Outstanding Michael and I agree with everything you said in this video and have owned 99% of all of these headphones. When you move to the Abyss 1266 Phi TC it goes neck and neck with Susvara’s in my book both compliment each other and can be the end all of headphones for today in my book. My chain Chord MScaler > Chord Dave > Woo Audio WA33 Elite with upgraded KR HP tubes > Hifiman Susvara and Abyss 1266 Phi TC = life like sound
I have WA33 envy. I will probably never have one. I'd have to sell my WA5LE to do it, and no one in their right mind would pay me close to its worth (or at least a price I'd accept for it). I can see myself picking up either the TC or whatever is next from Abyss in the future. But I think I'm going to be buying Audeze and some other headphones first. Abyss will have to wait. Thanks for watching!
Man u are the Utopia in headphone reviewers kkkkk!!! The instrumentation part is just amazing! So far this is the best video review I have seen on the Internet!
Just thought I would come back to this vid to say THANK YOU! Been listening to the When Harry met Sally soundtrack sporadically throughout the day. Great movie but I never realized how fricken great the soundtrack is. Subbed!
Hi Michael, Great effort for this insane video! the headphone community is fortunate to have someone with your talents, sense of humour and overall passion for the hobby! Keep up the great work! your production value is A+. Subscribed! and I am looking at your channel regularly for updates.
Michael, Thank you for a great review (and they are all enjoyable). I was waiting for this one and it gave me needed answers as comparing gives a better perspective than individual reviews (as the Abyss shows). I am a happy subscriber to your channel and hope this review will take you to 1 million subsribers!
Great video. The only thing missing was audeze. The audeze would have the strongest flattest bass but less up the mids and highs in the process. I personally run focal. I draw the line at hifiman prices and just move to my speaker rig to upgrade there.
best reviewer on TH-cam Thanks Michael for always being professional and adding great content while making it entertaining great production value! awesome
This video got my attention, thank you for a great one! I am 1 year late to this party, would love to know how you feel the amps and dacs in this review or which amps go best with which headphone. I am happy with my dynamics in the HD800S and the Atrium. The HFM Arya Stealth was my best planar so naturally, I’d made a list. Having heard both Mezes, the Elite was top of the list. Last month, a friend came over with his Susvara and I was very impressed with it. He had just sold the LCD5 and decided to get another Susvara which he had before, a few years back. Prior to that, he tried Staxnand a bunch of high end headphones. Anyway, my Susvara is on its way here. Now got to think about which amp to get to maximize the Susvara. Any suggestions?
my personal ranking top to bottom in terms of sound: susvara, utopia, stax, empyrean, 1266. some of these ive had limited time with so take it with that caveat
Subscribed! What a shootout, really well put and clarified. I really like the mids on the Susvara (some of the best I've ever heard actually) from my time spent on demos, but that feeling of thinness that you described was spot on. This is something that I hear for every Hifiman set except the OG HE-6s. Also spot on was the lack of coherency you describe in the Abyss... while I think they have the quickest transients of anything I've heard (aside from estats), I think it definitely struggles in how disjointed they sound especially on instrumental and acoustic tracks. The way you describe the Utopia make me really wanna check them out, I love the focal house sound even on their lower-end products (Clear and my personal Elegia). Without having heard the Utopia, I completely agree with the conclusion that the Susvaras are ridiculously good and its easy to see that they deserve their praise and well-regards with the caveat that its build quality leaves much to be desired. Sidenote: The pricing on the Stellia and 1266s are crazy good, what a steal!
Loving this shoot out! When I started building custom keyboards my friends didn't get it, then they tried mine and I had to build one for all of them. I started custom tuning headphones (Fostex and Koss mostly) starting with just pad swaps but eventually doing detachable braided cable mods, driver angling mods, holee air mods. My friends didn't get it, they thought I was taking apart perfectly good headphones with a really good chance to break them. They finally heard them coming from my small Topping L30 amp and now they all want custom cans. It's such a fun hobby, even just the listening part. My own mother didn't get it. She kept calling me because she moved to an apartment and her neighbors were young with a big sound system. She refused over the ear headphones for so long and would use these gross Bluetooth ear buds. Hooked up my old smsl dac amp combo to her bedroom TV and gave her a pair of fostex closed back. She's been glued to the TV.
I’m looking forward to when you review the Elite. As an Empyrean owner I'm waiting to see if the Elite would be worth upgrading to. Interestingly, reviewers rarely speak about how easy the Empyrean is to drive. That is one of my reasons for choosing the Empyrean. I don't need to have a powerful desktop amp to enjoy what the headphone has to offer. I can listen without having to be in a specific place. Even though it's not an ideal 'audiophile' solution for listening, I usually listen to my headphones with the iFi xCAN connected to my phone via Bluetooth. That makes for a very convenient listening experience.
