[musicinmymind]

Just now placed order for standard package TC, exciting times should be ahead with WA33 EE JPS and TC

 

[No KNOTsense]

It appears I was mistaken about the pads. I was wondering why no one was discussing a newer pad design. Thanks for the info.

 

[tunes]

Hello my AB-1266 friends, as an owner of this fantastic headphone, I thought it would be nice to compare to another TOTL headphone setup, Sennheiser HE-1. I spent today 4 hours with this headphone, which consists of a DAC+AMP+Headphone combo. I had heard it in London 2016, but back then it was just 30 minutes and mandatory "Hotel California" song, so I was not as fine tuned to high end audio as I am today (dCS Bartók driving AB-1266).



Some of you may know me and my sonic preferences - I listen to 70% vocal-less EDM, 25% vocal EDM and the rest is random nu metal, indie rock, synth-pop. Accurate music presentation is not one of my priorities, music enjoyment is. I never listen to classical music, so I have no clue how a real music is supposed so sound like. I am a kid who used to go to loud techno/trance parties, so my hearing is no where close to what other audiophiles have. This being said, I trained myself to pick up on differences between copper and silver cables, so experimentation runs in my blood. For some unknown reason to me, I gravitate towards "one piece all-in-one systems", like dCS Bartok, or Chord Hugo TT2, both of which I owned personally.



You may ask, why am I writing my impressions of HE-1 to AB-1266 forum? Because as an AB-1266 owner, I wanted to know how far off is a 60k headphone system, compared to 20k headphone system. Some of you will think that I am underpowering AB-1266 with Bartok, but worry not, I have Viva Egoista 845 SET tube amplifier on its way (should be here in a week or two), which I will review shortly thereafter. As many of you, I may not be able to afford to purchase HE1 today, or in a near future, that's why I was so intrigued when my dealer told me he will have HE1 for a couple of days and invited me to come over if I have time. I took this opportunity, refreshed myself on critical listening on AB-1266+Bartok, slept 10 hours, all in preparation to do HE-1 the justice it deserves.



Even though I listened to HE-1 before, I did not remember much. So I was going to it today with a couple of expectations. Since AB-1266 is the bass monster, and HE-1 is an electrostat, I thought I would not like its bass, and that I would find it weak. I love AB-1266 for its snappy/punchy/not-bloomy bass, especially useful on EDM songs I like listening to (like Eric Prydz - Moody Mondays). Another thing I expected to happen was electrostat's soundstage, I expected it to be spacious / grandious / very open and airy. And lastly, mids - I expected them to be life like.



Now, what did I get? How does HE-1 sound on MY music, to MY ears, compared to MY current setup? There were a couple of surprises, not going to lie to you.

Surprise number 1: HE-1 bass is as good as AB-1266, very fast, punchy, detailed and layered. If I had an unlimited budget, I would happily own HE-1 over AB-1266. Mind you, I still haven't tried AB-1266 on Viva Egoista 845, only tried on Hugo TT2 (having less bass) and dCS Bartok (having more bass). I tried Bartok with 3 different cables, stock, DHC copper and Lavricables silver, for bass, DHC copper is the best.

Surprise number 2: HE-1 is less detailed than AB-1266, I did not expect this, I thought nothing can touch electrostats. Mind you, this is on MY music, which is not high quality recorded classical pieces, rather synth-pop and EDM. If I was optimising for resolution only, I would choose AB-1266, especially on silver cable.

Surprise number 3: HE-1 soundstage is much, much, I mean, MUCH smaller. The presentation is very intimate, and not grandiose at all. This is a bad thing for most EDM songs, BUT a blessing for vocal heavy synth-pop. Depending on what you listen to, you want HE-1 over AB-1266 and vice versa. Adding a holographic amp like Viva Egoista 845 is likely to change this even further, let's see in a week or so.

