[tholt]

That’s not what I’m saying. There’s adjusting the position of the headphone, and then there’s screwing around with it. Twisting the O-ring and doubling it up, using zip ties, using Velcro is screwing around with it. Go back through the thread and see how many people have their own tricks of how they adjust it.

No need, I know what people have done. And that's another discussion as to why people have done that. But from what I'm reading lately, nobody has been 'effing' with theirs.

 

[ken6217]

No need, I know what people have done. And that's another discussion as to why people have done that. But from what I'm reading lately, nobody has been 'effing' with theirs.

I don’t think you would. Generally it’s a bad practice to post something like, “You’re not gonna believe what happened I twisted the hell of my O-ring and It broke.

 

[Hoegaardener70]

I don’t think you would. Generally it’s a bad practice to post something like, “You’re not gonna believe what happened I twisted the hell of my O-ring and It broke.
[/QUOTE

i really don’t get your attitude. Some posters have their o-ring broken, some mention it is a bit of a design flaw. You seem on a personal whatever quest to comment on anybody stating the ring could be a problem, including an engineer.

 

[koven]

Buzzing drivers, 'sleeping' drivers, headband snaps.. and here I thought Hifiman was suppose to be the bad QC child... Kidding...

 

[tholt]

I mean think about it. You’re an O-ring that is rather thick, holding a headband on with not really that much tension, and then you place it on your head. How would that break under such circumstances? It would have to have a cut or nick in it to begin with for that to happen.

Over time I could see it breaking. It's not the intended purpose of an O ring to hold 1.4 lbs of headphone free-floating. You also might try asking all the people who have reported their O rings breaking under normal usage. I doubt they would have an answer, yet it happened anyway.

Obviously many owners, myself included, have never had an issue. I've just seen too many posters that have experienced breakage, allegedly under normal usage, that merit alternatives being explored. All I'm sayin

 

[tholt]

Another fun find: https://listen.tidal.com/album/132767611

I'm not really into jazz, but this is a fun, fun album that is also technical, innovative and awesome through headphones.

 

[Joe Skubinski]

Guys, I know some of you are bored out of your goddam minds, but you're blowing this WAY out of proportion.

Just for sh.ts and giggles, I pulled up how many headbands we sold worldwide in 2019, this of course covers over 5 years of AB-1266 in the field.
We shipped a whopping 19 pcs last year!

We send replacements outside the standard warranty period for $149 via UPS overnight anywhere in the world (Europe is a bit more due to their taxes, etc.). Reason for the quick [costly] shipping... we don't want anyone to be out of service for any length of time. This level of service gets the headband anywhere in the world in 1-3 days, quickest possible way. If someone wants to save a few bucks we can mail it, might get there in a month or so, if at all. And when it doesn't arrive, guess who gets to hear about it?

We don't have a poor design, we don't have a problem, just that sometimes... sh.t happens!

On another note, we FINALLY were able to return to work today in our area of New York. Fortunately, we're in a relatively large and modern building with four separate HVAC systems, and LOTS of cubic feet of air.

 

[ken6217]

i really don’t get your attitude. Some posters have their o-ring broken, some mention it is a bit of a design flaw. You seem on a personal whatever quest to comment on anybody stating the ring could be a problem, including an engineer.

It’s not a personal quest, and it’s all the same subject from each person. I’m making my comments based on what I’ve seen here and in the past.

I don’t see it as a design flaw when I look at my headband. tell me how that band can break if when you get it it is in perfect condition with no nicks or cuts. There’s really no pressure tension on it when it sits on your head.

Since none of us really know the answer, I think it’s perfectly logical to take a poll of all people with the headphones and see how many people have issues and how many don’t, and not just hear from the handful that say theirs broke.

Also factor in the amount of people on here that have come up with her own homegrown tweaks to play around with theadband to make it fit them.

I ride motorcycles, and do performance work on my bike as many of my friends. We also have a higher incidence of engine issues because we’re screwing around with it to try to get more out of it. We all know that doing so also voids our warranty, but that’s our choice.

 

[Roasty]

I had to turn my headband one round to get more tension on the o-rings because the headphone would sit too low and the earpads would press on the top of my ears.

After it snapped, the new headband I ordered got delivered really fast, and the new o-rings were nice and taut and I didn't need to turn the headband at all, and it sat nicely without the pads it resting on my ears.

Anyhow, this is my new favourite song! Check it out.

https://tidal.com/track/128797238

 

[drew911d]

My O-rings broke while sitting and watching netflix. But, I live in Arizona and I've had mine for 2.5 years. The zip ties are working great for me. Since I'm the only one who uses these I no longer need the adjustability.

I'm not mad, probably a bit crazy though...

 

[yagislav]

Hey guys, to give some insight on my o ring breakage last week (I posted pictures a few pages back), I actually have never flipped the headband or twisted it or did any modification. The headphone was only two weeks old. I did play around with the fit by changing the width, and of course toe-ing in/out, but this is all part of the recommendations. I never hung the headphones on a stand (I just place them on a cloth). Still snapped in a two week time frame.

HOWEVER with all this being said, I contacted Joe directly and he sorted the issue for me within a day. These guys over at Abyss are the real deal, customer service is immaculate. UPS should have delivered the package the next business day but that has been delayed due to covid pandemic and is not the fault of Abyss by any means. I would not lose any faith at all in Abyss, they make the best headphones in the world in my opinion and their customer service is on par.

 

[Marco_tam]

The only "tweak" I had before the O ring broke was putting a ZMF Pad around it and that's all.

I'm glad @Joe Skubinski did not put this on us customers saying we did this to ourselves but rather took up the responsibility and shipped out a new one the same day I emailed them and the best part is they did not charge me at all under warranty period.

So @ken6217, like Joe said, sometimes sh.t happens and it's just nobody's fault.

 

[GU1DO]

Same here tbh i bought mine new OG version and i guess it was setting in the store for at least 2 years , out of the box it was already stretched and didn't take long time to break , because the dealer in my country is no longer an abyss dealer i got screwed though mine is new from an authorized dealer so C'est La Vie

 

[Focux]

Same here tbh i bought mine new OG version and i guess it was setting in the store for at least 2 years , out of the box it was already stretched and didn't take long time to break , because the dealer in my country is no longer an abyss dealer i got screwed though mine is new from an authorized dealer so C'est La Vie

how do u find the OG 1266 holding up today compared to it's other totl peers?

does the phi or even phi tc make a substantial difference?

i have the impression that even the 1266 gets you very far ahead already

 

[GU1DO]

how do u find the OG 1266 holding up today compared to it's other totl peers?

does the phi or even phi tc make a substantial difference?

i have the impression that even the 1266 gets you very far ahead already

Oh they are amazing, the most capable headphone i have ever tried , heavy complex music only the 1266 can play it with ease and authority and i would say in confidence it can compete with any speaker and could be a substitute easily, i tried the Diana Phi Last year and it was a downgrade, yes it had better resolution and details but that's it everything else was worse , i see some people say it is 90% of the 1266 phi so i lost any interest to upgrade , some members said to me to comfort me that i already have a special edition (Abyss rejected my request to upgrade to the Phi and the TC though mine was bought near the announcement time and i was already given a date to send mine for upgrade, my plan was to upgrade it before hearing the Diana phi ) and i thank god that Joe rejected my application, for that i would never recommend Abyss store to anybody just because of the way i was treated last year , buy from second hand or try to find it for much less than the MSRP which is possible if you know a good dealer.