Hey Kelvin, I'd love to review the Elite-- especially in a shootout with the Empyrean. We'll see what's ahead. Maybe our friends at Audio46 will send a pair? Thanks for watching!
Great review. Thanks. As a Stax fanatic I of course own most of their earspeakers and I also know that you need to mix and match with amp and cables to get the bass and overall tone correct. When you do, nothinge else compares. The principle of electrostatic is simply superior to any dynamic headphone.
I've tried two different amps with my different e-stat headphones. The Blue Hawaii (I've since sold this amp) and the KGSSHV Carbon CC. Speed and transient detail is where the e-stats have a massive advantage. Where they start falling a bit short is in the bass response. It's nothing you notice when listening to the 009s or even the X9000 only. There's a wow factor -- I see what enthusiasts love about the STAX. Then I start doing direct comparisons with headphones like the Abyss 1266TC, (and jumping ahead a few episodes! LOL) the ModHouse Tungsten, the ZMF Cadera-- these headphones bring a bass response that isn't present on the e-stat headphones. In the episodes after, I purchased and decided to sell the X9000 after shooting a bunch of videos with them- and keep the SR-007 MK1. Though the 007 doesn't have the detail presence of the X9000 (which is pure spectacle! And who doesn't love a good spectacle?), I prefer the overall tonality of the 007 MK1, and the construction, fit, and finish is better with the 007. To my way of thinking, E-stats have advantages in detail retrieval, but they can't push as much air as dynamics or planars, which is where you get deep, rich, impactful bass. Everything is a tradeoff in the end, and for what e-stats do, i agree, there is nothing better.
LCD-5 is not in the list unfortunatly, if you compare LCD-5 vs .... who will be the winner (better than lcd-5) in terms of resolution, neutrality, imaging and soundstage ? Susvara of Hifiman ? if it is, how would be positionned HE1000se and Arya ?
This was amazing! Thank you for taking the time (and cost) to put this together! I'm an Abyss owner myself, and while I can't imagine much better, it would be really interesting to try.
nice round up and assessment of the various components. Nice to see after so many years my investment in Susvara's was well spent and they still hover at the top.
I would like to see a review of the Abyss 1266 TC. I think your evaluation was fair based on what I’ve read. It seems that the Susvara and the TC are neck and neck in technicalities.
What an excellent review, very spot on about the Susvara. It really is at the top for the most pleasant headphone for classical and jazz! I have a feeling this video will be the go-to review for many people looking to buy TOTL headphones in the future!
This is the first video I watch from your channel. Nice reviews, I enjoyed the video. I have the Utopia. I listen to Jazz and Classical so for me Stax is best. I am actually getting bored with the Utopia and tired of their signature which is as you described a bit dark and uneven in the treble. I could easily swap them with the 009S. Your preferences are not similar to mine but what you say makes sense and it is actually informative and trustworthy.
thank you mr michael for this flagship shootout, you must be going through hell with conscious battle while rating them. and yes we have been with you from early starts of this channel & really happy to see subscribers rocketing each episodes.
Hey Michael, amazing reviews and videos. Do you have by any chance a playlist to listen to? Love the songs you choose and it would be awesome to hear more.
the album choices are top. Not really surprising, but really, really good for judging headphones. I might add, that the Susvara is the only headphone I ever tried, that gave (and gives) me actual goosebumps while listening and that the gear you used made my soft spot for audio equipment very not-soft.
awesome work and information, thanks a lot for your time and effort put into this, highly appreciated. I just miss an audeze and a sennheisser, but, for the next round!!
Thank you for the long and detailed review. As an Abyss PHI TC owner, I can agree that it can be a bit time-consuming to find the right position on the head or to find the right setting for the headband. I do not perceive the Utopia as dark at all, I think the Utopia has almost too much treble, but of course everyone hears differently. Maybe there is a good Black Friday deal for the Utopia, then I'll replace my LCD-XC with it. 😂
agree, not dark at all, instead the opposite. Maybe he was referring to the overall soundstage, which is slightly closer to the listener's ears, more intimate. and agree, that treble sometimes bothers me, but still a great overall headphone.
Superb shoot out and discussion. I own the susvaras, empyrean, and utopias and pretty much agree with your views/ranking of those. Like you say, i seem to gravitate to the susvaras the most and definitely the “easiest” to do that with. And those empyreans (which would be the first ones I sell when the time is right) come to play when (like you describe) I am not looking to critically listen to music (God forbid) and want to enjoy them for their “musicality”. Great effort and thanks for taking the time on these and all other (full size) headphone reviews. I await more info/review when you manage to get an lcd5 in - i definitely hope you do Now i just have to go get acquainted with the Harry met sally soundtrack and the Carly Simon album…and to listen out for Mick Jagger that I was not aware of.
