6 months later

Now that I've gotten to know the Abyss Phi CC for a while, i can now say this:

The Abyss Phi CC destroys the Utopia.

The thing so good, I had to cross the 10 barrier when i placed the Phi CC on my review chart.



I don’t even know what's happening, if I should adjust all my ratings taking into account the performance of the CC being the pinnacle of what I've heard so far, all I know is, these things sound GOOD!, and at this point I'm not quite sure how to represent that with numbers on a chart. I'll have to have think about it, but I think where my thoughts are on the chart says it all.

Truly amazing headphone.

Nice write-up, I'm in agreement. Of the many earphones I've auditioned over the past 2 1/2 years the Phi is the only one that can suggest the presence of pressure waves in the deep bass area. Several others go deep and hit just as hard but without that sense of air being moved (as can be the case with speakers and is, of course, with "live" sound as standard). My key to enjoying the sound of the 1266 model was coming to grips with getting the fit right, after that sound seemed to takes care of itself. The generously sized ear pad chamber and weight distribution of the head pad and light but stable coupling around the ear works for me. After that it's a question of interaction with the rest of the equipment chains sound pallets.

 

[matthewhypolite]

Please tell me that was a clever pun, and not just a typo.

We'll go with clever pun, not gonna change a thing.

Nice write-up, I'm in agreement. Of the many earphones I've auditioned over the past 2 1/2 years the Phi is the only one that can suggest the presence of pressure waves in the deep bass area. Several others go deep and hit just as hard but without that sense of air being moved (as can be the case with speakers and is, of course, with "live" sound as standard). My key to enjoying the sound of the 1266 model was coming to grips with getting the fit right, after that sound seemed to takes care of itself. The generously sized ear pad chamber and weight distribution of the head pad and light but stable coupling around the ear works for me. After that it's a question of interaction with the rest of the equipment chains sound pallets.

The last point you've made is very important, with the right gear, man o man. Abyss phi cc paired with those nos tubes. Amazing. And what you've describe re bass etc, I can only call natural sounding. When I put the Utopia back on, they jsut sound.... Wrong.

 

[ufospls2]

We'll go with clever pun, not gonna change a thing.


The last point you've made is very important, with the right gear, man o man. Abyss phi cc paired with those nos tubes. Amazing. And what you've describe re bass etc, I can only call natural sounding. When I put the Utopia back on, they jsut sound.... Wrong.

Did you sell your Phi and buy the Phi CC, or is this just the Phi with CC pads?

 

[matthewhypolite]

Did you sell your Phi and buy the Phi CC, or is this just the Phi with CC pads?

Phi cc pads, which is the same thing without paint job

 

[Mikey99]

Is there a case recommendation for the Abyss that is not the leather bag?

I use an old Crumpler Camera bag. Works perfectly! I think many models of Camera bag would work well.

 

[matthewhypolite]

Hi All,

So some folks are suggesting i get a Staxx rig SR009/BHSE, how do Abyss owners feel about the Staxx headphone, and how do they compare to the Phi?

 

[Thenewguy007]

I always heard the 009 compared similarly to the Utopia.

 

[Xecuter]

Hi All,

So some folks are suggesting i get a Staxx rig SR009/BHSE, how do Abyss owners feel about the Staxx headphone, and how do they compare to the Phi?

I really wouldn't bother with 009, your current system with hd800sdr or Utopia would blow 009 + bhse away.

Bhse is not a great amp imo, isquirrel had the best 009 system I've heard with the MSB select ii and MSB stat amp but I could never point anyone in that direction and I still think the 009 is the bottleneck in that system.

What have you got as far as speakers go Matt?
The only thing beyond abyss/wa33 that would really be a significant step up, is a good speaker system in a well treated room.

 

[matthewhypolite]

I really wouldn't bother with 009, your current system with hd800sdr or Utopia would blow 009 + bhse away.

Bhse is not a great amp imo, isquirrel had the best 009 system I've heard with the MSB select ii and MSB stat amp but I could never point anyone in that direction and I still think the 009 is the bottleneck in that system.


What have you got as far as speakers go Matt?
The only thing beyond abyss/wa33 that would really be a significant step up, is a good speaker system in a well treated room.

I have paradigm speakers with anthem dac and emotiva amp. They sounds really good but my room is not treated, so I enjoy the abyss alot more.

My brother however has the signature series paradigm in a treated room and they sound amazing. But I still appriciate the intimacy and resolution of the WA33 /abyss setup. Also appriciate that I can rock out at 11pm without waking up the wife, let alone the neighbours

 

[Xecuter]

I have paradigm speakers with anthem dac and emotiva amp. They sounds really good but my room is not treated, so I enjoy the abyss alot more.

My brother however has the signature series paradigm in a treated room and they sound amazing. But I still appriciate the intimacy and resolution of the WA33 /abyss setup. Also appriciate that I can rock out at 11pm without waking up the wife, let alone the neighbours

I'm with you on the benefits of headphones, even though I am moving into speakers for my main critical listening I'll always keep a competent headphone system for late nights.

The 009 offers fantastic clarity and macro detail but doesn't dig as deep into plankton as good dynamic cans.

I think you have room for considerable improvement on your speaker system and that is the only way to really go beyond what you currently have imo.

If you really need to scratch the stat itch, get the carbon over a bhse and also consider the 007 mki over the 009. It's timbre is far more correct than 009 but still would be inferior to your current system imo.