Surprise number 4: Lastly, HE-1 mids are just gorgeous. Let me explain, I chose AB-1266 over Susvara, and I did not (on purpose) get Superconductor cable. Many feel that AB-1266 are a bit recessed, and that Susvara does a better job here. Many go and improve mids further with Superconductor cable, or elevate it a bit with a silver cable. I actually do not mind AB-1266 mids, for my cold EDM songs it just works perfect. HOWEVER, this was the biggest surprise to me - HE-1 mids are just so luxurious, so much so that I fell in love with mids now. It made me listen to songs from The Weeknd, which to me on AB-1266 do not sound that great (mids part, not bass or treble). I really thought I do not care for mids, I know that with Susvara, my choice was to choose AB-1266's resolution, bass and soundstage, over having "better mids", but HE-1's mids are top notch, better than Susvara to my ears, and the rest of HE-1's qualities (that I gave more points to AB-1266) are not as far behind, as Susvara in my personal opinion. I would like to illustrate the feeling I had with HE-1's mids - try and remember the first date you had with your significant other, how you went out, what ever it was, and how that led to a romantic dinner, and one day for to a "sleep over". What feeling did you just get? An intimate rush of endorphins? That is how I felt with HE-1's mids. I never understood people of optimised for mids (over bass/resolution/soundstage), but I think I do now, we are wired a bit differently, but since HE-1's other qualities are so close to AB-1266, being "almost equal", the mids just take it over the top.



So what is there to write about a pair of headphones? Well, AB-1266 feel much sturdier, like they will last your whole life, which is a big plus. Comfort wise, to me AB-1266 are perfect, HE-1 was comfortable (surprisingly heavy), but the issue I had was that HE-1's cups are an amplifier, so they run quite hot and after maybe 1 hour, my ears were sweating a bit. No, it was not the room, the basement was quite cold (I kept my jacket on). Also the seude headband, even though comfortable, I don't think would last forever. Lastly, the ear cup is alluminium, but feels a bit plasticky and cheap. The rest of the unit (marble and tubes) are of very nice quality.

So in summary, what do I think of 60k system, vs 20k system? What do I think of Sennheiser HE-1, vs Bartok with AB-1266? Bass is surprisingly equal, couldn't make a decision solely basing it on the lower end register. AB-1266 wins with resolution/detail retrieval/holographic soundstage, as well as build quality and to me, comfort. What HE-1 shines at, is mids and vocal, so much so, that it does a better job than Susvara (from my memory), while lacking less compared to AB-1266.

All in all, this proves again how amazing AB-1266 is. Longer you listen to it, you hear its raw power. Sometimes this power needs to be tamed, but for that you have other components to play with, as well as headphone cables and interconnects. Do I think HE-1 is a good fit for an audiophile? I honestly don't think so. We want to play, tailor music representation to our liking/expectations. For that, raw powered AB-1266 is a better choice. But what headphone "system" would I recommend to my rich friends and colleagues, who have cars in excess of a million or speaker systems for half a grand? Just get HE-1, it is beautifully put together system, which also sounds good.

I would also suggest you listen to Susvara on a tube or ss/tube hybrid before final judgement. The Viva Egoista 845, Hifiman EF1000, Woo WA33 Elite, Riviera AIC-10 Feliks Envy Performance w/Elrogs etc. Now that would be a great comparison.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Hello my AB-1266 friends, as an owner of this fantastic headphone, I thought it would be nice to compare to another TOTL headphone setup, Sennheiser HE-1. I spent today 4 hours with this headphone, which consists of a DAC+AMP+Headphone combo. I had heard it in London 2016, but back then it was just 30 minutes and mandatory "Hotel California" song, so I was not as fine tuned to high end audio as I am today (dCS Bartók driving AB-1266).



Some of you may know me and my sonic preferences - I listen to 70% vocal-less EDM, 25% vocal EDM and the rest is random nu metal, indie rock, synth-pop. Accurate music presentation is not one of my priorities, music enjoyment is. I never listen to classical music, so I have no clue how a real music is supposed so sound like. I am a kid who used to go to loud techno/trance parties, so my hearing is no where close to what other audiophiles have. This being said, I trained myself to pick up on differences between copper and silver cables, so experimentation runs in my blood. For some unknown reason to me, I gravitate towards "one piece all-in-one systems", like dCS Bartok, or Chord Hugo TT2, both of which I owned personally.



You may ask, why am I writing my impressions of HE-1 to AB-1266 forum? Because as an AB-1266 owner, I wanted to know how far off is a 60k headphone system, compared to 20k headphone system. Some of you will think that I am underpowering AB-1266 with Bartok, but worry not, I have Viva Egoista 845 SET tube amplifier on its way (should be here in a week or two), which I will review shortly thereafter. As many of you, I may not be able to afford to purchase HE1 today, or in a near future, that's why I was so intrigued when my dealer told me he will have HE1 for a couple of days and invited me to come over if I have time. I took this opportunity, refreshed myself on critical listening on AB-1266+Bartok, slept 10 hours, all in preparation to do HE-1 the justice it deserves.