This was a mouthwateringly good review. I really liked the way you organized your results here, it made it very easy to follow and feel out the differences between each pair. I also really liked your music selections here, they were great listening choices. There's nothing like using Carly Simon to say, "I'm a music enthusiast first," and personally, I feel that's the perspective all reviews should come from. I'll likely be revisiting this video when I'm finally ready to make a purchase in this ballpark.
The best headphones that I've owned is the Sennheiser HD800s - How do the HD800s compare to the headphones in your Shootout? or, are all the headphones in the video a step up from the HD800s? Cheers
I can't say. I owned the original HD800 years ago. It wouldn't be fair for me to talk about them, having not heard them in so long-- and the revised models that are available. I almost purchased the new HD8xx from Drop, but backed out when the first reviews came in as unfavorable. If I have the opportunity, I'll check them out. Thanks for watching!
Now I want to own them all. Based on your description, 1266TC seems like the perfect headphones for metal music. Electrostats are really good for vocal and jazz. Susvara for correct instrument timbre. Utopia for watching TH-cam (I already own them and they fit my head perfectly).
What a great video Michael! So well put together. Very enjoyable session as usual! You deserve a lot of praises for this! It's as informative as it is entertaining. Well done!
great shootout Michael.... one excuse I tend not to give to myself is if I'm looking for a more 'forgiving' headphone, I won't need to spend so much $$$ on one.... and i'm seriously surprised you still hang on to the Meze even with its below par performance..... but if comfort is your reason then all's good mate I think Audeze CRBN can be your Stax replacement and stop gap before you get your hands on LCD5 as I think you can get a great deal on CRBN
Awesome shootout! Empyrean has been my endgame for a while now. I keep around my ethers and Zmf auteur because it's fun to mix it up. I used to have a susvara but it was unlistenable with metal and EDM which is my primary genre. It works well with alt rock and some rock but overall it seems like it's made for specific genres whereas empyreans can literally do any genre. That combined with comfort is kind of a game changer where I don't really care about a little extra detail (especially when the subbass is lacking on the susvara). I have some nearfield focal speakers that fill the susvara gap pretty well. I think speakers just do a better job at what some of the flagships try to do.
I dont agree with half of what you say about these cans, but the 40% or so were succinct and all of it was inspirational. The only one I haven't heard of them is the Stax, and that is weird since I love the Staxes I have, 300/700/007. I dont get why you keep the Meze, and for some reason the Susvara wasn't my cup of tea either. Abyss did impress, but not beyond and above. Utopia tickled my ears immediately. I wont give up my HD800 or my two K1000s or my two Audezes soon either, (and for some reason you didn't have an Audeze in there, and for obvious reasons not the K1K). Lovely presentation, and you have great rythm in your review. Thanks!-)
Hi Alex, for the DAC, yes just the TT2-- my other DAC options can't compete with that DAC. I didn't use the internal amp on the TT2, it doesn't have enough power. I amped them a few ways-- mostly the 8W WA5LE and also the McIntosh.
@@DirectorsGarage ah I see. WA5LE is good enough so amplification isn’t the issue here. I am just a bit concerned about the vocal part in the review because out of the formula S, I really don’t feel my phi TC lacking in vocal nor do they sound nasally. I do have to listen carefully for the transitioning from bass to mid. Thank you for pointing that out and I would definitely pay attention to this aspect !
@@ks_3.14 What's strange is-- I've spent months with the Abyss and never felt the treble was nasally and I through they were very fast and highly detailed. It wasn't until I started swapping the headphones quickly and comparing every bit of the sound to other headphones that I noticed things that surprised me. I honestly thought the Abyss would win the shootout. I really did. I've been obsessed by them! But I do want to hear the TC revision to see what has changed. Did they get a bit faster? Did they clean up the treble and upper mid issues? Do the parts blend better together? My guess is that they must have done stuff in a positive way with the TC drivers. I'm still a fan of all of these headphones. But I will need to sell some off to get to the next thing- whatever that turns out to be. The shootout provided clarity (and I think some good content.) I hope everyone enjoys it. This was way more work than I'd ever imagined-- then I get into post and I'm thinking-- I spent all this time on the episode-- it needs special graphics-- and that took a whole day just to build the graphic look. It's hard to get plasma goo to shoot across a headphone. Who knew?
