I purchased a pair of Abyss Phi TC’s recently and they arrived today. This is my fourth pair of Abyss headphones. The original AB-1266, the AB-1266 Phi, The Diana Phi, and now the AB-1266 Phi TC’s. I really do love the Abyss “house sound.” I’m still fiddling with the fit, which is a bit different the I am used to due to the new ear pads. They fit a bit tighter than with the old ear pads as they are wider. Sonically so far? I am very impressed. I’ll get some hours in and report back with a full review in a few weeks!
I have on going issue with my phi tc. There seems to be imbalance of bass. the right ear can be a lot more bass then the left. Abyss already replaced the drivers or gave me a brand new set. So this issue has me bummed out, because they are the very best planar to my ears.
no the replacement didn’t fix it. I’m currently listening to the Diana v2 and I’m getting boats of bass on both sides. I wonder if the one driver is too tight( no flex) causing the issue.
I sent other email I’m sure they will fix it as I’ve purchased Diana v2 and 1266 + I purchased Xl audio amp and power supply spent like close to 15 grand.
For sure. It just sucks to have to go through the hassle. The good news is that you’ve got some awesome headphones in the meantime. Plus, you’re HEDDphone should arrive soon enough.
I am liking what resolve is saying so far about the HEDDphone. As far as the 1266 goes it seems in it’s current placement( I bent in the headband and created a lite seal around the ear) it’s producing equal sound on both sides, but There’s that feel it in your chest bass I don’t think I’m getting.
Joe from Abyss took back the headphone. I ordered another 1266 which works perfect, now if only they weren’t such a pain in butt to set up. You get one setup and it works but always wondering if I can make it better, except I am afraid to loose the current fit instead of chancing it.
When you have a bit more time with them, you’ll find you can get back to your “best fit” very easily and in seconds.
But between the non-detented frame angle and width, and the often counter-intuitive positioning of the pads (which at least do rotate into repeatable, discrete, positions), finding the perfect fit in the first place, since you’re not shooting for “the best seal” here, is much harder.
After a couple of weeks, I could literally pick them up after someone else had tried them and put them back in the right “settings” in a second or tow just as I was lifting them to my head (well, pad-rotation excepted …).
I still need to try this one at some point. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Diana Phi, but something tells me this is the one that’ll make me appreciate the Abyss sound more. I’m currently still on the lookout for that elusive high performance planar, but so far there’s always one or a few things that don’t quite work for me with whatever I end up trying. My one concern with the AB-12266 Phi TC is of course the weight. But if it’s tolerable, it could actually be what I’m looking for.
They’re noticeably lighter than the LCD-4, RAD-0, HEDDphone etc.
A bigger challenge for most is that you don’t wear them with a tight seal (if you want the bass to perform properly) - but with the pads just touching your head - so there’s no real clamping force to keep them in place.
As much as I like them, for me - with the history of periodic updates to them, the fact that most recent one was not something you could upgrade into, and how far we are into the release/life of the TC model, I’d personally just be waiting for the next update.
Sods law says the moment I buy the TC, now, will result in them showing up right as their replacement is announced. I should have bought at launch - but having to sell my existing ones and then buy from scratch was not something I wanted to do at the time. So I sat this release out.
Yeah the non-sealing thing was noticeable for the Diana Phi as well. It’s really strange, but I could see it being okay once you get used to it. Also, that’s potentially decent for anyone wearing glasses. It should be interesting to see what Abyss does next - if they incorporate any of the feedback they’ve received about comfort and fit.
Having that light-seal is critical for Abyss, and solved my problem with the Chopstick Mod, which is totally reversible. Bass definition, extension, power, when the fit is correct, is Something else.
