[paradoxper]

Has anyone heard a headphone they think actually competes with Abyss TC in terms of speed, resolution, soundstage, imaging, microdetail and superb bass? Does anything even get close in the world?

Superb bass? Or Absurd bass?

Plenty. SR-Omega, 009, Susvara, D8000, HE1, Solitaire, SR1a. Fundamentally all great quality bass response.

You are looking for your wonder-phone that does it all. Good luck. Very few do real tactical bass.

I'd recommend the Susvara out of your Pass. An 009 out of the T2. SR1a as a requisite reference tool but not everyday listening device likely amped from the interface and Pass as it will best the HSA-1b and alternative direct-drive amplifiers are not available.

The D8000 and Solitaire are pretty solid but ultimately bottlenecked phones that aren't quite on these superlative levels.

However, trying to forcefully squeeze your goldilocks out of 1 singular phone is bound to end in disappointment.
This, too, will be your regret and lesson heard.

 

[OceanRanger]

Understood. Good advice on the return policy.

Just off of the phone with Jeff regarding a couple of upgrades. I'm trying decide how to sequence an upgrade from a Hugo2 to a Cipher or a new pair of cans. I'm currently using the Headtrip II / Hugo2 as a desktop solution, so space turns into an issues since the Cipher is more than a little larger than the Hugo2.

No I don't mean they sound bad. Bass has always been a strong part of my life. I move to the best. If you saw me in a club I was one of the battlers on the dance floor. Dancing has always been how I move. Martial Arts was no different. I find the Susvara for those listening to acoustic music. If you are going to get Susvara get it from headphone s.com with their 365 day return policy. Find a T+A dealer with Solitaire P. If I put Solitaire P in position it would be middle of the 1266 and Susvara.

Are you using the Superconductor with your 1266s?

 

[Bonddam]

I like big cables and fancy parts so I do have a 10 ft SC.

 

[ken6217]

I like big cables and fancy parts so I do have a 10 ft SC.

We still talkin about audio?

 

[Bonddam]

 

[InstantSilence]

When burning in cables, headphones, ect, does it have to be played at normal listening levels? Also just regular music or pink noise?

 

[ra990]

When burning in cables, headphones, ect, does it have to be played at normal listening levels? Also just regular music or pink noise?

There's a very specific form of polka music that was found to be the best for burning cables in

Pink noise or Pink Floyd, both should work well.

 

[smodtactical]

Superb bass? Or Absurd bass?

Plenty. SR-Omega, 009, Susvara, D8000, HE1, Solitaire, SR1a. Fundamentally all great quality bass response.

You are looking for your wonder-phone that does it all. Good luck. Very few do real tactical bass.

I'd recommend the Susvara out of your Pass. An 009 out of the T2. SR1a as a requisite reference tool but not everyday listening device likely amped from the interface and Pass as it will best the HSA-1b and alternative direct-drive amplifiers are not available.

The D8000 and Solitaire are pretty solid but ultimately bottlenecked phones that aren't quite on these superlative levels.

However, trying to forcefully squeeze your goldilocks out of 1 singular phone is bound to end in disappointment.
This, too, will be your regret and lesson heard.

Ya I got susvara right now from Shahrose (borrowing). It is truly superb but TC imo is another level in terms of soundstage, speed, transparency. Once you get used to it, its hard to go to anything else. I think TC might be the singular headphone for me but I gotta convince those guys to make a vegan version before I could bite.

Will hear sr1a next week.

 

[E-norm]

Did you try Susvara?

Never had the pleasure. Bought the 1266 TC from reviews and excessive forum reading alone. Trying by buying is a very expensive approach to this hobby though..
I am in no way trying to slam the Abyss but there is a lack of emotion for lack of a better word compared to my other headphones. Perhaps there really can be too much of a good thing sometimes and that this amount of detail and clarity and whatnot almost makes my music sound...boring?

Again, not trying to be a nuisance, but after almost 1000 pages of superlatives in this thread it's so devastating when I can't really feel them like everyone else does.

 

[Bonddam]

I don’t like that 1266 pads are not symmetrical. If you look at them the pads are not same shape . One example ear opening on one pad is almost oval the other is round. I would think shape could change sound. I’ll post a pic later

 

[JLoud]

They should definitely be the same. One shouldn’t be shaped differently from the other.

 

[Bonddam]

This isn’t the first time. I’ve owned 4 sets of 1266 TC I know me crazy. I got use to uneven pads so let it go. Now I’d like them to be equal as my ocd makes me believe it causes problems.

