[mammal]

Enjoy your at-home trial of the Viva and please report back! (and make sure your air conditioning works fine in the preparation )

That is definitely a minus for both Egoista 845 and WA33, as I read they both run HOT, haha. I guess I don't need a sauna anymore, anyone else listens naked?

I listened to both the Egoista and the Solista multiple times, and they are both great amps.

I did read your amazing review (and recommend others do the same).

The AIC-10 has a similar effect than the Superconductor, as it provides some bloom, relaxation and midrange weight / presence / sweetness, trading off some punch and attack viscerality (the amount of which depends on the tube you choose).

Thank you for putting my mind at ease - I have been trying hard to convince dealers to allow me to demo Riviera, but they are just mean to me on emails.

 

[ajaipuriyar]

To turn on the amps you first click the power switch down for 3 minutes, then flip it all the way up. This is a pain, but once you are used to it, no big deal. On Conrad Johnson tube equipment, after you press power on, they use a circuit to warm up the amp first before it turns on to protect it. With Viva if you do not warm it up first you will blow a fuse at a minimum.

I have been flipping the switch up directly on my Solista MK3 without the warmup procedure and I've never had a problem.

Maybe they built some circuit protection for careless ( and impatient) users like me in the newer revised models.

 

[marcus2704]

Have sat down with the Abyss AB-1266 TCs, in particular with my choice music genre, hip-hop. Holy crap these are good aren't they. Everything is just so crisp, the rumbling low-end makes music so much more exciting. My initial testing was with a selection of rock classics (Fleetwood Mac, INXS) and the instant feeling was that I have heard a lot of headphones along my journey, but none so far can match the Abyss. I have Susvara headphones also which I intended to keep to compliment the Abyss, but right now I am struggling to think of time I would reach for the Susvaras over these. That said I will do some A-B listening and decide where I go from there.

 

[mammal]

Am I the only one who noticed that Abyss in one of their YouTube videos hinted on a new headphone they are working on? They acknowledged the IEM, as well as the Closed back, but apparently there is "the big guy" as papa Joe refers to it. What could that be? Their new TOTL offering (not AB-1266 revision, but completely new headphone?).

 

[Frankie D]

I have been flipping the switch up directly on my Solista MK3 without the warmup procedure and I've never had a problem.

Maybe they built some circuit protection for careless ( and impatient) users like me in the newer revised models.

I would check with Viva directly on that question. I bought my Viva Auroras years ago and had been telling him that. Tks.

 

[mammal]

I would check with Viva directly on that question.

I just sent them an email, asking what will happen if I don't warm up those tubes first, will a fuse blow or something worse, let's see what they reply.

 

[Solan]

Am I the only one who noticed that Abyss in one of their YouTube videos hinted on a new headphone they are working on? They acknowledged the IEM, as well as the Closed back, but apparently there is "the big guy" as papa Joe refers to it. What could that be? Their new TOTL offering (not AB-1266 revision, but completely new headphone?).

That made me curious too. It seems to have been shelved for a few years, from the way he said it, but still not a dead project. But what could be a "BIG guy" next to the 1266, the Hum-Vee of headphones?

 

[mammal]

But what could be a "BIG guy" next to the 1266, the Hum-Vee of headphones?

A portable AB-1266, where you carry a battery powered DAC/AMP on your back.

 

[Solan]

A portable AB-1266, where you carry a battery powered DAC/AMP on your back.

Oh, temptation! Maybe the Woo Audio Wa8, then?

I'm not a loud-volume guy, so the 1266 sound pretty good out of the Lootoo PAW Gold already. I'm tempted to take the combo for a walk through town one day.

 

[marcus2704]

Not that any of you need convincing of this, but I am floored by the TC, it is really a phenomenal headphone.

 

[TDinCali]

Oh, temptation! Maybe the Woo Audio Wa8, then?

I'm not a loud-volume guy, so the 1266 sound pretty good out of the Lootoo PAW Gold already. I'm tempted to take the combo for a walk through town one day.

My wife literally bursts out laughing every time she see's me wearing the 1266. I’ve threatened to wear them in public with her to which she referred to me as my “special husband”.

 

[Polygonhell]

you need to upgrade tubes in order to hear WA33 at its best

I'm not sure how true this really is.
The only tube I'd roll immediately on a WA33 is the rectifier, put at least an NOS RCA 5U4G (about $70) in it.
Better 2A3's will improve resolution and clarity to a point (and I have swapped mine), but the stock tubes aren't bad.
The input tubes aren't worth messing with IME.

The only "knock" I have on the WA33 is it isn't a SET amp, and that's more about preference.
Balanced tube amps cancel a lot of the 2nd harmonic distortion so you don't get a lot of mid range bloom with it.
It still sounds like a tube amp, but it's very much on the dryer side.

Those qualities are going to be broadly the same across all the variants, I'd like to hear an EE, but I'm happy with my standard version. I generally use it in preference to my original Cavalli Liquid Gold.

As an aside does anyone know what the gain switch actually does on the WA33, I asked Woo and got the following none answer

The way we implemented the HI and LO level output is very different from other amplifiers, it does not impact the sound quality.

I can guess at what that means, but I'd like confirmation.

 

[paradoxper]

Am I the only one who noticed that Abyss in one of their YouTube videos hinted on a new headphone they are working on? They acknowledged the IEM, as well as the Closed back, but apparently there is "the big guy" as papa Joe refers to it. What could that be? Their new TOTL offering (not AB-1266 revision, but completely new headphone?).

The big guy that didn't actually work at that time. Before the world shut down and they played catch-up with order fulfillment while putting a focus on the closed-back and planning the future for IEMs. I'll go with the big guy is a big miss but tried through development.

 

[littlej0e]

My wife literally bursts out laughing every time she see's me wearing the 1266. I’ve threatened to wear them in public with her to which she referred to me as my “special husband”.

If you think the 1266s are bad, you should try wearing the SR1a's. My wife calls them the "Tie Fighters" and giggles incessantly whenever she sees me wearing them. Then typically asks, "how are the nerd-phones sounding, nerd?!?". God, I love this woman...

 

[Gadget67]

My wife literally bursts out laughing every time she see's me wearing the 1266. I’ve threatened to wear them in public with her to which she referred to me as my “special husband”.

If you think the 1266s are bad, you should try wearing the SR1a's. My wife calls them the "Tie Fighters" and giggles incessantly whenever she sees me wearing them. Then typically asks, "how's are the nerd-phones sounding, nerd?!?". God, I love this woman...

Let me add to the wife support. I “mentioned” I might buy the Super Conductor cable and her response was “of course you should; it‘s like buying fine china and needing the silverware to go with it.” Hand to God…almost fell off the couch…