[vonBaron]

So, they guy just opened up the driver of the tc 10 minutes ago. He says the headphone is just some days old.

This is how it looks: https://imgur.com/gallery/uumLw7W

It looks bad or what?

 

[jlbrach]

I agree they literally crap all over every single hifi component that I own that brings me joy. Abyss, Focal Clear, Maggie LRS for them all measure like crap well by my ears they are a thing of beauty and that's the only measurement that is meaningful to me.

By nature I am an objective data driven guy but there is always more to a product than the measurable. Quite possibly Amir has not measured the products correctly or used a nonstandard rig or fits the frequency responses to non standard target curves.

At ASR it's all about Sinad + THD = SQ. If you minimize both then you have perfected SQ so the A90 and SP400 should be the greatest devices in the history of headfi. To my ears A90 was not that great it was good for the $ but in absolutes.

you have to remember if you start out with the belief that all TOTL products are overpriced and try to review products based on relative value I can promise you all 500 dollar products will prove to be better values on a strict dollar accounting because obviously the law of diminishing returns sets in...a mcdonald's burger is likely a better deal than a 70 dollar steak and a 15 dollar bottle of wine better value than a 200 dollar bottle but that aint how life works...these products should be reviewed on their own terms as TOTL equipment not as to whether or not the 5K product is on a linear basis better than the 500 dollar one...the whole discussion is silly...I own both the topping A90 for certain situations and far more expensive amps and the more expensive gear is dramatically better.....10X better, perhaps not...again, who cares?The reason I dont take this stuff seriously is that it is obvious to aim of the reviews is to tear down expensive gear...

 

[Jon L]

So, they guy just opened up the driver of the tc 10 minutes ago. He says the headphone is just some days old.

This is how it looks: https://imgur.com/gallery/uumLw7W

Hmm. As a 1266 TC owner, I would be interested in an official response from JPS Labs.

TCdriver by drjlo2, on Flickr

 

[rmsanger]

you have to remember if you start out with the belief that all TOTL products are overpriced and try to review products based on relative value I can promise you all 500 dollar products will prove to be better values on a strict dollar accounting because obviously the law of diminishing returns sets in...a mcdonald's burger is likely a better deal than a 70 dollar steak and a 15 dollar bottle of wine better value than a 200 dollar bottle but that aint how life works...these products should be reviewed on their own terms as TOTL equipment not as to whether or not the 5K product is on a linear basis better than the 500 dollar one...the whole discussion is silly...I own both the topping A90 for certain situations and far more expensive amps and the more expensive gear is dramatically better.....10X better, perhaps not...again, who cares?

I agree the A90 is fine for $400. I also understand that the curve of $ spend to % improvement in hifi is log and not linear.

The problem is they view their key metrics in absolutes regardless of price. For them an A90 > Moon 430 because it will have lower THD and a higher Sinad score. Both metrics for the A90 are beyond the perceptible range of human hearing so why buy anything else. Anyone trying to claim something else about Moon is snake-oil and pure fictional poetry. That is the framework through which they view the industry.

 

[Ciggavelli]

Hmm. As a 1266 TC owner, I would be interested in an official response from JPS Labs.

TCdriver by drjlo2, on Flickr

I don’t understand what’s wrong with the picture. But, I’m assuming Abyss’ response will be less than ideal. Probably will do an attack on drjlo2 or pull an Apple and say he’s listening to it wrong

I’m just joking, but also kinda not

 

[Jon L]

I don’t understand what’s wrong with the picture. But, I’m assuming Abyss’ response will be less than ideal. Probably will do an attack on drjlo2

I hope not because drjlo2 is my flickr which I'm using to share the photo from OP

The TC driver in this photo does have some wrinkles around the edges, which seem much less than the wrinkles from OG 1266 driver in the original Reddit thread.

 

[paradoxper]

I don’t understand what’s wrong with the picture. But, I’m assuming Abyss’ response will be less than ideal. Probably will do an attack on drjlo2 or pull an Apple and say he’s listening to it wrong

I’m just joking, but also kinda not

It has to do with the tensioning and the crinkles of the driver. This is interesting. Likely to find the same with, eh, many planar drivers regardless.

I'm less interested in hearing from Joe or JPS considering more-hostile PR BS.
I, however, would be very interested in hearing from Eric whom is a solid engineer and can articulate his point rather saliently.

 

[Hoegaardener70]

LOL, yes that's what I thought too.

 

[Roasty]

I had the Empyrean and after a while I had that crinkle sound when putting on/off the headphones. No detriment to the sound though. In fact I thought the empy sounded even better after it started crinkling lol

 

[paradoxper]

I had the Empyrean and after a while I had that crinkle sound when putting on/off the headphones. No detriment to the sound though. In fact I thought the empy sounded even better after it started crinkling lol

That's 'driver flex' caused by a change in seal. Some IEMs exhibit this behavior as well.
And, for fun, with STAX, this is affectionately known as the "STAX fart."

 

[Joe Skubinski]

That's a TC driver. Looks normal. What's the issue?
The black area underneath is aluminum, the diaphragm material is adhered to it in that area.

I should mention that inspecting the 1266 from the baffle side is something we don't even do. The odds of damaging the driver is quite high even with proper tooling and experience. It's VERY thin material, and the magnet has a strong affinity for anything steel. Seeing a Husky screwdriver nearby, you have to be stupid lucky not to ruin the driver. The torque on the baffle screws will be incorrect and uneven on that channel.

 

[ken6217]

It looks like the O-ring complainers have moved to another part of the headphone. In another year it will be the packing and the box.

 

[JLoud]

I like tubes, so that shows where I stand as far as measurements go. I also really like my TC, and don't like people who criticize something just because of cost.

 

[InstantSilence]

I'm just nitpicking and being annoying now... But I wish that little red cable was at least a jps labs little cable, instead it appears to be similar to my grandpa's first electronic watch.
With that said. I love my TC, even if the diaprham looked like an old leather couch.

 

[JLoud]

If Abyss installed it, wouldn't it be JPS? I'm just being obnoxious.