[mammal]

How can I improve myself? Are there good guides out there? Tried to find something useful but so far nothing really relevant.

I struggle with the same, when watching video reviews of headphones/dacs/amps I try to pay attention to words used when they describe what they hear in a song passage, but I am still afraid I am just parroting them without really understanding things. Would appreciate if others could link resources they found useful.

 

[JLoud]

Feedback on fleshing out the mids on the TC: I just picked up a SC cable and it did indeed fill out the midrange. I was doubtful it could be worth the price but I am happy with it. So I guess it was worth it. The SC brought up the mids at the cost of a slight reduction in bass. However I was able to adjust fit to bring the bass back up to the level I prefer.
Now the Abyss no longer feels a little thin or analytical.

 

[JLoud]

I struggle with the same, when watching video reviews of headphones/dacs/amps I try to pay attention to words used when they describe what they hear in a song passage, but I am still afraid I am just parroting them without really understanding things. Would appreciate if others could link resources they found useful.

What I have found that works for me is to compare a headphone to other headphones. For instance compare soundstage between two cans. Or treble response etc.

That way when someone reads it the have a baseline. After all everyone hears different. So if they have heard a particular headphone and you compare it to something else they know what you are talking about.

 

[OceanRanger]

Feedback on fleshing out the mids on the TC: I just picked up a SC cable and it did indeed fill out the midrange. I was doubtful it could be worth the price but I am happy with it. So I guess it was worth it. The SC brought up the mids at the cost of a slight reduction in bass. However I was able to adjust fit to bring the bass back up to the level I prefer.
Now the Abyss no longer feels a little thin or analytical.

I too wanted something that was a bit more full in the mid range. I had been thinking about buying a pair of Susvaras, instead I bought the SC. I am super happy with the TCs + SC. The price is certainly steep for a cable, but at least I’ve put off buying a $6k pair of cans.

 

[JLoud]

I like how you said “put off”. Not avoided. I guess we all have the same affliction.

 

[OceanRanger]

I like how you said “put off”. Not avoided. I guess we all have the same affliction.

Haha, true. But since the Susvaras are even harder to drive than TCs, there is a whole slippery slope on the amp side of the equation. That said, who knows what the future will bring.

 

[Ciggavelli]

You will likely be one the few to understand most of this, but here goes...

• AudioQuest Fire XLR Interconnects - crystal clear, highly detailed, and fantastic tonal balance. This is the only cable I tried that gave me all three. Literally nothing else came even remotely close.
• AudioQuest Firebird Power cables - Excellent tonal balance. It has less detail than a few others I tried (namely the Danacable Nirvana - just...wow), but I chose tonal balance over sheer detail and clarity for the reasons outlined below. The Snake River Audio Cottonmouth Signature was a very close second. Much better clarity than the Firebird and better tonal balance than the Nirvana, but a little high-leaning for my liking. The cottonmouth might actually be the best choice on my warm-leaning system. We shall see when my WA 33 EE JPS arrives.
• Final Audio Callisto USB. - Unexplainable awesomesauce. I tried like 15 different USB cables and maybe heard a very slight difference on like 2 or 3 of them. I was pretty sure USB cables weren't going to be worth upgrading, then I tried the FAC. It made a jaw-dropping difference in the rig I was listening on. It just lit everything up like flipping a light switch in a dark room. That's the best way I can explain it. I haven't a clue why or how this happened, but my eyes instantly widened and I shouted at the dealer over the music, "yeah...I'll take this one!" I hope it has the same effect on my personal system.

My only regret is I didn't get to try any JPS cables as I couldn't find a local dealer that carried them.