Even though I listened to HE-1 before, I did not remember much. So I was going to it today with a couple of expectations. Since AB-1266 is the bass monster, and HE-1 is an electrostat, I thought I would not like its bass, and that I would find it weak. I love AB-1266 for its snappy/punchy/not-bloomy bass, especially useful on EDM songs I like listening to (like Eric Prydz - Moody Mondays). Another thing I expected to happen was electrostat's soundstage, I expected it to be spacious / grandious / very open and airy. And lastly, mids - I expected them to be life like.



Now, what did I get? How does HE-1 sound on MY music, to MY ears, compared to MY current setup? There were a couple of surprises, not going to lie to you.

Surprise number 1: HE-1 bass is as good as AB-1266, very fast, punchy, detailed and layered. If I had an unlimited budget, I would happily own HE-1 over AB-1266. Mind you, I still haven't tried AB-1266 on Viva Egoista 845, only tried on Hugo TT2 (having less bass) and dCS Bartok (having more bass). I tried Bartok with 3 different cables, stock, DHC copper and Lavricables silver, for bass, DHC copper is the best.

Surprise number 2: HE-1 is less detailed than AB-1266, I did not expect this, I thought nothing can touch electrostats. Mind you, this is on MY music, which is not high quality recorded classical pieces, rather synth-pop and EDM. If I was optimising for resolution only, I would choose AB-1266, especially on silver cable.

Surprise number 3: HE-1 soundstage is much, much, I mean, MUCH smaller. The presentation is very intimate, and not grandiose at all. This is a bad thing for most EDM songs, BUT a blessing for vocal heavy synth-pop. Depending on what you listen to, you want HE-1 over AB-1266 and vice versa. Adding a holographic amp like Viva Egoista 845 is likely to change this even further, let's see in a week or so.

Surprise number 4: Lastly, HE-1 mids are just gorgeous. Let me explain, I chose AB-1266 over Susvara, and I did not (on purpose) get Superconductor cable. Many feel that AB-1266 are a bit recessed, and that Susvara does a better job here. Many go and improve mids further with Superconductor cable, or elevate it a bit with a silver cable. I actually do not mind AB-1266 mids, for my cold EDM songs it just works perfect. HOWEVER, this was the biggest surprise to me - HE-1 mids are just so luxurious, so much so that I fell in love with mids now. It made me listen to songs from The Weeknd, which to me on AB-1266 do not sound that great (mids part, not bass or treble). I really thought I do not care for mids, I know that with Susvara, my choice was to choose AB-1266's resolution, bass and soundstage, over having "better mids", but HE-1's mids are top notch, better than Susvara to my ears, and the rest of HE-1's qualities (that I gave more points to AB-1266) are not as far behind, as Susvara in my personal opinion. I would like to illustrate the feeling I had with HE-1's mids - try and remember the first date you had with your significant other, how you went out, what ever it was, and how that led to a romantic dinner, and one day for to a "sleep over". What feeling did you just get? An intimate rush of endorphins? That is how I felt with HE-1's mids. I never understood people of optimised for mids (over bass/resolution/soundstage), but I think I do now, we are wired a bit differently, but since HE-1's other qualities are so close to AB-1266, being "almost equal", the mids just take it over the top.



So what is there to write about a pair of headphones? Well, AB-1266 feel much sturdier, like they will last your whole life, which is a big plus. Comfort wise, to me AB-1266 are perfect, HE-1 was comfortable (surprisingly heavy), but the issue I had was that HE-1's cups are an amplifier, so they run quite hot and after maybe 1 hour, my ears were sweating a bit. No, it was not the room, the basement was quite cold (I kept my jacket on). Also the seude headband, even though comfortable, I don't think would last forever. Lastly, the ear cup is alluminium, but feels a bit plasticky and cheap. The rest of the unit (marble and tubes) are of very nice quality.

