ken6217
Headphoneus Supremus
Hi,
I will try to make it as short as possible.
I need your opinions on two subjects:
I currently have an LCD-X and I have been looking for an upgrade. I wanted to hear what the TOTL was about.
In March I went to Headphone Auditions in Amsterdam to compare the TOTL headphones and discover my TOTL system.
I ended up liking the Abyss phi TC -
I listened to the phi TC on the Abyss stack (Formula s, powerman, sagra dac) and with the Chord Dave + Mscaler instead of the Sagra dac.
I also tried them on the Chord hugo tt2.
I was blown away by the quality and especially with the bass. For me it felt like having a giant subwoofer in my head that was playing so loud but somehow it wasn't too powerful and didn't affect the rest of the song.
I ended up buying a hugo tt2 and now I am saving up to get an Abyss phi TC.
1. Bass
I really like bass, I listen to mostly metal and electronic music (And I generally like music with bass in it) - And with the Phi TC I was getting the bass I was always dreaming about.
It was just perfect! - That was the only time I ever experienced "Soundstage bass" - The bass was completely separate from the rest of the song.
It was playing at it's own space - So I was able to hear both the bass and the rest of the song perfectly.
Ever since experiencing that I have been saving for the Abyss phi TC and my mind was completely set on getting it.
I now started reading that people might prefer the Fostex th900mk2. That's a model that I didn't hear but I now remembered that the th900 are regarded as some of the best bass headphones you can buy (if not the best).
And I actually saw that here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sold-abyss-1266-phi-tc-lite.936370/
Bonddam sold his Phi TC with the intent to possibly getting the th900mk2.
He said that he found to sound he liked - Here is a copy - paste of what he wrote: bass like 900 mk2 bass or Empryean. the 1266 is for a real audiophile not a bass head. The bass 1266 is awesome linear bass all the way down.
I sent him a PM and he said that the Phi TC doesn't have the slam he gets from his Kennerton Gjallarhorn (I never heard about them) and that he prefers the empyreans for the mid bass attack.
And in another case: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/th900mk2-sapphire-blue-anniversary-edition.936039/
The seller of the th900mk2 said this: I own the Abyss TC, IMHO this goes toe to toe with as an all-out aural assault weapon.
So that makes me wonder if the th900mk2 can actually be equal to the phi tc.
For me the strongest point of the Phi TC was the incredible bass - With the insane SLAM, power, 3d like nature and extension. Everything about it shocked me, I never heard anything like it.
Can you get a similar experience with the th900mk2 even though it is much cheaper?
2. Phi / cc vs phi TC - While I was auditioning the phi TC I also compared them to the Phi CC.
From what I read online - The differences between the Phi / phi cc to the Phi TC were small and were not revolutionary.
They were considered to be incremental improvements that just refine the already amazing sound quality.
To my ears that was not the case. In terms of soundstage, detail ,separation they were very similar BUT - The phi TC were hugely better in terms of bass.
The phi TC barely had any bass quantity and the bass was barely felt.
It was not even close - When the phi cc did deliver bass it felt hollow and like an imitation of the Phi TC.
They were both tested with both the normal pads and the cc pads, With the stock cable and were connected to the Abyss stack and the formula s + powerman + chord Dave + chord mscaler.
Again - That is the complete opposite of what I've read.
Thanks for the help!
That's the problem with reading.