except it is snake oil. they sold $10 cables repackaged and resold for thousands more. Their claims were debunked and proven to be lies: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/l09imb/joe_skubinski_of_abyss_headphones_and_the_300/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

They look gorgeously built and I'm sure they sound wonderful. With that said, I have not been convinced that inefficient headphones provide any benefits over efficient ones. As such, I would never spend that much money on something that tied me to an amp. If I was in the $4k plus market, I'd rather purchase a headphone that could be run from basically any source, e.g. Meze or Focal.

I wanted to ask, have you ever heard any of the Foster bio cellulose drivers? Or a modded version of it like the ones in the newer Denon headphones?

I've noticed that for clarity and intimacy I prefer closed headphones like those and as an HD800 owner you might appreciate the more fun yet fairly neutral presentation of something like the Denon D5200 or Fostex th610.

There’s a difference between being expensive or even pointless vs being snake oil.

People call audio gear like this snake oil, but I don’t think that’s quite right. When you walk into a Best Buy and they try to sell you a $200 HDMI cable with your TV, that’s snake oil. They’re selling it to average Joes who don’t know any better and think they have to spend exorbitant amounts of money on the cable to get good picture quality for the TV they just bought.

With something like Abyss/JPS cables, those are not being marketed to normal people. No one is getting ‘fooled’ by them. Those are products that are sold to people who are well acquainted with the high end audio world and are already spending many thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on gear. And their argument is that it may improve the sound quality by maybe 2%. Is it bullshit? Probably. I have no reason to believe an expensive cable like that will do absolutely anything for the sound. But my point is that no one is being gaslit or bamboozled. It’s people who are already spending insane amounts of money, who think maybe they can squeeze out that last teeny tiny bit of performance with a super expensive cable.

If someone wants to spend their money on that, let them. But a $200 cable from Best Buy is FAR more egregious than a $3000 cable from JPS. The former is an attempt to fool you; the latter is just hardcore enthusiasts blowing their money on a hobby they love. That’s their choice. If they want to waste money on something that won’t change the sound, that’s completely up to them.

Basically, just because something is expensive and pointless doesn’t mean it’s a scam. I could go out and buy a $10,000 bottle of Scotch. Will it taste any better than a $150 bottle? No. But that doesn’t mean it’s a scam. If I choose to waste my money on that, that’s on me.

Their headphones, snake oil allegations and all that aside, are really solid. Personally, they have my favorite house sound out of all the brands I've tried and the Diana offerings were my personal favorites. The 1266 I had some mixed feelings on, but I can admit that they're a very technically capable headphone, even if it wasn't a tuning I was as fond of as the Dianas. I can understand why there's a bandwagon regarding their business practices and whatnot, but as for their headphones? I think people should audition them first hand if they're able to. They're really a one of a kind planar headphone in my opinion 🤷

To be honest, with all the various different solid state and tube amps I tried that day, the headphones itself and their tuning would infinitely make a bigger impact on its sonic characteristics than an amp will. It was virtually impossible for me to judge any kind of amp without a proper a/b test and it would've entirely been dependant on possible placebo without it. I can't imagine the Diana Phi TC sounding all too different on a drastic level on an equivalent tier solid state amp as opposed to the tube amp it was hooked up to in the room. I understand your concerns though.

I don't think it's a bandwagon, the head of that company was selling $3,000 cables. And still sells ridiculously inflated cables, and makes very spurious arguments about their value proposition.

It's not a bandwagon. it's just a lot of people find that kind of snake oil to be problematic. That seems like a good enough reason without having to want to jump on a bandwagon.

If you do a little bit of research you can learn more the details and it is pretty odious.

This is not to say the product doesn't sound good, I'll probably never know bc I can't afford to try it. Which is true for 99% of people.

But, I don't consider him to be an honest businessman or at the very least he is advancing very spurious theories about cables and that's reason enough for people to be skeptical.

It’s funny, I’ve noticed that people who bash Abyss are generally those who have never listened to them, whereas those who have listened almost universally praise them.

I’ve never heard an Abyss product nor do I ever see myself spending that kind of money on any headphone, but I do find it interesting to see the disparity in opinion between those who have actually tried the products vs those who haven’t. The anti-Abyss thing really does seem to be a bandwagon.

I wholeheartedly agree. I have no doubt these headphones are excellent, but I feel like these impressions need to be taken with a massive grain of salt because the WA33 is hugely impressive on its own plus tube amps tend to smooth things out and add color.

I like how they look, with the understated minimalist design.

I don't doubt that it probably a decent headphones if you try to disconnect it from Abyss, but I can't help but think that it looks like a competitor to the moondrop void.

Also, the Wa33 is a tube amp right? I don't think using a high end tube amp is appropriate for a first impression listen.

Every year they hold several canjams, and NYC is pretty much annually! Im sure you'll have some opportunities at some point to go there and try them for yourself. If you do, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did :P

You're welcome! With the time I spent with the 1266, the comfort was honestly not AS BAD as I thought it was. For my head at least, I wouldn't use it for more than like 2 hours maxiumum before taking a breather for a few minutes. The Diana is leagues better in comfort and honestly, even in sound. I think it would fit most people's heads just fine. I think the diana also has an accessory that allows you to fit some padding on the headband though which is supposed to add more comfort and alleviate any hotspots there!

Looks aren't everything you know! But I really loved the Susvaras as well. I just happen to prefer the tonality and sound signature of the Dianas a bit more.

Awesome little headphone. Would love to listen to them one day. 🥹

Haven't seen the graph for this particular model.

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Check out this review on the KZ before you potentially jump on it: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11nfn8p/kz_ling_long_review/

I'm sure they sound amazing but they certainly don't look the price. Personally, if I had that much money to spend in a pair of headphones I'd get the Susvaras.

I see, regardless thanks for letting me know.

They have a graph on their website.

Thanks for these impressions! I'd like to try out the Diana someday. I think the 1266 just looks too stupid for me to really want to own it (alongside reports of finicky fit and bad comfort), but the Diana looks alright on that front, and I've heard plenty of good things about its sound. Hopefully it's comfortable for me, as I'm unusually sensitive to hotspots on the top of my head.

Yeah I'd like to see a measurement too, but honestly, a graph is just a graph. The one thing you trust above all else is your own ears. If your ears enjoy what you hear, a graph means nothing as long as you enjoy the presentation of what you're hearing :)

Also yeah, I had the same impression of the HD800 prior to buying it, but it wasn't as bad either. It sounded EXTREMELY natural as well, timbre wise.

I'd like to hear one someday, would be nice to get some frequency measurements to see how it measures and then compare how it sounds subjectively.

People kept telling me hd800 is bright and unnatural and I expected it to be an issue and it turned out that its kind of tunning was very agreeable to me and way less of a problem than I thought looking at graphs.

Haha I gotcha. Mad max's score was so bombastic, loved it. Junkie XL did a really solid job on that honestly.