[Beolab]

I'm having a glass of whiskey, listening to Beethoven and wondering how these things can sound so perfect. 
Every frequency is rendered astonishingly well..with punch, depth, realism, quickness.. and the headphones still get out of your way. You listen to the music, not the headphones. And all this from my crappy McIntosh amp.

I find it mind boggling that these headphones were made by snake oil peddlers of "magical" cables on their first effort.

Sounds nice!

Yes thats the big question how was it impassible!

I think the headphones are like a great win, just gets better and better reputation from users all the time.

And ultra high end users that have sold them because of some other brand just resealed a new model, but after a little while they have bought a new pair Abyss again, and that to me say something.

The other manufactures are trying their best but found it hard for them to make so much better headphones so it does exceeds the Abyss, because in the end it is just headphones and it is impossible to do so much better with a nano thin diaphragm foil.

They try to make it in different materials / thickness but thats it, and according to Joe its hard to make the Abyss better than it is today.

 

[mulder01]

 
I find it mind boggling that these headphones were made by snake oil peddlers of "magical" cables on their first effort.

 
ha, yeah, I am yet to be convinced about high end cables - I am a bit skeptical but I'm not going to write them off if I haven't properly tried them for myself.  But I actually hold a bit more hope for JPS cables after hearing this headphone - there is a pretty old video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAdovBFa1GU of Tyll's from back when the Abyss was a prototype where Joe talks about this headphone as a "materials science project" where they tried all types of diaphragm materials on the market and weren't happy with any of them so they designed their own material from scratch to achieve the level of sound they wanted and tried to transpose some of the experience they have in developing materials for high end cables into creating a headphone.  They seem to be pretty serious about what they do, and given the results of the headphone project, I'm a little more interested to hear what their cables can do.  They can be quite expensive though so maybe no time soon...

 

[aphex27]

   
ha, yeah, I am yet to be convinced about high end cables - I am a bit skeptical but I'm not going to write them off if I haven't properly tried them for myself.  But I actually hold a bit more hope for JPS cables after hearing this headphone - there is a pretty old video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAdovBFa1GU of Tyll's from back when the Abyss was a prototype where Joe talks about this headphone as a "materials science project" where they tried all types of diaphragm materials on the market and weren't happy with any of them so they designed their own material from scratch to achieve the level of sound they wanted and tried to transpose some of the experience they have in developing materials for high end cables into creating a headphone.  They seem to be pretty serious about what they do, and given the results of the headphone project, I'm a little more interested to hear what their cables can do.  They can be quite expensive though so maybe no time soon...
 

Great vid, thanks!

 

[mulder01]

The V281 can drive them but you are going to want a better amp for the Abyss trust me on that.

The Cavalli Lau / Dark Star / Woo Wa5 / Wells Audio Enigma or Headtrip are good choices for this headphone, and its no shortcut. You can also buy a speaker Amp like mensiond in this thread: Nelson Pass Labs IN30 , Sim Audio Moon 600i , Goldmund , diffrent tube/SS amps.

 
It kinda looks like you're just listing all the amps you've seen mentioned on this thread and just assumed they are better because they're more expensive.  Have you actually listened to the v281 and all of these amps?  I know Fririce and Nomax actually preferred the v281 to the liquid gold.  From my very limited experience with the liquid gold I wouldn't say it was any better either.  I've only heard one member on here who has tried the Abyss with the Dark Star and don't think he was too thrilled with it because he ordered himself a new amp straight away.  Even in the last couple of pages you were asking people for their impressions on the Headtrip, and now you're recommending it as one of the best solutions for the Abyss and you don't even have one yet.  Pretty sure the head fi rules basically say that if you haven't tried it, don't talk about it...  Anything that I've read about but haven't tried myself, I make sure to mention that I haven't tried it when I point out what other members have said about something.  AFAIK, you haven't heard anything you just talked about like you were speaking facts.
 
Not anything personal - just saying maybe be a little more cautious about what you are posting.