 

[kuzemchik]

Hi all,
Wanted to get an opinions on amp for 1266 TC.
I got my 1266 TC couple of months ago and currently running it on Schiit Magnius balanced. Since I knew I will be upgrading I didn't want to spend too much money on temporary solution.
I had it running using my UA Apollo Twin X as DAC, but that it was making listening somewhat fatiguing, so I was doing DSP correction in Apollo to bring high frequencies down.
I tried to run it SE, but that just made the soundstage smaller.
I recently got iFi Diablo since I wanted to be able to listen to TC outside of home setup too and it sounds less fatiguing when I'm using it as DAC, but feel like I'm missing something comparing to Apollo (if that makes sense at all).
I've been messaging with Abyss, and they are recommending XI Audio Formula S, but it is kinda expected, since the co-developed it. I'm kinda confused on specs though. By specs Formula S is pushing 6W per channel to 16ohms, which is the same amount of power as Magnius and less than HeadAmp GS-X mini. But the last one by different reviews seems to be "not powerful enough for TC". Is Formula S scaling non-linearly with impedance increase?
I didn't find any reviews on Magnius vs GS-X mini/Formula S. But saw comparisons that A90 better than Magnius, and Formula S better than A90. Which suggests that Formula S should be better.
I do have feeling that WA33 JPS is potential endgame amp, but it is in completely different price range, and probably means that I will need to replace DAC too, so this is far in future. Probably.
Unfortunately "go and listen" doesn't work, so I have to rely recommendations and reviews and try to guess right choice.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[smodtactical]

Never had the pleasure. Bought the 1266 TC from reviews and excessive forum reading alone. Trying by buying is a very expensive approach to this hobby though..
I am in no way trying to slam the Abyss but there is a lack of emotion for lack of a better word compared to my other headphones. Perhaps there really can be too much of a good thing sometimes and that this amount of detail and clarity and whatnot almost makes my music sound...boring?

Again, not trying to be a nuisance, but after almost 1000 pages of superlatives in this thread it's so devastating when I can't really feel them like everyone else does.

What is your chain? Maybe warming up of the chain or tubes / tube rolling could help?

If your looking for more emotion but still great resolution, Susvara might be the answer. I do find it has a richer fuller midrange and more liquid relaxed overall sound while still being very detailed and having great imaging.

 

[Bonddam]

Hi all,
Wanted to get an opinions on amp for 1266 TC.
I got my 1266 TC couple of months ago and currently running it on Schiit Magnius balanced. Since I knew I will be upgrading I didn't want to spend too much money on temporary solution.
I had it running using my UA Apollo Twin X as DAC, but that it was making listening somewhat fatiguing, so I was doing DSP correction in Apollo to bring high frequencies down.
I tried to run it SE, but that just made the soundstage smaller.
I recently got iFi Diablo since I wanted to be able to listen to TC outside of home setup too and it sounds less fatiguing when I'm using it as DAC, but feel like I'm missing something comparing to Apollo (if that makes sense at all).
I've been messaging with Abyss, and they are recommending XI Audio Formula S, but it is kinda expected, since the co-developed it. I'm kinda confused on specs though. By specs Formula S is pushing 6W per channel to 16ohms, which is the same amount of power as Magnius and less than HeadAmp GS-X mini. But the last one by different reviews seems to be "not powerful enough for TC". Is Formula S scaling non-linearly with impedance increase?
I didn't find any reviews on Magnius vs GS-X mini/Formula S. But saw comparisons that A90 better than Magnius, and Formula S better than A90. Which suggests that Formula S should be better.
I do have feeling that WA33 JPS is potential endgame amp, but it is in completely different price range, and probably means that I will need to replace DAC too, so this is far in future. Probably.
Unfortunately "go and listen" doesn't work, so I have to rely recommendations and reviews and try to guess right choice.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks

You might need to look at WA33 for it’s richer sound. Had the Formula S but wasn’t blown away by it. You want Formula S you will want the Powerman to go with it. My two powerhouse amps add shape to the sound. Is there only one dealer for the Formula? I started with WA33 standard then moved to the Elite both units play treble with smoothness. The HeadTrip is another option that has made people ask what kind of tubes in it. Also your DAC might be the culprit. You might need spend money there. I had TT2 and it has more bass quantity then my Manhattan 2. So there’s a boost in that range. My Cipher DAC is neutral and smooth with no loss in treble frequencies sounding correct. Maybe a Lampizator DAC which has tubes in it will solve the treble. I wasn’t a believer in DACs until I got a bunch of different ones and it was night and day.