Thanks for that review and comparison to the earlier 1266. As a side note, due to your positive and sincere take and enjoyment of this 1266, I think Joe will be very happy with this review and will keep you as one of his “credible” reviewers that he will continue to support.
Your review of these headphone was right on point. I totally agree with everything you said. I have enjoyed my 1266 TC's for close to a year and a half. The sound is superb. Keep up the good work...
Sweet review. Recently found your channel and i love the comparisons you make with extremely high end gear. Video quality is top notch too. Might look into the z10e if it drives the 1266 this well (I have been using my Cavalli LAu for more than 10 years now to drive my headphones including the 1266). What estat would you recommend possibly pairing with the z10e if you didnt have that sweet aperio? I have never really listened to estats because i like the dynamics of planars and some dynamic headphones too much and always hear that estats cant really keep up in this regard. Makes me feel like estats would be more of a side-grade rather than an upgrade.
@@mrzzul7808 thank you it’s very much appreciated, and welcome to the fam 🐅 I recommend checking out the X 9000 review and the Shangri-La sr bud both reviews are here
Pretty sure it will be more than fine, maybe check out that review. I think I was using the PAI variant during the review, but I really can’t remember Thank you for the kind words very much appreciated. It’s fantastic
I wonder what the wiring inside the cans looks like in comparison? I saw inside a Diana and it looked like 10c worth of cable from a drum at maplins ;) Headphones are passive so adding a lot of capacitance can alter frequency response and tame the treble but you could take a $10 cable and just add a $1 capacitor on one end of the cable and save two grand.
Thank you for the kind words deeply appreciated, I bloody hope so I’ve been dying to get a bunch of their Headphones for review. It’s been kind of difficult at the moment but I’ll do my absolute best because I’m really really into the Headphones every time I’ve sat with it at shows or in showroom.
@@ConvinceMeAudio agree. They are something special :) Hope You will get one pair for review because I really enjoy your videos :) keep up the good work! Best for You!
I hope they add vegan pads and bass ported pads just for some fun pad rolling. I own a set my only gripes is sometimes moisture builds within and I wish they added a small plastic extruding tab on the frame of the earcups as when you pull to seprate them youre tugging on the adhesive between the leather and the plastive. Other than that god are these worth it.
The magnet is so strong, you have to be so careful when prying the pads off, I agree, you really have to capture the circumference of the back of the pads Now that would be fun, pad rolling I’m curious how it would adapt
Hi CMA, a new 1266 TC owner here...I'm curious about your experience with Holo Audio May with 1266, as you said at 9:00 it was 'gently forced out'. Maybe I'm not reading you right, but was it not very good? Also, could you say if the May KTE vs Spring KTE is a big jump? Cheers!
Mate is the best price to performance ratio DAC on the market even now, Big jump, no, I would say about 20%, but it’s audible it’s there Yes, it was forced out because of the DAC I preferred personally, which was rockna WaveDream Aperio lampizator Not because it wasn’t good because we have other things now that are step up above this category, and to be honest, Ludacris Money, so not even worth it to be fair once you have a may But I will definitely bring one back in at a later date to have knocking around. We need the cash at the moment.
