[Smallpie]

Fukk, I'm listening to low quality black metal with $18k headphones. What am I doing?

Burzum- filosofem on high tier headphones is majestic sounding regardless of how low quality of a recording it is. I find the better the hp’s the better the chilling atmospheric guitars are!
On the 1266 it’s amazing!!

 

[krude]

I hate to say it, but I'm kinda getting complacent with the TCs. They are great, and still my favorite headphones ever (and that is saying something given my collection), but I want more. When is the new TOTL Abyss headphone gonna come out? Maybe they can't top the 1266 TC?

I want even more bass and better sub-bass extension with a more well-rounded midrange. Keep the treble where it's at. If you can do more stat like resolution, cool, but it's not needed. The TCs aren't up to Shang levels with the treble, but I don't necessarily need that. Maybe it's not possible to top the 1266 TCs, but I hope they can. It's been a while since the TCs have come out. I'd love to hear what Abyss can come up with next.

Chasing is fun, but at the end of the day enjoying music is where it's at. To be honest I don't think there's that much room for improvement in audio in general. I mean you can get 30 year old high class 2 channel setup and it will trade with the latest and greatest. I think we're platoing with headphones like that as well. We can only explore side-grades / different takes on summit fi ... at least for now.

 

[PhazeCrive]

You could add in tactile tranaducers like Clark Synthesis, Buttkicker, or Subpac. They work ideally with open backs specifically. I used to use a subpac too and it was as simple as using the amp's second headphone out into the subpac control box. Then you can look into different chairs cuz some chairs really shake all over whereas others stay localized in the tactility. I tossed mine because the used unit was defective but it was a cool addition to try every now and then.

Great way to feel the bass without being a noise complaint.

 

[Frankie D]

Well, for 2-channel you could go with Rockport Atria 2 which are smaller floor standers and then add a sub as well. For bookshelf you could try the Magico Q1 ( these must be found used ) which are bookshelf and also add a sub anywhere in the room as the crossover point should be low. Amps and preamps will of course not be inexpensive.

 

[Ciggavelli]

Have you ever tried IEMs? Take a Raven, Radon6 or the new Volür it will blow your mind in the bass department, really!
These days I don't hear so much with Full Sized headphones because IEMs are so so great!

I've tried IEMs, but they hurt my ears too much. I can't keep them in my ears longer than like 30 minutes to an hour without them hurting. I also seem to never get a good fit with the ear tips (apparently I have weirdly shaped canals or something). I haven't tried CIEMs though.

 

[texx2818]

Burzum- filosofem on high tier headphones is majestic sounding regardless of how low quality of a recording it is. I find the better the hp’s the better the chilling atmospheric guitars are!
On the 1266 it’s amazing!!

Runtgang on a great set of headphones is bliss

 

[kawhia]

I can report that I am cured from
chasing the holy grail. I went from
bottom to pretty much the top in three or four steps with my set up and I am really happy as it is today. Yeah I would take a Grimm streamer, an uber power distributor or a second pair of hp, but I am not reading any review anymore and I am not in for any “improvements”. It may sound cliche but I am simply enjoying the music more nowadays.
Unfortunately I cannot tell you how I got there… How I cured the itch. I spend more of my energy on other hobbies. Good luck.

 

[squashi]

I've tried IEMs, but they hurt my ears too much. I can't keep them in my ears longer than like 30 minutes to an hour without them hurting. I also seem to never get a good fit with the ear tips (apparently I have weirdly shaped canals or something). I haven't tried CIEMs though.

I'm the same, with normal IEMs about an hour max if I wear them everyday. (ear canal too small)
CIEMs I can do for ~4 hours if I wear them everyday. If not everyday, I can even do 12+ hour bursts for flights fully comfortably.

Also I will say for 1266, I've been really liking the sound of toe-in, gives it a 2-channel feel, but sadly too much toe-in isn't comfortable.

 

[newToAudio100]

I'm the same, with normal IEMs about an hour max if I wear them everyday. (ear canal too small)
CIEMs I can do for ~4 hours if I wear them everyday. If not everyday, I can even do 12+ hour bursts for flights fully comfortably.

Also I will say for 1266, I've been really liking the sound of toe-in, gives it a 2-channel feel, but sadly too much toe-in isn't comfortable.

I like to set the narrowest part of the earpads forward and slightly up. I set the headband to max width and the toe in to near max. For me this gives the best sound all around and I keep it there all the time now.

 

[PhazeCrive]

+1 I'm not sure of what direction they mean when they say toe in but I angle the drivers "in" towards me with max frame width and both earpads one notch forward of 12. This lets the pads cover more of the back of the ear so your glasses wont protrude and cause constant imbalances or make your glasses crooked. Sh!t is so annoying so I never move it from this position, and luckily it's perfect like that.

And I also feel the toe in increases the amount of space between you and the driver so that gives it the maximum amount of air while minimizing bass loss.

 

[Roasty]

I used to do max frame width, but am now running somewhere midway between fully closed and max width. i find i get better central imaging and vocals sound more natural, not echoey/hollow, but at the expense of a bit of bass/subbass that i got with max width. fair trade off. i have the pad seams at 10 o'clock, and the frame slightly angled with the pads pressing behind my ears and slightly open in front.

 

[Ciggavelli]

Burzum- filosofem on high tier headphones is majestic sounding regardless of how low quality of a recording it is. I find the better the hp’s the better the chilling atmospheric guitars are!
On the 1266 it’s amazing!!

I love that album. It's one of my favorite ever. I just listened to it off the Shang, and you're right, it sounds amazing. Sometimes, when I'm using super high end cans, I feel like I need to listen to super high bit rates, but it's not necessarily the case. Still, it's funny to listen to music that was purposely recorded very poorly on super high end cans. That said, there's some electronic and rap music that's only in mp3 form, and they sound better off the TCs and the like than with "cheap" headphones.

 

[Stereolab42]

Fukk, I'm listening to low quality black metal with $18k headphones. What am I doing? crap makes no sense. Our hobby makes no sense at times. I could easily enjoy those albums with some airpods,, and I have. I dunno; it makes you think

Yeah, listening to Vlad Tepes on a $30k setup is overkill, but it is what it is.

I'm also not sure where to go from here. I've got TOTL closed/open headphones and solid state/tube amps. Been toying with the idea of getting a mastering-grade analog EQ so I can have a pure path from the file to the DAC (no digital processing)... I like to listen with bass bumped a few DB but nothing very fancy.

 

[Abyss Headphones]

 

[paradoxper]

12 o'clock you are doing it wrong.