@@isoperimetrix Western Electric & Takatsuki 300Bs (WE's lately), Takatsuki 274s and Tung Sol 6SN7s. I did a whole tube episode th-cam.com/video/Pt52FaeAUG8/w-d-xo.html
If you want a more relaxed, bassier but still top-notch Stax experience, you should try the SR-007. It's less than half the price of the 009s, by the way. Since you seem to have kept the BHSE, you'll be able to listen it at its best - quite a few people prefer this combo to the 009 and the 009s, despite these being technically superior. According to impressions from knowledgeable people in forums such as Head Case, the 007 and the Audeze CRBN sound very different (it seems that the 007 has the edge on the CRBN wrt bass), so perhaps you could even get both...
Hi Greg-- I really like Chord DACs. I like them all-- from the Mojo on up the line. The TT2 is terrific. All of these headphones did very well paired with it. Thanks for watching!
My Empyrean sounds like real music now after many, many hours of burning in by pink noise thru them. In the beginning I used an equalizer but not anymore.
First of all: Why not the Sennheiser HD800S!? Also: WHICH AMP used with them all? *Susvara costs too much for what it is. Just because its “best” of the rest, you still cant ask so much money for it. Take in account its built quality (durability) in the longer run. Utopia wins, but still Susvara is more as far as sound goes I guess.* Utopia doesnt have much sound stage (but its got more 3D “layered”). No?
Susvara - best all around but no single "wow" factor Abyss - Amazing (you need to try TCs), comfort was my issue Stax - too thin sounding and no bass Focal - best fleshed-out mids, but no stage HD800s would have been a good one to add. (best for classical)
I would love to know how the Meze Elite fit into the bunch, especially in comparison to their cousin. Did Meze make their new cans faster or did they just add 1000€ for a silver paint job? What a cliffhanger.
Outstanding Michael and I agree with everything you said in this video and have owned 99% of all of these headphones. When you move to the Abyss 1266 Phi TC it goes neck and neck with Susvara’s in my book both compliment each other and can be the end all of headphones for today in my book. My chain Chord MScaler > Chord Dave > Woo Audio WA33 Elite with upgraded KR HP tubes > Hifiman Susvara and Abyss 1266 Phi TC = life like sound
Beautiful sounding setup I can only imagine..keep enjoying 🙌🏼🙌🏼
I have WA33 envy. I will probably never have one. I'd have to sell my WA5LE to do it, and no one in their right mind would pay me close to its worth (or at least a price I'd accept for it). I can see myself picking up either the TC or whatever is next from Abyss in the future. But I think I'm going to be buying Audeze and some other headphones first. Abyss will have to wait. Thanks for watching!
Yeah definitely looking forward to a 2nd shootout with the TC! 👍
Man u are the Utopia in headphone reviewers kkkkk!!! The instrumentation part is just amazing! So far this is the best video review I have seen on the Internet!
Dropping acid before any shootout is always the correct decision. Can’t go wrong with the susvara! I sure love mine!
👀
Just thought I would come back to this vid to say THANK YOU! Been listening to the When Harry met Sally soundtrack sporadically throughout the day. Great movie but I never realized how fricken great the soundtrack is. Subbed!
Just realized I was already subbed 🤣 hahaha
Hi Michael, Great effort for this insane video! the headphone community is fortunate to have someone with your talents, sense of humour and overall passion for the hobby! Keep up the great work! your production value is A+.
Subscribed! and I am looking at your channel regularly for updates.
YES! The episode we have all been waiting for!
Great content in this video! Also, ‘Jazz at the Pawnshop’..thanks for the recommendation! Fantastic recording! 👌🏼👌🏼
Michael, Thank you for a great review (and they are all enjoyable). I was waiting for this one and it gave me needed answers as comparing gives a better perspective than individual reviews (as the Abyss shows). I am a happy subscriber to your channel and hope this review will take you to 1 million subsribers!
Absolutely love the honesty on this channel!
Great video. The only thing missing was audeze. The audeze would have the strongest flattest bass but less up the mids and highs in the process. I personally run focal. I draw the line at hifiman prices and just move to my speaker rig to upgrade there.
Best headphone review I watched for a long long time. And I agree with you on most of the comments.
best reviewer on TH-cam Thanks Michael for always being professional and adding great content while making it entertaining great production value! awesome
$23,000 just for headphones... wow!! Thanks for the upload!
Wow, fantastic video! Good thing you're clearing out some flagship space now to make way for CRBN, lcd-5, Elite, & Stealth in the next round! 😉
Hope so, Chris!
