Headphone Evaluation

I've spent about five hours with Meze's new Elite headphones. They have more detail and a "juicier" presentation that the the basic Empyrean but fall far short of the Abyss 1266's as have all the other major flagship models I've tested. The Elite is a case study in good design as the form and fit are exemplary. They don't play in the same league as the Abyss in sound stage breadth and width, articulation or air around each image. The Abyss (through the upgraded JPS cables and into a Woo Audio WA33 elite) are as satisfying to me as any two channel setup with speakers. They seem to be getting better either because the WA33 is breaking in or the headphones have a growth curve. The Abyss is a very electrostatic like planar magnetic headphone. Its only competitor is the Stax X9000 and MSB amp. The differences are not that great. Both have provided me with a superb presentation of what headphones can do when paired with top of the line amps and sources. I'm almost ready to stop. Just one more dynamic headphone (the Focal Utopia) and I'll call the winner and go back to just listening.

Eric
 
Hey Eric, Thank you for this thread. It has been both enlightening and interesting. I am happy that you appear to be narrowing it down to your final solutions. Both appear to be superb! I love my Woo and Abyss combo (although a step down from yours :)). Recently getting rid of my Focal I fully believe that the Focal will be another really good, close competitor, but the Abyss will reign in its deserved place. The Focal are nice; my experience being with the lower Clear MG, but I do believe they are in the same family sound as the Utopia, just not as all out.

It has been fun reading your discoveries. I do believe your Woo/Abyss combo has done well for itself. Although it could never be mentioned in a price comparison to other combos, it is considerably less than the MSB/Stax combination.
 
Eric, do you take long term comfort into consideration? I haven’t had a more comfortable pair than the Meze Elite. Whenever I tried the Abyss, I found them incredibly big, bulky, heavy and uncomfortable, but with amazing sound. For me, comfort is equal to sound in ratings.


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Mike, the Abyss Diana Phi are a great alternative. Very close in sound to the AB-1266 Phi TC, but a lot less bulk and can even be used in portable applications. The 1266's Phi driver is 66mm while the one for the Diana Phi is 63mm. I would rate them as the most comfortable headphone I have ever own... compared to Sennheiser HD-800S, McIntosh MHP1000, Audeze LCD-3 and some IEMs, Focal Clear and Clear MG, Dan Clark Audio Ether, etc.

The guys at Abyss told me they were trying to get as close to the 1266 as is humanly possible, but lighter with less bulk and a huge emphasis on comfort.
 
I found that the Abyss wasn't my cup of tea in the comfort department either.

I would much rather listen to the Stax 009s with the BHSE.

I had the Woo mono blocks with the 1266s.

Mike said:
Eric, do you take long term comfort into consideration? I haven’t had a more comfortable pair than the Meze Elite. Whenever I tried the Abyss, I found them incredibly big, bulky, heavy and uncomfortable, but with amazing sound. For me, comfort is equal to sound in ratings.


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Click to expand...
 
Mike said:
Eric, do you take long term comfort into consideration? I haven’t had a more comfortable pair than the Meze Elite. Whenever I tried the Abyss, I found them incredibly big, bulky, heavy and uncomfortable, but with amazing sound. For me, comfort is equal to sound in ratings.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...

Mike,

I seldom listen for longer than an hour at a time so I have not found the 1266's fit and weight to be a problem. I would not want anyone to take pictures of me wearing them however. Audio nirvana is not a slave to fashion. :-)

Eric
 
I picked up a pair of HiFiman Susvara's for a pretty good price on Ebay. When compared with the Abyss 1266's they presented an interesting choice. Both headphones did all the expected things you would expect from these brands: Articulation, imaging, bass presence, purity and impressive sound staging. The differences between the two became apparent quickly. The 1266's had a wider soundstage in both lateral and front to back dimensions. The Susvara's mid range audio had more meat on the bones and a more natural presentation. These are the two headphones I will use. The planar magnetic shoot out is over. Still waiting for Audeze CRBN's to compare with the STAX X9k.

Eric
 
That is fantastic. Very much I have enjoyed this exploration of some of the best head phones setups in the world. I will be shocked if the Audeze are in the ball park with the Stax, but I guess we will see. Of all the Audeze I have tried none have ever felt comfortable to me for any kind of real listening.

Either of your final two setups are to die for!
 
Eric-

You really are narrowing down your headphone/amplifier combination selection. Really appreciate sharing all of your findings.
Being an Audeze LCD 3 owner, I concur they are not the most comfortable but will be sticking with them for my own pragmatic reasons.

As of yet, have not made a pilgrimage to Audio Classics to have a listen to the MHA 200. Out of curiosity, are you still planning to include it in your round-up?