The "base" package of the Abyss Phi headphones alone cost more than my monthly gross pay. They've long been an endgame goal for me (albeit one that will likely be forever out of reach). So out of morbid curiosity I totaled the cost including the upstream chain recommended to get the most of these: LTA Z10E tube amplifier: $6,950.00 Warwick acoustics Aperio DAC: $24,000 Rockna WaveDream: $7,200.00 HoloAudio May KTE: $5598.00 Spirit Torino Sigfrid amplifier: $12,610 AB1266 Phi TC: $5995.00 -------------------- Total = $62,353 (sans tax & shipping)
I would like to clarify a few things, never say never because you might be able to grab these on the used market for about $3000. I actually seen two in the last two months alone So keep an eye out for that, second of all on the channel. As a rule. I have made it the channels baseline to push drivers to the absolute limits so that there isn’t a further ceiling to be had so that you guys know what it is to mean to push the drivers to their absolute limits so to see where you can fall in line with your pocket and your wallet so that you don’t have to do these tests Thirdly, if you buy a nice tube amplifier and a nice DAC, one piece at a time, spread everything out a lot for a long while you should be able to build a nice system for this quite easily, hunting on the used market if funds are very very tight, but yes, this is the summit tear of Headphones. You are going to be chilling out a lot of money if that is something you want to consider I just want to drop one thing here it’s thanks to you guys watching the videos that I get to do this, in 2017. I picked up my first flagship Headphones so it seems to me at the time the HD 650 at £299, I am predominantly a speaker guy and never fought. Headphones were worth my money all my time. Having spent that £300, on those Headphones, I felt as though I had spent half a mortgage on it, it’s hilarious six years later I’m actually doing it professionally and where we are now life is strange
Out of curiosity is this recommendation based on having multiple setups for rotating between? Reviewers a/b for us and find the differences so we don't need to own multiple dacs, amps, headphones. Except tubes, source components don't degrade much so buying used is definitely an option. You want to be informed because sometimes tech makes a leap in performance but getting older used mid-high dacs and amps can last you for at least 5 years of you're not constantly hungry for the next thing. Cheaper stuff normally gets outdated first as most people buy them so innovation and economy of scale allow production of those models to be accelerated. Toppings dac amp stacks gets replaced at least once a year for example. For these headphones you could start on the older recommendations: sagra dac and formula s amp. These sell for half their MSRP used maybe because outside of the abyss stuff they were tuned for, they don't synergize well and sound meh. Holo bliss is probably very worth the bit extra over the formula s tho. They aren't as good as the newer source gear but they were tuned for ab1266 so it's same family of sound that abyss targets which seems to be resolution and impact. Second hand used Sagra goes for as low as under 2k and formula s for around 2.5k. Again not cheap, not affordable but I think vastly different from your list. And it's just my guess but you probably still get 75%-85% of the listening experience compared to the stuff in your list. We're already way past reasonable diminishing returns on money spent.
Considering I have always wanted "ear speakers" this must be a really interesting headphone. I am sure it is better than say the AKG K1000 but I would be curious how different the speaker like presentation is to that or the Mysphere.
True earspeakers like the K1000, MySphere & SR-1B offer a unique sonic presentation. They are free from inner reflections caused by ear pads that headphones have. Earspeakers also do not trap any mass of air between your ears & the transducers, there is no real coupling. Finally earspeakers offer some level of native crossfeed. No headphone regardless of price can offer what earspeakers do, it’s just physics.
I miss the Susvara in your comparison. Both are close in price. Is the Susvara still one of your favorites? I see you've upped the price when I look at systems like the Aperio.
Without a doubt, SUS is still the best planar in the world, it’s scalability is limitless, pushing the boundary of the system for it on the DCS, Rossini, clock, and Lina and I still feel as though there is more to give, so yes to answer your question without a doubt, it’s still one of my favourite headphones. But I have gone in a different direction in regards to the main chain, Aperio and Shang sr I think on my two alpha dogs But that’s a different category altogether, SUS for all intense and purposes is still untouchable where normal headphones are measured, “LOL I don’t think anybody can call SUS normal
@@gio.b8808 honestly they are perfect companions to each other live side-by-side and they are so different one isn’t better than the other but for technicality SUS is the best planar that exists right now, but I would not say it the thrones 1266 for what it does
How would you rate the tungsten’s compared to these 1266TC? I realize it’s a total different price category but with the law of diminishing returns I was wondering if the tungsten’s would still be able to get close without breaking the bank.
