[MacedonianHero]

There was someone in this thread a long while back who loved the Lyr 3 with his 1266. I've used the Cayin iHA-6 and it sounds great. $700 new I believe so if you can find one used it would be within your budget.

It can drive the HE-6SE and Susvara, so the Phi TC would be no sweat....and for the price, very hard to beat!

 

[Jeweltopia]

I can stretch my budget, $200-300 on top wouldn't be breaking the bank by any means.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! What about the new Magnius from Schiit? I love Schiit amps and was going to place an order for a Magnius anyway due to wanting to replace my old Schiit Heresy because I love the house sound of the Magni amps. Looks like the balanced power on the Magnius is a beast compared to single ended.

 

[tholt]

It can drive the HE-6SE and Susvara, so the Phi TC would be no sweat....and for the price, very hard to beat!

The Lyr? Always wanted to try one with the 1266 to see. Definitely in the rarified 'budget' category that can drive the Abyss

I can stretch my budget, $200-300 on top wouldn't be breaking the bank by any means.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! What about the new Magnius from Schiit? I love Schiit amps and was going to place an order for a Magnius anyway due to wanting to replace my old Schiit Heresy because I love the house sound of the Magni amps. Looks like the balanced power on the Magnius is a beast compared to single ended.

I don't have experience with the Magnius. I did try the Mjolnir 2 but didn't like it. Someone else here did though, maybe he'll weigh in. The Flux FA-10 might be worth looking into as well. I thought it was a great amp for the price. Warmish, but I like a warmish amp with the Abyss. The FA-10 Pro is apparently more neutral. Either is $750 new, plus shipping.

 

[gonzalo1004es]

Hi, I’m selling my Abyss Phi CC, just in case someone is interested: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/abyss-phi-cc-lite.941021

 

[Adrian2215]

I know that this has probably been mentioned somewhere in these 796 pages, but, I don't want to sift through this whole forum.

What are some budget amps that will push the Abyss 1266 Phi TC? By budget, I mean $500 or so. I'm leaning towards a JDS Labs Element II or a THX XXX 789 because I know that they have enough power. I know that every amp has its own unique flavor which is why sometimes having enough power doesn't mean that it'll sound it's full potential. I'll gladly work towards upgrading my amp/dac setup over the next year or so but want something to hold me over until then because I'm looking to get an Abyss by October or November. My current amp, the Rupert Neve RNHP, isn't strong enough to push the Abyss and I want a budget friendly solution until then.

Sorry if this has been asked time and time again. Just a girl trying to find some answers, here. Thanks in advance to anyone who helps out.

Hey,

i have received my 1266 tc with the new headband a few days ago and im using right now the thx 789 as a amp until i can afford something like the gsx mini.

Regarding your question, the 789 is strong enough to push the 1266 and the quality is also really good. Ive bought it from a brick and mortar dealer and even he wasnt expecting that good soundqualtity for the 1266 for that price... But let me say in my chain the dac is important, I use a sabaj d5 just as a dac and everything sounds really good.

Once i connect just for testing purpose my fiio m11 as a dac everything sounded really off and too bright...

So for me the thx 789 is a good choice for the money until you can afford something better.

please take everything here with a grain of salt, ive just listend to the 1266 for about 15 Hours and burn in time is like 40 Hours right now and i never heard the "good" amps so maybe i dont know what im missing but still the 789 is a beast for the money in my opinion.


My Upgrading route is like listening to the 1266 on my 789 and in the meantime i will try to test a few other amps and then i will deceide how much i want to spent (i would love to test the wa33 once i find a dealer that has one...) and buy the "perfect" amp for my case with my money in my mind and with my preference of the sound.

Thats the same way i bought the 1266... i wanted to buy zmf verite or meze empyrean but then i heard the 1266 and was shocked of how much of a gap there is between a 3k headphone and the 1266 so i deceided to spent that extra money on the 1266 instead of going with the zmf and always graving the 1266.

 

[MacedonianHero]

The Lyr? Always wanted to try one with the 1266 to see. Definitely in the rarified 'budget' category that can drive the Abyss


I don't have experience with the Magnius. I did try the Mjolnir 2 but didn't like it. Someone else here did though, maybe he'll weigh in. The Flux FA-10 might be worth looking into as well. I thought it was a great amp for the price. Warmish, but I like a warmish amp with the Abyss. The FA-10 Pro is apparently more neutral. Either is $750 new, plus shipping.

Back in the day, the Lyr was developed by Schiit to drive the original HE-6 specifically.

 

[532500]

My advice: buy a good quality speaker amp and use the abyss via the speaker taps. that`s what i do and it`s awesome. all u need is this: https://www.ebay.de/itm/Balanced-XL...5-HE6-HE5LE-HE500-cable-adapter-/172733755771

 

[Hoegaardener70]

nm

 

[tholt]

My advice: buy a good quality speaker amp and use the abyss via the speaker taps. that`s what i do and it`s awesome. all u need is this: https://www.ebay.de/itm/Balanced-XL...5-HE6-HE5LE-HE500-cable-adapter-/172733755771

IME it's not as easy as just finding any speaker amp and using it to drive the Abyss and assuming everything will be great. Gain can be an issue, as well as general compatibility. I was on this hunt for a while, eventually tried two speaker amps, neither worked out. Gain was too much on both, sound was less than ideal.