So in summary, what do I think of 60k system, vs 20k system? What do I think of Sennheiser HE-1, vs Bartok with AB-1266? Bass is surprisingly equal, couldn't make a decision solely basing it on the lower end register. AB-1266 wins with resolution/detail retrieval/holographic soundstage, as well as build quality and to me, comfort. What HE-1 shines at, is mids and vocal, so much so, that it does a better job than Susvara (from my memory), while lacking less compared to AB-1266.

All in all, this proves again how amazing AB-1266 is. Longer you listen to it, you hear its raw power. Sometimes this power needs to be tamed, but for that you have other components to play with, as well as headphone cables and interconnects. Do I think HE-1 is a good fit for an audiophile? I honestly don't think so. We want to play, tailor music representation to our liking/expectations. For that, raw powered AB-1266 is a better choice. But what headphone "system" would I recommend to my rich friends and colleagues, who have cars in excess of a million or speaker systems for half a grand? Just get HE-1, it is beautifully put together system, which also sounds good.

I don't even know how I missed this write up, really cool stuff. Nothing is surprising to me at all, and very familiar as an HE90 owner. One thing I thought worth mentioning, is that everyone always wants to approach it from price/ROI standpoint whereas the performance increases of the most premium headphones are extremely diminishing in nature. Most of the top cans (TC included) can generally compete with any of the premium headphones, there are just some refinement and other small gains that some may prefer, which also likely come with some tradeoffs. I can absolutely guarantee you that there are some that would never give up the TC for the HE-1, etc. So it just depends on the user entirely and also what music people prefer.

 

[krude]

I don't even know how I missed this write up, really cool stuff. Nothing is surprising to me at all, and very familiar as an HE90 owner. One thing I thought worth mentioning, is that everyone always wants to approach it from price/ROI standpoint whereas the performance increases of the most premium headphones are extremely diminishing in nature. Most of the top cans (TC included) can generally compete with any of the premium headphones, there are just some refinement and other small gains that some may prefer, which also likely come with some tradeoffs. I can absolutely guarantee you that there are some that would never give up the TC for the HE-1, etc. So it just depends on the user entirely and also what music people prefer.

100%, I will add that TC is the MOST transparent headphone I've ever tried ... and I tried a few, second spot would probably be HD800 ... so the chain will affect it in extreme ways. You can easily have 2 or 3 presentation variants just with different tubes or amps.

 

[Exekuhtor]

The 1266 is the best headphone for your 70% of music, any electronic stuff makes you just want to dance with that can, it's just brutally fun. No other headphone can slam as hard as the 1266. Honestly, the 1266 has such a unique factor with its bass, that no other headphone can compete.
I laughed so much at the "i don't know what music should sound like"

On the other side, yes, you need an extremely lush / warm chain for the 1266 to make its mid tonality shine with vocals, otherwise it's rather cold, analytical, clinical.
A Susvara also has that honey midrange, and if you power that headphone well with the right chain (and tubes), i think it gets up to the HE-1. Voices are just to die for and it feels like i'm melting when listening to certain stuff. Sadly it took a lot of cash to get everything out of it... I would also love to A/B the HE-1 with my Susvara chain, i heard it briefly at Highend Munich and was extremely impressed, but i'm (still) the same way impressed with my setup now. Since i know i value soundstage, i wonder if i would truly prefer the HE-1. For a lot of people in the hobby a collection of a few different sounding cans has also a big value, something you totally give up with an HE-1 (or an Aperio etc). I would not like to give up all my 1266, Susvara and VO, they are perfect depending on the mood (even to a lesser degree the SJY). And having an HE-1 and a TOTL chain for a 1266 is just nowhere near realistic (and sadly you can't get a big discount on the HE-1 on a black friday, nor does it pop up in the used market). Not wanting to give up the modular system was the reason i stuck with the Susvara instead of getting a Shangri-La Senior, it's just not feasable (for me) having both an energizer and an amp for too much cash, and i will not part with the 1266.