 

[Beolab]

It kinda looks like you're just listing all the amps you've seen mentioned on this thread and just assumed they are better because they're more expensive.  Have you actually listened to the v281 and all of these amps?  I know Fririce and Nomax actually preferred the v281 to the liquid gold.  From my very limited experience with the liquid gold I wouldn't say it was any better either.  I've only heard one member on here who has tried the Abyss with the Dark Star and don't think he was too thrilled with it because he ordered himself a new amp straight away.  Even in the last couple of pages you were asking people for their impressions on the Headtrip, and now you're recommending it as one of the best solutions for the Abyss and you don't even have one yet.  Pretty sure the head fi rules basically say that if you haven't tried it, don't talk about it...  Anything that I've read about but haven't tried myself, I make sure to mention that I haven't tried it when I point out what other members have said about something.  AFAIK, you haven't heard anything you just talked about like you were speaking facts.

Not anything personal - just saying maybe be a little more cautious about what you are posting.

I just wanted to inform and help out with just god intentions that also many have mentioned 100 times before, that the Abyss ned a very good amp to awake the headphone on all cylinders, so it could be a waste of money to buy a little underpowered or cheaper amp as i see it. Now the V281 is either cheap or very underpowered.

I have fallen in to that hole my self and did just want to inform everyone who planing to by the Abyss that you need a serious good amp, and just name dropped a few commonly used amps for the Abyss that i think the buyer should try out before he makes the final call and by the V281 was just my intention.

I have not said or intended anywhere that i have listen to them all the amps i mentioned, so here you have miss understood me greatly.

I did just want to help out before he runs out and buy a V281 who i in fact i have listen to, and i thought it sounded a little to neutral for my ears, and it wouldn't had suffer if it hade a little more power either was my impression.

 

[mulder01]

I think you may have misunderstood his question - he already has a v281 and was thinking about buying an Abyss and wanted to know if the amp - which he already has - would be ok. Not "What is the best amp I can buy for an Abyss"

I wouldn't say it was underpowered considering it can put over 4 watts into the Abyss - I've never come anywhere near reaching the maximum output of this amp.

If he was buying a whole new abyss rig from scratch and had the money to spend then great, but he is asking if the amp he already owns would be ok to power the Abyss if he got one - and it would - if he wants to upgrade later then great, but saying that you need a more expensive amp straight away will likely put him off buying an abyss because that immediately doubles the amount of money he needs to spend and it's just not necessary.

 

[Beolab]

I think you may have misunderstood his question - he already has a v281 and was thinking about buying an Abyss and wanted to know if the amp - which he already has - would be ok. Not "What is the best amp I can buy for an Abyss"

I wouldn't say it was underpowered considering it can put over 4 watts into the Abyss - I've never come anywhere near reaching the maximum output of this amp.

If he was buying a whole new abyss rig from scratch and had the money to spend then great, but he is asking if the amp he already owns would be ok to power the Abyss if he got one - and it would - if he wants to upgrade later then great, but saying that you need a more expensive amp straight away will likely put him off buying an abyss because that immediately doubles the amount of money he needs to spend and it's just not necessary.

Then i misunderstood that , and you misunderstood me, case closed!

(Yes i have 6,8 watt @ 46 Ohm today and the sound is to me equal to the Moon 430 Neo and the V281..
i think it is a little to flat, so we all have different criteria and im not satisfied with it, and therefore i have placed an order on a different and to me and many others better amp.
My intention is not to through pie on different amps, but i think i have right to the free word of what i have found out after over one year with the Abyss Headphones)

I think its better if we end this conversation and shake hands instead.

I can erase my earlier posts and you can erase your earlier postings and quotings and move on.

 

[ufospls2]

Does anyone know if there is any way of testing the Abyss in Vancouver Canada? Also, would the Auralic Taurus drive the Abyss well? Or does it not have enough juice?
 
I've been doing some reading on the Abyss vs. the HE1000 but haven't found too much info. Does anyone in this thread have any experience with both? I'm looking to buy my "endgame" (I hate that term) headphone. I love the SR-009, and have been able to test it out quite a bit. From what I have read the Abyss has more bass and sub bass than the SR-009. I find the SR-009 is very good at bass, whilst not in quantity so much, but quality. With a bit of EQ, I think I could bring up the quantity of bass on the SR-009 and it might be as close to my perfect headphone as I have heard.....but I haven't heard the abyss. I listen to LOTS of electronica, but also metal, jazz, and some pop. I'm not much into classical. I'm not too concerned with price within reason as long as I could run the Abyss on my Taurus, as I would have to buy an amp to run the Stax, so I'm looking at quite a bit of money either way. Thanks for the help guys!