 

[ken6217]

IME it's not as easy as just finding any speaker amp and using it to drive the Abyss and assuming everything will be great. Gain can be an issue, as well as general compatibility. I was on this hunt for a while, eventually tried two speaker amps, neither worked out. Gain was too much on both, sound was less than ideal.

He can get recommendations from others in this forum who have done it with great success.

Simaudio 600i is popular here. I have tried that as well as Audio Research and Pass Alan speaker and all have sounded amazing.

 

[tholt]

He can get recommendations from others in this forum who have done it with great success.

Simaudio 600i is popular here. I have tried that as well as Audio Research and Pass Alan speaker and all have sounded amazing.

Of course if that user was so inclined. However, those that you mention are way outside her budget. A speaker amp is one option, certainly not the only one.

 

[Jeweltopia]

Hey,

i have received my 1266 tc with the new headband a few days ago and im using right now the thx 789 as a amp until i can afford something like the gsx mini.

Regarding your question, the 789 is strong enough to push the 1266 and the quality is also really good. Ive bought it from a brick and mortar dealer and even he wasnt expecting that good soundqualtity for the 1266 for that price... But let me say in my chain the dac is important, I use a sabaj d5 just as a dac and everything sounds really good.

Once i connect just for testing purpose my fiio m11 as a dac everything sounded really off and too bright...

So for me the thx 789 is a good choice for the money until you can afford something better.

please take everything here with a grain of salt, ive just listend to the 1266 for about 15 Hours and burn in time is like 40 Hours right now and i never heard the "good" amps so maybe i dont know what im missing but still the 789 is a beast for the money in my opinion.


My Upgrading route is like listening to the 1266 on my 789 and in the meantime i will try to test a few other amps and then i will deceide how much i want to spent (i would love to test the wa33 once i find a dealer that has one...) and buy the "perfect" amp for my case with my money in my mind and with my preference of the sound.

Thats the same way i bought the 1266... i wanted to buy zmf verite or meze empyrean but then i heard the 1266 and was shocked of how much of a gap there is between a 3k headphone and the 1266 so i deceided to spent that extra money on the 1266 instead of going with the zmf and always graving the 1266.

I don't have a ZMF Verite but I do own the Empyrean. I just sold it. I bought it used for a very good price and actually sold it the other day and will ship it out on Monday. In my humble opinion when it comes to the Meze Empyrean, there are two types of people. Some people love the lack of detail retrieval, the heavy bass, and how laid back it is. Some people find it absolutely muddy, boring, dull, and feel as though it doesn't sound like their price tag. I was somewhere in the middle and liked it for some genres and music, but, I spent a few weeks with them and realized that they are just not for me. I fortunately got them used and actually resold them for a tiny bit more than I originally paid, so, I lost nothing.

I love my Focal Stellia and my HD800S with a passion. Lots of TOTL models that I've tried and auditioned before 2020 happened felt like side grades to me vs upgrades. I'm using my disposable income and the profits of selling off the Meze Empyrean (and maybe some more lesser used gear) to fund my Abyss 1266 TC and a good amp for it. Based off of someone's suggestion here, I'm strongly leaning towards the Cayin IHA-6 because it was already on my radar prior to this. I could always grab a THX XXX 789 and an Element II amp from JDS Labs and see which one I like best as well with the Abyss. Whichever one I don't like as much, I can always re-sell and take a small loss on it. Abyss themselves recommended the JDS Labs Element II to me when I emailed them asking about budget amps, and, they told me that it would be a good one to pair with them without breaking the bank.

I might also pick up the Raal SR1A at some point as well, so, I hear that the Jotunheim R can drive these, which I plan to get when I go that route. It'll probably be a few more weeks until I actually have the Abyss, and I'm so excited, because I auditioned the original 1266 (non CC or TC) version in NYC when I was there a few years ago and it's haunted me ever since.

 

[tholt]

Abyss themselves recommended the JDS Labs Element II to me when I emailed them asking about budget amps, and, they told me that it would be a good one to pair with them without breaking the bank.

Interesting recommendation. That thing is quite inexpensive!

I auditioned the original 1266 (non CC or TC) version in NYC when I was there a few years ago and it's haunted me ever since.

Same for me. I first heard the OG at a CES and I never forgot it. It was years later that I purchased a pair, in large part due to remembering experience.

The Cayin was a great amp IMO. It lasted through other amps that came and went.

 

[Jeweltopia]

Cayin it is, then!

Thanks for all the help, guys. It's been hard finding amp recommendations within this budget but I'm fairly positive that the Cayin will be a good choice.

 

[Litlgi74]

Wow... Simply fabulous!



https://tidal.com/track/36534563

Don't crank it to loud.