[F208Frank]

Welps. Looks like WA33 Elite with Upgraded Tubes on way to me...

Tubes:
Takatsuki 274B
4 x KR 2A3HP's
4 x Gold Harmonix 6C45's

Basically everything same as JPS edition upgraded tubes except the rectifier. Anyone trial the differences between the KR rectifier versus the Takatsuki?

Pretty excited to say the least.

 

[attmci]

The JPS Edition WA33 isn't geared specifically for the TC. As mentioned on their (JPS Labs) site;

"Abyss Headphone considers the WA33 JPS Labs Edition to be the finest headphone tube amplifier money can buy to mate with their AB-1288 Phi TC headphone or any other high performance headphones that appreciates high dynamic power and grace."

Many use both, the WA33 SE & EE paired with their TC (as well as other headphones) and absolutely love the pairing.
I own the WA33 SE w/upgraded tubes and it sounds amazing too me with my other headphones. I also had a couple of friends over 2 weekends ago and one of them bought his TC & Susvara (I used to own the Susvara) and listened with my WA33 and we all enjoyed both very, very much.



Read my reply to @F208Frank regarding the above in bold.
Also, don't forget, the JPS Edition for $12K comes with upgraded tubes, so if you add in the cost of the upgraded tubes (which I haven't) is it worth the extra $3K for the WA33 EE (which comes with standard tubes) knowing that you're definitely going to upgrade them?

I always try not to purchase upgrades tubes from the amp manufacture.

 

[supervisor]

IF you like electronic music AND you own Abyss Phi TC, you should LOVE this:

https://tidal.com/browse/album/125059371

 

[joseph69]

I always try not to purchase upgrades tubes from the amp manufacture.

I only purchased the UE 596 adapter & EH 6C45Pi's from Woo. I purchased the EML 2A3 (solid plates) due to their 5yr limited warranty, and I already had a few 596's from owning the WA6 for +/-5yrs.

 

[F208Frank]

I always try not to purchase upgrades tubes from the amp manufacture.

What is reason for this?

 

[astrostar59]

Anyone know any active headphone forums in the EU zone?

 

[Hoegaardener70]

How plausible would it be to grab an Abyss, as a complement to an HD800 and Verite Closed, mostly for extreme tech death / black-influenced metal?

I owned all these (or headphonbes similar to them). The abyss is BY FAR the best headphone for metal, in my opinion.

 

[F208Frank]

Just got the SC cables, compared to the stock, seems to bring forward the mids a bit, but at the expense of losing some slight detail. Hard for me to choose which is "better" but majority across the board say the SC cables are better overall. Anyone happen to like the stock cables more? One thing I noticed in the SC cables was that it made the treble more bearable on some songs as I am pretty treble sensitive.

Edit: While listening for a little longer, leaning towards the SC cables being my go to.

 

[astrostar59]

Let in run in more, it will then reach peak performance.

 

[attmci]

What is reason for this?

Due to the premium charge.

 

[Jon L]

So I was contemplating how to introduce some of that 300B tube goodness into SMSL SP200 THX AAA amp, which BTW I love for its ridiculous clarity.
I dusted off my heavily modified Transcendent Grounded Grid tube preamp (shunt mode, V Cap Teflons, etc) and fed the SMSL, and Voila! Proverbial best of both worlds..
Those with quality tube preamps should give this a try with SMSL.

0208201608 by drjlo2, on Flickr

0208201601 by drjlo2, on Flickr

 

[astrostar59]

I agree, tubes do some magic things, especially with highly revealing headphones. V-Caps Teflons are good in a PS or coupling position, I have used them in some DAC builds, but they can sound a bit cold, though highly transparent and fast. They also take forever to burn in, and need another burn if it unused for month on end.

In the end I preferred Duelund Copper Cast bypassed with tiny Duelund silver. Brings a bit or warmth without loosing any details. Other things to try in a DIY build are Audio Note tantalum resistors, quite a cheap upgrade depending how many you use. I bumped up from 1/2W to 1W in my DIY DAC build.

Can your 300B amp power the Abyss ok? How's it sound?

 

[tunes]

LOL, design fail on top of design fail.

Now that you have the Abyss TC, did you ever compare it to the Susvara or HEKse driven by the Benchmark HPA4?

 

[llamaluv]

Now that you have the Abyss TC, did you ever compare it to the Susvara or HEKse driven by the Benchmark HPA4?

I had the AHB2 speaker amp, not the HPA4 headphone amp. Unfortunately I sold it before getting the TC, but I have a feeling that the TC would sound great with it (the AHB2), and that it might synergize even better than with the Susvara, for instance.

Reason being is that I felt the AHB2 had a kind of "dynamic ceiling" in general (and not just with the Susvara). But because the TC is so naturally strong when it comes to dynamics, this might not be as much of an issue, thus letting the strengths of the AHB2 to come out with less of its limitations dragging it down (ie, sounding a lil "polite").

This is just speculation, though. Also, I can't say if driving the TC or other planars off the headphone amp version versus the AHB2 speaker amp would result in the same listening experience. Subtle differences in the resulting sonic signature between the two could easily tip the scales in one direction or another. People tend to assume (ie, speculate) that they'd sound essentially the same, but I'd have to hear them side-by-side to be properly convinced.

On the question of resulting tonality (and also, relatedly, of "tonal density") of the TC with one of the two Benchmark amps, that to me is an even more complicated question to reason about without hearing them in person. Aaand now I'm curious again...

 

[Hoegaardener70]

So, here is my feedback to the Abyss ab-1266 TC. When I got it, I was deeply into the hobby of comparing headphones, and I owned at that moment the Utopia, Empy, Z1R and HD800S. I had heard the TC at CanJam and knew by then that I wanted to compare it to my setup, and somehow had assumed that my one-minute fascination with the TC would pass and that I would sell it after a couple of weeks with hopefully not too much loss.

Fast forward six months, and i still own the TC and have sold all the other headphones above. In the end, the TC is the most fun headphone while still being analytical. There is a raw power to it for metal, and it is dynamic and insightful for classic; in short, there is nothing else out there which can match it as a “one for all” endgame headphone. I do occasionally miss certain traits of the other phones - the unmatched crazy resolution of the utopia for classical music and the Empy’s comfort- but the overall level of immersiveness, soundstage and quality (and quantity!) of bass really make it something special.

In addition to the open TC, I have a closed Stellia (which gives me some characteristics of the Utopia which I miss), and this headphone search is over. Nice, because I can now focus on my music .