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Abyss Diana V2 Review (headphone)

BrEpBrEpBrEpBrEp

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If someone sends me a picture of a house with the left half blown off, I don't think I'm going to need to apply the scientific method to know I don't want to live there. Similarly, the FR measurements of Abyss headphones tell me I wouldn't buy them, even if I was inclined to spend that kind of money on a set of cans.

More worrying than tonality or distortion, though, is the variance these seem to have (based on the other Diana V2 review). I'd expect to at least know what I'm getting at those kinds of prices.
 

BrEpBrEpBrEpBrEp

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Unforutnately almost all high end headphones are hand made, so this issue is not limited to Abyss.

I don't know how much I buy this. These are made of metal, clearly CNC cut. The parts for them a basically all mass-produced. It seems like stringent quality control and careful DFMA (design for manufacture and assembly - to reduce impact of human error in the assembly process) could go a long way.

Of course, it's possible (even likely) the delta comes from different positioning.
 

abdo123

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I don't know how much I buy this. These are made of metal, clearly CNC cut. The parts for them a basically all mass-produced. It seems like stringent quality control and careful DFMA (design for manufacture and assembly - to reduce impact of human error in the assembly process) could go a long way.

Of course, it's possible (even likely) the delta comes from different positioning.

oh I should have used my words more carefully, i meant hand assembled/tuned.
 
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amirm

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Why? What’s wrong with my post? It’s all about the science and in line with the forum’s guidelines.
Your argument is generic, repetitive and assumes we are having a high school debate.
 

Coraje

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Understand your approach but I am interested in science only and science as a process requires observation-research-hypothesis-test-data analysis-conclusion and back to observation to confirm your findings. Personally I understand your view I am just not interested in a subjective interpretation of the test which is important but just a part of science. Yes, trying the headphones is an integral part of science as a process and without it you are left with the interpretation of a test which is subjective.
There's really nothing wrong with your argument. It seems your account was banned or deleted, maybe you just closed your account and I actually congratulate you if you did that.
 
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the_brunx

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There's really nothing wrong with your argument. It seems your account was banned or deleted, maybe you just closed your account and I actually congratulate you for doing that.
then who are you really talking to? like you said, he's gone.
 

milosz

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Maybe some day this forum will rise to the level of high school debate, though there is little on the Internet that can claim even that modest level.

;)
 

fieldcar

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Just uneducated damage control trying to defend their atrocious distortion that most hifiman open back cans don't have.

"It's important to have an isolation booth when measuring for distortion."

This implies that he's measuring a sweep at something close to the noise floor. @amirm runs sweeps at levels where abundantly audible harmonic distortion occurs at 80-105dB sweep fundamental. The background noise relative to the signal in amir's measuring environment is around 10-20dB. The software should also do something to isolate harmonics during the sweep, but I'm not sure. Even if the noise floor was present, it isn't significant enough to show up in the 3rd harmonics plot at +10dB.

I'm sure the general trend of objective measurements is cutting into their profit. I do have sympathy for them, but questioning amir's knowledge isn't the right way to go. He loves to work with companies to improve their products.

ABYSS Diana V2 Measurement THD distortion.png

Hifiman HE400SE measurements Distortion THD open back planar magnetic headphone.png
 
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Coverpage

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Are there any tests that can be run to measure the responsiveness of the headphones. Like it's time constant. Perhaps measuring its impulse response. The reason I ask is that sonically these headphones sounds rather responsive and transparent. I'd like to understand if there are other parameters apart from freq response and distortion
 

Jimbob54

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Are there any tests that can be run to measure the responsiveness of the headphones. Like it's time constant. Perhaps measuring its impulse response. The reason I ask is that sonically these headphones sounds rather responsive and transparent. I'd like to understand if there are other parameters apart from freq response and distortion
Like items 2-4 here? https://orfeosound.com/blog/2015/03/23/how-to-read-measurements-earphones-headphones-and-speakers/#:~:text=Step Response,change of voltage over time.

EDIT Big clues in the FR, distortion and GD measurements that such graphs for this headphone will likely look pretty messy. See Amir's comments on resonances and Solderdudes post no 2.
 