 

[krude]

The 1266 is the best headphone for your 70% of music, any electronic stuff makes you just want to dance with that can, it's just brutally fun. No other headphone can slam as hard as the 1266. Honestly, the 1266 has such a unique factor with its bass, that no other headphone can compete.
I laughed so much at the "i don't know what music should sound like"

On the other side, yes, you need an extremely lush / warm chain for the 1266 to make its mid tonality shine with vocals, otherwise it's rather cold, analytical, clinical.
A Susvara also has that honey midrange, and if you power that headphone well with the right chain (and tubes), i think it gets up to the HE-1. Voices are just to die for and it feels like i'm melting when listening to certain stuff. Sadly it took a lot of cash to get everything out of it... I would also love to A/B the HE-1 with my Susvara chain, i heard it briefly at Highend Munich and was extremely impressed, but i'm (still) the same way impressed with my setup now. Since i know i value soundstage, i wonder if i would truly prefer the HE-1. For a lot of people in the hobby a collection of a few different sounding cans has also a big value, something you totally give up with an HE-1 (or an Aperio etc). I would not like to give up all my 1266, Susvara and VO, they are perfect depending on the mood (even to a lesser degree the SJY). And having an HE-1 and a TOTL chain for a 1266 is just nowhere near realistic (and sadly you can' get a big discount on the HE-1 on a black friday, nor does it pop up in the used market). Not wanting to give up the modular system was the reason i stuck to the Susvara instead of getting a Shangri-La Senior, it's just not feasable (for me) having both an energizer and an amp for too much cash, and i will not part with the 1266.

100% agreed. Utopia from synergising tubes can outslam the TC, but not by much. TC has tighter (obv bc planar vs dynamic) and deeper bass though. I love both.

 

[ageofadz]

Can I re-open a can of worms regarding the Superconductor Cable? It's probably been discussed before in this thread, I've already read around 100 pages of it.

I think the cable does make a difference, but all the internet are trying to convince me it's in my head. I think it sounds just right, like buttery I don't know, like how I expected it to be originally with the stock cable. Anyone feel similarly?

 

[all2ofme]

Yep! I like the Superconductor a whole lot more than the stock cable.

(I like the Isa model from @skedra even more than the Superconductor, but that’s not what you asked )

 

[timeslip]

Yep! I like the Superconductor a whole lot more than the stock cable.

(I like the Isa model from @skedra even more than the Superconductor, but that’s not what you asked )

Me too! Especially my 10ft one

 

[Jon L]

Yep! I like the Superconductor a whole lot more than the stock cable.

(I like the Isa model from @skedra even more than the Superconductor, but that’s not what you asked )

Have you tried any OCC silver Litz weave (similar to @skedra) from Norne cable?

 

[all2ofme]

No, just the Skedra one. I compared a few (WyWires Platinum was closest, but it was microphonic) but the Viking Weave ones are my favourites to such a degree that I stopped looking. There may well be cables out there that are as good or better, but when I need a new cable @skedra will get my business again.

First-class human and excellent cables. Sound good, look good, zero microphonics. Love them.

 

[krude]

Can I re-open a can of worms regarding the Superconductor Cable? It's probably been discussed before in this thread, I've already read around 100 pages of it.

I think the cable does make a difference, but all the internet are trying to convince me it's in my head. I think it sounds just right, like buttery I don't know, like how I expected it to be originally with the stock cable. Anyone feel similarly?

Cables make a huge difference, not sure how can one not hear it ... but many ppl claim they don't. With TC dofferences are rather obvious as well.

Im a fan of Lavri Grand silver litz, buy them for all my cans. On TC they open up the air and microdetail a lot, but, you need a more refined system to use it, otherwise it will sound sharp. I would say good tubes or a high class SS.

 

[ageofadz]

Cables make a huge difference, not sure how can one not hear it ... but many ppl claim they don't. With TC dofferences are rather obvious as well.

Im a fan of Lavri Grand silver litz, buy them for all my cans. On TC they open up the air and microdetail a lot, but, you need a more refined system to use it, otherwise it will sound sharp. I would say good tubes or a high class SS.

I'm using a really good AudioValve amp so I will try the Lavri if I get the chance

 

[sloomingbla]

Can I re-open a can of worms regarding the Superconductor Cable? It's probably been discussed before in this thread, I've already read around 100 pages of it.

I think the cable does make a difference, but all the internet are trying to convince me it's in my head. I think it sounds just right, like buttery I don't know, like how I expected it to be originally with the stock cable. Anyone feel similarly?

It’s a huge difference, to me it made a bigger difference than a similarly priced amp upgrade. Granted, it’s not big in terms of the amount that changes, rather the significance in what does.

Darker blacks, more natural, smoother sound, and a solidarity to the notes that felt lacking before.

My family members were able to tell the difference, and gave similar praise without me letting them know what I thought beforehand.