I did post my first impressions in another thread recently but this is the more appropriate place to post it.
So 2 days ago I went to my local Jaben store and they had something quite special. It was the Abyss.
I was baffled on why they would stock these super expensive headphones that doesn't really measure like a $5500 headphone according to Innerfidelity. But anyway, they told me that they had already sold one unit to a rich fellow so I definitively need to have a listen.
I was using my HP-P1 through a Bakoon HDA-5210 mk3 Amp.
First thing you notice is the very weird looks and it's not a looker but the materials and build quality make up for it. When I held it, I was surprised on how light it was, lighter than my HE-500. The construction is very solid and exquisite and it will take a lot of force to actually break it or even flex it and the pads are real leather which is nice.
In terms of ergonomics it didn't do well. There are not many ways to adjust the fit but even if you get a perfect fit, it will still be weird to wear it on the head and not very comfortable to my head at least. The pads can be removed or rotated easily thanks to magnets and pegs but what about the sound? Can it match the SR-009 in sound at this price point?
Note: The first listen was done on high gain and the pads didn't create a seal at the bottom of my head but they said it was fine.
First time listening was a bit disappointing actually. It was very much behind the SR-009 and worse than the LCD-3.
The first thing I noticed is the very, very sharp and sparkly treble that was hurting my ears quite badly.
Second are the lows. They are similar in quantity and quality as the HE-6 but not as much quantity as the LCD-2/3 but I was more impressed with its tightness and speed. It really was fast and dynamic.
Mids were very good with nice instrument separation with forward and airy vocals but not as rich as the LCD-2/3. Soundstage and imaging was impressive and detail retrieval was amazing but it's not as resolving as the HD800 so it plays nicely with less well mastered music but overall the frequency response was fairly neutral with an elevated treble that really was fatiguing.
After I gave my impressions to the people who work there, they said that they didn't find it bright, rather very dark in fact. They then wondered if the lack of seal messed the treble and bass so they rotated the pads a bit and now it sealed my head perfectly. I also put it in low gain after that.
Second time listening was much, much better. The bass is now much more present and has actually a bit more quantity than the LCD-2/3 but with much better speed and dynamics and impact which makes it a very fun sounding headphone, the music just jumps around and never misses a beat.
The annoying treble was toned down but still very much present, around the same quantity as the HE-6 but still sparkly sounding that gives a kind of unnatural, unrealistic metallic tone to cymbals and the likes.
I also noticed that the vocals were a bit thicker and richer. It was still airy and I could hear the singer breathe in and out but it was still bested by the LCD-2/3. Then I did play a bit with the clamping force by pulling the drivers a bit further away from my ears and I noticed a much more elevated bass response which I think is normal in planar magnetic, my HE-500 exhibits the same thing as well.
Overall, after a perfect seal, I think that this is a great headphone that deserves to be in the top of the line group but I do not think that it's as good as the SR-009. Better than the HE-6? Very much. Better than the LCD-3? It was a bit better but not $3500 better.
This headphone sounds like as if an HE-6 married an LCD-3 and had a baby but still, If this headphone had a price of around $2500 then I would think that it's definitively worth every single penny but $5500? I would think not twice but a multiple of times and probably just go with the SR-009 and be done with it. It's a valiant effort for a first timer but it still has a long road to reach the peak of the mountain.
TL;DR: A very good headphone that overcomes the criticisms of the HE-6 and LCD-3 but still behind the SR-009 and a price that's very much not worth it. But when you do get a good and perfect seal with just the right clamping force, this is a very, very fun headphone.