Into the Abyss?
 

So the pandemic has me thinking it's time for a pair of awesome headphones, and I've read the raves on the Abyss. But apparently there's no dealer in the Boston area, and the Abyss online store has a 20% restocking fee. I don't begrudge them that, but a $1K gamble (plus the headphone amp!) is mighty steep. Has anybody had any luck demoing these in New England?

Thanks

Weight... It is a huge consideration with headphones.

I went through a headphone phase acquiring quite a few and quickly learned not only what I enjoyed in terms of a sonic signature but how much comfort matters when listening for extended periods of time in headphones.


I don't have Arnold Shwartznegger neck but I am not a scrawny guy either.

The problem with headphone listening is that they absolutely have to be comfortable or they start to distract from the listening enjoyment. If they don't fit well on the head or the weight starts to fatigue the neck, it is all over for enjoyment... the moment the fidgeting starts, it is bye bye listening session no matter how magical it was...

I do listen quite often in the late evenings and my listening sessions often extend into a few hours or more depending on the mood. The tubes are either lit at my computer desk or over by the stereo rack but I tend to listen to tubes approx 95% of the time. If I am in the mood to fire up the tubes, it usually means extended listening sessions because the longer it goes, the better everything starts to sound and I really get into the listening bliss.


Longest listening session in one of my absolute favorites HD-600 was 5.25hrs (260g)

Longest listening session in my current "reference" ZMF Auteur Blackwood is 2.75hrs. (482g)

I absolutely loved the Audeze LCD-3 and nearly cried when put them up for sale but the longest listening session was 1.25hrs. (543g)


So in conclusion, I hope you are considering the Abyss Diana Phi at (350g) and not the torture looking device AB-1266 at (640g) :D

I have them, but I am not doing any demo’s for the foreseeable future. I also have Stax, Sennheiser, and every model Audeze, as well as many others.

I know that doesn’t help you either. I have a dealer account with Woo Audio.

My Stackzilla Rack;

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/02...g?v=1573262463

The Cable Company has a headphone “lending library,” they charge 5% of the retail price plus you pay shipping. If you buy, the 5% is applied to the price.

Wow! Thanks for the great responses. Extremely helpful. Ivan, if not for covid, I would drive to the Cape. Someday, I will hope for another excuse! I just visited The Cable Company website. I will drop $250 to borrow a pair. Not sure if I will try the Dianas or the neck busters; but either way I will monitor comfort/endurance before buying.

Cheers!

I've recently demoed both the 1266 Phi TC and the Diana Phi from my local dealer and found both to be great headphones. The 1266 are the better headphone purely in terms of sound. I would highly recommend them if you plan on using them strictly in a stationary position. These are not headphones that accommodate moving around while wearing them. They take a little bit to fine tune the fit, but are quite comfortable once dialed in. The Diana Phi, on the other hand retain much of the sound of the 1266 but with a narrower sound stage and a bit less overall impact. The Diana feel much more like normal headphones and are more accommodating to moving around while wearing.

If you are going to demo from the Cable Company and are already going to put money toward a headphone I would highly recommend giving both a try. The 1266 are worth it in terms of sound quality, but if the unconventional fit isn't for you, the Diana might be right.

I would also recommend the Focal Utopia if you are okay going outside the Abyss brand.

Thanks, Dan--

I tried the Focal Utopias for a few days already. They were very special compared to others I tried, but they did not move me the way my speakers do, and that's really what I'm shooting for. It could be because I ran them directly from my Mc C22 pre-amp and I really needed a headphone amp. Though my local dealer is excellent, and I think he would have loaned me an amp if that was the case.

I visited The Cable Company website again, and it looks like they will loan me both the 1266 and Diana simultaneously along with a headphone amp, so based on input from you and PHC's warning on weight, that's what I expect to do.

Aiming to schedule trial for late this month!