[Polygonhell]

That's surprising to me, although I really know nothing about the Cavalli. Are you using the Wa33 SE, Elite, or JPS edition?

Mines an SE, KR 5U4G anniversary regulator, PSVane Acme 2A3's , I'm looking to upgrade, but the amps I want to hear are difficult to audition to say the least, I really like the WA33 and an Elite Edition would be an option, but there are a couple of other amps I'm looking to audition before I drop that sort of money.
The only warning I'd give about the WA33, is it sounds very SS at first blush, if your wanting what most entry level tube amps give you it's not that, I like my tube amps on the dryer side, so it works really well form me, but it's not for everyone.

. I figure if it injects enough tubeiness for my liking I'd go for a solid state,

They aren't actually very "tubey" DAC's they tend to lean more clean that anything, though the older models did skew a bit more "tubey" than the newer ones.
Don't get me wrong you can hear the tubes if you listen for them, or AB with something that doesn't have them, but they aren't tube forwards in any way.
They do sound just incredibly natural, and I hate using words like that.

 

[sloomingbla]

They aren't actually very "tubey" DAC's they tend to lean more clean that anything, though the older models did skew a bit more "tubey" than the newer ones.
Don't get me wrong you can hear the tubes if you listen for them, or AB with something that doesn't have them, but they aren't tube forwards in any way.
They do sound just incredibly natural, and I hate using words like that.

That’s good to know! I’ve been curious about these dacs for a while - everyone seems to love them, but the consensus on their “house sound” seems inconsistent. I’ve heard their amps called bright, sweet, warm, midrangey, and everything inbetween so I’ve been assuming the coloration is likely there, but mild. What is consistent though is the talk of some unique, lively quality to the sound.

I’ve also heard about the ss like response of the wa33, it’s definitely something I’d like to demo before buying. My HOPE is it’s basically the best of both worlds, but we’ll see.

That’s kinda my goal - trying to find that perfect balance of a clean sound, and something romantic. My th900s are pretty good in that regard, but they are also much lower fidelity.

 

[MichalZZZZ]

Hi there,

Which balanced cable (XLR) do you recommend for Abyss 1266 Phi TC with a maximum length of 2 meters (can be 1.5 meters) ? I can spend up to 1,200 $ or €. I live in Europe so I prefer to order from here, but I can also order from USA if there is anything interesting. I love the sound of Abyss and I wish it was even better. I don't want anything that brightens up their sound too much. Something more neutral with a strong bass and nice midrange

 

[MatW]

Hi there,

Which balanced cable (XLR) do you recommend for Abyss 1266 Phi TC with a maximum length of 2 meters (can be 1.5 meters) ? I can spend up to 1,200 $ or €. I live in Europe so I prefer to order from here, but I can also order from USA if there is anything interesting. I love the sound of Abyss and I wish it was even better. I don't want anything that brightens up their sound too much. Something more neutral with a strong bass and nice midrange

I'd say Forza audio works.

 

[leftside]

They aren't actually very "tubey" DAC's they tend to lean more clean that anything, though the older models did skew a bit more "tubey" than the newer ones.
Don't get me wrong you can hear the tubes if you listen for them, or AB with something that doesn't have them, but they aren't tube forwards in any way.
They do sound just incredibly natural, and I hate using words like that.

Yep

 

[MichalZZZZ]

@MatW

I already have Forza with other headphones. I would prefer something a bit better.

 

[sahmen]

Hi there,

Which balanced cable (XLR) do you recommend for Abyss 1266 Phi TC with a maximum length of 2 meters (can be 1.5 meters) ? I can spend up to 1,200 $ or €. I live in Europe so I prefer to order from here, but I can also order from USA if there is anything interesting. I love the sound of Abyss and I wish it was even better. I don't want anything that brightens up their sound too much. Something more neutral with a strong bass and nice midrange

I love my Norne Audio Vykari and Drausk with the 1266 TCs. They're both within the reach of your stated budget, but you will have to buy them from the States. The Norne Vygarde too might work. Web link: Norne Audio. Norne Audio boss, Trevor Goldman is @TigzStudio on Head-fi, in case you would like to pm him.

