[astrostar59]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your new TCs...

I sold my TH900s to help fund my purchase of the 1266 CCs... The CCs are incredible headphones... But I do miss the real slam and thump of the TH900s! Which leaves me in a bit of a dilemma... Do I spend the $1750 to upgrade my CCs to TCs or do I just buy another pair of TH900s?

Just thinking out loud...

LCD4s?

 

[Articnoise]

This was my reply to someone who PMed me a similar question to compare TC, Susvara and SR1a:

Susvara: Richest/thickest tonality due to its forward midrange. Most toned down treble. Lowest resolution/speed of the three, smallest soundstage but images better than Abyss TC.

Abyss TC: Slight V-shape, find myself turning up the volume to compensate for the perceived thinness in the midrange. Highest bass impact (The bass on all 3 are extremely high quality) by a significant margin. Treble feels a little exaggerated but I find it quite addictive. Second largest soundstage but does not image as well as Susvara/SR1a. Resolution/speed is impressive, close to SR1a. There is some cup coloration in the sound, I can't quite describe it but it becomes very apparent when A/Bing with the SR1a.

SR1a: Tonality very balanced. Most neutral and natural sounding to me. Soundstage and imaging far exceeding that of Susvara and Abyss TC. Most resolving.

All three are top tier headphones I could be happy with but the SR1a comes out ahead. The caveat is that its performance is extremely dependent on upstream gear. A cheapo 100wpc class D amplifier with outdated modules is not gonna cut it.

Disclaimer: Susvara/Abyss TC driven by the Cayin HA-300 amplifier. SR1a is driven by Rogue Audio RP-7 + Stereo 100 Preamp/Amp combo. The Rogue Audio stack is twice the price of the Cayin and does sound better to my ears.

Sorry I got curious, why didn’t you use the same amplifier* for all headphones? Don’t you think that the difference between those completely different types of amps can enhance some of the perceived SQ difference (both good and bad)?

*I like that you are clear and specified that you have used different amp.

 

[GuyForkes]

Sorry I got curious, why didn’t you use the same amplifier* for all headphones? Don’t you think that the difference between those completely different types of amps can enhance some of the perceived SQ difference (both good and bad)?

*I like that you are clear and specified that you have used different amp.

You're right. Reason is that I can't. The SR1a won't run off the Cayin HA-300 which only outputs 8wpc through the speaker taps. I also did not have the speaker adapter on hand to connect the Susvara/Abyss TC to the Rogue Stereo 100. Have already ordered an adapter and will try it at some point. Regardless, I think the change won't be so significant as to overwrite what I wrote previously but who knows.

 

[Litlgi74]

LCD4s?

LCD4s over Abyss or TH900s?

I didnt care for the sound signature of the LCD4s I heard at CanJam... It seemed like there was something strange going on with the treble and cymbals.

As far as the bass response of the TH900s... You can't really say any other headphone has the best bass until you hear the TH900s... If you haven't experienced it... You are missing out.

 

[me2621a]

@tholt since you asked,

I have been enjoying my new Abyss for a week now. I am quite impressed with the 1266 CC, it sounds like no other headphone I have ever listened to, and when I listen to it I find that I am unable to do other activities, I am just to invested in the music. Going back to the Utopia or the Stellia right after listening to the Abyss leaves me with a small stage, congestion, and almost metallic vocals. Now mind you if I go away and come back the next day and put on the Utopias first, they sound great, until the Abyss come out haha.

As for amping, the Mogwai SE drives the abyss fantastically, especially when you put in a 5ar4, with my current tube combo the amp does somewhere around 4 - 5 watts into 32 ohms using a pair of Bendix 6384 (6l6gc eq) and a TS 6SU7 the result is really just awesome.

To my surprise, the Abyss also did better then expected on my Kenzie Monoblocks (350mw into 32 ohms). Vocals are nice, but more dynamic pieces miss something that the Mogwai SE is able to provide, this is to be expected. Switching the mono blocks from 1626 power tubes to 12B4As (roughly doubling output power) makes the Abyss quite enjoyable on the monos, and if I did not have the SE I could see using the Abyss on the monos regularly, however my Utopias and Stellias love the 1626 so I don't see the Abyss getting much play time on the Monos.

My only complaint is fit, my ears are to high or my head is to short, so I had to get a headband pad and put it in-between my head and the headband so that the drivers would not be too low. While it is very comfy once on I am surprised at this price that a better solution is not built in for adjusting the height, especially when I see what Abyss has done on the Dianna Phi, though I have not personally warn them, so maybe they are not that comfy once on. Who knows either way they are a keeper, and the Ampsandsound Mogwai SE is a great partner for them.

 

[tholt]

@me2621a , thanks for your follow up. I was actually wondering about this recently! Can you describe a bit more detail the SQ of the pairing? I'm interested in overall presentation, extension (bass and treble amount and quality), midrange, PRaT, etc. Any details would be appreciated. I'm still mildly curious about this amplifier. I see a couple on the used market and I'm in the market for an amp (the never ending saga....)