Unfortunately mate, it’s not just the price to performance ratio et cetera where tungsten kicks arse. It’s amazing for what you get, but these two headphones are so different. They can’t be compared to each other. It genuinely is unlike any other headphones that is out there, it stands apart, it’s it’s very unique sounding and this doesn’t mean the best. This doesn’t mean the worst. This just means different but it is very very technical and capable obviously Tungsten is a solid headphone that sounds like other headphones if you understand what I’m saying
Just as soon as the stack comes in for review, I have spent quite a long time with SUS and 1266 on the set up. It’s wonderful but in depth analysis is definitely required obviously
Actually headsize shouldn't be an issue, I have a ridiculously small head, many headphones smallest notch is too large... Yet 1266 is perfectly fine! The adjustment on 1266 is more than satisfactory!
I don’t think you can get rid of the squeak, my previous PHII had a rubber ring sitting underneath the screw which prevented it from doing this, but I’ve absolutely no idea where the previous owner got it from. Otherwise I would’ve implemented the same because it worked very well.
A fascinating question The phi I had here was a bit of a unicorn. It was put together from the old frame, new drivers, and some very strange culmination of things. And I was led to believe that it sounded a little different, even from the stock PHI of past I definitely prefer the TC, better tighter base, more access to the mid range and far less treble It’s a better driver all around with a lot less room for error when manipulating the frame
You deserve a million subs your quality is insane
Thank you very much for the support. Welcome to the fam 🐅
This is now the ONLY channel I will listen to about HI-END audio, period
Welcome to the fam 🐅
Thanks for that review and comparison to the earlier 1266.
As a side note, due to your positive and sincere take and enjoyment of this 1266, I think Joe will be very happy with this review and will keep you as one of his “credible” reviewers that he will continue to support.
Your review of these headphone was right on point. I totally agree with everything you said. I have enjoyed my 1266 TC's for close to a year and a half. The sound is superb. Keep up the good work...
Compared with?
Sweet review. Recently found your channel and i love the comparisons you make with extremely high end gear. Video quality is top notch too.
Might look into the z10e if it drives the 1266 this well (I have been using my Cavalli LAu for more than 10 years now to drive my headphones including the 1266).
What estat would you recommend possibly pairing with the z10e if you didnt have that sweet aperio? I have never really listened to estats because i like the dynamics of planars and some dynamic headphones too much and always hear that estats cant really keep up in this regard. Makes me feel like estats would be more of a side-grade rather than an upgrade.
@@mrzzul7808 thank you it’s very much appreciated, and welcome to the fam 🐅
I recommend checking out the X 9000 review and the Shangri-La sr bud both reviews are here
You are the best! I’m tempted by these for sure. I think probably my Cayin HA-6A could drive them.
Pretty sure it will be more than fine, maybe check out that review. I think I was using the PAI variant during the review, but I really can’t remember
Thank you for the kind words very much appreciated. It’s fantastic
If these go on sale for $500 on black Friday I'm getting a pair 😂
😂
LOL.
😂😂😂
I wonder what the wiring inside the cans looks like in comparison? I saw inside a Diana and it looked like 10c worth of cable from a drum at maplins ;) Headphones are passive so adding a lot of capacitance can alter frequency response and tame the treble but you could take a $10 cable and just add a $1 capacitor on one end of the cable and save two grand.
Great review :) I miss my beloved tiger score :P Is there any chance for T+A Solitaire P review in the nearest future?
Thank you for the kind words deeply appreciated, I bloody hope so I’ve been dying to get a bunch of their Headphones for review. It’s been kind of difficult at the moment but I’ll do my absolute best because I’m really really into the Headphones every time I’ve sat with it at shows or in showroom.
@@ConvinceMeAudio agree. They are something special :) Hope You will get one pair for review because I really enjoy your videos :) keep up the good work! Best for You!
I hope they add vegan pads and bass ported pads just for some fun pad rolling.
I own a set my only gripes is sometimes moisture builds within and I wish they added a small plastic extruding tab on the frame of the earcups as when you pull to seprate them youre tugging on the adhesive between the leather and the plastive.
Other than that god are these worth it.