This video got my attention, thank you for a great one! I am 1 year late to this party, would love to know how you feel the amps and dacs in this review or which amps go best with which headphone. I am happy with my dynamics in the HD800S and the Atrium. The HFM Arya Stealth was my best planar so naturally, I’d made a list. Having heard both Mezes, the Elite was top of the list. Last month, a friend came over with his Susvara and I was very impressed with it. He had just sold the LCD5 and decided to get another Susvara which he had before, a few years back. Prior to that, he tried Staxnand a bunch of high end headphones. Anyway, my Susvara is on its way here. Now got to think about which amp to get to maximize the Susvara. Any suggestions?
my personal ranking top to bottom in terms of sound: susvara, utopia, stax, empyrean, 1266. some of these ive had limited time with so take it with that caveat
Subscribed! What a shootout, really well put and clarified. I really like the mids on the Susvara (some of the best I've ever heard actually) from my time spent on demos, but that feeling of thinness that you described was spot on. This is something that I hear for every Hifiman set except the OG HE-6s. Also spot on was the lack of coherency you describe in the Abyss... while I think they have the quickest transients of anything I've heard (aside from estats), I think it definitely struggles in how disjointed they sound especially on instrumental and acoustic tracks. The way you describe the Utopia make me really wanna check them out, I love the focal house sound even on their lower-end products (Clear and my personal Elegia). Without having heard the Utopia, I completely agree with the conclusion that the Susvaras are ridiculously good and its easy to see that they deserve their praise and well-regards with the caveat that its build quality leaves much to be desired.
Sidenote: The pricing on the Stellia and 1266s are crazy good, what a steal!
Loving this shoot out! When I started building custom keyboards my friends didn't get it, then they tried mine and I had to build one for all of them. I started custom tuning headphones (Fostex and Koss mostly) starting with just pad swaps but eventually doing detachable braided cable mods, driver angling mods, holee air mods. My friends didn't get it, they thought I was taking apart perfectly good headphones with a really good chance to break them. They finally heard them coming from my small Topping L30 amp and now they all want custom cans. It's such a fun hobby, even just the listening part. My own mother didn't get it. She kept calling me because she moved to an apartment and her neighbors were young with a big sound system. She refused over the ear headphones for so long and would use these gross Bluetooth ear buds. Hooked up my old smsl dac amp combo to her bedroom TV and gave her a pair of fostex closed back. She's been glued to the TV.
This deserves way more than 8k views
Well done Sir! Enjoyed it thoroughly!
I’m looking forward to when you review the Elite. As an Empyrean owner I'm waiting to see if the Elite would be worth upgrading to. Interestingly, reviewers rarely speak about how easy the Empyrean is to drive. That is one of my reasons for choosing the Empyrean. I don't need to have a powerful desktop amp to enjoy what the headphone has to offer. I can listen without having to be in a specific place. Even though it's not an ideal 'audiophile' solution for listening, I usually listen to my headphones with the iFi xCAN connected to my phone via Bluetooth. That makes for a very convenient listening experience.
Hey Kelvin, I'd love to review the Elite-- especially in a shootout with the Empyrean. We'll see what's ahead. Maybe our friends at Audio46 will send a pair? Thanks for watching!
Great review. Thanks.
As a Stax fanatic I of course own most of their earspeakers and I also know that you need to mix and match with amp and cables to get the bass and overall tone correct.
When you do, nothinge else compares. The principle of electrostatic is simply superior to any dynamic headphone.
I've tried two different amps with my different e-stat headphones. The Blue Hawaii (I've since sold this amp) and the KGSSHV Carbon CC. Speed and transient detail is where the e-stats have a massive advantage. Where they start falling a bit short is in the bass response. It's nothing you notice when listening to the 009s or even the X9000 only. There's a wow factor -- I see what enthusiasts love about the STAX.
Then I start doing direct comparisons with headphones like the Abyss 1266TC, (and jumping ahead a few episodes! LOL) the ModHouse Tungsten, the ZMF Cadera-- these headphones bring a bass response that isn't present on the e-stat headphones. In the episodes after, I purchased and decided to sell the X9000 after shooting a bunch of videos with them- and keep the SR-007 MK1. Though the 007 doesn't have the detail presence of the X9000 (which is pure spectacle! And who doesn't love a good spectacle?), I prefer the overall tonality of the 007 MK1, and the construction, fit, and finish is better with the 007.
To my way of thinking, E-stats have advantages in detail retrieval, but they can't push as much air as dynamics or planars, which is where you get deep, rich, impactful bass. Everything is a tradeoff in the end, and for what e-stats do, i agree, there is nothing better.
@@DirectorsGarage Have a SR-007 mk1 aswell and they will stay with me until my ears can't detect sound anymore 🙂
LCD-5 is not in the list unfortunatly, if you compare LCD-5 vs .... who will be the winner (better than lcd-5) in terms of resolution, neutrality, imaging and soundstage ?
Susvara of Hifiman ? if it is, how would be positionned HE1000se and Arya ?
The battle of flagship headphones is here. Thank you sir.
This was amazing! Thank you for taking the time (and cost) to put this together! I'm an Abyss owner myself, and while I can't imagine much better, it would be really interesting to try.
nice round up and assessment of the various components. Nice to see after so many years my investment in Susvara's was well spent and they still hover at the top.