FYI, I've noticed I get maximum effects from the following (In order of greatest effect)

• Tracks with a lot of varied and deep 3D imaging, especially those with "trance-y" vocals and deeper tones do bizarre things to my mind and body (see trippin' BALLZ). Sometimes the music triggers visual scenes in my mind that I am physically transported to. One track in particular, "October" from Feverkin transports me to a forest with a brunette woman without a face wearing an elegant white flowing robe. I walk a kerosene lamp-lit path with her holding hands throughout the song until I hand her coins to pay my way across a long wooden bridge. The song eventually gets too "busy" and I snap out of it, but I still feel the powdery dirt and occasional tiny pebble on my feet during the walk along the path and smell the the grass and pine in the air. Holy guaca-friggin-mole...
• Highly detailed and balanced tones. Grand pianos, clean/tight impactful bass, and bass-rich vocal harmonies work especially well and make me feel I'm floating in space or "chasing the fireflies" (I figured you would know what I mean by this). But anything too high, trebly, or bass-heavy cause my ears and mind to focus and snaps me out of it almost immediately. I discovered tonal balance is key to concentration, immersion, and subsequent effect.
• Strongly delivered vocals with excellent pitch. Makes me feel like I'm physically riding on sound, sometimes falling out of my chair due to due the way it can mess with my equilibrium. Other times it feels like I'm getting pulled abruptly in reverse away from my chair and outside of my house. Some live performances have also made me feel like I was "falling around the room" and I could actually feel the heat off of the candles burning in the catholic church cathedral in which the performance was being played.
• Very well recorded and mastered music. Discovering this single-handedly ruined 95% of my previous musical library and tastes. Now, I find myself chasing music for the effects instead of what I used to enjoy listening to. In other words, my synesthesia brain just got a whiff of musical excellence and now demands nothing less. Clearly, there is no going back.

These are most of the places the SR1a + HS1b + Holo May KTE have taken me thus far. God help me when my TCs and WA33 EE JPS arrive. Also, the Holo May KTE was an enormous upgrade over the RME ADI-2. Infinitely more warmth, detail, and soundstage. It matches incredibly well with the SR1as + HS1b. Helps round off the sharpness/peaks and makes things sound like a perfect bell skipping across a clear lake.

What a long, strange trip all of this is...

Thanks for that detailed reply

I haven't heard the Firebird cables before, but you have me intrigued. Snake River has been on my radar, and I've heard similar feedback with the Final Audio Callisto USB.

Also, everybody seems to love the Holo May KTE. I've been researching it recently, and I've started to get pretty interested in it. I'm still looking to update my current dac (mDAVE), and I was focusing in on the DCS Rossini, Mola Mola Tambaqui, or Sean Jacobs power for the DAVE. I'm curious to hear what you think of the Holo May KTE with the WA33 EE JPS, given we have similar hardware in that regard.

 

[mammal]

DCS Rossini, Mola Mola Tambaqui, or Sean Jacobs power for the DAVE

I sometimes wish Head-Fi would have a paywall, or a balance check so that I am not shown posts like these, as my wallet gets abused each time and now is scared hiding in the corner, haha.

 

[Gavin C4]

Well, my TCs finally arrived after 11 weeks of waiting
Here are some quick impressions:

- Every bit as good as I hoped
- On my system (Rossini DAC / Luxman HP amp) they are a clear step up from Utopia.
- The Utopias are extremely transparent, but the Abyss even more so. Hard to believe Utopia was the limiting factor in my setup, but after upgrading my DAC and HP amp, it's true. I'll probably keep the Utopias for watching movies, etc.
- Very fast and tight. The sound just comes at light speed.
- Tons of detail
- Bass is powerful and controlled but not exaggerated
- Treble is excellent, sparkly but not too hot
- Midrange needs more beef (seems this can be fixed with the SC cable)
- Build quality is awesome
- Way more comfortable than expected
- Wife says they look totally ridiculous

Using the exact same setup right here, and basically the exact same impression.

 

[donato]

Re: Amp pairing for the AB-1266 - my journey

I started my journey in search for the 'ultimate' amp for the Abyss more than 2 years ago when I had the Formula S / Powerman, as at the time and I was not completely happy, and I kept going back and forth from it to DAVE direct over and over.