The magnet is so strong, you have to be so careful when prying the pads off, I agree, you really have to capture the circumference of the back of the pads
Now that would be fun, pad rolling I’m curious how it would adapt
Hi CMA, a new 1266 TC owner here...I'm curious about your experience with Holo Audio May with 1266, as you said at 9:00 it was 'gently forced out'. Maybe I'm not reading you right, but was it not very good? Also, could you say if the May KTE vs Spring KTE is a big jump? Cheers!
Mate is the best price to performance ratio DAC on the market even now,
Big jump, no, I would say about 20%, but it’s audible it’s there
Yes, it was forced out because of the DAC I preferred personally, which was rockna WaveDream Aperio lampizator
Not because it wasn’t good because we have other things now that are step up above this category, and to be honest, Ludacris Money, so not even worth it to be fair once you have a may
But I will definitely bring one back in at a later date to have knocking around. We need the cash at the moment.
The "base" package of the Abyss Phi headphones alone cost more than my monthly gross pay. They've long been an endgame goal for me (albeit one that will likely be forever out of reach). So out of morbid curiosity I totaled the cost including the upstream chain recommended to get the most of these:
LTA Z10E tube amplifier: $6,950.00
Warwick acoustics Aperio DAC: $24,000
Rockna WaveDream: $7,200.00
HoloAudio May KTE: $5598.00
Spirit Torino Sigfrid amplifier: $12,610
AB1266 Phi TC: $5995.00
--------------------
Total = $62,353 (sans tax & shipping)
I would like to clarify a few things, never say never because you might be able to grab these on the used market for about $3000. I actually seen two in the last two months alone
So keep an eye out for that, second of all on the channel. As a rule. I have made it the channels baseline to push drivers to the absolute limits so that there isn’t a further ceiling to be had so that you guys know what it is to mean to push the drivers to their absolute limits so to see where you can fall in line with your pocket and your wallet so that you don’t have to do these tests
Thirdly, if you buy a nice tube amplifier and a nice DAC, one piece at a time, spread everything out a lot for a long while
you should be able to build a nice system for this quite easily, hunting on the used market
if funds are very very tight,
but yes, this is the summit tear of Headphones. You are going to be chilling out a lot of money if that is something you want to consider
I just want to drop one thing here it’s thanks to you guys watching the videos that I get to do this, in 2017. I picked up my first flagship Headphones so it seems to me at the time the HD 650 at £299, I am predominantly a speaker guy and never fought. Headphones were worth my money all my time.
Having spent that £300, on those Headphones, I felt as though I had spent half a mortgage on it, it’s hilarious six years later I’m actually doing it professionally and where we are now life is strange
Out of curiosity is this recommendation based on having multiple setups for rotating between?
Reviewers a/b for us and find the differences so we don't need to own multiple dacs, amps, headphones.
Except tubes, source components don't degrade much so buying used is definitely an option.
You want to be informed because sometimes tech makes a leap in performance but getting older used mid-high dacs and amps can last you for at least 5 years of you're not constantly hungry for the next thing.
Cheaper stuff normally gets outdated first as most people buy them so innovation and economy of scale allow production of those models to be accelerated. Toppings dac amp stacks gets replaced at least once a year for example.
For these headphones you could start on the older recommendations: sagra dac and formula s amp. These sell for half their MSRP used maybe because outside of the abyss stuff they were tuned for, they don't synergize well and sound meh. Holo bliss is probably very worth the bit extra over the formula s tho.
They aren't as good as the newer source gear but they were tuned for ab1266 so it's same family of sound that abyss targets which seems to be resolution and impact.
Second hand used Sagra goes for as low as under 2k and formula s for around 2.5k.
Again not cheap, not affordable but I think vastly different from your list. And it's just my guess but you probably still get 75%-85% of the listening experience compared to the stuff in your list. We're already way past reasonable diminishing returns on money spent.
Is there a $3,000 dollar amp that could drive the Abyss 1266 headphones.
Of course, Holo Bliss, ferrum OOR Cayin ha300 Mk ii
Considering I have always wanted "ear speakers" this must be a really interesting headphone. I am sure it is better than say the AKG K1000 but I would be curious how different the speaker like presentation is to that or the Mysphere.