I would like to see a review of the Abyss 1266 TC. I think your evaluation was fair based on what I’ve read. It seems that the Susvara and the TC are neck and neck in technicalities.
Me too! Down the road. I'm going to be an Audeze owner first, unless a killer deal comes along. Thanks for watching!
@@DirectorsGarage Have you listened to the Audeze?
@@hiviber th-cam.com/video/s2bNt0qYpcc/w-d-xo.html
What an excellent review, very spot on about the Susvara. It really is at the top for the most pleasant headphone for classical and jazz! I have a feeling this video will be the go-to review for many people looking to buy TOTL headphones in the future!
At 70 seconds into this video, I had to press pause because my mouth was watering and it was getting weird... Good intro.
This is the first video I watch from your channel. Nice reviews, I enjoyed the video. I have the Utopia. I listen to Jazz and Classical so for me Stax is best. I am actually getting bored with the Utopia and tired of their signature which is as you described a bit dark and uneven in the treble. I could easily swap them with the 009S. Your preferences are not similar to mine but what you say makes sense and it is actually informative and trustworthy.
Have you tried to EQ the Stax? They are a much better all rounder with EQ
thank you mr michael for this flagship shootout, you must be going through hell with conscious battle while rating them. and yes we have been with you from early starts of this channel & really happy to see subscribers rocketing each episodes.
Final Audio D8000 must be in another shootout!
Superb shootout, thank you!
Holy sh#t!.This is for real real,you are bringing it.I love what you do,now I would love to be in that amazing room.Thank you🎶👍🎧🎶......
agree with how you ranked them too, it’s hilarious that the ones you picked are the most tonally balanced ones at top to worst tuned ones at bottom
First time watcher and immediately became a subscriber, what a food for thought video, thank you.
Thanks for this.
The more comparisons & opinions on flagship cans, the better.
Hey Michael, amazing reviews and videos. Do you have by any chance a playlist to listen to? Love the songs you choose and it would be awesome to hear more.
I appreciate you doing this. Interesting to hear someone point out the weaknesses in multi-thousand dollar headphones.
the album choices are top. Not really surprising, but really, really good for judging headphones.
I might add, that the Susvara is the only headphone I ever tried, that gave (and gives) me actual goosebumps while listening and that the gear you used made my soft spot for audio equipment very not-soft.
Bro what do you know about Orpheuse? I would really like to see you compare abbys and orpseuse
awesome work and information, thanks a lot for your time and effort put into this, highly appreciated. I just miss an audeze and a sennheisser, but, for the next round!!
Thank you for the long and detailed review. As an Abyss PHI TC owner, I can agree that it can be a bit time-consuming to find the right position on the head or to find the right setting for the headband. I do not perceive the Utopia as dark at all, I think the Utopia has almost too much treble, but of course everyone hears differently. Maybe there is a good Black Friday deal for the Utopia, then I'll replace my LCD-XC with it. 😂
agree, not dark at all, instead the opposite. Maybe he was referring to the overall soundstage, which is slightly closer to the listener's ears, more intimate. and agree, that treble sometimes bothers me, but still a great overall headphone.
Superb shoot out and discussion. I own the susvaras, empyrean, and utopias and pretty much agree with your views/ranking of those.
Like you say, i seem to gravitate to the susvaras the most and definitely the “easiest” to do that with. And those empyreans (which would be the first ones I sell when the time is right) come to play when (like you describe) I am not looking to critically listen to music (God forbid) and want to enjoy them for their “musicality”.
Great effort and thanks for taking the time on these and all other (full size) headphone reviews.
I await more info/review when you manage to get an lcd5 in - i definitely hope you do
Now i just have to go get acquainted with the Harry met sally soundtrack and the Carly Simon album…and to listen out for Mick Jagger that I was not aware of.
This was a mouthwateringly good review. I really liked the way you organized your results here, it made it very easy to follow and feel out the differences between each pair. I also really liked your music selections here, they were great listening choices. There's nothing like using Carly Simon to say, "I'm a music enthusiast first," and personally, I feel that's the perspective all reviews should come from. I'll likely be revisiting this video when I'm finally ready to make a purchase in this ballpark.
The best headphones that I've owned is the Sennheiser HD800s - How do the HD800s compare to the headphones in your Shootout? or, are all the headphones in the video a step up from the HD800s? Cheers
I can't say. I owned the original HD800 years ago. It wouldn't be fair for me to talk about them, having not heard them in so long-- and the revised models that are available. I almost purchased the new HD8xx from Drop, but backed out when the first reviews came in as unfavorable. If I have the opportunity, I'll check them out. Thanks for watching!
agree with the empyrean, one of the most if not the most comfortable headphone on the planet. Same as the audioquest nightowl or nighthawk.
