The new list is limited to headphones I actually own.
There were some items on the first list I posted that I didn’t still own but held in high regard. But that doesn’t really make much sense (since if I liked them that much, I’d still have them/would buy them over lower-ranked cans that I do still have), hence the change there.
I sold my AB-1266 Phi CC in October 2019.
There are two main reasons I don’t have one, or the Phi TC, anymore:
First, I bought the original AB-1266 in early 2016, then the Phi and Phi CC as upgrades. When the Phi TC came out there was no upgrade option. You bought the thing new and whole, or you didn’t. I wasn’t interested in spending $5,000 again to get something minimally different from what I already had.
This was not helped by the rapid drop in used prices for the Phi CC.
Second, I didn’t think the Phi TC was an across-the-board upgrade over the Phi CC. In fact, as best I felt it was just different rather than outright better. And I think it is less tonally correct than its predecessor, which is, let’s face, it a hugely enjoyable and very exciting, but definitely colored presentation.
At this point, I figured I’d just hold on to the Phi CC for a bit, sell it if I got a reasonable offer (which happened in October 2019), and wait for whatever came after the Phi TC. Given Abyss’ history, I didn’t think that would wind up being a nearly three-year span (and counting).
I’m very interested to see what follows the Phi TC.
That said, I won’t be buying it unless it includes a change to a more practical frame/headband/strap. Even if that means having to have adjustable vents on the thing to deal with the fact the driver does not work right with a firm seal. Maybe it’s an age-related thing, but I’ve become ever less tolerant of comfort and practicality issues.
On “omissions”:
I am an, apparently rare, non-fan of the Susvara.
I have never owned these. I have never had the desire to. I’ve had them on loan, several times, for anywhere from a week to a month at a time. And I’ve run them on headphone and speaker amps of more than ample quality and power to bring out the best they have to offer. So I have a good feel for their performance.
I do not care for the build at all. I find them tacky looking and cheap and tinny feeling. That’s a huge turn-off for me at their price point. Especially when others are routinely doing it better for 1/20th the price.
But the two main reasons I don’t have a set are:
As a very broad-genre listener, I don’t find them to be a good enough all-round performer to warrant their asking price. In the areas they excel, they are certainly worthy and competitive flagships. Depending on your preferred genres, I can totally see them being regarded as the best planar headphone around. If I listened primarily to acoustic jazz, small ensembles, and basic singer/songwriter stuff, I’d have snapped them up and probably wouldn’t need anything else.
But I don’t.
There’s plenty of that in my collection, and it gets its fair share of play-time, but there’s also a lot of everything else … including huge orchestral and operatic productions, stuff featuring big church organs and a huge array of music that lives or dies on its bass-foundation. And there I find Susvara lacking … extension is fine, but the impact, drama and slam doesn’t satisfy vs. other headphones I have.
That’s a big enough factor, with enough of my listening, that I don’t have a place for it in light of what else I have. Not at $6,000. And not even at what I’d actually pay.
And then it is, particularly for HiFiMan, very “late in their life”. Even if I wanted a set, at this point in their life I’d rather wait and see what comes after them. My luck would have me buy a set now and then have a better successor come out a couple of months later.
I don’t dislike them (sonically).
I totally get why other people love them; I’m just not one of them.
D8000 Pro? I could take them or leave them. There’s some appeal. But they don’t do anything notable vs. what I already have. They certainly wouldn’t replace anything. And I want less gear, not more.
T+A Solitare P? I’ve only heard them for about an hour. Liked them quite a bit, except the top-end was uncouth. If you combined the low-end of these, with everything else from the Susvara, but kept everything about the T+A’s build and aesthetics (even the price), I’d buy a set no question.
What’s changed/evolved in my preferences?
Lots of recent time on a properly sorted speaker rig.
I have that ideally placed, in an acoustically excellent room. The very small issues there I’ve treated physically. What few/minor issues remain after that have been corrected via DSP. That includes correction for each individual drive unit in terms of frequency, phase and time-alignment (a native feature of Linn’s “Exakt” system).