It’s completely different from those two, I’ve had experience with both of them
This is far closer to normal headphones
True earspeakers like the K1000, MySphere & SR-1B offer a unique sonic presentation.
They are free from inner reflections caused by ear pads that headphones have.
Earspeakers also do not trap any mass of air between your ears & the transducers, there is no real coupling.
Finally earspeakers offer some level of native crossfeed.
No headphone regardless of price can offer what earspeakers do, it’s just physics.
@@sjqideez6626 it’s quite a wild ride, ear speakers, agreed, I am still waiting on the raal to come in, I liked the mysphere
I miss the Susvara in your comparison. Both are close in price. Is the Susvara still one of your favorites? I see you've upped the price when I look at systems like the Aperio.
Without a doubt, SUS is still the best planar in the world, it’s scalability is limitless, pushing the boundary of the system for it on the DCS, Rossini, clock, and Lina and I still feel as though there is more to give, so yes to answer your question without a doubt, it’s still one of my favourite headphones.
But I have gone in a different direction in regards to the main chain, Aperio and Shang sr I think on my two alpha dogs
But that’s a different category altogether, SUS for all intense and purposes is still untouchable where normal headphones are measured, “LOL I don’t think anybody can call SUS normal
@ConvinceMeAudio which headphones do you think sound better personally between the 1266 phi TC and the susvara if you had to pick one?
@@gio.b8808 honestly they are perfect companions to each other live side-by-side and they are so different one isn’t better than the other but for technicality SUS is the best planar that exists right now, but I would not say it the thrones 1266 for what it does
Two words: Babe Magnet!
I would rather strap my pair of Neumann monitor speakers to my head. 🎧
How would you rate the tungsten’s compared to these 1266TC? I realize it’s a total different price category but with the law of diminishing returns I was wondering if the tungsten’s would still be able to get close without breaking the bank.
Unfortunately mate, it’s not just the price to performance ratio et cetera where tungsten kicks arse. It’s amazing for what you get, but these two headphones are so different. They can’t be compared to each other. It genuinely is unlike any other headphones that is out there, it stands apart, it’s it’s very unique sounding and this doesn’t mean the best. This doesn’t mean the worst. This just means different but it is very very technical and capable obviously
Tungsten is a solid headphone that sounds like other headphones if you understand what I’m saying
Hi, please do a comparison between susvara and abyss 1266 on the Lina stack.
Just as soon as the stack comes in for review, I have spent quite a long time with SUS and 1266 on the set up. It’s wonderful but in depth analysis is definitely required obviously
Unfortunately, or fortunately (considering the price), my head is far too small for such a monstrous device.
Actually headsize shouldn't be an issue, I have a ridiculously small head, many headphones smallest notch is too large... Yet 1266 is perfectly fine! The adjustment on 1266 is more than satisfactory!
It's not that big in reality. It can be adjusted too
$6.5k gets you a squeaky frame? Can't unhear it now. The Abyss 12Squeaky6 TC. I wonder if a bit of WD40 would do the trick. :)
I don’t think you can get rid of the squeak, my previous PHII had a rubber ring sitting underneath the screw which prevented it from doing this, but I’ve absolutely no idea where the previous owner got it from. Otherwise I would’ve implemented the same because it worked very well.
how do u think the phi tc vs the phi? which one you prefer?
A fascinating question
The phi I had here was a bit of a unicorn. It was put together from the old frame, new drivers, and some very strange culmination of things.
And I was led to believe that it sounded a little different, even from the stock PHI of past
I definitely prefer the TC, better tighter base, more access to the mid range and far less treble
It’s a better driver all around with a lot less room for error when manipulating the frame
@@ConvinceMeAudio awesome reviews, thank you for the reply.
Don't judge a book by its cover. Damn these things are ugly. I'm sure they're incredible, however.
haha yes they are not good looking but at the end sound is what matter for us
@@soulfulfooldon’t forget comfort! I just couldn’t get along with the Abyss, personally. But I do understand why many still buy them.