Now I want to own them all.
Based on your description, 1266TC seems like the perfect headphones for metal music. Electrostats are really good for vocal and jazz. Susvara for correct instrument timbre. Utopia for watching TH-cam (I already own them and they fit my head perfectly).
What a great video Michael! So well put together. Very enjoyable session as usual! You deserve a lot of praises for this! It's as informative as it is entertaining. Well done!
Yay long live utopia!!!!!!!!!
UTOPIAAAAAAAAA
Worst soundstage width...
@@Skeith89 no it has perfect soundstage actually
@@ColocasiaCorm perfect for claustrophobic lover...
😂😂😂
@@Skeith89 ok guy what do you think is better?
@@ColocasiaCorm Susvara
Really interested in what you think about the Meze Elite!
great shootout Michael.... one excuse I tend not to give to myself is if I'm looking for a more 'forgiving' headphone, I won't need to spend so much $$$ on one.... and i'm seriously surprised you still hang on to the Meze even with its below par performance..... but if comfort is your reason then all's good mate
I think Audeze CRBN can be your Stax replacement and stop gap before you get your hands on LCD5 as I think you can get a great deal on CRBN
Awesome shootout!
Empyrean has been my endgame for a while now. I keep around my ethers and Zmf auteur because it's fun to mix it up. I used to have a susvara but it was unlistenable with metal and EDM which is my primary genre. It works well with alt rock and some rock but overall it seems like it's made for specific genres whereas empyreans can literally do any genre. That combined with comfort is kind of a game changer where I don't really care about a little extra detail (especially when the subbass is lacking on the susvara).
I have some nearfield focal speakers that fill the susvara gap pretty well. I think speakers just do a better job at what some of the flagships try to do.
Breadth of fresh air, love your style man!!
Love the videos! For future reference, these videos would definitely benefit from chapters/timestamps for different sections.
Hi Jussi-- is there a tutorial somewhere on how to do that? Thanks for watching!
The tubes in that WA-5LE are insane! Good stuff man, going for some of the best glass ever made. No doubt that amp is singing at it's full potential.
I dont agree with half of what you say about these cans, but the 40% or so were succinct and all of it was inspirational. The only one I haven't heard of them is the Stax, and that is weird since I love the Staxes I have, 300/700/007. I dont get why you keep the Meze, and for some reason the Susvara wasn't my cup of tea either. Abyss did impress, but not beyond and above. Utopia tickled my ears immediately. I wont give up my HD800 or my two K1000s or my two Audezes soon either, (and for some reason you didn't have an Audeze in there, and for obvious reasons not the K1K). Lovely presentation, and you have great rythm in your review. Thanks!-)
Great review, Michael!
With an LCD4 it would have been perfect! But that was already great,good job.
The amount of effort that went into making this episode. Much appreciated. Subscribed many moons ago =D
Hi Michael, love your videos by the way but did you solely use TT2 to drive the Abyss 1266 phi ?
Hi Alex, for the DAC, yes just the TT2-- my other DAC options can't compete with that DAC. I didn't use the internal amp on the TT2, it doesn't have enough power. I amped them a few ways-- mostly the 8W WA5LE and also the McIntosh.
@@DirectorsGarage ah I see. WA5LE is good enough so amplification isn’t the issue here. I am just a bit concerned about the vocal part in the review because out of the formula S, I really don’t feel my phi TC lacking in vocal nor do they sound nasally. I do have to listen carefully for the transitioning from bass to mid. Thank you for pointing that out and I would definitely pay attention to this aspect !
@@ks_3.14 What's strange is-- I've spent months with the Abyss and never felt the treble was nasally and I through they were very fast and highly detailed. It wasn't until I started swapping the headphones quickly and comparing every bit of the sound to other headphones that I noticed things that surprised me. I honestly thought the Abyss would win the shootout. I really did. I've been obsessed by them! But I do want to hear the TC revision to see what has changed. Did they get a bit faster? Did they clean up the treble and upper mid issues? Do the parts blend better together? My guess is that they must have done stuff in a positive way with the TC drivers.
I'm still a fan of all of these headphones. But I will need to sell some off to get to the next thing- whatever that turns out to be. The shootout provided clarity (and I think some good content.) I hope everyone enjoys it. This was way more work than I'd ever imagined-- then I get into post and I'm thinking-- I spent all this time on the episode-- it needs special graphics-- and that took a whole day just to build the graphic look. It's hard to get plasma goo to shoot across a headphone. Who knew?