I had the chance of listening to the AB-1266 back then with an Ayre VX-R twenty (200Wpch, 30kEuro), which I plugged into hesitantly for obvious reasons, but it was a brief yet eye opening experience of how much I could improve from where I stood.

Since then, I decided that going the speaker amp way was my plan.

Apart from the sound quality revelation from the financially unachievable Ayre, this was because I also wanted to be able of driving my speakers every now and then, and because of many other reasons:

- much more options available
- easier to audition in shop, at friend's homes, at my home
- typically better built and designed, especially going through the most well reputed brands (Pass, Luxman, Accuphase, Burmester, NAGRA, ...)
- typically better value for money due to economy of scale and a more competitive market
- vast offering in the 2nd hand market
- better resale value

My objective with the AB-1266 and the DAVE was to find an amp that was able to preserve as much as possible the DAVE transparency while helping with the shortcomings of the Abyss sound signature - to my taste - i.e. some thinness in the mids and some glare/haze in the lower treble and in the sibilance region. So it was mostly a matter of tonality synergy rather than looking for the raw power headroom some speaker amp can provide.

During a very enjoyable quest lasting more than one year, I was able to find very good matches at several increasing price points, and in all cases I felt that the pairing was an improvement with respect to the XI Audio combo, so feeling ressured I was on the right path.
Some examples at increasing price are the Sugden A21 Signature SE, Pass XA-25, Leben CS600X, Luxman 590AX-II.

As I kept moving up into high-end (my budget was something around 10k) I came across some very compelling combinations such the Air Tight ATM-300R (300B amp), NAGRA Classic AMP, Burmester 032.

​

That's when the Riviera AIC-10 crossed my way. It was out of my budget at list price but having the chance of a home audition I could not resist and went ahead. It was love at first hearing and as I rolled the tube and tried the Mullard everything clicked into place and I thought; "that's just the sound I was searching for". I tried to bargain but I could not reach an agreement on the price of a new item so I had to pass, and kept searching.

I tried many other amps, some I did not like (e.g. Krell 300i, DarTZeel LHC-208, for opposite reasons), others that left me lukewarm (Simaudio Moon 600i, Chord Etude, Octave V80SE, Viva Egoista 845), some I liked very much (Ayon Audio Spitfire III) being the other real revelation the Viva Audio Solista, which again was outside my budget - and honestly I preferred not to mess with big tubes for several (non-sonic) reasons.

​

Although the aural memory of the AIC-10 was hauting me, I was very close to pull the trigger on Luxman 590AX-II which I still believe - especially when bought used - is possibly the best value for money and a very synergistic pairing with the Abyss (again for the type of sound I tend to like), when an ex-demo AIC-10 popped out and ... well I guess you know how it ended up

​

Just wanted to share my path ...

That is an amazing journey. Thank you for detailing it. It's great that you've found satisfaction with the equipment you've found for your personal tastes. It's always a tricky and personal thing at this level. We always have to interpolate or extrapolate and try to map others experience to our own experience and personal preferences, but it's still very helpful to hear from someone who has had such extensive experience.

 

[jlbrach]

I like how you said “put off”. Not avoided. I guess we all have the same affliction.

we all do....somebody ought to start a nationwide audiophiles anonymous ....perhaps 6 week stays for those afflicted

 

[zenlisten]

What I have found that works for me is to compare a headphone to other headphones. For instance compare soundstage between two cans. Or treble response etc.

That way when someone reads it the have a baseline. After all everyone hears different. So if they have heard a particular headphone and you compare it to something else they know what you are talking about.

Yes, comparing headphones is relatively easy, very good point. I have the Sony MDR-Z1Rs for example and it's a huge contrast compared with the Abyss. However, comparing interconnect cables? I'm already going crazy comparing direct TT2 with TT2 + Formula S which should be a walk in the park.

