[potkettleblack]

I'm gonna struggle to put this into words, but I'll try.

I'm sat on the train coming back from the headphone shop I've been planning to go to for months.

The first half of the day I auditioned the LCD 4, HD800S, SR009 and the L700.

The plan was to go there to audition the Abyss, after getting the amp suggested to me by Joe and having the frame of mind to be willing to adjust the headphone as much as necessary to hear all of the signatures it was capable of.

I put it off for 3-4 hours. I kept looking over at them thinking 'what if you aren't what I'm hoping you're gonna be. What if you only sound good with one type of music.'

Eventually I took them into a smaller listening room, a long with my amp and my MacBook, and the expectation of disappointment. My heart was set on the L700, after hearing it, and picking something to compliment it - like the Audeze LCD X.

I sat down, plugged them in and extended them as wide as they could go and tilted them forward a little.

Now.. I want to start firing off...

I want to start putting emoticon headphone faces after every descriptive sentence I can muster... I want to shake the shoulders of all those who didn't give this headphone a second glance or chance (myself included).

But I won't.

So I'll just say this:

1. I didn't leave the room for an hour - even though I needed the toilet just before I went in there.
2. They were the best headphone in the whole shop and the best headphone I have ever heard - and the margins werent close.
3 The bass (when properly adjusted) trumps everything I've ever heard - again, the margins not being close. The bass is extra-ordinary.
4. I ordered and paid for them, spending all of my saved budget almost immediately after I'd finished listening. There was no second thought, no 'erms' or 'I'm not sures'.

Today was a good day.

I hoped it was gonna go like this but if I'm honest I thought the odds were terrible..

And I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Honourable mention:

The L700 is a lovely headphone that I would still own (for its signature) but on a whole doesn't hold a light to the AB-1266 - nor do the rest of the offerings in my opinion.

 

[bfreedma]

^^^
Can you be more specific? I can't tell from your post how you feel about the Abyss.....


Congrats on the purchase and finding something you liked so much!

 

[negura]

 

 
So the LCD-4 not close then? Can you elaborate a bit? The HD800S or SR-009s are a completely different sound imo.
 

^^^
Can you be more specific? I can't tell from your post how you feel about the Abyss.....


Congrats on the purchase and finding something you liked so much!

 
+1

 

[Torq]

I'm gonna struggle to put this into words, but I'll try.

I'm sat on the train coming back from the headphone shop I've been planning to go to for months.

The first half of the day I auditioned the LCD 4, HD800S, SR009 and the L700.

The plan was to go there to audition the Abyss, after getting the amp suggested to me by Joe and having the frame of mind to be willing to adjust the headphone as much as necessary to hear all of the signatures it was capable of.

I put it off for 3-4 hours. I kept looking over at them thinking 'what if you aren't what I'm hoping you're gonna be. What if you only sound good with one type of music.'

Eventually I took them into a smaller listening room, a long with my amp and my MacBook, and the expectation of disappointment. My heart was set on the L700, after hearing it, and picking something to compliment it - like the Audeze LCD X.

I sat down, plugged them in and extended them as wide as they could go and tilted them forward a little.

Now.. I want to start firing off...

I want to start putting emoticon headphone faces after every descriptive sentence I can muster... I want to shake the shoulders of all those who didn't give this headphone a second glance or chance (myself included).

But I won't.

So I'll just say this:

1. I didn't leave the room for an hour - even though I needed the toilet just before I went in there.
2. They were the best headphone in the whole shop and the best headphone I have ever heard - and the margins werent close.
3 The bass (when properly adjusted) trumps everything I've ever heard - again, the margins not being close. The bass is extra-ordinary.
4. I ordered and paid for them, spending all of my saved budget almost immediately after I'd finished listening. There was no second thought, no 'erms' or 'I'm not sures'.

Today was a good day.

I hoped it was gonna go like this but if I'm honest I thought the odds were terrible..

And I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Honourable mention:

The L700 is a lovely headphone that I would still own (for its signature) but on a whole doesn't hold a light to the AB-1266 - nor do the rest of the offerings in my opinion.

Congratulations!  