 

[normie610]

Trevor Noah is @TigzStudio on Head-fi,

It’s actually Trevor Goldman

and this is Trevor Noah:

 

[JLoud]

The WA33 se is indeed a combination of ss and tube. I had a WA5le and a HeadAmp GSX mk2 and the WA33 was a nice combination of the two. I felt it paired very well with the TC.

 

[sahmen]

It’s actually Trevor Goldman

and this is Trevor Noah:

Correct!.. I had a brain malfunction which involuntarily replaced "Goldman" with "Noah". You might count that among many side effects of over-caffeination but it has been corrected

 

[MichalZZZZ]

Thanks. It looks great and I'm interested. Can you recommend one or two more cable manufacturers so that I have a choice? I know Silver Dragon, Lavricables and Plussound. By the way - has anyone used Plussound for Abyss?

 

[Stanl3h]

Hi, I am a happy owner of the abyss 1266 phi tc, however, the glue on one of the earpads has started to fail, they are about a year old and I really don't want to pay the crazy price for a new pair that are otherwise in great condition.

Can anyone recommend any good glue or other fixes to help me save £450.
Thanks

 

[the1andonly]

Hi, I am a happy owner of the abyss 1266 phi tc, however, the glue on one of the earpads has started to fail, they are about a year old and I really don't want to pay the crazy price for a new pair that are otherwise in great condition.

Can anyone recommend any good glue or other fixes to help me save £450.
Thanks

I would think leather glue would work great? just make sure that you clean the parts that need to be glued beforehand and read the instructions (some call for ~15min of drying after applying on both surfaces before you squeeze them together)

 

[MatW]

Hi, I am a happy owner of the abyss 1266 phi tc, however, the glue on one of the earpads has started to fail, they are about a year old and I really don't want to pay the crazy price for a new pair that are otherwise in great condition.

Can anyone recommend any good glue or other fixes to help me save £450.
Thanks

Wouldn't that be covered by the warranty?

 

[ZYReady]

We’re aware of it. Apparently some guy in China enjoys making knock off headphones of various manufactures. If he was smart he would use all that energy to make his own in his image with his own brand name; maybe one day.

Let me get this straight. Luckily, I knew the guy in person mentioned in the "fake 1266" topic, thanks to my stay back in China during 2020-2022 caused by COVID. The guy who posted it here was trying to be nice and to warn people here to avoid, but he didn't clearly state everything, which hurt the friend who posted the original thread in the Chinese forum.

The original thread is actually talking about how he tried to clean and do some basic maintenance for a customer's OG 1266. When he opened up the headphones, he found that the driver was not the original. He couldn't decide if it was a "fake" by just looking at appearance or the headphones had some issue before and were fixed by some unprofessional guys. So, he posted the process online asking if anyone knew about the existence of that "version". All the photos were taken by him. He tried to visualize if the 1266 was genuine by some small details on the chassis, headband, and driver membrane, but he didn't get a clue. All he had confidence was that the driver was swapped for some reason but the owner was not aware.

The original thread was not posted by the owner of the "fake". The owner was shocked and felt really sad after my friend completed the maintenance and informed him.

The DIY market in China grows fast in past years and there are more and more clones coming out. It can be a good thing for customers to get cheaper parts for self-repair, but it can also hurt the profit and credit of the Brands if those factories and individual sellers (the main portion) have no ethics and limits on what they are doing.

Some gossip and rumors: there might be Audeze LCD clones sooner or later. There have already been tons of Grado clones in the second-hand market in China. There are a few clones of Kennerton Thror but I didn't have a chance to have a touch on it because I left for Australia in Dec 2021. The drivers for Grado clones even have relatively high quality with a good sound, but we can still distinguish them.

Since I also played around with DIY stuff during the past 2 years, I knew some people doing this (cloning reputable brands) and making profits from that. The cloned Grados have similarities in sound but 5 times cheaper, at least, and that's why so many people choose them. I'll post some DIY headphones I made for my own use later if anyone is interested.