Thanks,

John
 
Cincy2 said:
I picked up a pair of HiFiman Susvara's for a pretty good price on Ebay. When compared with the Abyss 1266's they presented an interesting choice. Both headphones did all the expected things you would expect from these brands: Articulation, imaging, bass presence, purity and impressive sound staging. The differences between the two became apparent quickly. The 1266's had a wider soundstage in both lateral and front to back dimensions. The Susvara's mid range audio had more meat on the bones and a more natural presentation. These are the two headphones I will use. The planar magnetic shoot out is over. Still waiting for Audeze CRBN's to compare with the STAX X9k.

Eric
Click to expand...

Hi Eric,
Great thread! How would you compare the top of the line Stax X9Kphones with the Abyss 1266? Did you have a chance to compare the Stax with the ZMF phones that you recently tried out in your system? My apologies if you have already written about this comparison.
Thanks,
Anshul
 
apdoc2004 said:
Hi Eric,
Great thread! How would you compare the top of the line Stax X9Kphones with the Abyss 1266? Did you have a chance to compare the Stax with the ZMF phones that you recently tried out in your system? My apologies if you have already written about this comparison.
Thanks,
Anshul
Click to expand...

I preferred the Stax X9x to the Abyss but only by a hair. The differentiator was the air around images in the sound stage. I don't know if this was due to the phones or the amp. I have a very pricey MSB solid state headphone amp feeding the Stax. The Woo Audio tube amp is spectacular but may not measure up to the MSB. It did impress me a great deal and caused me to give up testing any other tube amps including the new McIntosh model.


Eric
 
Eric,

For tube amp, you may want to check the Auris Nirvana at some point. I don’t have the Woo Audio but those who had both pointed me toward the Nirvana and it’s been marvelous. Extraordinarily powerful, quiet, neutral. It’s a beauty and a beast.

Eyal
 
Cincy2 said:
I preferred the Stax X9x to the Abyss but only by a hair. The differentiator was the air around images in the sound stage. I don't know if this was due to the phones or the amp. I have a very pricey MSB solid state headphone amp feeding the Stax. The Woo Audio tube amp is spectacular but may not measure up to the MSB. It did impress me a great deal and caused me to give up testing any other tube amps including the new McIntosh model.


Eric
Click to expand...

Eric,
thanks for the input. Is there a reason you decided to keep the Abyss as your main headphone and not the Stax? Also, in your opinion, would the ZMF headphones that you compared to the Abyss give you much of the qualities of the Abyss and Stax? If yes, that would be significant as the ZMF phones come in at a much lower price.
Anshul
 
JohnJ said:
Eric-

You really are narrowing down your headphone/amplifier combination selection. Really appreciate sharing all of your findings.
Being an Audeze LCD 3 owner, I concur they are not the most comfortable but will be sticking with them for my own pragmatic reasons.

As of yet, have not made a pilgrimage to Audio Classics to have a listen to the MHA 200. Out of curiosity, are you still planning to include it in your round-up?

Thanks,

John
Click to expand...

The McIntosh MHA200 is more of a comparison to the Woo WA22 then the WA33. I was considering the McIntosh but when visiting Shelley's Stereo on the way to the LA show they had the Woo in stock, ready to go, right in front of me. I could not resist and did not have a chance to compare it to the Mc... but I can tell you it is excellent. The WA33 Elite that Eric has is on a completely different level.
 
I love the way that Eric has narrowed this down by comparing virtually every high-end product out there. I also like the way that he decided there are true virtues to both camps in headphones, and is keeping what he feels is the best of both worlds.

The only amplifier that I wish he had the chance to throw in was the HeadAmp Blue Hawaii, but since he jumped right the what may be considered the best of the best and certain one of the most expensive headphones amplifiers in the world... I cannot argue with why it was not included :).
 
I had the opportunity to do a head-to-head comparison of the new Stax SR-X9000 headphones and the SR-009S headphones at Capitol Audiofest. Both were playing through a tube headphone amp I was unfamiliar with but sounded excellent. I strongly preferred the SR-X9000 headphones as they sounded more relaxed and natural. In addition, the earcup was substantially larger which made them significantly more comfortable to wear. Stax new top of the line headphone is a winner in my book.

Ken
 
apdoc2004 said:
Eric,
thanks for the input. Is there a reason you decided to keep the Abyss as your main headphone and not the Stax? Also, in your opinion, would the ZMF headphones that you compared to the Abyss give you much of the qualities of the Abyss and Stax? If yes, that would be significant as the ZMF phones come in at a much lower price.
Anshul
Click to expand...

I'm actually keeping both the Abyss / Woo setup and the MSB / Stax and feeding them both through a Block Audio preamp I have on order from Mike. The audio experiences are different with these set ups but equally satisfying in different ways.

Eric
 
Thanks Randy. I'll most likely go with the MHA 200 should I decide to purchase a dedicated HP amp after an audition. It fits my system and price range.

I'll be sure to remember a big "Hello" from you to Broom when I cross the county line on Route 17. Actually, I think 17 (AKA The Quickway in these parts) has almost become Interstate 86 after many years of of "Future 86" sinage.

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

John
 
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