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solderdude

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Are there any tests that can be run to measure the responsiveness of the headphones. Like it's time constant. Perhaps measuring its impulse response. The reason I ask is that sonically these headphones sounds rather responsive and transparent. I'd like to understand if there are other parameters apart from freq response and distortion
Yes, other test could be run but won't be run here.
Reason being it is mostly FR and distortion (at various levels).
But yes, these are not the only aspects.
Just like lots more can be measured for amps and even DACs.

One can look at step response, CSD and even squarewave response (at various frequencies) but this is time consuming, more reporting and will only confirm what already might be 'visible' in FR plots.
 

Coverpage

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Thank you for sharing the list; it's quite insightful. I had the chance to test these headphones in a store, and they sounded fairly transparent, despite the ambient noise in the store. It makes me wonder if the measurements capture the full picture.

I do think the headphones might be quite non linear. While the drivers might be modeled as a simple inductive circuit, sound reproduction should be far more complex. The diaphragm's vibration likely has its own transfer function, as does the audio's journey to the ear, which can include nonlinear reflections. Reflections are primarily a time-domain effect that may not significantly distort the sound in the frequency domain but could still be disagreeable to our ears.

Again, I just want to raise this as I heard these headphones and they seem to sound good. I'm not sure if we might be missing something perhaps these measurement might not fully represent the types of distortion our ears find tolerable or intolerable. And the responsiveness of the driver.

That said the forum's measurements are an excellent resource for buying equipment, I've used it often for my own purchases so thank you.
 

Jimbob54

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Thank you for sharing the list; it's quite insightful. I had the chance to test these headphones in a store, and they sounded fairly transparent, despite the ambient noise in the store. It makes me wonder if the measurements capture the full picture.

I do think the headphones might be quite non linear. While the drivers might be modeled as a simple inductive circuit, sound reproduction should be far more complex. The diaphragm's vibration likely has its own transfer function, as does the audio's journey to the ear, which can include nonlinear reflections. Reflections are primarily a time-domain effect that may not significantly distort the sound in the frequency domain but could still be disagreeable to our ears.

Again, I just want to raise this as I heard these headphones and they seem to sound good. I'm not sure if we might be missing something perhaps these measurement might not fully represent the types of distortion our ears find tolerable or intolerable. And the responsiveness of the driver.

That said the forum's measurements are an excellent resource for buying equipment, I've used it often for my own purchases so thank you.
There were 2 points in particular Amir noted from his (pre EQ ) listening tests. Bass was deficient and a "grittiness" in the higher frequencies.

The less than ideal listening environment when you heard them may mean you didnt get the latter but guessing you didnt feel they were bass-lite?

I've listened to many headphones that sound absolutely fine but the measurements subsequently show them to be riddled with flaws. Doesnt stop me enjoying the headphones, but I realise that I could probably get a better experience with some EQ or perhaps an objectively "better" headphone for likely a lot less money.
 

solderdude

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45Hz -3dB (opposite Harman which is already bass lifted) and 60Hz + 2.5dB from Harman level is not particularly 'bass light'. ;)
Tonally this isn't a headphone that is obviously flawed.

Measurements show distortion is high, certainly given the price.
But yes ... at this price point there are many headphones that do better.
 
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Jimbob54

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45Hz -3dB (opposite Harman which is already bass lifted) and 60Hz + 2.5dB from Harman level is not particularly 'bass light'. ;)
Tonally this isn't a headphone that is obviously flawed.

Measurements show distortion is high, certainly given the price.
But yes ... at this price point there are many headphones that do better.
I was paraphrasing the boss man's listening comments- but yes, there are far worse bass responses out there ;-)
 

Coverpage

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Just to clarify, these headphones stood out for their exceptional transparency compared to others I've tried, making recordings feel lifelike.

I suspect that the measurements may not capture some key parameters that contribute to a headphone's transparency potential—responsiveness being a significant one. I mention potential because, of course, amp pairing also matters.

Although transparency can be subjective, it could be quantified by averaging listeners' opinions on a curated set of high-quality, transparent recordings. Headphones that excel in responsiveness and resolution are often the ones that offer the most lifelike sound.

I highly recommend giving these headphones a listen in-store and making your own comparison.
 
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