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The Abyss 1266 has been a headphone I have enjoyed immensely since December 2014. I wrote a full review about it just before Christmas on 22nd December 2014 (HERE). When I wrote the review I had the headphone for a couple of months, but it is a year and a half later now. Has my view changed at all?
I still think it is one of the most incredible headphones to own if rock or electronic music is your primary focus. Saying the Abyss 1266 is simply limited to two genres however is a ridiculous statement. I have enjoyed a wide variety of music via these headphones over the years – from the soft, sultry vocals of Norah Jones, to complex overblown orchestra works in 24 bit @ 192khz. Whenever I want to listen to rock music however, these are right at the top of the list.
JPS Labs – the creator of the Abyss 1266 have been a high end cable manufacturer now for a long time and the cable supplied with the Abyss 1266 is extremely good – worth at least £700 of the high asking price. The company supply a single ended adapter to plug into the XLR cable, which is certainly a welcome addition.
My opinion of these headphones has not really changed in the last 2 years, although I do have one quite major problem with the design which has grown more evident as time has passed.
They are very uncomfortable to wear for longer than 30 minutes at a time. I know fans of the headphone will argue with me over this, but they do somewhat live up to their appearance of being a medieval torture device. They are also quite heavy.
Bass performance is dramatically linked to the cup/driver position and seal against the skin. The best bass response in my opinion is when the cups have a very weak seal around the ear. This is not a headphone you will wear if you want to move around the room as they will move on your head. You ideally need to be seated upright in a comfortable chair while listening to music. A tight fit can actually have a detrimental affect on sound balance, especially the bass response.
The Cavalli Liquid Gold Amplifier is the perfect match for this headphone. In the last 18 months I have tried so many other amplifiers with this headphone, but I still come back to the Liquid Gold. Like a welcome pair of old slippers, you always know what you are going to get. I have access to a lot of amplifiers, including the Ray Samuels B52, Woo Audio’s Balanced WA22, along with several solid state models from Krell. The Liquid Gold is THE amplifier to buy, if you own the Abyss 1266.
Much of my older Abyss 1266 review still stands, so you can get more detail over HERE.