 
After my initial audition I had found an issue with bass not being nearly as prominent as I'd read and been told (with a solid seal) and with significant bass-distortion (driver rattling) without a seal, that had me holding off on my purchase.
 
Chatting with my dealer (The Cable Co.) and JPS-Labs indicated this was likely an issue with the loaner set I had to audition.
 
Since there was a 30-day return period, and my dealer had them in stock, I decided to try another pair and, lo-and-behold, no issues at all!  Shipped them overnight, received them half an hour ago and the bass I was expecting is there, there's none of the very-obvious distortion, and they sound absolutely magnificent!
 
More impressions when they're run in, but I'm glad I gave them a second chance because there is a huge difference between what I auditioned and what I have on my head right now!

 

[bfreedma]

   
So the LCD-4 not close then? Can you elaborate a bit? The HD800S or SR-009s are a completely different sound imo.
 
 
+1

 
I'm interested in hearing a bit more on the LCD4/Abyss comparison as well.  PotKettleBlack, when you come up for air after some time enjoying your new headphones, can you comment?

 

[potkettleblack]

So the LCD-4 not close then? Can you elaborate a bit? The HD800S or SR-009s are a completely different sound imo.


+1

You're right.

To begin I'll say that the HD800S is a better offering than the HD800 and anyone that's considering the latter should seriously hear the former first.

It would take quite a while to break down everything so I'll try and simplify it and try my hardest to avoid the typical audiophile mantras.

Classical music for me had a better sense of being there (that's the first cliche) with the abyss above all of the others. Whilst I thought and think the imaging of the HD800 is great this was something the LCD 4 really shocked me on. I found it much more natural than the HD800S. But, the presentation was better on the Abyss and the sense of space it gave me bested all others to my ears. The 'speaker sound' (that's the second cliche) couldn't be more true. These things sound like speakers and the HD800S doesn't - neither does the LCD 4 (at all) but I would pick the LCD4 offering - if it were the 'headphone sound and not speaker sound' I wanted, over the HD800S. Which is NOT what I expected.

(This is something the LCD 4 deserves more credit for)

The bass on the HD800S was a great improvement - subtle but the small increase in warmth (across the board) brought out a lot of what the HD800 was always capable of but never managed.

The bass on the LCD4 is an extremely thick sound, but controlled, lush and not really exaggerated. In isolation it was one of the best... But listening to the Abyss afterwards, dwarfed the impact, precision and visceral feeling the Audeze LCD4 lacked. The Abyss was in another league imo. Please take that sentence seriously - I have some monster tracks for testing bass (specifically for drum and bass and EDM ish genres).

(Dazed and confused [Led Zepplin] is another test track I use for bass)

And the Abyss took the gold for that too..

Here's where it gets interesting.

I found the midrange of the LCD4 to be way too 'in your face'.

The vocals, although clear, were almost offensive. They barged the other merits of the music out the way and acted like an unwanted attention whore. Now before you say - this was not immediately after I'd heard the Abyss. It was one of the first headphones I heard (the dealer let me unbox them [theyre a demo pair that were delivered just an hour after I'd arrived]) and I' had been listening to my shure 846 on the journey - so it's not like id gone from something withdrawn to that, and was taken off guard.

As a comparison I thought the LCD 3 midrange was tuned better - though the LCD4 is technically superior in all other regards - both enjoyment and 'Hifi level' - it was just too 'forced' and mid centric.

Now. The midrange of the Abyss. Something I was expecting to bite me in the arse.

When I first auditioned the Abyss is was on very low volume with an o2 and for a very short time. I thought they sounded empty, vacant and I was not impressed.

After today I would pick the Abyss midrange over the LCD4 - and I'm being dead serious. I didnt find them hollow or withdrawn, at all... but pretty spectacular.

I got on the balls of my feet and braced myself when I hit the play button for an Eva Cassidy song I had prepped for this test. I was very suprised with the result. The space was filled, the turkey was stuffed and shoebox had my high heels in it...

(I don't wear high heels - I was making a funny)

But seriously - or 'cereal flakes' as the unfunny Bob Katz once said on an Innerfidelity video - they sounded really, really great with vocals. I was very impressed and relieved.