 

[aphex27]

Having sold my SR-009s after I got the Abyss, I can tell you the Abyss are a completely different experience. 
The Stax were the finest headphones I had heard, everything was amazing. But the sound was still right next to your eyes.
With the Abyss, the music is in front of you. 
I listen to a lot of Electronica and some metal myself. For these genres there's simply no comparison IMO.
I actually easily prefer the Abyss even for classical. 

 

[Beolab]

Here we go again!

Hope not Moulder see this post

I the Taurus can drive them with great headroom i think.

The Auralic overall character can be a bit clinical, but ofther than that its a very good amp, almost top 5 amps for Abyss i think!

Buy them and you wont regret it

The Abyss play like a big Kharma speaker and the Stax plays more like ultra detailed headphone thats the diffrence.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

  Does anyone know if there is any way of testing the Abyss in Vancouver Canada? 

 
I went though the same thing.  I bugged Joe about Canadian dealers and, long story short, it's going to be a long story (read: wait).  We've been left out of the club up here

 

[ufospls2]

  Having sold my SR-009s after I got the Abyss, I can tell you the Abyss are a completely different experience. 
The Stax were the finest headphones I had heard, everything was amazing. But the sound was still right next to your eyes.
With the Abyss, the music is in front of you. 
I listen to a lot of Electronica and some metal myself. For these genres there's simply no comparison IMO.
I actually easily prefer the Abyss even for classical. 

 
Very interesting. I'm having a hard time imagining the sound being in front of you, coming from headphones. Another reason to demo before dropping this kind of cash I suppose. If only I could find a used pair for sale!

Here we go again!

Hope not Moulder see this post

I the Taurus can drive them with great headroom i think.

The Auralic overall character can be a bit clinical, but ofther than that its a very good amp, almost top 5 amps for Abyss i think!

Buy them and you wont regret it

The Abyss play like a big Kharma speaker and the Stax plays more like ultra detailed headphone thats the diffrence.

Again the speaker like quality vs. headphone comparison. Very interesting. I need to hear these! The fact I wouldn't need to drop $$$ on a suitable amp is very attractive. Buying the SR-009 from price japan + an amp=about the price of an abyss. I just need to find a used pair for sale! haha. 
 

   
I went though the same thing.  I bugged Joe about Canadian dealers and, long story short, it's going to be a long story (read: wait).  We've been left out of the club up here

Ah thats a shame Oh well, I'll keep my eye out and perhaps I'll find a pair to demo some day. I can't drop this kind of money without hearing them first. 

 

[potkettleblack]

To weigh in quickly: the short audition I had with these (an hour on an underpowered amp [I was not prepared]) the sense of space they created was pretty surreal. I mentioned in a he1000 review that the he1000 had the best soundstage I'd ever heard and that the abyss lacked intimacy for certain music. I believe on my second audition that opinion won't change; that it is for certain and not all music.

I can't stress this enough - the sense of space the Ab1266 created was completely unmatched. The argument can be made for the imaging on the hd800 being better and more precise (slightly - and it is slight imo).. But the sheer size of the head stage went to the AB by quite a margin. I mean, it's just ridiculous. The first song I listened to was BIlly Jean. When the beat kicked in, it sounded so far behind me, it borders the impossible for what headphones can normally achieve.

As many have said about the AB sounding like speakers - for those that have not auditioned these yet - that is NOT an exaggeration. At all.

Just as I think Fang is a genius for the HE1000, Joe and whoever else is involved with this can should feel very proud of themselves. And this is their first attempt?

Take a bow.

Two things that stuck with me, were that characteristic and the speed. I need to hear how good the bass can be once fitted and driven correctly.

I sincerely hope I can get a good fit with no issues on my second time around in Feb/March, because these are well and truly in the running.

 

[potkettleblack]

Edited for political correctness.

 

[discodelico]

I'd like to upgrade my Abyss1266 cables.
Anyone has compared the JPS labs Superconductor Vs the Spore 4?
All best