[ken6217]

Hypothetical question. If TC did not do what it does with the bass, would some of you still own it ?

Is that a real question?

 

[Tachyon88]

Is that a real question?

Yes..

 

[ken6217]

You should follow up that one with, if your car didn’t have tires would you still drive it

 

[MatW]

Hypothetical question. If TC did not do what it does with the bass, would some of you still own it ?

I listened to the Susvara and the TC today. Both are great but the TC is still my clear favorite overall. It is hard to think away the bass of course, but the TC allows me to look deeper into the music, across the entire frequency range. It is an awesome experience, not matched by any other headphone I know.

 

[ufospls2]

Hypothetical question. If TC did not do what it does with the bass, would some of you still own it ?

yes.

 

[paradoxper]

Resolve's Abyss 1266TC review

I find it so odd he wears the TC straight across with zero toe. Haha.

 

[DJJEZ]

I find it so odd he wears the TC straight across with zero toe. Haha.

Dont think he was that impressed either lol

 

[432789]

Distortion.

 

[paradoxper]

Dont think he was that impressed either lol

Considering anything/everything I've ever been interested in, I simply go purchase, I can't be too concerned with his subjective disappointments or jubilation.

Shrugs.

 

[Drewligarchy]

I never thought the Abyss would be my favorite headphone. If you've not tried it it sure doesn't look comfortable, and, IMO, it's aesthetic is an acquired taste.

I was very happy with my 009/Carbon (not quite at the level of Paradoxper's 009/T2, but especially relevant as we both no longer have the 009 and our amps, and do have/love the Abyss).

At CanJam 2018 I first tried the Abyss TC, and it was one of those What, moments: This sounds better than everything I've tried.

3 years later, I'm still loving them. I guess I will until I don't. But after I've enjoyed a headphone immensely for 3 years, I'm not going to start disliking it because it reviews poorly. I like Resolve's videos. I hate ASR's reviews, that's why I read them

But if I stopped listening to the Abyss because reviews told me they sucked, wouldn't I be guilty of the same bias that ASR so adamantly warns against? I feel like they spurred a bunch of Abyss reviews and re-measurements, yet are plagued by the same group think and pre-bias they supposedly guard against by taking Amir's words as gospel - and buying what he tells them to.

To answer your question, I don't think I can separate the bass from the Abyss, the same way I can't ignore it's staging - the depth of it's image, or it's resolution. I can hear changes with DACs and amplifiers and tubes that I can't hear with other headphones. It's just damn fun to listen to, and I always end up going back to it.

 

[Drewligarchy]

One more interesting data point.

I wouldn't call my dad an audiophile, but he likes good sound and can easily buy whatever system he wants. For instance: He has a Surround system with 4 Meridian DSP 8000s and a DSP 5000. He'll pay top dollar, but doesn't want to mess with DACs, Amps etc (at least anymore). While arguably you could do more for what that system costs, he's happy because it just works - and his audio guy comes by to fix it when it doesn't.

He was up in NYC during CanJam 2019, so I took him. We ended up in the Woo room with the Abyss and Susvara hooked up to the Wa33. He listened to both of them and immediate reactions are these are good (susvaras), but these are amazing (abyss).

We were back at my house and I let him listen to the abyss on my setup. I had a Formula S and Powerman at the time. He offered to buy it on the spot, and while I ended up selling it elsewhere, he sat for hours and hours and just listened to that phone.

You have to question the Harmon preference curve to some extent if so many people gravitate toward this headphone, and it departs from it as much as the measurements indicate, whether they are into audio or not. It's doing something right - beyond bass (though that's certainly part of it) - which causes so many to enjoy it. I think there is still much more to understand regarding headphone measurements and science - and why people enjoy what they do.

 

[dukeskd]

The thing about Harman curve is... it was architected for in-room speaker setups.

I feel that for headphones it is a completely different ballgame as there is no cross-over and frequencies disperse themselves very differently. The Harmon curve should not be a reference for headphone listening.

Additionally, there are so many different use cases for headphones: professional vs enjoyment. This is why it is primitive to just use one curve and say "this is the best curve and if nothing matches it, it sucks". I think that is naive and not all encompassing.

 

[Tachyon88]

One more interesting data point.

I wouldn't call my dad an audiophile, but he likes good sound and can easily buy whatever system he wants. For instance: He has a Surround system with 4 Meridian DSP 8000s and a DSP 5000. He'll pay top dollar, but doesn't want to mess with DACs, Amps etc (at least anymore). While arguably you could do more for what that system costs, he's happy because it just works - and his audio guy comes by to fix it when it doesn't.

He was up in NYC during CanJam 2019, so I took him. We ended up in the Woo room with the Abyss and Susvara hooked up to the Wa33. He listened to both of them and immediate reactions are these are good (susvaras), but these are amazing (abyss).

We were back at my house and I let him listen to the abyss on my setup. I had a Formula S and Powerman at the time. He offered to buy it on the spot, and while I ended up selling it elsewhere, he sat for hours and hours and just listened to that phone.

You have to question the Harmon preference curve to some extent if so many people gravitate toward this headphone, and it departs from it as much as the measurements indicate, whether they are into audio or not. It's doing something right - beyond bass (though that's certainly part of it) - which causes so many to enjoy it. I think there is still much more to understand regarding headphone measurements and science - and why people enjoy what they do.

IMO even if you tuned the TC to harmon it will still do what TC does. Its the design.

 

[Drewligarchy]

IMO even if you tuned the TC to harmon it will still do what TC does. Its the design.

Perhaps so - but it’s not, yet people still love it. So, what is it that makes people gravitate to certain headphones? Obviously preference plays a role, and frequency response plays a role - but there are obviously a number of factors beyond that, that are key determinants. I don’t know if they are measurable or not.

 

[OceanRanger]

I've had TCs for the last year and recently added Susvaras to the lineup. It isn't just the bass that has me enamored with the TCs, it is also the huge sound stage and imaging. For a lean-forward experience I can't imagine anything more engaging. That said, I've have been reaching for the Suvaras when I want to simply sit back in a comfy chair and enjoy a casual listening session.

It might also be that changing from one to the other causes me to appreciate each one for their own strengths. Good times!