Regarding fit -- I 100% agree. For $5k, I believe one can make a good argument that some R&D could have been spent on making a better, more refined way to adjust fit. I'm in the same situation as you. I came up with a solution that is very easy, doesn't involve any tweaking/modification and makes them fit perfectly (for me). See the image. I simply don't loop the O rings around the two pieces on the headband. I just wedge the rings into the bottom. The rings are thick enough that they stay. Works well.

Looking forward to your thoughts on the Mogwai. Thanks

 

[Allears79]

Hi, need help checking an issue with the left channel of the TC: mine is brand new (2 months old) with 80h of burning and in some songs - specially when playing mid tone piano and acoustic guitar - I can hear a vibration coming from the left driver. I've already inverted the cable, change rotation of pads, but this is apparently coming from the driver, as if it had a loose diaphragm.

Can someone quickly test these 2 tracks and let me know if you have the same issues? 1- The Garden (Artist: Brad Mehldau / Album: Finding Gabriel) and 2 - Winston Churchill's Boy (Artist: Benjamin Clementine / Album: At Least For Now). The vibration appears right in the first minute of the song.

I appreciate very much the community feedback on this!!!

 

[Litlgi74]

Hi, need help checking an issue with the left channel of the TC: mine is brand new (2 months old) with 80h of burning and in some songs - specially when playing mid tone piano and acoustic guitar - I can hear a vibration coming from the left driver. I've already inverted the cable, change rotation of pads, but this is apparently coming from the driver, as if it had a loose diaphragm.

Can someone quickly test these 2 tracks and let me know if you have the same issues? 1- The Garden (Artist: Brad Mehldau / Album: Finding Gabriel) and 2 - Winston Churchill's Boy (Artist: Benjamin Clementine / Album: At Least For Now). The vibration appears right in the first minute of the song.

I appreciate very much the community feedback on this!!!

I do hope we can help sort out your vibration problem...

But thank you for introducing me to Benjamin Clementine... I love hearing new music and this was a joy to listen to... Especially the song I Won't Complain. WOW! Fantastic.

Thanks again

 

[ra990]

Hi, need help checking an issue with the left channel of the TC: mine is brand new (2 months old) with 80h of burning and in some songs - specially when playing mid tone piano and acoustic guitar - I can hear a vibration coming from the left driver. I've already inverted the cable, change rotation of pads, but this is apparently coming from the driver, as if it had a loose diaphragm.

Can someone quickly test these 2 tracks and let me know if you have the same issues? 1- The Garden (Artist: Brad Mehldau / Album: Finding Gabriel) and 2 - Winston Churchill's Boy (Artist: Benjamin Clementine / Album: At Least For Now). The vibration appears right in the first minute of the song.

I appreciate very much the community feedback on this!!!

A few others have experienced this issue, including myself, specifically with the left driver. I would love to know why it's always the left driver and never the right. Get in touch with Abyss, they will take care of you.

 

[lambdastorm]

A few others have experienced this issue, including myself, specifically with the left driver. I would love to know why it's always the left driver and never the right. Get in touch with Abyss, they will take care of you.

Seems like a recurring theme at this point. My pair used to have a similar problem: bass on the left driver is much quieter than the right. It's weird how the rest of the frequency spectrum remain completely unaffected. Abyss was able to take care of my pair without any hassle, but it still got me wondering why whenever someone has a problem with their pair its always the left driver. With how channel matching works you'd assume its always a 50-50.

 

[tholt]

Abyss was able to take care of my pair without any hassle, but it still got me wondering why whenever someone has a problem with their pair its always the left driver.

Strange indeed. I assumed the drivers were the same regardless of side, but these comments lead me to think that the drivers are made to be L or R? I assume that Abyss don't burn in for an extended period of time. Perhaps 24 hours or so just to rule out failures. Could be wrong, but certainly suggests that these anomalies happen long after Abyss would catch anything amiss at the factory.

 

[astrostar59]

Interesting. Could it be cable routing in the housing? A cable touching the frame for example? That may explain why it is the left side all the time.

 

[Litlgi74]

Hi, need help checking an issue with the left channel of the TC: mine is brand new (2 months old) with 80h of burning and in some songs - specially when playing mid tone piano and acoustic guitar - I can hear a vibration coming from the left driver. I've already inverted the cable, change rotation of pads, but this is apparently coming from the driver, as if it had a loose diaphragm.

Can someone quickly test these 2 tracks and let me know if you have the same issues? 1- The Garden (Artist: Brad Mehldau / Album: Finding Gabriel) and 2 - Winston Churchill's Boy (Artist: Benjamin Clementine / Album: At Least For Now). The vibration appears right in the first minute of the song.

I appreciate very much the community feedback on this!!!

Tested the tracks on my CCs... No vibration.

 

[jlbrach]

the frame might be loose....when i sold my Phi's the buyer said he thought he heard a vibration that i had never noticed...i ended up sending them off to abyss to have them checked out and i was told there was no issue with the drivers but the frame was a bit loose and could cause some vibration in certain positions.....worth looking into

 

[Allears79]

Thanks guys. JPS just asked me to send them back for verification. I'll do this and report findings.