[Svatopluk]

I commend you on your informative, unbiased review. It should be used as the standard template for all future multi headphone reviews.

 

[Sonic77]

I love the way you organized this comparison review, I wish other Pro reviewers used a similar method, kudos to you for out laying such a easy to read and understand comparison. Take note other reviewers, this is the pattern to use for comparison reviews.

 

[kadrian]

This is really great review!

 

[LaCuffia]

Nicely presented review. I enjoyed reading it.

The Abyss looks like the Harley-Davidson of headphones. Phenomenal ratings for sound but shame about it being uncomfortable in stock form. I wonder if comfort is consistently cited as a problem for owners or is it that finicky that it just doesn't work for some people and is perfect for others. Most companies that produce high end headphones make comfort a top priority so it's disappointing to read that the Abyss falls short. Perhaps the Diana is the more comfortable alternative while retaining most of the Abyss sound quality.

 

[panoptikon]

Nice review!

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with the HEKv2 and Utopia together with the Chord Dave, and to the large extent I agree with your thoughts. Still, to describe Utopia's sound as 'closed' might be a little misleading. I get that directly compared to the Abyss, which i haven't heard, it might seem so, but the depth of Utopia's focused soundstage is nothing short of astonishing when paired with a TOTL setup. In my book depth and precision should be praised higher than width, meanwhile the latter seems to be what many headphones exceed, or try to exceed, in.

 

[Svatopluk]

Nice review!

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with the HEKv2 and Utopia together with the Chord Dave, and to the large extent I agree with your thoughts. Still, to describe Utopia's sound as 'closed' might be a little misleading. I get that directly compared to the Abyss, which i haven't heard, it might seem so, but the depth of Utopia's focused soundstage is nothing short of astonishing when paired with a TOTL setup. In my book depth and precision should be praised higher than width, meanwhile the latter seems to be what many headphones exceed, or try to exceed, in.

I agree totally regarding the Utopia's soundstage and it's accuracy.

 

[matthewhypolite]

Nice review!

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with the HEKv2 and Utopia together with the Chord Dave, and to the large extent I agree with your thoughts. Still, to describe Utopia's sound as 'closed' might be a little misleading. I get that directly compared to the Abyss, which i haven't heard, it might seem so, but the depth of Utopia's focused soundstage is nothing short of astonishing when paired with a TOTL setup. In my book depth and precision should be praised higher than width, meanwhile the latter seems to be what many headphones exceed, or try to exceed, in.

I agree with this, when comes to depth and precision the Utopia is up there, but compared to abyss the sound is more closed in / focused.If you read the my comments however, i'm fine with that, because the cans are amazing despite that characteristic and i think it being like that contributes to what makes it so special, very rich and engaging cans. But thought i still needed to mention it for folks who are looking for a more open/airy sound.

 

[matthewhypolite]

Nicely presented review. I enjoyed reading it.

The Abyss looks like the Harley-Davidson of headphones. Phenomenal ratings for sound but shame about it being uncomfortable in stock form. I wonder if comfort is consistently cited as a problem for owners or is it that finicky that it just doesn't work for some people and is perfect for others. Most companies that produce high end headphones make comfort a top priority so it's disappointing to read that the Abyss falls short. Perhaps the Diana is the more comfortable alternative while retaining most of the Abyss sound quality.

Not sure how close the diana is to a full blown abyss, so i wont comment on that.
In terms of comfort consistently cited as a problem, as with all things your mileage may vary. There are tons of folks who are totally fine with it, but there are also tons of folks who aren't. In the past, accepting the Abyss' weird/finicky fit was just part of the culture, but with simple to implement mods, its become a non-issue for me personally. But i think i've seen enough people wanting it to be more comfortable to make it a "thing".

 

[sikki-six]

Very good work, big thumbs up!

It would have been cool to see a pair of HD600/650 as a "ringer" pair against the more expensive ones. As these two Senns pretty much set the bar for high fidelity in headphones before the TOTL prices went bonkers.

 

[matthewhypolite]

Very good work, big thumbs up!

It would have been cool to see a pair of HD600/650 as a "ringer" pair against the more expensive ones. As these two Senns pretty much set the bar for high fidelity in headphones before the TOTL prices went bonkers.

I actually have another similar comparison between the HE350, HE350 Modified, Denon D5000, D7000 Modified and HD650/6xx. Was actually just a rough thing i did up for my own uses, which i used as a base template for the TOTL review.
And i do agree with you in that the HD650 is a spectacular headphone for the price, especially if you can grab one of those $200 massdrop 6xx, that's just a steal.
After getting re-acquainted with the 6xx sound, and rinsing my ears of the TOTL stuff, the 6xx sounds really good. But whenever i go back, i realize the TOTL cans are just in a different class and didnt think it would be fair comparing them, especially given the massive price gap.

How would i rate the 6xx elements? For example, do i rate the bass a 10 given it only costs 200 bucks? or a 5 when compared to the others?
So decided to leave the 650/6xx in my lowend/midrange Comparison (which i've not made public).

I plan on getting the Abyss Phi in December and adding it to the lineup, i'll think about how much sense it makes including the 6xx whiles I'm doing that. But dunno if it makes sense based on what i just explained.

Thanks for the feedback

 

[Thenewguy007]

Most welcome, glad to help.

Also, Thanks for all the comments guys, most appreciated.

I'm surprised you rated the Abyss so high with the mids. Everyone always say's how slightly recessed they are to any of the other TOTL cans. That they have a slight U-shaped signature, something others like the LCD3 & HEKv2 have never been described as.

 

[matthewhypolite]

I'm surprised you rated the Abyss so high with the mids. Everyone always say's how slightly recessed they are to any of the other TOTL cans. That they have a slight U-shaped signature, something others like the LCD3 & HEKv2 have never been described as.

The mids are definitely the low point of the abyss, but that's alongside the excellent upper and lower performance. The cans are so good in those areas it can seem U-Shaped, but doesnt mean the mids are "bad" just not as good as the other areas. I'm not sure if ill necessarily call them recessed, but the bass and treble is definitely more present. But even with a weaker midrange i think the performance of what's there is better than what's there in the HEK. Think of it as the HEKv2 having good linear performance across the board, but the Abyss having good midrange performance, but excellent treble/bass.

If any of that makes sense......lol.

 

[Energy]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. Very good grammar and English. They were an eye candy to read.

The Utopia's definitely have mid-range that's to die for. I have heard the majority of these headphones aside from the Abyss and would agree whole heartedly with all your ratings.

 

[Thenewguy007]

The massive expansive soundstage makes for the most natural and speaker-like sound I've heard from a headphone.

When you say this, have you heard or owned the Sennheiser HD800 before?

 

[matthewhypolite]

When you say this, have you heard or owned the Sennheiser HD800 before?

No I haven't, my experience is based on owning the following:

Grado SR60, SR80, SR325i, Senn HD650/6xx, Shure 535, Audeze LCD3, Denon D1000, D5000, D7000, Hifiman HE350, HE1000v1, HE1000v2, Abyss, Focal Utopia.