I'm a critical, negative kinda fella - if there was a problem here I would say. I promise.

On a side note:

I found it crazy that the slightest adjustment with the Abyss changed the treble, bass and midrange, sometimes by quite a lot.

 

[potkettleblack]

The Stax were another good comparison.

Arguably more 'nimble sounding'

With certain instruments I was hard-pressed over saying they were better than the Abyss really in any way.

Speed? Are they faster than the abyss?

When you hear a guitar you could make the case (although small) for the Stax.. But the Abyss sounded wonderful with guitars too and it had its own take on the way they should sound.
With acoustic music I don't know if being just 'nimble' carries the performance through to the end.

I want some rump steak on those strum notes please.

When you hear the explosive sound of a snare or the transition from one beat to another (on the Abyss) - you start to question how you even gauged 'speed' in the first place.

The Stax were like inoffensive raindrops on your bedroom window - the Abyss was like erecting scaffolding in a thunder storm.

Both scenarios made you feel like you were there in person.

The Stax were spectacular in their own right - but the Abyss again would be my choice (if I only had one).

 

[nassq8]

 4. I ordered and paid for them, spending all of my saved budget almost immediately after I'd finished listening. There was no second thought, no 'erms' or 'I'm not sures'

 Congrats on your purchase, glad you found it as expected.
 
Quote:

 I decided to try another pair and, lo-and-behold, no issues at all! 

Well, this is not reassuring for a potential customer, as I'm on a verge of buying one. Does Abyss also suffer a production variability as one found in other high-end headphones (such as LCD3)?

 

[Torq]

   Congrats on your purchase, glad you found it as expected.
Well, this is not reassuring for a potential customer, as I'm on a verge of buying one. Does Abyss also suffer a production variability as one found in other high-end headphones (such as LCD3)?

This wasn't a production variation.
 
The pair I had on audition/loan were from The Cable Co's "Headphone Lending Library" and, consequently, are shipped around to a lot of different users, on a trial basis (5% deposit).  Who knows how well they're taken care of by some users of that program.  The issue was obvious if you heard it, but it you ran the headphones with a seal you'd never hear it, and even then only when playing very bass heavy tracks.  Between The Cable Co and JPS it was determined they'd developed a fault.  I was offered a re-trial at no cost and both parties were extremely helpful.
 
I decided not to wait for another trial and buy based on what I'd heard already - knowing I could return them if it turned out it wasn't a fault.  But clearly it was, as the set I have on my head right now are even more impressive than the already-impressive-but-faulty-loaners.
 
I've never heard of any other issue with any other pair of Abyss, nor had The Cable Co run into this issue before.  I expect it's a one-off due to shipping damage or misuse somewhere in their life.

 

[xp9433]

... The plan was to go there to audition the Abyss, after getting the amp suggested to me by Joe and having the frame of mind to be willing to adjust the headphone as much as necessary to hear all of the signatures it was capable of.

... Eventually I took them into a smaller listening room, a long with my amp and my MacBook, and the expectation of disappointment. My heart was set on the L700, after hearing it, and picking something to compliment it - like the Audeze LCD X.

 
potkettleblack
In the photo, you are using the iDSD Micro DAC/Amp (which I also own). Are all your comments based on using this amp or other amps as well?
I ask because I would have thought that a very modestly priced amp like the iDSD Micro was not necessarily capable of achieving the ultimate in SQ (a potential mismatch?) with some of the HPs auditioned.
However, as I have never tried my Micro with any of these HPs, I welcome your further comments.
Did you listen to HPs with other amps in the photo and compare to your Micro?
 
Thanks
Frank

 

[potkettleblack]

potkettleblack
In the photo, you are using the iDSD Micro DAC/Amp (which I also own). Are all your comments based on using this amp or other amps as well?
I ask because I would have thought that a very modestly priced amp like the iDSD Micro was not necessarily capable of achieving the ultimate in SQ (a potential mismatch?) with some of the HPs auditioned.
However, as I have never tried my Micro with any of these HPs, I welcome your further comments.
Did you listen to HPs with other amps in the photo and compare to your Micro?