 

[donato]

I really suck at testing audio components.

(And here I’m only interested in the human/psychological side, but I realize it’s also a challenge technically, for example, it takes about 15–30 seconds to switch between the TT2-only and the TT2 + Formula S setup.)

Some obvious mistakes I tend to make:

1. I hear something I like so I assume it’s because of that specific component I’m currently testing. – In reality many times changing that component won’t change that specific issue because it’s on the recording/mastering, or an issue in a third component. So I incorrectly associate these good qualities with a specific component.
2. I hear something I don’t like so I assume it’s because of that specific component… Same as above. But it’s even worse because in my mind I put a lot of blame on a specific component, making a scapegoat out of it! If only I would replace this component, everything would be better!
3. I hear something new and immediately identify it as an improvement. – In reality it may be an improvement but it can also be a degradation or just a neutral change.
4. If the change is subtle then it is hopeless for me to realize it in short term tests. My mind immediately adjusts to whatever I hear, especially if it's approximately as good as what I heard before. It’s hard to compare the memory and the current experience.
5. It’s easy to recognize the effect the music makes on me (synesthesia? even though it’s not specific colors for me but rather experience) but it’s very hard to analyze and understand why is that, and what triggers the joy of beauty. Other people can easily discuss specific qualities of audio. Why do I suck at it?

What goes well:

• Enjoying music.
• Getting used to a specific sound over a long time, then changing something and recognizing it. (For example once I had to send the M Scaler to the service, and non-electronic instruments immediately started to sound “too digital”.)

How can I improve myself? Are there good guides out there? Tried to find something useful but so far nothing really relevant.

I can certainly sympathize and feel much the same at times. I actually finding comparing gear pretty tedious and would prefer just to listen to music rather than gear, but it does serve it's purpose. A few thoughts:

• it's not always possible to do quick A/B as you've found (try that with tubes...not gonna happen). So keep a fairly consistent set of music that you use to evaluate. Some qualities are better determined over more extended listening anyway rather than quick switches back and forth
• Listen for specific qualities you want to evaluate (timbre, soundstaging, vocals, imaging, detail, bass, treble, PRaT, etc.). It helps if you have specific tracks or section of tracks to do specific evaluations
• Try to be self aware to know what's important to you. I can sometimes get enamored by a certain aspect of performance, but it's not necessarily what really makes me happy/enjoy things.
• Ideally, I would take notes if I were more serious about things, but I'm not so I don't
• Even after you break down all of the individual components, it's still sometimes the gestalt of it. If your toes are tapping (or not), that also says something.
• Be aware of your own mood...are you tired, hungry, awake, alert? That can also change perceptions. Most things sound better after I've had a drink, lol.

Anyway, those are some of my thoughts on how I try to go about it if I'm very focused on evaluating the gear (again, which I don't really enjoy doing). I'm also open to thoughts that anyone else has.

 

[littlej0e]

Whitney Houston = Rockna - Wavedream Signature Balanced?

I only ask because Rockna has a couple DACs now, and the top of the line Wavedream has like 4/6 versions.

I love your post.

Thanks!

I'm honestly not sure. It was the Rockna Wavedream, but I don't know what specific version or edition it was. I'll reach out to the dealer and find out.

 

[Benny-x]

Thanks!

I'm honestly not sure. It was the Rockna Wavedream, but I don't know what specific version or edition it was. I'll reach out to the dealer and find out.

Haha, yeah it drove me around the bend for a bit until I figured out there were different versions that have a pretty huge price difference.

The top of the line, Wavedream Signature Edition Balanced costs about $17-20,000 USD retail. If I remember correctly. The regular XLR version is like $10k, then the RCA version is like $7k regular and $13-15k for the Signature Edition RCA.

Just ballpark, that might help answer the question. And I think your said 4-5x May KTE, so that -should- be the Signature Edition Balanced at the full $20k?