@@isoperimetrix Western Electric & Takatsuki 300Bs (WE's lately), Takatsuki 274s and Tung Sol 6SN7s. I did a whole tube episode th-cam.com/video/Pt52FaeAUG8/w-d-xo.html
Quality review. Subscribed. I can recommend GL1200 ribbon cans...
*CUTE!* . *Entertaining* and *quite INFORMATIVE* .
If you want a more relaxed, bassier but still top-notch Stax experience, you should try the SR-007. It's less than half the price of the 009s, by the way. Since you seem to have kept the BHSE, you'll be able to listen it at its best - quite a few people prefer this combo to the 009 and the 009s, despite these being technically superior. According to impressions from knowledgeable people in forums such as Head Case, the 007 and the Audeze CRBN sound very different (it seems that the 007 has the edge on the CRBN wrt bass), so perhaps you could even get both...
Second that on the 007 and it has decent bass for a electrostatic too
Susvara, he1, Sha gra la, 1266 phi tc, utopia, 009, lcd5 , crbn, d8k pro, verite closed would be a dream lineup.
Have you heard the focal clear mg?
That was a great and very fun review! How was the Susvara with the Hugo TT2? Thanks very much!
Hi Greg-- I really like Chord DACs. I like them all-- from the Mojo on up the line. The TT2 is terrific. All of these headphones did very well paired with it. Thanks for watching!
I should add-- I still have the TT1 as my DAC on my editing system/speaker rig.
@@DirectorsGarage Thank you! You have a great channel!
This is truly epic in every sense of the meaning. :)
Don't forget to check out the Raal-requisite SR1a if you can ever get your hands on them! They take realism and soundstage to a whole new level... :-)
when u bring the phi tc on the table that will be a different story...
Waiting for your Audeze lcd 5 and lcd r review.
My Empyrean sounds like real music now after many, many hours of burning in by pink noise thru them. In the beginning I used an equalizer but not anymore.
hmmm never thought of that.
Great episode again! Looks like you are keeping the BHSE. Go get 007 or L700 then. They can be better than 009 for your taste.
I have my eye on the CRBN... I don't know how or when... but that's what I want. Yes, keeping the BHSE for sure. Thanks for watching!
@@DirectorsGarage Good point! I'm going to check out the CRBN in NY canjam.
I only wished you included the Lcd4
First of all: Why not the Sennheiser HD800S!? Also: WHICH AMP used with them all? *Susvara costs too much for what it is. Just because its “best” of the rest, you still cant ask so much money for it. Take in account its built quality (durability) in the longer run. Utopia wins, but still Susvara is more as far as sound goes I guess.* Utopia doesnt have much sound stage (but its got more 3D “layered”). No?
@Aunchient Pistol We are waiting to hear more about the Dan Clark STEALTH!
does it though? focal has issues with qc also
Great review!!!!!!!!
Totally agree with everything you said.
Ok you topped me too. :P Im only into this "$hit show called headphone madness" +17000€..
Finally got the notification to work, first!! i enjoy ur vids!
would be interested to see the Raal sr1a included in this to give ribbons some love
Lcd x 2021 vs arya vs focal clear mg vs sennheiser hd 800s
this shoutout is awesome!
The ABYSS PHI TC.... too bad that was not in the line-up.... Anybody own that and a few of the others here?
Fantastic job...
Get yourself a 1266TC. I think you will much prefer them over the 1266 phi
God Damn! 50k! I wish I wasnt broke XD
Incredible video.
Great job man! I sub.
HD800S should have been included as a base reference.
I don't own that one! Actually I canceled my order for the HD-8xx after the reviews started coming in. Thanks for watching, Pablo!
@@DirectorsGarage Thank you more for your videos! I enjoy them very much.
I love the Jazz background music and smoothly delivered clear explanation.
Can you try Denon D9200?
Please try T+A Solitaire P. Thanks
Solid review; sub made.
Susvara - best all around but no single "wow" factor
Abyss - Amazing (you need to try TCs), comfort was my issue
Stax - too thin sounding and no bass
Focal - best fleshed-out mids, but no stage
HD800s would have been a good one to add. (best for classical)
I've never seen him listen to classical
HD800 is far behind all the others. It’s basically worthless since Utopia came out.
@Aunchient Pistol I agree with that. you can't discount the hd800. and the price on the used market... pretty good value. crazy comfortable
@@allansh828 HD800 is behind Empyrean ???
😂😂😂
The sound effects are a bit too loud
I would love to know how the Meze Elite fit into the bunch, especially in comparison to their cousin. Did Meze make their new cans faster or did they just add 1000€ for a silver paint job?
What a cliffhanger.
Me too! I gave an impression of the Elite in the episode before this one. Hoping either someone sends me one or I can find a deal.
Great vid man. Really enjoy your content!
Reference review!
Insta-Like on this Epic video.