Thanks
Frank

I heard them with the Chord Dave and the Ifi

The Ifi idsd micro is an absolute little bulldog when it comes to the synergy and the way they drive the AB-1266.

Be reminded that this little wipper snapper of an amp was suggested to me by the owner of JPS Labs.

The guy that owns the shop has everything the world has to offer when it comes to headphones (minus the r10, Orpheus and float) and his reaction to the pairing was -

'God. That sounds epic.'

(Medium setting (red switch)
Lowest sensitivity setting
X bass and 3D setting not selected)

 

[xp9433]

potkettleblack
 
Thanks. That's highly encouraging news. Perhaps my Micro will stay durng any system upgrade plan.
Sounds like it is a very synergistic fit with the Abyss. And I was assuming that acquisition of a $5K HP would also need $5K+ invested in a DAC/Amp
 
Cheers
Frank

 

[potkettleblack]

potkettleblack

Thanks. That's highly encouraging news. Perhaps my Micro will stay durng any system upgrade plan.
Sounds like it is a very synergistic fit with the Abyss. And I was assuming that acquisition of a $5K HP would also need $5K+ invested in a DAC/Amp

Cheers
Frank

For the respect of the other users on this thread - I will simply say - not for me dear fellow.

Today is the closest ever come to feeling like I'd won the audiophile jackpot.

The cavalli gold would probably extend that feeling more - but id be very interested to see by how much because next to the Dave the Ifi more than held its own.

 

[ufospls2]

For the respect of the other users on this thread - I will simply say - not for me dear fellow.

Today is the closest ever come to feeling like I'd won the audiophile jackpot.

The cavalli gold would probably extend that feeling more - but id be very interested to see by how much because next to the Dave the Ifi more than held its own.

So glad to hear you found the Abyss to be what you hoped they would be. I know what you mean when you say you feel like you won the audiophile jackpot. For the first time in my life, I don't have an upgrade itch, I'm very happy with the Abyss. Sure I could make tweaks here and there and improve my set up, but in the headphone department, I'm set. I would like to audition the LCD-4 as I like to have two pairs of headphones on hand, for sake of variety and in case something goes wrong with a pair and it has to be sent off for repair. I sold all my other pairs of headphones to acquire the Abyss, and it was one of the best headphone related decisions I have ever made. VS the HE1000, it is a no brainer. 
 
That is cool that the Abyss works so well with your little amp. I spend a lot of time in the basement of my house away from my main set up which is in my bedroom, and I use the LH Labs Geek Out V2 with the Abyss, and it is awesome! It was very lack lustre when driven in single ended mode, but once I got an adapter to run them balanced from it, they really do well considering it is such a small device. Obviously it is not as good as my big set up, but it shows the Abyss can be run from something smaller, and still do really well. 

 

[potkettleblack]

So glad to hear you found the Abyss to be what you hoped they would be. I know what you mean when you say you feel like you won the audiophile jackpot. For the first time in my life, I don't have an upgrade itch, I'm very happy with the Abyss. Sure I could make tweaks here and there and improve my set up, but in the headphone department, I'm set. I would like to audition the LCD-4 as I like to have two pairs of headphones on hand, for sake of variety and in case something goes wrong with a pair and it has to be sent off for repair. I sold all my other pairs of headphones to acquire the Abyss, and it was one of the best headphone related decisions I have ever made. VS the HE1000, it is a no brainer. 

That is cool that the Abyss works so well with your little amp. I spend a lot of time in the basement of my house away from my main set up which is in my bedroom, and I use the LH Labs Geek Out V2 with the Abyss, and it is awesome! It was very lack lustre when driven in single ended mode, but once I got an adapter to run them balanced from it, they really do well considering it is such a small device. Obviously it is not as good as my big set up, but it shows the Abyss can be run from something smaller, and still do really well. 

The HE1000 was well in the running today until I heard the Abyss. The Abyss is to me is what the HE1000 is to the LCD 3 - just different leagues.
The best thing for me that would compliment it was the L700 which for the price is absolutely remarkable.